As summer starts to wind down, you may want to squeeze in one more yoga festival in the sun, to experience the joy of stretching your yoga muscles and meeting new friends in a fun and communal setting. Here are some of our top picks for yoga festivals to attend in August:

Santa Fe Yoga Festival – August 6-9

Featuring the music of festival favorites Michael Franti and Spearhead, this gathering shouldn’t be missed if you’re in the southwest! The festival includes classes by over 35 yoga instructors, as well as inspiring music, daily meditations and dharma talks.

ARISE Music Festival – August 7-9

The scope of this event in Colorado encompasses not just yoga and music, but exciting visual performances and thought-provoking workshops! Whether you want to practice Jivamukti, Kundalini or Laughter yoga, there’s a class for you. On top of that, you can attend concerts by a variety of musicians, shows by talented aerial performers, and insightful discussions about culture, art and spirituality.

LoveYogaFest – August 14-16

Cape Cod’s yoga festival includes two classes that you just can’t miss: beach yoga and paddleboard yoga! You can experience the natural and fragile beauty of the New England coast at the best time of the year, and get your yoga at the same time. In addition to beach yoga, there are aerial, restorative, and Vinyasa classes, and a whole lot more.

Big Bear Yoga Festival – August 21-23

In beautiful Big Bear, California, you can enjoy a festival filled with yoga, music, meditation and lectures, surrounded by the picturesque San Bernadino Mountains. And on top of all that, the event is located at a YMCA camp that offers canoeing and swimming to cool off in the heat.

Iowa Yoga Fest – August 28-30

For those in America’s heartland, there’s this three-day festival that kicks off with a yogi party in downtown Des Moines! During the rest of the weekend, you’ll enjoy workshops and classes with a variety of teachers from around the world. Whether you’re interested in mandalas, mantra meditation, or gong baths, you’ll find something to excite your interest at this eclectic event.

For ultra-portable yoga supplies including Hybrid Eco Mats, Eco-Foam Blocks and Yoga Mat Bags, visit www.barefootyoga.com!

Posted under Health and Fitness, Meditation, Styles of Yoga, Yoga Events

It’s festival season, and if you’re a community-minded yogi, you have a wealth of options for great yoga festivals to attend! Grab your yoga mat, and let’s take a look at some of the most popular and interesting yoga-oriented events coming up in July:

1. Wanderlust

One of the biggest festival series in the United States, Wanderlust comes to both Colorado and British Columbia in July. Each of their retreats takes place at a beautiful and natural resort, and you can experience yoga, meditation, workshops and a number of other activities geared towards the festivals’ active and mindful participants. You’ll also enjoy performances by notable musical guests – in the past, Wanderlust has hosted artists like Moby, Girl Talk, Michael Franti and Ziggy Marley!

 
2. Telluride Yoga Festival

Also in Colorado, there’s the Telluride Yoga Festival. Nestled in the majestic Rocky Mountains, you can enjoy yoga practice in a huge variety of styles, along with Ayurvedic workshops, group hikes and Reiki instruction.

3. Yoga Festival Berlin

For European yogis, Berlin’s Yoga Festival is coming soon! There will be dozens of inspiring guests and speakers, focusing on a number of topics and disciplines including Buddhism, meditation, detoxification and Kundalini.

4. cOMmon Grounds Yoga and Music Festival

Yoga and music go hand in hand! The annual cOMmon Grounds Yoga and Music Festival takes place at a picturesque campground outside the Twin Cities in Minnesota. There are daily yoga classes and concerts of course, but the festival also offers evening movies, drumming circles, hiking, biking and more!

5. International Tantra Festival

This festival, dedicated to the ancient practice of Tantra, will be held at a beautiful resort in Estonia, with lakeside camping available to all attendees. This program focuses on both the spiritual and physical aspects of Tantra, inspiring its participants to fully embrace life and love with a broad range of workshops.

6. Northwest Yoga Feast

And back in our neck of the woods, we have the Northwest Yoga Feast in northern Idaho – that’s right, it’s now Yoga Feast, not just Yoga Fest! Featuring Seattle-based chef Karrian Neal, this event will feed both mind and body. The chef’s menus focus on “conscious consumption” and are all vegetarian and vegan. But the yoga doesn’t take a back seat to the food – there are tons of classes, ranging from Acro Yoga to Vinyasa.

And for yoga on the go, check out Barefoot Yoga’s convenient yoga mat bags, which are perfect to tote all your festival necessities this summer!

Posted under Food and Cooking, Health and Fitness, Meditation, Styles of Yoga, Yoga Conferences, Yoga Events, Yoga Mats, Yoga News

Mysore, India circa 1996. Barefoot Yoga co-founder Dave with Pattabhi Jois and Sharath in front of the Yoga Shala after practice.

Sometimes we all need a spark to get going on something we know will do us a world of good.  And sometimes we need to proclaim our commitment to this discipline-requiring activity to help muster up that regular discipline.

The picture above is from this past weekend’s free yoga class hosted by Laura Yon Yoga & Bodywork at the Fremont Fair nearby Barefoot Yoga here in Seattle.  I had set my sights on this class from weeks before, when Barefoot Yoga Co. donated a Silk sari scented eye pillow (Brindavan Teal) that was a prize raffled off to a lucky participant.

Laura Yon teaches a beautiful class. The sun was shining, but it wasn’t hot. A perfect Seattle morning. 130 or so of us – mostly in unison.

For the rest of the day, I felt the lift of that yoga class. I moved more fluidly. I felt more even keeled in all ways.

Dave in “leaning tower of Pisa” pose

I came to yoga to strengthen my body after a back injury in my twenties. My yoga dedication peaked in Mysore, India 1996 – practicing almost daily with Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath for two months. Since that time, I have felt in my heart yoga would be a big part of my life. And it has – with Barefoot Yoga – that started after that experience, and continues today.

But my own feet – bare or otherwise, have not gotten back into a regular yoga practice since shortly after Mysore.

Meanwhile, I have been asked to write blogs here, but have had a hard time figuring out what to write about. During that wonderful free outdoor class on the first official International Yoga Day in our history (as decreed by the United Nations last December) – a light bulb went off. I will write about my own re-entry into a regular practice. I will periodically write updates about my efforts to squeeze yoga into my life regularly.

In the picture above from Sunday’s class here in Seattle, I see one yogi who has both legs pulled to his chest, while all others have one leg extended. That’s okay, we don’t always move at the exact pace of the class. But I’ll admit, I’m slightly embarrassed to be the one person not holding the correct pose.

Perhaps over time, my ego will melt away in favor of higher yogic consciousness. For now I will simply add that my Barefoot Yoga Performance Grip mat (pictured below) was perfect for this class held in a parking lot. Its density not only felt comfortable and padded when on our knees, its firmness kept me totally grounded for the balancing poses.

Also, our UPS man’s girlfriend spotted my Lotus pattern yoga mat bag, and he came in the next day and requested one for her.

Office yoga at BFY

Most importantly, I am motivated to squeeze yoga into my busy life regularly. My mat is now open in my office, (pictured above) – and although I have only squeezed in about five minutes worth today, it was enough for a new concept to emerge – “the yoga five.” My goals are modest now – at least a half hour of yoga 6 days a week. That’s how I got hooked in the first place – more than two decades ago. But I’m hoping this time it lasts – for a lifetime, (or three). Time, and I  – will tell.

Posted under Barefoot Yoga News, Eco-Friendly Yoga Products, Health and Fitness, Styles of Yoga, Yoga Events, Yoga Mats