Well 2012 is almost over, and with the end of each year always comes a good deal of self-reflection as well as a whole bunch of future promises…most of which lets be honest don't usually last past January. So how about trying to make a commitment for the year 2013 that is very achievable and has the potential to drastically affect your relationship with yoga and open your practice up to a whole slew of new opportunities. I would like to challenge each and every one of you in the year 2013 to attend a yoga festival, specifically (if you can) one of the five AMAZING festivals I have hand selected. Yoga festivals are an amazing place to practice with teachers you may never have the opportunity of experiencing and they are also an incredible way to open yourself up to new styles of yoga in a very community like setting. Personally attending a Yoga Festival, even for the non-yogi, I believe would be a highly beneficial experience since the majority of yoga festivals tend to center around creating a better being as a whole. So instead of vowing again to start dieting or vowing to make yourself a slave to the treadmill book a ticket to a local Yoga Festival and practice the rest of your 2013 resolutions in happy moderation.
Hanuman Yoga Festival, June 14-16, Boulder Colorado
The Hanuman Yoga Festival is an amazing festival that is both focused around community-oriented yoga and music. Set in an incredible location at the foot of Colorado`s Rocky Mountains, this festival is an absolute must for any nature loving yogi who wants to experience a yoga celebration with world-class yoga instructors, mind-blowing music, and a nourishing environment.
Nantucket Yoga Festival, July 12-14, Nantucket Massachusetts
The Nantucket Yoga Festival is another incredible Yoga event location on the island of Nantucket off the coast of Massachusetts. Nantucket is known for having a unique vibration that has consistently inspired conscious living, the independent spirit and creative collaboration. The Nantucket Yoga Festival is a community orientated celebration that brings together the very best world class yoga instructors, wellness experts and healthy living guides. Aiming to envelope the entire community the Nantucket Yoga Festival welcomes the year round community, summer residents and visitors in a celebration of the spirit of the island. The main movement behind the Nantucket Yoga Festival is the notion and belief that by coming together to explore ways to find a happier, healthier more peaceful way of living we can begin to affect positive change in our community and ultimately in the world around us.
Wanderlust Yoga Festival, California, Colorado, Vermont, Hawaii, Chili, British Columbia, Various Dates throughout the Year
Lastly Wanderlust is probably one of the most impressive and well known organizations devoted to bringing yoga events and festivals to communities all around the country and the world. Wanderlust's core mission is to create community around mindful living and the founders of Wanderlust believe that practicing yoga helps clear the mind, tone the body, and heal the spirit. Wanderlust is committed to creating inspiring places to practice with a broad array of the world's most accomplished teachers. One of the other really exciting aspects of a Wanderlust event is that their mission flows right into the food provided. We are what we eat, and at Wanderlust local farms are used to purchase organic, sustainably grown products whenever possible. Probably what I find to be most impressive of a Wanderlust yoga festival is that Wanderlust becomes a place where creative expression is both valued and open. Wanderlust is a one-of-a-kind festival bringing together the world's leading yoga teachers, top musical acts and DJs, renowned speakers, top chefs and winemakers, and so much more all in a setting of breathtaking natural beauty. A typical day involves hiking on peaceful trails and gettin' your down dog on at the top of the mountain. Sipping poolside cocktails with your friends, and then enjoying a tasty farm-to-table dinner with views of the surrounding mountain peaks. Early morning meditations and all-night chakra spinning musical performances – it's an all-out ecstatic celebration in some of the most awe-inspiring locations in the world.
Overall, in my opinion, any event that Wanderlust puts on in your location is a event worth setting the time aside to attend.