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

On International Yoga Day (June 21st) – while taking a free outdoor yoga class here in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle – which is adjacent to Barefoot Yoga Headquarters – I made a commitment to do yoga for at least a half hour, 6 days a week. Today is day 6.

I’m happy to report I have stuck to my commitment. Not sure I would have if not for announcing this. Life has been extra busy.

I had envisioned waking up early and getting my yoga in, but the snooze button won all week. Here at work, I rolled my yoga mat out in my office. The first day it was completely flat, making it hard not to step on when walking from my desk to anywhere. I got in 5 minutes of yoga. I have since folded it in half, and then I folded it again. I have not returned to it since “day 3″.

So, each evening I have found myself hungry for dinner, home with my freshly-out-of-school-for-the-year almost 8 year-old daughter, and with the prospect of not doing yoga at all. That first night I decided my yoga would happen after eating, but it would be in the form of sitting meditation. There was a time I would have said, “Well, that doesn’t really count.” That was before I tried sitting upright and silent for 30 minutes years ago. In my experience, it ain’t no walk in the park.

The other night, as I drove home from the grocery store at 11 PM, I considered making that day my day of rest for the week. But then it occurred to me I had already inadvertently taken a day of rest on day 2. I went home and did my 30 minutes. This time I played some meditative music (which seems to make it easier – but I wonder if it takes away some of the purity).

The last three nights – between 10 and 11 PM, I have done 30 minutes of sitting meditation. All were different, but had things in common. In each case, I felt more comfortable than I anticipated – with my daughter’s zafu (pictured above) supporting my seat, and my legs bent underneath me (Virasana-hero pose). In each case, I felt proud of myself when the clock started, and I settled in. In all 3 meditations, my mind floated in and out of thoughts, and occasionally stopped thinking altogether, my closed-eyed gaze a deeper black, and just the sound of my breath. In each meditation, my mind wondered impatiently whether I had 15 minutes left, or 3, or 20? In each meditation my skin crawled, and I stirred uncomfortably – wondering if I could keep going. It got intense, and I thought about the folks who do Vipasana meditations for hours and hours. This helped.

Last night I stuck a Barefoot Yoga zabuton (pictured above) underneath my daughter’s zafu. Sometimes to motivate ourselves for a disciplined action, we need help. The zabuton definitely improved my comfort, and will be used as often as possible from here on in. Also, this new meditation throne which resides conveniently under my bed is beckoning me to sit on it. Reminds me of the phrase from Field of Dreams – “build it, and they will come.”

I will have to return that zafu to my daughter, and grab another one for myself.  In the meanwhile – meditation definitely counts, although I’m looking forward to yoga movement too in my near future. For now, it’s all about “getting it in.”  I believe this flow will grow.

Posted under Health and Fitness, Meditation, Styles of Yoga, Yoga Mats, Yoga Supplies

Jivamukti yoga is a method of practicing created by partners David Life and Sharon Gannon in 1984. It combines a vigorous style of practice with a focus on five main tenets, and includes a strong focus on compassion for all living beings, the environment, and animal rights.

Interested in delving a little deeper to learn more about the 5 main tenets of Jivamukti? So were we! Take a look below to learn more about these fascinating principles:

The 5 Tenets

Shastra – The importance of learning and studying the ancient texts of yoga teachings, particularly in their original Sanskrit text. Four main texts focused on in Jivamukti yoga include the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads. These are considered to be some of the most influential and ancient yogic texts.

David Life and Sharon Gannon

Bhakti – While Bhakti translates literally to “devotion to God”, in Jivamukti yoga this can take on a meaning that resonates with the yogi’s personal beliefs – whether it is devotion to a religion, one’s self-realization, your yoga practice, or simply love. The focus of Bhakti is a realization and devotion towards an intention or being higher than one’s own self – whatever that may mean to you.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is one of many celebrity Jivamukti practitioners

Ahimsa – Compassion for all other living beings. This extends to animals, bugs, plantlife, and fellow humans. Non violence and kindness towards others is an extremely important part of the Jivamukti method, and Ahimsa represents that ideology.

Nada – The practice of focusing on sound. In Jivamukti yoga, Nada can be practiced through chanting, however it is also practiced by focusing on the sound of your instructor’s voice, music, or even focusing on the sound made by complete silence.

The theory of Nada says that everything in existence, including human beings, is composed of sound vibrations. Therefore, by listening and acknowledging these vibrations – referred to as Nada – one can gain the ability to hear Om, considered the soundless sound.

Dhyana – Meditation. An integral part of Jivamukti yoga, meditation is included within each class as an opportunity to focus on breath, one’s inner self, and to be still.

Just starting out on the journey of your yoga practice – Jivamukti or otherwise? We have a wide variety of props, mats, clothing, and more ideal for every practice. Come visit us today at barefootyoga.com

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