Festival Spotlight: Womanist Arts Festival

by iana velez | May 30, 2022 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023

Festival Spotlight: Womanist Arts Festival

FESTIVALS

Looking for something to do this Sept? We are thrilled festivals are back and can’t wait to check out all the amazing events taking place around the world. This week we had a chance to connect with Tanya Birl, Artistic Director and Tanya Bishai, Executive Producer, Fundraising and Marketing from Womanist Arts Festival taking place Sept 10th in Washington Heights, NYC.

What inspired you to create a festival?

Our belief in artists as healers and inspired by the wisdom of Alice Walker’s womanist prose, this festival is in celebration of those who have come before us, taking on the mantle and moving forward into the future that we will co-create together. Women led and inclusive of all genders and non-conformists, race, religion and creed.

What makes your festival unique?

A call to the Washington Heights, NYC community to gather, connect and heal through music, movement, spoken word, art, self expression, interaction and celebration! We have some of the most talented people in the world living right here in our neighborhood. This festival will be an eclectic expression of the gifts that Washington Heights has to offer our souls and our bodies. It will aim to bring together neighbors living East and West of Broadway, creating a more unified spirit of belonging and trust

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?

Our final performance of the day at 4pm featuring The SoapBox Presents and spoken word artists Caridad De La Luz

Learn more

https://www.instagram.com/womanistfest
facebook.com/WomanistFestival
http://sohumanity.com/wahi-womanist-fest

LOVE PROFILE: Terri Speck

by iana velez | May 23, 2022 | ARTICLES, Profiles

LOVE PROFILE: Terri Speck

Founder PLAY Yoga

PROFILES

As we prepare for our June release of our print issue themed LOVE, we reached out to our amazing community to share with us a few thoughts on love. Terri Speck and Ed Mullen MD,founded PLAY (Peace Love and Yoga) based on a combined 70+ years working in hospitals they looked to make the shift from “delivering “ healthcare, to partnering with friends and neighbors on a passage to wellness. We asked Terri to share a bit more about love in this week’s LOVE spotlight.

Please share with us what you love about what you do:
There’s so many things I love about what I do! I love creating someplace special for our wonderful yoga community to gather.I am excited about offering all different styles and flavors of yoga and interesting workshops and talks. I love to teach and feel the comfort of my home community. PLaY is often getting visitors as we’re in a resort area, but we also have a steady group that feels like home. It’s the most creative thing I do!

Share with us what you have learned about LOVE:
I’ve learned that there isn’t anything else besides love that really matters in this whole universe. I’ve learned that the opposite of love isn’t hate, but fear. I’ve learned that the capacity for love is infinite and that there’s always enough love to go around.

What inspired you to support Yoga Love Magazine?
I was inspired to support Yoga Love Magazine because from the onset I could tell that the voice of the magazine was a little bit different that any other yoga magazine I had read. Iana’s emphasis and values were aligned with ours! Diversity, inclusion and a genuine love of yoga. In our studio, our small retail space is dedicated to female owned business, so that was a huge draw for us as well!

LEARN MORE

VERDAD NICARAGUA

by iana velez | May 10, 2022 | YOGA♥ PARTNERS

VERDAD NICARAGUA

Yoga Plus Magazine - Teachers - Janie Larmour Bio pic

WEBSITE:

verdadnicaragua.com

ABOUT:

Verdad is a boutique hotel nestled on a hillside overlooking Playa Escameca Grande on the southern pacific coast of Nicaragua. No matter where you are at Verdad, be it in your beautifully designed casita, or poolside, you will be surrounded by stunning nature in laidback luxury. Our gorgeous on-site yoga studio has views across the valley, and out to the ocean, and is a magical place to practice. There is also an on-site kitchen where we serve delicious home-made meals family style, a poolside honor bar with drinks and snacks, several places to lounge, and a massage studio. We offer a variety of adventures too: surfing, boating, sailing, zip-lining, hiking, scuba and more. Come experience the Verdad difference.

ASHRAMS FOR AUTISM

by iana velez | May 10, 2022 | YOGA♥ PARTNERS

ASHRAMS FOR AUTISM

WEBSITE:

ashrams4autism.org

ABOUT:

Dedicated to providing yoga in schools and facilities for the autism and special needs community

Ashrams for Autism seeks to empower and guide the autism community toward peacefully achieving their highest potential through yoga. We firmly believe that yoga can provide the proper tools for self-regulation and empowerment for this population.

Community Spotlight: Exhale to Inhale

by iana velez | May 10, 2022 | ARTICLES, Profiles

Community Spotlight: Exhale to Inhale

PROFILES

FESTIVALS

On Oct 19th, Exhale to Inhale will be hosting their annual gala at the beautiful Rubin Museum in NYC. This amazing organization uses the healing practices of trauma-informed yoga to empower survivors, while helping communities to develop the skills and knowledge to support them.Maggie LaRocca, Exhale to Inhale’s Executive Director shared more about the upcoming event with us and ways to support their work.

What inspired the creation of this organization:

Zoë LePage founded the organization while a student at Barnard with the idea that trauma informed yoga should be a tool offered to survivors of domestic and sexual violence

In what ways can people support Exhale to Inhale’s work and mission?

According to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, 1 in 4 women have experience severe phyiscal violence by an intimate partner, and 1 in 4 women and 1 out of 6 men have been sexually absued in their lifetime. It is likely that all of know someone, love someone or have been personally impacted by sexual or domestic violence. As Exhale to Inhale is a growing organization filling an unmet need, we need the support of our community to elevate our mission, help us raise funds to support our work, and bring awareness to the need for healing resources like trauma informed yoga that can help survivors with what is often a lifetime of healing.

What are you most excited about for this year’s gala event?

After two years of virtual galas, it is our first time being back in person since 2019 for our first ever gala. We can’t wait to see so many of our supporters in real life, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to uplift our honorees: Ana Pincus, Dianne Bondy and Flamingo, all have had a tremendous impact on our work!

Learn more and support:

@exhale2inhale on FB

exhaletoinhale.org/gala2022

exhaletoinhale.networkforgood.com/events/44095-2022-celebration-of-healing-gala-a-year-of-inspiring-growth

exhaletoinhale.org/s/2022CelebrationofHealingSponsorshipPackage.pdf