As my dedication to Yoga grew, the perfect event was bubbling in my mind. How cool would it be to have a festival that combines all of my passions – Yoga, music, nature, and yoga clothes?  I am forever grateful to the Wanderlust Festival founders for making this dream in my mind’s eye a reality two years ago!  The Wanderlust Festival has combined everything I love so well.

Yoga and music are entwined.  They are equally inspirational practices. They share the common goal of elevating one’s spirits. They offer liberation and can elicit strong emotion from the heart.  Both can help one dive deeper within themselves.  Powerfully, they can create a platform for community involvement and spread a message to a large audience in a profound way.  In cooperation, they can bring one closer to themselves and to others. Music and Yoga will take you on a journey.

Wanderlust is a German word for the irresistibly strong desire to travel or wander. All of us festival-goers, Yogis, musicians and artists are all travelers.  Seekers.  Searching for a way to connect to others and to Self and to the Divine. We have been built creatively to ask the questions and when we find the answers, to share our journeys.

Last year, for me, Wanderlust was an opportunity to explore the myriad of Yoga practices and teachers offering their various Yoga styles on a physical plane.  This year, I left with a totally different experience, way beyond the Asana and so much more about the Spirit.  The messages all around me were bottled with love, devotion, sharing, community, consciousness, action, grace, dedication and leadership.

I was imbued with a sense of the Universal, the Divine and really understood the word dedication and how it is embodied.  The “Yoga Superstars” as I like to call them, are major Spiritual leaders. They offer us gifts that are so precious and incite in each of us a call action to help others. The masses are truly moved by their energy and enthusiasm. I wished that I had a voice recorder for every class I attended.  Each one contained a plethora of beautiful, eloquent messages.

The Wanderlust Festival is an opportunity for like-minded conscious people to gather and remind each other of who we are.  The natural beauty of Tahoe is a recharging environment. In it’s magnificent we are shown that we are not our fears, our challenges and our bodies. The message was clear that we are all conduits of the Divine and that we all share the responsibility to raise the consciousness of our planet and to help each other transform.  Through helping each other, we’ll find our own Divinity.

It was a great gift to be able to bask in the glory of the mountains, soak in the crystal clear skies and gaze out to one of the most gorgeous lakes in the US.  In the distance you could feel the Eternal energy of over 5000 people sharing in the collective OM. This was a majestic experience.

There were so many highlights.  I can’t recount them all, but I’ve listed a few of the wonderful moments that I am grateful for this past weekend (aside from the fact that I love all the friends that I got to connect with old and new!!!):

THURSDAY

Rusty Well’s Bhakti Flow Class
Message:  Everything is Yoga. Life is Yoga. Love. Devotion. Humor. Joy.

Shiva Rea’s River Rafting Trip
Message: Friendship is all around you. Live music is so fun while rafting. Thank you to the Manipuris and Steve Gold for breaking out Proud Mary and all the other river songs and for Shiva being the eternal Prana.

DJ Dragonfly
Message: Great music is always a great way to end an evening, especially while hula hooping!

FRIDAY

Baron Baptiste
Messages: Transformation. Community. Sharing. Empowerment. The importance of spreading love and giving. Thank you to the Africa Yoga Project for spreading your love of Yoga to Africa and being an inspiration.

Sianna Sherman
Message:  Grace. Beauty. Inspiration. Love. Light. Eloquence. Prana. Sharing. Circularity of energy and its relevance to the lovely hoping class that followed. Divine play. Humor.

Sean Corn, Shiva Rea and Baron Baptiste

Off the Mat and Into the World and YogaAid Challenge class!  We raised money and got to practice in the front row!

Message: Serving is sharing. Empowerment. It’s not about pity, but empathy and compassion. Send your love into the Universe. To give is so much bigger than us individually. Thank you to David Stringer and Suzanne Sterling for amazing music!

Pretty Lights and Moby

Great energy.  Awesome music. I hadn’t either live before and they seriously rocked out!  Dancing is so epic when you are full of juicy energy.

SATURDAY

Seane Corn

Messages: Speak the truth.  Empowerment. What are you are going to do with your inspiration? How can you take this off the mat and into the World? Purpose. Value. Dignity. Grace. Light.

Shiva Rea

Message: Be playful. Get loose. Let the Prana move you. Be fluid. Feel the flow and rhythm and the pulse. Tribal connection. Ecstatic dance. Thank you to Rara Avis and Shamans’ Dream for incredible music.

Moby Acoustic Set

Family. It was a moving experience listening to his partner sing so beautifully and then watching her sing to her son.

Yard Dog Road Show & Bassnectar

I love the Yard Dogs and their creativity and sense of humor.  Inventive and crazy.  Bassnectar is just electric. What more can I say? He’s one of my favorite DJs.  Passionate.

SUNDAY

Les Leventhal
One of my greatest teachers and personal friend!

Message:  Come to Yoga as a beginner often. Teaching is joyful. Breathing is really joyful.  Your mat is your sanctuary.

Notable Quotables:

“You got to root down to get down” ~ Baron Baptiste

“If you give a little more bhakti, you get a little more shakti”– Sianna Sherman

“What are you going to do with your inspiration?” – Seane Corn

“The ocean of devotion” – Shiva Rea

“Swimming in the Cosmic Soup” – Shiva Rea

“Movement is the excavation and you are the site” – Shiva Rae

“I don’t have to do anything it’s already doing you” (talking of Nature as Yoga) – Seane Corn

In the spirit of giving and Karma Yoga,  myself and a few friends have signed up to do Yoga in the name of charity raise money for  Off the Mat and Into the World through YogaAid at the Wanderlust Festival.

The Yoga Aid Challenge is to complete a 2 hour extreme Yoga practice whilst also supporting great causes!

Please support me and my team “Shakti Shakers” by making a donation to this great cause and help me to make a difference with this Challenge! Here is the link to our site:

http://yogaaid.com/nicoledoherty

My New Favorite Yoga Sutra:

Let me preface this by saying that I’m in love with so many of the Sutras especially now that I have such a deeper understanding of them.  I think I am understanding them now, not only because of my YogaWorks teacher trainer, Jeanne’s incredible explanation of them, but in tandem for the past year, I have been doing work with Ester & Jerry Hick’s Law of Attraction, Eckert Tolle and several other profound Universal teachings. What I have known from the start and what keeps getting reinforced is that all the magical and amazing teachings have the same universal message, they are just packaged in different ways, as Jeanne mentioned last week.

Right now, Sutra 2:33 “Vitarka Badhane Pratipaksa Bhavanam” really resonates with me.  For the past year, I have been putting this practice to use described and packaged in a similar way, called “pivoting” through the teachings of Abraham and the Law of Attraction.

Every time a negative thought comes up, there is an effort to replace it with a better feeling thought or as stated in this Sutra a positive and opposite thought.  At first, I thought this practice was a game that put everyone in denial and that basically it was a big lie. But as I started to understand this process, not only did I realize how many negative thoughts I had, but that the lies were really the negative thoughts.  Most of the thoughts we have that come up in negative land are lies we’ve created about ourselves, about how life might turn out, about how others might perceive us, but very little of it is actually true.  They are disempowering thoughts based in worry, mistrust, fear and misperception.  I realized that most of my thoughts started in this place and that it was hard to transcend them.  What I thought might be an easy game to play, became one of the most challenging areas of my life. Every day now, I spend time watching these thoughts as they come up and try to minimize them and turn them into opposite, positive thoughts.  I love this game. I feel that it has changed my life and I am so excited that I am improving on this and know welcomingly that I have a quite a long road ahead.

Recently, I posted a quote on FaceBook that I found in our philosophy manual from the Upanishads that drives home why this concept is so important.

“Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions.  Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits, they become character.  Watch your character for it becomes your destiny”.

Through all of these teachings, it is very clear to me that we create our own environment, our own reality and we choose how we wish to live each and every moment.  And if we can break down our lives to single thoughts throughout the day and start to consciously choose positive ones over negative ones, we can live extraordinarily powerful lives that not only benefit our own well being, but everyone that we come in contact with.

“Vitarka Badhane Pratipaksa Bhavanam”

From a recent DailyGood article called “In Pursuit of Silence: How Noise is Really Killing Us.” In this article, the writer explores how noise wreaks havoc throughout the body and how, as a culture, we tend to view noise as being linked with the pursuit of fun and happiness.

He discovered how marketers actually play loud music in stores to attract customers and how noise is also connected with the pursuit of individuality. It is true that in cultures like the Indian one I come from, quietness is looked upon very highly, whereas it’s misunderstood to be something dull and boring in places like America, where people often compete to be the loudest. Examples of this include dressing a certain way to ‘make a statement’ or express oneself, noisy rock and punk bands that blast their music and the “boom car” competitions to see whose stereo can make the most noise.

Noise, however, is not just something external. There is much noise to be found inside the mind when one turns inward for the practice of meditation and contemplation. Often, in life, however, we cannot even hear ourselves, much less be receptive and available to listen deeply to the unspoken needs of others around us. I love this idea that the soul speaks in a whisper, which often gets tuned out by the noise of the senses.

To me, silence is an invitation to listen deeply to oneself, as a necessary prerequisite for being able to listen deeply to others. To be able to know the deeper aspects of ourselves and others. I liked how Viralbhai shared how people ask him what he has gotten out of his many experiments in silence (he has meditated continuously for up to 30 days at a time and has been practicing the past 13 years!). He said that there is now noticeably less ‘nattering’ in his mind than there was when he began meditating at age 18.

Listening, whether inwardly to oneself, or being receptive to what’s between the lines of what others share, is such a wonderful, subtle art and powerful tool. It is a rare and auspicious quality that is hard for most to master, one that invites insight and intuition, bringing us into a sort of active consciousness.

When I listen, I notice I become immediately calmer and can let go of self-consciousness. I become free. I always think of deep listening as being an act of love and compassion, one that invites growth and transformation. When I truly listen, I am able to step away from my own thoughts and feelings (particularly the negative ones) and embrace new perspectives. My mind becomes free and open to change and the space of infinite possibilities.

In deepening my ability to listen, I’ve found how much not listening is connected with the ego. How interrupting is generally an act we engage in when we do not feel safe. It’s been interesting and important to observe when people interrupt a lot, as I can now see how this stems from insecurity. I try to honor others by interrupting as seldom as possible when someone else is speaking and have found that I have the chance and the honor, really, to bare witness to the candid, personal testimonials of others who I may or may not even know very well to begin with. I know i have personally benefitted so much from the many mentors who have listened deeply to me and try to pass that on to others, to pay it forward.

It has been interesting to observe which groups of people are most receptive to the journey of going inward, of accessing the inner self and the inner knowing that is always available for guidance. People who have not gone through as traumatic of experiences have tended to like to talk a lot and to really check me out before I can ever start teaching yoga or meditation. My young female Indian students in particular used to ask me so many questions about myself. They always wanted to know how old I was, what I did for a living, where and what I studied, what my goals were for the future. One girl even asked me if my life goal was to become Miss India!

As Master Patanjali has shared, however, in the very first yoga sutra, “Atha yoga nushasanam” (meaning “Now this is yoga”), yoga is not something one simply comes to. The word “now” is very important, as it indicates that something significant had to have happened for one to come to the path of Yoga. It can be really scary to go inside oneself, as we don’t know what we will find there. Most people who come to Yoga have faced some kind of crisis, where the outer world has failed to provide them something essential, whether that be the security of a safe and loving home, caring parents or a stable job.

I remember helping clean out the main center at Manav Sadhna (the organization I volunteered for in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India) the day before I left for Vipassana (a silent 10-day meditation course) a year and a half ago. While the space wasn’t noticeably dirty before we began cleaning, it became quickly apparent just how filthy it was once we started sweeping, scrubbing and polishing. Sometimes while cleaning, we uncovered brand new, deeply rooted layers of dust and dirt in the windowsills, cabinets and cubby holes. We all had to wear handkerchiefs over our mouths and noses to protect ourselves as we cleaned.

I found the Vipassana course to be very similar to this experience of cleaning, in the sense that it was really an opportunity to go beyond cleaning up the surface layers of dirt, to dig out and clean up the dust that had been previously swept under the rugs. To really pull the weeds out from the roots and plant the seeds of beautiful flowers in their place. As Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Chapter 2, Verse 33 states,

“Vitarka-badhane-pratipaksha-bhavanam.”

“When disturbed by disturbing thoughts, think of the opposite.”

A yogi must be ever alert, observing his or her mind. When seeing useless thought waves arising, we replace them with positive ones to create new mental habits that are more conducive to spiritual evolution.

So much of yoga is about this process of replacing what is negative within us with something pure and positive. Transforming out weaknesses into strengths. Fear into faith. Confusion to clarity. As in Vipassana, it is important to have the protection of the (at least) 10 days in silence, to allow the space and time necessary to delve deeply within without having the dangers of distraction (from the phone, friends, Facebook and mostly, our own deepest fears). The support of the satsangha (like-minded/hearted community) in this process of personal transformation is crucial, as the people we choose to associate with comprise our environment. As a flower needs fertile soil to grow, so, too, do we need fearless and faith-filled friends to evolve spiritually, to unfold our own consciousness. Sunlight and water are necessary for the development of beautiful flowers, as are practice and a proper lifestyle for the development of beautiful people, on the inside as well as the outside.

My relationship with food has been huge in my spiritual evolution. I’ve gone to both extremes of severe under-eating and overeating and felt horrible in both cases. I’ve loved following the Ayurvedic diet and lifestyle guidelines, including eating my biggest meal at lunch, not eating too much late in the day and including plenty of fresh, farmers market fruits and vegetables in my meals. It has made it so much easier to wake up to meditate and practice yoga early in the morning. It’s also given me the energy I need to do my marketing work, to teach yoga and meditation in a variety of places (including juvenile halls), take a distance learning course in Ayurveda, learn and practice Odissi dance, plan for India and do whatever else is needed.

I remember another key insight I gained from Vipassana (my first experience of prolonged silence) was how much we seek validation from the outside, to the extent that the greed for approval can really motivate a lot of our actions. I saw this in myself when I meditated and in going deeper into the root causes of this, found it to be so deeply connected with the desire for love. Practicing yoga and meditation, living by Ayurvedic principles and devoting myself to serving others, however, has really helped me to connect with the deep love that resides in my self, as my true Self (capital-S for that aspect of divinity that exists within me – and within us all).

It has been such a blessing to be able to judge my actions and behavior from the basis of whether what I am doing could serve the poorest person. Whether my thoughts, words and actions bring me, and those around me, greater peace and harmony. When I realize they don’t, I find myself much more able to let them go, thanks to the practice of connecting with silence.

Having found the strength to provide myself such internal validation has been a big source of growth for me. It is what allows me to be able to extend the peace I generate within myself to others around me, connecting always with the knowledge that healing does not come from me, anyways, but through me as a channel of a higher divine power and energy. As spiritual healers and teachers, I think it’s really important to keep in mind that others one serves can never be more peaceful than we ourselves are, which is why it’s so important to continue to, as Gandhiji has been quoted to say,

“be the change we wish to see in the world.”

I really believe that the seed of new beginnings, the invitation to go into the deep silence that sparks transformation, is available to all who are given adequate opportunities, patience and support for the hard work of changing deeply-rooted habits – from the inside out.

GET YOUR DANCE ON!!! Come join YogaWorks and Wanderlust for some dancing fun on Saturday June 5th with DJ Dundhee 8pm – 11pm. Complimentary Raw Chocolate, Kambucha and Organic Wine. Santa Monica Yoga Works!

After the party Saturday night, Yoga on the Promenade by YogaWorks and Wanderlust! Santa Monica Blvd & 3rd with Kia Miller, Joan Hyman, David Kim & Tommy Rosen. Free class bring your own mat! 9- 10:30a, Sunday June 6th

Let’s Twist Again

By Julie Gudmestad

Try asking some nonyogis what they think happens in a yoga class, and at least one will answer that people get “all twisted up like a pretzel.” In fact, we yogis do twist a lot in a well-rounded yoga practice: We twist while sitting, standing, and standing on our heads. Because there is such an intriguing variety of twists, you might guess that twists provide an abundance of benefits. And they do. There are physiological benefits to the circulatory system and internal organs, structural benefits to the musculoskeletal system, and focusing benefits to your consciousness.

Indian yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar describes twists as a “squeeze-and-soak” action: The organs are compressed during a twist, pushing out blood filled with metabolic by-products and toxins. When we release the twist, fresh blood flows in, carrying oxygen and the building blocks for tissue healing. So from the physiological standpoint, twists stimulate circulation and have a cleansing and refreshing effect on the torso organs and associated glands.

While these physiological benefits are undeniably valuable, this column will focus primarily on the functions of and benefits to muscles and joints used in twists. Yoga twists involve the spine, as well as several major joints, including the hips and shoulders. In fact, full range of motion in spinal rotation is essential to many yoga poses. Unfortunately, many people lose full spinal rotation in the course of living a sedentary lifestyle. Some losses can occur if joints fuse due to trauma, surgery, or arthritis, but most range of motion loss comes from the shortening of soft tissues. If you don’t lengthen the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia (connective tissues) to their full length at least a few times a week, they will gradually shorten and limit the nearby joint’s mobility. In the case of twisting, the limitation is usually in soft tissues around the spine, abdomen, rib cage, and hips. If you regularly practice yoga twists, there are some clear benefits to these same joints and soft tissues. Not only do you maintain the normal length and resilience of the soft tissues, but you also help to maintain the health of the discs and facet joints (the small pair of joints on the back of the spine where each two vertebrae overlap).

A Twist a Day
To maintain or restore the normal spinal rotation, I recommend that you practice a simple spinal twist once or twice a day. (Note: If you have a spinal disc injury, consult your health-care provider before practicing twists of any kind.) A variation of the twist Bharadvajasana (Pose Dedicated to the Sage Bharadvaja) done sitting on a chair is an excellent option because it is so easy to integrate into everyday life.

Even in such a basic twist, however, there are a few anatomical points to keep in mind. Most important is to elongate the spine; a slumped-over posture significantly limits spinal rotation. So begin by sitting sideways on a stable, armless chair, and take a moment to ground your sitting bones and draw your spine straight up toward the crown of your head. Also, make sure that your spine is perpendicular to the chair seat, neither listing to the side nor to the front or back. The second important point to remember is that each section of the spine has a different rotational mobility. The cervical (neck) vertebrae, for example, are the most mobile in twisting. Because the 12 thoracic (midback) vertebrae have ribs attached, they can’t twist as freely as the neck vertebrae. And because of the orientation of the lumbar (lower spine) facet joints, the rotation of these five vertebrae is the most limited. So to ensure that you don’t overtwist in the more mobile parts of your spine, begin your seated twist by bringing your awareness into your lower back and beginning the twist from there. Let the twist gradually unfold up your spine, as though you were walking up a spiral staircase, so that each vertebra participates in the twist. If instead you twist quickly and without awareness, your neck will likely do most of the twisting, and whole sections of your spine can remain “stuck” and unmoving.

Once you’ve begun to rotate toward the back of the chair, you can use your hands on the corners of the chairback to deepen the twist in your spine and rib cage. Pull gently with the hand on the near corner and push with the hand on the far corner. Continue to sit tall, and don’t work so hard with the pulling hand that you draw that shoulder forward. As the twist unfolds all the way up into your neck, your head will turn, but be sure to keep your eyes and gaze soft. Hold the twist on each side for a minute or so, and use your breathing to help deepen the twist: On one exhalation, draw yourself taller; on the next exhalation, twist a bit more. With regular practice of this and other simple twists, your spine will regain its full potential for twisting.

Criss-Cross Action
Now that you know the basics about restoring your spine’s rotational range of motion, let’s take a look at muscle activity in twists. Many, many muscle groups are involved in twists, contracting and shortening or stretching and lengthening. There are several groups of back muscles of varying length-the rotatores, semispinalis, and multifidus-that contribute to spinal rotation. Some of the muscles that actively rotate the torso are quite small, like the intercostals, the layers of muscle between each two ribs. And several sets of muscles contribute to your ability to turn your head; the easiest to see is the sternocleidomastoid. The two SCMs sit on the front of your neck, forming a “V” starting at the top of the breastbone and running to the base of the skull just behind each ear. Look in a mirror: If you turn your head to the right, you’ll see your left SCM contract, and vice versa.

Probably the most important muscle group in active twisting is the abdominal obliques. The obliques form two layers of muscle on either side of the better-known rectus abdominus, the “six-pack” muscle that runs vertically up the center of the abdomen from the pubic bone to the rib cage. The two internal obliques, left and right, originate primarily from the pelvis and travel diagonally up across the abdomen, while the two external obliques originate primarily from the lower rib cage and travel diagonally down across the abdomen. All of the obliques have strong attachments to the substantial fascia of the lower back and to the abdomen.

Taken together, the four obliques form a diagonal cross that girdles the abdomen, and they have important functions in supporting the lower back, pelvis, and internal organs. The diagonal lines of the muscles also give them strong leverage in rotating the torso. When you turn to the right in Bharadvajasana, for example, the left external oblique will team with the right internal oblique to rotate your torso. At the same time, the opposite pair of obliques will have to lengthen. And so your twisting range of motion can be reduced by the inability of one pair (one external oblique and the other opposite internal oblique) to lengthen, while weakness in the opposite pair could limit your ability to actively draw yourself into the twist.

The obliques have a big part to play in yoga poses, and sometimes that role can be extremely demanding. Twisting arm balances such as Astavakrasana (Eight-Angle Pose), and Parsva Bakasana (Side Crane Pose) require big work from the obliques. If you’re not quite ready for the difficulties of arm balances, you can still challenge your obliques in standing poses like Trikonasana (Triangle Pose), Ardha Chandrasana (Half Moon Pose), Parsvakonasana (Side Angle Pose), and Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved Triangle Pose). Each of these poses requires a strong rotation of the torso against the pull of gravity. For example, when you perform Trikonasana to the right, your muscles actively twist your trunk and neck to the left so that your heart looks straight ahead, not at the floor, and your eyes look up at your left hand. But when you do Parivrtta Trikonasana to the right, your torso and neck twist strongly to the right, requiring strong contractions of the obliques, the spinal rotators, the intercostals, and the left sternocleidomastoid.

In addition to the regular practice of standing poses, you can help keep your obliques strong by practicing the full or modified versions of Jathara Parivartanasana (Revolved Abdomen Pose). For the modified, milder version, lie on your back, with arms stretched out to the sides at shoulder height and knees pulled up toward your chest. Exhaling, smoothly drop both knees to one side, keeping your knees pulled up toward your arm. On your next exhalation, lift your legs back up toward your chest, flattening your back waist into the floor. For the full pose, lie on your back, arms outstretched again, and stretch your legs straight up toward the ceiling. Lower your straight legs toward the floor on one side (for the maximum challenge, don’t quite touch the floor). Keep stretching out through the soles of the feet; also, when you lift the legs back up to vertical, be sure to press the lower back flat. Since this can be quite a challenging pose, you may want to consult with your health-care provider before trying this if you have lower back or sacroiliac problems.

Now that you know how to reap the physiological and structural benefits of twists, you might also notice the centering benefits to your consciousness. As the layers of muscle and bone revolve deeply, your attention is drawn into the stable, unmoving center of the pose. And this ability to stay centered as the hubbub of the world swirls around you will pay obvious dividends in the yoga of daily living.

A licensed physical therapist and certified Iyengar Yoga teacher, Julie Gudmestad runs a private physical therapy practice and yoga studio in Portland, Oregon. She regrets that she cannot respond to correspondence or calls requesting personal health advice.

Wanderlust Festival
July 29 – August 1st
Squaw Valley, Tahoe

Wanderlust is a one-of-a-kind festival bringing together the world’s best yoga teachers and best performers in rock & roll, all in a setting of breathtaking natural beauty.  It is a place to relax, unwind, bend, dance, revel, and contemplate. It’s a community of like-minded people who share a common set of interests and values.  It’s a chance to escape the mundane and dwell in the extraordinary. It’s healthy hedonism and spiritual exploration. Most of all, it’s a long weekend of satisfying, stick-to-your-ribs fun.  Join us.

Wanderlust 2010 will offer a number of high-traffic opportunities for exhibitors at our Pulse main stage and in the Kula Village.  Instructions and information are available in our Exhibitor Application, which you can download in PDF format.

Simply type your information in the fill-in fields in the application. When you are done, click Submit Form and follow the simple on-screen instructions to complete your submission.

Applications will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis.  Please email any questions to: exhibitor@wanderlustfestival.com

DOWNLOAD EXHIBITOR APPLICATION HERE: http://www.wanderlustfestival.com/vendors

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JUNE 1, 2010

GENERAL INFORMATION BELOW

Squaw Valley
Squaw Valley provides the perfect natural setting to meditate, contemplate, or just get away from the concrete and crowding of our large cities.  Take the cable car to the top of the mountain and you can wander for hours across ridges and meadows where there aren’t even any trails.  Or go for a five minute hike out of the Village and you’ll find yourself on an immense network of paths interspersed with streams, rock climbs and wildlife.  Come get away.

Yoga Classes
Wanderlust will offer yoga classes at nine separate venues Thursday, July 29 through Sunday, August 1, 2010.  Most classes are located in the Village, but there are a number of classes at High Camp as well.  You’ll need one of our yoga + music tickets to practice.  You can schedule your classes in advance through our website beginning March 29, 2010.

Meditation & Lectures
For those interested in exploring the mind, Wanderlust will offer meditation workshops, lectures, and demonstrations covering topics of importance to our yoga + music ticketholders. You can schedule these events using our scheduling app beginning March 29, 2010.

Stay tuned because we will have a ticket giveaway in a future newsletter!  Sign up for our newsletter!

REPOST:  From the Editor of LA Yoga Magazine

The spring equinox, the first full moon of the season, Passover and now the renewal weekend of Easter are all part of our current experience. In many ways, this season is the true New Year, and we feel this intention with the day lengthening upon each sunrise and sunset. We have the opportunity this season to commit and recommit to what is important to us and to plant seeds in our lives just as we take these moments to plant seeds in the ground that is becoming warmer and more inviting each day.

We also have the opportunity to pause and take a deep breath and ask ourselves how we are nourishing and nurturing ourselves and our community amidst the messages around us of despair and division. We can give into the confusion that is part of what many people see as shifting paradigms and priorities or we can be creative, valuing collaboration and cooperation. We ensure that we are taking good care of ourselves first, getting the rest we need, in order to support our family and community. We can come back to our practice, whatever it may be, as an anchor of support, as a way that we positively cultivate the relationship we have with ourselves.

The relationship we have with ourselves is the longest-lasting and most powerful relationship we have throughout our entire lives. And this relationship informs all of our other relationships, so let it be a healthy, joyous and nourishing one.

In collaboration and with wishes for a creative spring,

Felicia Marie Tomasko, RN
LA Yoga Magazine, Editor in Chief

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Wanderlust Festival at Squaw Valley

Last year, we fell in love! We are very excited to be working with the Wanderlust Festival again this year! If you haven’t gotten your tickets, get on it. Nothing beats a four-day outdoor festival among the mountains of Squaw Valley, Tahoe with killer music and a world class yoga program. The Yoga Class Schedule is up, so plan ahead.

Wanderlust Festival
July 29 – August 1st
Squaw Valley, Tahoe

GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! http://wanderlustfestival.com

Stay tuned because we will have a ticket giveaway in a future newsletter!

Wanderlust at The Fillmore

Why not extend the festival to another super cool venue in San Francisco! Yoga & Music passes or just music. Your choice. More information located on the Wanderlust Festival website!

Wanderlust at The Fillmore
May 2, 2010
4pm – 12am (music only 7pm start)
The Fillmore, SF