SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: WILD WEST YOGA FEST

by iana velez | Aug 19, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023, Profiles

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: WILD WEST YOGA FEST

Oct 14th, 2023
Forestburg, TX

FESTIVALS

Looking for something to do this Oct? We are thrilled yoga 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 Lori Klinger, owner of The Ponderosa Guest Ranch (home of the fest) and the creator and visionary behind the Wild West Yoga Fest taking place in Forestburg, Texas who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to get complimentary copies of our magazine at this festival!

What inspired you to create a festival?
I have been hosting yoga retreats and workshops, music events, and dinners here at the ranch since we opened in 2018. The festival is a combination of all that we do on steroids! 🙂 I love bringing communities together and Texas is so incredibly spread out, I thought what a wonderful way to unite yoga communities in and around the Dallas/Ft Worth area and beyond. A festival is also an easy, fun and less intimidating way to dip your toe into yoga and the world of all things health and wellness. While this has been a grassroots effort that is mostly word of mouth, the festival has steadily doubled in size each year. This is year three and it just keeps on getting bigger and better!

What makes your festival unique?
It has a hippies and cowboys kinda feel. The 160 acre ranch setting with longhorns, horses, and fan favorite “Donkey” roaming freely makes it a “Texas safari” of sorts. It is a true backroads sanctuary just an hour outta the metroplex that gives festival goers a real feel of relaxation and immersion in nature. It’s a one day festival, but has lasting blissful effects especially for those escaping the daily grind of city life. It is next level high vibes!!! And by pure coincidence the total solar eclipse lands on the day of the festival. We will be having a little lunchtime watch party. Almost too good to be true!

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
That’s a tough one. Our lineup is chocked full of incredible teachers with varied styles from start to finish, but I am so incredibly humbled and stoked that MY teacher Amy Ippolitti will be joining us this year. There are so many things to get excited about…In addition to top notch asana classes, we have aerial yoga, acro yoga, ice plunges led by a Wim Hof instructor, hooping, a sound bath, a festival wide drumming circle, live reggae music, and a vendor village with tarot, reiki, henna tats, farm fresh items and all sorts of goods for purchase. We also have speakers up top to stimulate your minds while you enjoy some downtime, or lunch from a variety of food truck options. It is literally the BEST.DAY.EVER.

IG: @wildwestyogafest
FB: Wild West Yoga Fest
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LOVE Spotlight: Bhakti Fest

by iana velez | Aug 1, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023, Profiles

LOVE Spotlight: BHAKTI FEST

FESTIVALS

We are so excited to celebrate the release of our amazing LOVE themed issue! This week we had a chance to connect with some of the amazing presenters at this year’s Bhakti Fest taking place in Joshua Tree, CA this Sept where the Yoga Love team will be! We asked some of our favorite artists and presenters to share with us some thoughts on what they have learned about LOVE. Check out their thoughts on love below.

Dj Drez

Love itself is perfect and it exceeds the most beautiful definitions.

Krishna Das

You don’t have to create Love or Happiness, just uncover it. This is what happens over time as we find a way to live without fear, and with an open heart. Real Love is like the sunshine. It shines on everything everywhere. I have no doubts that love is who we truly are.

Shiva Rea

What I learned about love
In this journey of life on the path of Bhakti Yoga,I have learned that love can be shared – beyond species – in that creatures share love and compassion beyond their species like the tiger that nurses piglets, cats that care for lil chicks, and that great bond that can thrive amongst humans, creatures, and all of the plant world. Love is the perfect symbiosis of our relationship with our living sacred Earth.

Love is our embodied super alchemy supporting our immune system, longevity, and flow states, and yet can be non-local such as the love in from wisdom beings, Gurus beyond time and space. Love nourishes us when the desert of life is dry when we feel the load we carry is almost going to break. Love gives us buoyancy. Every day, we can realize that love is breath – an ocean that is breathing us now and ultimately as Ram Dass, whispers to us, “love is non-judgemental awareness.”

May we open to the ocean of breath as love and may all beings be transformed in Divine love as our very nature.

Nina Rao

This is a verse from a devotional prayer that Sri Siddhi Ma sang to Maharaj-ji Neem Karoli Baba:

Yourself devoid of attributes, you shower love and grace on all,
Desireless yourself, you are the creator of the Universe.
Formless, yet thou art the true eternal Siddha, The God of all, you are known to be bound by pure love.

SRIDHAR SILBERFEIN

Love can be very fleeting, here one moment and gone the next. Best to immerse oneself in the inner love of the divine and be happy in the moment

JAI DEV SINGH

Love is simple, wisdom is love

Petra at The Sound Mind Garden

Love abides in pure motive. Love wants nothing of you, and everything for you. May all beings find happiness. Sarva Mangalam.

Allison Eaton

Love is the answer to everything.

Divasonic

Love is the highest and truest of all frequencies amplified in the presence of sacred community – ‘Divasonic’

Egemen

My time on this planet I have learned that everything is here to teach me how to love.

NIDHI PANDYA

What I have learned about love is that we often lock love in our hearts and may end up spending our entire life in shrinking, terrifying scarcity. But when we open the door of our heart and let love flow, we can see it grow. And as it grows, it transforms our own life and the lives of others; it fills all dark spaces with light and eases all density into flow.

RADHIKA DAS

I’ve learned that to love means to serve. To put aside, sacrifice and tolerate the discomfort of material life in order to give and share practices, like kirtan, that will enliven our true identity – the soul.

YOGRISHI VISHVKETU

Openness and healing at all levels. Om

You will be able to get complimentary copies of our magazine at this festival! Yoga Love Magazine readers can use the code yogalove when they check out for a 10% discount on ticket purchases

SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: TAHOE YOGA FESTIVAL

by iana velez | Jul 29, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023

Festival Spotlight: TAHOE YOGA FESTIVAL

August 13th, 2023
South Lake Tahoe, CA

FESTIVALS

Looking for something to do this August? We are thrilled yoga 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 Hillary Atalina, partnerships and talent manager at the Tahoe Yoga Festival taking place in South Lake Tahoe, CA who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to get complimentary copies of our magazine at this festival!

What inspired you to create a festival?
I’ve always found inspiration through the collaboration with passionate individuals. When Jess came to me with the idea of building a festival, I didn’t think twice about working on this project with her. She has shown me that bringing ideas to life is possible with determination, humility, and imagination. I am thankful to be working on this event with a badass group of women and to be influenced by these movers, shakers, and dream makers that make up the TYF team.

Jess Broyles, owner of OMNI Tahoe yoga studio, is the visionary behind the festival and she envisioned the festival as a transformative journey bringing together the power of yoga, music, mindfulness, and community. According to Jess, “My goal in creating the Tahoe Yoga Festival is the same as the goal for our studio and many other events I am involved in, to invite community members into a positive, non-judgemental, and fun environment while supporting our local businesses as a collective.”

What makes your festival unique?
The location! The festival is located on the Heavenly Mountain Resort, right in the heart of South Lake Tahoe. To access the festival, guests take a gondola ride up the mountain overlooking the beautiful Lake Tahoe. Guests also have the option to explore the mountains surrounding trails, blending yoga and nature.

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
We are hosting some of the region’s most influential teachers and presenters. I am especially excited to see Yoga Trade Founder Erica Hartnick lead a discussion on creativity and community.

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KARMA KIDS YOGA

by iana velez | Jul 2, 2023 | YOGA♥ PARTNERS

KARMA KIDS YOGA

The Karma Kids Yoga philosophy of teaching yoga to children provides kids with a variety of yoga tools that they can take away from yoga class and use throughout their lives. Animals, nature and other objects come alive in our classes; as we move, we learn to stretch our bodies in new creative ways. Through basic and challenging yoga poses, partner poses, group poses, yoga games, mindfulness activities, music and stories, we promote strength, flexibility, coordination, and body awareness. Breathing and visualization techniques teach focus, relaxation and self-control. The Karma Kids Yoga program also promotes inner-strength, confidence and self-esteem; a feeling of well-being and respect for others; and, love for one’s self, inside and out.

WEBSITE:

KARMAKIDSYOGA.COM

CONTACT US:

CLICK HERE

ABOUT: Shari Vilchez Blatt

Founder & Creator of Karma Kids Yoga

Shari was a VP, Advertising Director before completely changing her path to combine two things that are close to her heart – yoga and children. She created Karma Kids Yoga in 2002, encouraging playful and imaginative movement through yoga as the core philosophy. Kids really respond to Shari, as she communicates with them in a fun and trusting way that will comfort even the most shy child. She knows how to connect and talk to kids on their level, allowing them to sense her friendliness and understanding. Shari can turn any task into something fun and is simply an enthusiastic child in an adult body.

Yoga Plus magazine Teacher bio photo - Shari Vilchez-Blatt

LOVE PROFILE: Shari Vilchez-Blatt

Founder Karma Kids Yoga

PROFILES

As we prepare for our June 2023 release of our print issue themed LOVE, we reached out to our amazing community to share with us a few thoughts on love. Our first feature celebrates Shari who was a VP, Advertising Director before completely changing her path to combine two things that are close to her heart – yoga and children. She created Karma Kids Yoga in 2002, encouraging playful and imaginative movement through yoga as the core philosophy. Shari has trained over three thousand people around the world to teach yoga to children through the renowned Karma Kids Yoga Teacher Training Program and her latest endeavor is her Girl Empowerment Series. Shari is currently working on projects with Sesame Workshop…stay tuned.

Share with us what you love about what you do:
I’m a children’s yoga teacher. I love what I do. It’s playful, unpredictable, humorous and always an adventure. I love when children surprise themselves with their own abilities. I love observing them use the yoga and mindfulness tools that I share and feel the benefits. But what I love most is when a child is about to give up and I can encourage them to believe in themselves, remind them that they were made to do hard things, they tap into their courage and strength and nail the pose! Their expressions and excitement beam with pride. This makes my heart explode every time.

Share with us what you have learned about LOVE:
Love is easy to spread around! I’ve learned that the more I spread it within the community, the more it flourishes and grows. When spreading love, I feel love back. When spreading love with children and teens, they’re more likely to open up, trust, share, connect and hopefully continue to spread love. Love feels so much better in the body and mind than any other emotion I can think of.

What inspired you to support Yoga Love Magazine?
This magazine is unlike any other yoga enthused publication I have ever seen. I love that real teachers, not yoga celebrities, are featured.I love that it feels approachable and connective versus like a fashion magazine. It feels like a community that you’re welcome to join versus “look at us.” I love the tireless spirit of a female Latina leader and all female staff that makes this magazine happen and I feel big love when I support this.

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SPOTLIGHT FESTIVAL: FREE STATE YOGA FESTIVAL

by iana velez | Jun 12, 2023 | ARTICLES, Festivals, Festivals 2023

Festival Spotlight: FREE STATE YOGA FESTIVAL

Aug 5, 2023
Lawrence, KS

FESTIVALS

Looking for something to do this August? We are thrilled yoga 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 Krystal Denham, Director of Free State Yoga Festival taking place in Lawrence, KS who we are thrilled to partner with! You will be able to get complimentary copies of our magazine at this festival!

What inspired you to create a festival?
The seeds of inspiration first took root during yoga teacher training, while exploring many modalities of yoga and meditation for my certification. I am driven by the realization that yoga holds the key to unlocking the dormant potential within, I yearned to channel this transformative power into an event that would envelop all students in its ethereal embrace. My vision is to weave together the wisdom of revered yogis, the grace of movement, and the nourishment of conscious living. Free State Yoga Festival manifests the belief that through the unison of body, mind, and spirit, we can transcend limitations and embark on a transformative journey toward self-realization.

What makes your festival unique?
Picture a kaleidoscope of community experiences, workshops, classes, discussions, vendor shopping, and food for all diet where the extraordinary becomes ordinary and the mundane is left far behind. FS Yoga Fest dances upon the edge of innovation, a mystical realm where ancient wisdom harmonizes with contemporary expressions. It is here that tradition embraces evolution, forging a path that simultaneously honors the roots of yoga and dares to venture into uncharted territories. At the heart of our festival lies inclusivity and an opportunity for self-discovery. We celebrate an array of yoga styles, inviting renowned teachers to guide practitioners on an exquisite journey. Imploring our students to find a yoga style they love. From Hatha to Vinyasa, Kundalini to Ashtanga, Buti to SUP Yoga, our festival is a melting pot where yoga unfolds in all its glorious forms.

What offering/presenter or class are you most excited about for this year’s event?
I am thrilled for the entire day. I would love to attend all our presenters’ offerings. And, as the owner of the SUP Yoga company, I am most excited to share my passion and teach SUP Yoga.

TICKETS

INSTAGRAM: @fsyogafest
FACEBOOK: @fsyogafest