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Namaste and welcome to the August edition of Conference Connection.
As we're sure you're aware, the Estes Park Conference is less than five weeks away.
If you're planning on attending but have not yet registered, don't delay — many classes are sold out.
Have you ever rock climbed, or wanted to try? Have you ever thought about combining rock climbing with yoga?
This month our teacher spotlight focuses on Jason Magness who will be teaching a Yoga and Rock Climbing intensive (sold out) and Yoga on the Slackline classes at the Estes Park conference. With an extremely eclectic past, Jason at one time in his life, has been a dancer, physics teacher, firefighter and yoga instructor.
This month we're proud to announce a special scholarship program for our 2007 conferences. Read below for more information about you can apply, or support, this great program. Also this month we have an exclusive article from Erin Hull about saying goodbye to summer and hello to fall.
Finally, registration for the San Francisco Conference is open. Last year's conference sold out so be sure to register early to get your first pick of classes.
And, here's the inside scoop on what's coming up in the September/October edition of Yoga Journal (hitting newsstands September 5th): Yoga and Depression; Beginning a Pranayama Home Practice;
Yoga's Not New — The yogic concepts presented in the Bhagavad Gita are not foreign and exotic, but all around us in our culture; plus a special Outdoor Yoga Adventures section.
Namaste,
The Yoga Journal Conference Team
Elana Maggal, Conference Director
Renee LaRose, Conference Manager
Heidi Hill, Conference Sponsorship Associate
Alden Conant, Conference Coordinator
Estes Park Conference
The 11th annual Colorado Conference in Estes Park
is less than five weeks away.
Don't miss this year's yoga escape in the Rocky Mountains!
Visit www.yjevents.com for a complete schedule and registration information.
Once again, we've teamed up with Be Present to bring you the official "Be Inspired" 2006 Estes Park Conference t-shirt.
Pick one up while you're at the conference and Be Inspired!
Conference t-shirts (shown here) will be on sale at the Yoga Journal Registration Desk and the Yoga Journal Booth
at the Estes Park Conference for $20.
Upcoming 2007 Yoga Journal Conferences
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San Francisco, CA
January 18 - 21, 2007
Registration is now open for our 4th annual San Francisco conference.
Study with esteemed teachers like Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, Baron Baptiste, Ana Forrest, Seane Corn and many more!
In addition to our celebrated Main Conference, we will offer two Beginners Conferences, All-Day Intensives, Continuing Education for Teachers, Kids Yoga, and a Business Success for the Wellness Industry Intensive.
Join a panel discussion on Classical vs. Tantra Yoga, connect with community, enjoy entertainment and lectures, and shop for the latest yoga gear.
And for the third year, we are pleased to present Shiva Rea's Yoga Trance Dance with DJ Dragonfly. Kicking off the evening will be a Kirtan with Jai Uttal.
Click here to register and for more information.
New York, NY - Continuing Ed. for Teachers
March 7 - 8, 2007
Yoga Journal is pleased to partner with ECA World Fitness for a 2-day Continuing Education for Teachers Conference in conjuction with the ECA/NYC Fitness Convention and Tradeshow, the premier event in the fitness community.
- Learn effective elements for teaching yoga.
- Gain in-depth knowledge of how to adjust your students and safely teach inversions and backbends.
- Explore the fundamentals at the basis of every yoga class, and develop unique and insightful sequences.
- Deepen your yoga practice to infuse a new awareness, insight, and intelligence in your teachings.
Open to yoga teachers, yoga teachers-in-training, and group fitness instructors. This program is approved by Yoga Alliance for Continuing Education Credits.
Lake Geneva, WI (Grand Geneva Resort & Spa)
May 4 - 7, 2007
We are thrilled to return to the Grand Geneva Resort & Spa in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin! Come practice with the world's top teachers,
improve your golf game with yoga, or bring the whole family for family and kids yoga.
Registration opens December 2006.
We're proud to offer a scholarship program designed to support ten low income yogis and yoginis who want to attend one of Yoga Journal’s three 2007 conferences (excluding New York).
For more information on the scholarships, application guidelines and deadlines, visit www.yjevents.com/scholarships.
by Erin Hull
Saying farewell to the summer season and welcoming autumn's turning leaves is in itself a practice in accepting life's impermanence. The seasons remind us that change cannot be delayed or denied, and that, often, we are only along for the ride. Surrendering to life's highs and lows is a challenge, and the ability to accept unwanted changes is something that is honed only through experience.
The practice of yoga can help us to cope with the changes that time inevitably brings by teaching us ways in which to connect to our true, intransigent Self.
Change is celebrated in our culture - but only if it's a change that is expected or desired. Illness, job loss, and divorce are all changes that we consciously try to avoid, in order to avoid Duhkha, or suffering.
But yogic philosophy reminds us that suffering is merely a reaction to a situation, and that the situation itself is not inherently bad. In identifying with the temporary, we inadvertently allow ourselves to suffer. If we can instead learn to distance ourselves from these emotions,
we will in turn recognize that there is something within each of us that is unchangeable and secure, and will thereby find an inner peace.
Next time you find yourself struggling to adapt to altered circumstances, take a moment to center yourself and focus inward. Move into a quiet space, close your eyes, and focus on your breath. Remind yourself that the present moment is what matters,
and that grasping onto prior expectations will only bring suffering. Identify your spiritual foundation, and recognize that there is a space within you that is unmovable.
Erin Hull is a regular Yoga Journal contributor based in San Francisco.
Editor's Note: Jason will be teaching a Yoga Rock-Climbing Intensive, sponsored by Prana and
Yoga on the Slackline class at the upcoming Estes Park Conference.
The intensive is currently sold-out, but there is limited space still available
for his Yoga on the Slackline classes.
Jason Magness grew up in a fairly typical Air Force family, moving to someplace new every three or four years.
His parents always understood how hard relocating was for children,
but Jason never seemed to mind going someplace new.
He seemed to thrive on it.
He would form friends quickly, and although it was always difficult to leave them,
the excitement of new places and people made moving easy.
In the family's travels, Jason was exposed to many diverse environments and ways of life,
and it's no real surprise that he has chosen to continue that exploration. That exploration led him to the mountains, and his discovery of climbing. And it is climbing that eventually led him to yoga. "Vertical yoga - that is what climbing is to me," he says.
"It's true that I've been climbing far longer that I've been practicing traditional yoga, but climbing was my first avenue of self exploration. From remote big walls of Canada, to the terrifying stone thrones of Patagonia, to the plastic hand holds of my rock gym, climbing has been my teacher. I have learned first-hand about suffering, fear, trust,
self-reliance, beauty, companionship, love, death, and life.
Even as I feel myself drawn toward a traditional yoga practice, and a wider range of adventurous pursuits,
I know that climbing will always be a big part of my life. My spirit may visit many places in this life, but it will always live in the mountains."
He has been teaching yoga since 2003.
Interesting (mostly) non-yoga facts about Jason Magness:
- He attended jr. high school in Japan, and high school in Alaska.
- He went to his senior prom dressed as "Mr. Data" from Star Trek - The Next Generation.
- He was an avid bodybuilder through college, spending an average of 15 hours per week lifting weights, and eating at least 20 cans of tuna. Now he is a vegetarian and spends 15 hours practicing yoga.
- He majored in physics and minored in musical theater at the University of Oklahoma.
- He was a competitive swing dancer for two years.
- He played the lead role of "secret agent Ferdinand Lange" in a B-movie that he refuses to name. His role required him to shoot bad guys, drive in a car chase, kiss a girl, and do countless campy voiceovers.
- He also starred as a homosexual surf bum in Psycho Beach Party and had an 10-second kiss with his co-star Joel.
- He started climbing when he was 18, and instantly he was hooked. As a self-proclaimed climbing bum, he has completed more notable climbs than most serious climbers twice his age.
- He has a twin brother named Andy. They lived, climbed and traveled together until Andy met his wife-to-be in the year 2000. The subsequent year was one of the hardest in Jason's life. It was during this time that he began to practice yoga asana in earnest.
- He built and owns a climbing gym in Grand Forks, ND, where his parents have settled.
- To help his balance, he's developed a yoga practice that is done on a apparatus called a slackline (similar to a tightrope). Check out yogaslackers.com for more information, or take his class at the Estes Park conference.
- When a freak blizzard hit during an expedition in the Cirque of the Unclimbables last summer, he used pranyama to keep from getting hypothermia.
- He is an accomplished triathlete and adventure racer, using yoga as one of his primary training and recovery methods. In 2003 he competed in the hardest one-day race in the world - the MXT off-road Ironman (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile mountain bike, and 26.2 mile trail run) - and came in 22nd. In 2006 he competed in the world's hardest expedition race -
the Primal Quest (10 days of non-stop and unsupported paddling, climbing, mountain biking, running, canyoneering, mountaineering, whitewater swimming, and desert trekking). His team placed 24th and will be featured on ESPN and ABC this October 9-15th.
In an effort to continue his various adventures, he has made several unorthodox life choices.
- He has never owned a car newer than 1988.
- In the last five years he has slept less than 100 nights in a bed, and over 50 nights hanging off the side of a cliff.
- Since 1998 he has not had a permanent address and his primary residence has been his 1979 VW van.
- He has held various jobs over the last ten years, including: textbook editor, actor, dancer, model, magazine writer, EMT, Firefighter, physics tutor, swimming instructor, and climbing guide.
- The longest he has held a serious job is 9 months. In 1999 he worked in Arizona as a rocket scientist on the National Missile Defense Program (seriously) and quit for ethical reasons. In 2004 he taught high school physics and math and yoga in San Diego. During both jobs he continued to live in his VW van.
- Despite his unorthodox life choices he has a serious girlfriend of over three years who promises to stay with him as long as he keeps his VW.
In the coming year, Jason will continue his vagabond lifestyle and yogic education as he travels to New Zealand, Thailand, and India. "Sometimes it is tough setting my priorities," Jason admits.
"In New Zealand I'll be teaching yoga, competing in the infamous Southern Traverse Adventure Race, taking part in a climbing expedition and a pack-rafting expedition. I don't even want to think about India," he says, looking overwhelmed.
"I'm planning to study with Pattabi Jois and BKS Iyengar, but I'll have to pass through some areas with amazing untapped climbing potential. Who knows if I'll even get to Mysore! The more I practice yoga though, the more I find that it is part of everything I do…climbing, racing, slacklining - when I do these with intention, honesty, and an open heart - they become my yoga practice."
If you ever see him do a move called the "figure four" (anga urhdva ekapadasana) on a climbing wall you'll certainly agree. If that isn't yoga I'm not sure what is.
"It may not be that all climbers are yogis," Jason smiles. "But I hear all the fables about the wizened old yogis sitting on the Himalayan summit - so I'm pretty sure that all the wizened old yogis are climbers."
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LUNAFESTTM Film Festival in Estes Park
Join us for a full evening of events!
6:30-7:30pm
- Wine & Cheese Reception
Wine tasting with Frey Vineyards organic wine,
appetizers from Wild Oats
7:30pm
- LUNAFEST
Yoga Journal is pleased to host LUNAFESTTM, a national film festival featuring works made specifically by, for, and about women.
Donations for LUNAFESTTM benefit the Breast Cancer Fund.
Purchase advanced tickets for LUNAFESTTM
9:00pm
- Raffle drawing
Your chance to win fabulous prizes from Yoga Journal, Luna Bar, Lululemon, Marika, Gaiam and other Estes park sponsors and vendors!
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Sleep Garden
Discover a deeper, more blissful sleep with the number one yoga for sleep DVD…
Special limited time offer from Sleep Garden and Yoga Journal… Purchase 'zYoga, The Yoga Sleep Ritual' and receive 'zLullaby' free. Save $19.95
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