Sedona Yoga Festival
March 10-13 Sedona, Arizona
Sedona’s famous red rocks and powerfully energetic vortexes provide the setting for a transformational weekend offering yoga, Ayurveda, kirtan, energy medicine, healing arts, meditation, and more. The schedule includes stargazing, vortex yoga hikes, outdoor practices, flow with gong meditation on the patio, and scientific information on the vortexes. Come early for the 20-hour training Traumatic Stress: Healing and Resiliency with Yoga by Yoga Gives Back, and stay for post-conference immersions with Mark Whitwell, Christy Burnette (adaptive yoga), Julia Mikk, and Shawna Schenk (Reiki).
Bali Spirit Fest
March 29-April 3 Ubud, Bali
The Bali Spirit Fest enhances Bali’s reputation as an international yoga destination for people looking for a magical practice. The annual event includes yoga classes and workshops by teachers from around the world, nighttime concerts, a dharma fair market, pre- and post- festival intensives, unique cultural experiences, and opportunities to give back through community outreach. The musical schedule encompasses kirtan, Indonesian bands and dancing, as well as visiting global artists. Honoring the traditional Balinese philosophy of Tri Hita Karana, Bali Spirit Fest preserves harmony in three aspects: among people, with nature, and with God.
Sat Nam Fest
April 6-10 Joshua Tree Retreat Center
This Kundalini Yoga experience begins daily at 3:45am with sadhana (practice). Rise before the sun or wait for the main event when noted teachers are paired with sacred musicians. Combinations include Akasha and Aykanna, Tej with Gurunam Singh, Krishna Kaur and Jai-Jagdeesh, Jai Dev and Simrit Kaur, and Guru Singh and GuruGanesha. Alternate with concerts by noted artists including Ajeet Kaur, GuruGanesh Singh, Aykanna, Jai-Jagdeesh, Mirabai Ceiba, and Snatam Kaur. Other offerings include an all-night gong journey, crystal bowl lullaby with Ashana, and workshops with teachers such as GuruJagat, Mahankirn, Harnam, and Tommy Rosen. Arrive for the April 6 immersion on Original Light, the Gift of Daily Spiritual Practice with Snatam Kaur.
Alchemy Event
April 7-10 LAX Hilton, Los Angeles
“Co-creating a New Humanity” is the tag line for the four-day Alchemy Event. This urban retreat offers an exploration of the multi-dimensional nature of consciousness through 33 keynote speakers providing a total of 100 lectures on topics including science and spirituality, energy healing, longevity, leadership, soul cleansing, cutting-edge technologies, crop circles, the subconscious mind, meditation, music, the nature of nirvana. Speakers include Saeed David Farman, Professor Mehran Keshe, Dr Nick Delgado, Annelise Balfour, Dan Winter, Dr. Catherine Athans, Dada Gunamuktananda, Princess Kaoru Nakamaru, Edwin Harkness Spina, and Holly Cook.
Lucidity Festival
April 8-10 Live Oak Campground, Santa Barbara
Immerse yourself in a weekend of celebration and the creation of new solutions for humanity. Camp in one of the themed villages: Family Garden, Goddess Grove, Healers’ Sanctuary, Lovers’ Nest, Nomads’ Nook, Trixsters’ Playground, Warriors Way, or Lucid University. The framework for Lucidity features a diverse schedule of festival-friendly musical performers and DJs, as well as workshops and visual arts. Within this playground, Lucidity fosters an open-source environment, meaning that participants are encouraged to create, perform, and share among the villages. This year, four-day Lucid University classes are offered as intensives including art and creativity, permaculture, Reiki, embodiment and leadership, and lucid dreaming.
Felicia Tomasko has spent more of her life practicing Yoga and Ayurveda than not. She first became introduced to the teachings through the writings of the Transcendentalists, through meditation, and using asana to cross-train for her practice of cross-country running. Between beginning her commitment to Yoga and Ayurveda and today, she earned degrees in environmental biology and anthropology and nursing, and certifications in the practice and teaching of yoga, yoga therapy, and Ayurveda while working in fields including cognitive neuroscience and plant biochemistry. Her commitment to writing is at least as long as her commitment to yoga. Working on everything related to the written word from newspapers to magazines to websites to books, Felicia has been writing and editing professionally since college. In order to feel like a teenager again, Felicia has pulled out her running shoes for regular interval sessions throughout Southern California. Since the very first issue of LA YOGA, Felicia has been part of the team and the growth and development of the Bliss Network.