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Namaste and welcome to the July edition of Conference Connection.
If you're planning on joining us at this year's Colorado Conference, the early bird discount ends August 4th. Don't delay; many classes are close to sold out.
If you're interested in Ayurveda, be sure to read our teacher spotlight with Robert Svoboda, the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda in India. Robert tells his story of how music has influenced his life — from prenatal to childhood to today. Also this month is Dayna Macy's exclusive article on children and yoga.
She explores how a child's natural movements can grow our own practice. Plus as an added treat,
Dayna shares her favorite summertime recipe, Glorious Blackberry Crisp.
Namaste,
The Yoga Journal Conference Team
Elana Maggal, Conference Director
Renee LaRose, Conference Manager
Heidi Hill, Conference Sponsorship Associate
Estes Park Conference
Registration is open for the 11th annual Colorado Conference in Estes Park.
Even though the conference does not start until September 25th, we've already had tremendous interest.
Don't miss this year's yoga escape in the Rocky Mountains! Early bird discount ends August 4th.
This year's special events include a keynote address by Ayurvedic expert Robert Svoboda;
performances by world-class musicians Deva Premal and Miten, and a YouthAIDS benefit concert by Michael Franti
sponsored by The Shakti Foundation.
The Shakti Foundation is a non-profit organization that facilitates inspirational and educational benefits assisting people to reconnect with their innate wisdom, creativity and intuition.
Their mission is to empower individuals, and assist them in making positive changes in their lives, their communities and the world.
Also this year we're revisiting
the teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar in our Iyengar Intensive,
taught by Manouso Manos and Patricia Walden. Plus the Iyengar Yoga Association of Greater New York presents a yoga demo choreographed to express the art and ideas of B.K.S. Iyengar.
Or join us for Continuing Education for Teachers,
All-Day Intensives, 3 Beginners Conferences and
even a yoga and rock climbing intensive!
Don't forget to visit the Yoga Marketplace in Estes Park!
Whether you're a beginning student or advanced instructor; the Yoga Marketplace has something for you.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to find the latest in yoga apparel, unique art and jewelry, information on teacher’s trainings, CDs, Books, mats, props and more!
Visit the marketplace between classes or drive up from the Boulder/Denver area. The marketplace is free and open to the public!
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Monday, September 25 — 12pm-7pm
Tuesday, September 26 — 12pm-7pm
Wednesday, September 27 — 12pm-7pm
Thursday, September 28 — 12pm-7pm
Friday, September 29 — 10am-7pm
Saturday, September 30 — 10am-7pm
Sunday, October 1 — 8:30am-12pm
Visit www.yjevents.com for a complete schedule and registration information.
Yoga Journal Announces 2007 Conference Line-up
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San Francisco, CA
January 18 - 21, 2007
Join us 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.
Registration opens the week of August 7, 2006. Click here to request a brochure.
New York, NY
March 7 - 8, 2007
Join us in the Big Apple next March for a 2-day Continuing Education for Teachers Intensive led by some of yoga's biggest inovators! This event will be held in conjunction with the ECA/NYC Fitness Convention and Trade Show featuring programs such as dance, Pilates, nutrition, conditioning, and resistance programs.
Don't miss this unique opportunity!
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 offering classes in many yoga styles for every level. Deepen your yoga practice with renowned teachers, enjoy evening entertainment, and shop in our yoga marketplace.
by Dayna Macy
Have you ever watched a kid do yoga? They do it without knowing what it's called. They do it naturally, with few inhibitions and even less judgment. They do it with joy.
I recently returned from spending a week with my family on the northern coast of California. We rented a house overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Every morning we headed to the ocean, throwing ourselves into the day, not knowing what would turn up. One morning we diverted a stream of water by building a dam so that the stream took a different route.
The next day we played a game of tag with the Pacific waves. The next we built a fort impregnable to dragon magic.
I watched as my six-year-old son Matthew did quite a groovy Downward Dog. He held it for a good minute, and then, to my amazement, began using his back legs to dig in the sand. Just like a dog.
He kept this up for awhile, so I asked him, "Whatcha doing there?"
"Just digging," he called back.
After Downward Dogging and digging for a while, Matthew joined his twin brother Jack in the fort. I peeked in. They had set up a kind of mini-dining room, complete with water, crackers and fruit. They sat facing each other in Virasana, stomachs relaxed, behinds flat on the sand, munching happily away.
I was inspired. I'm not as lithe as my boys, and because I have tight quads, Virasana is not my favorite pose. So I used the sand as a kind of prop, piling it up like a small seat. I found, to my amazement, I was able to sit in Virasana for a good 15 minutes - far longer than I usually can in class.
There was something about how the sand conformed to my body that made it possible to hold the pose for a long period of time.
So I experimented. I used the same seat for Baddha Konasana
and felt freer in the external rotation of my hips. I piled some sand up as a kind of ramp for my wrists in Downward Dog and I felt much less wrist strain than usual.
I felt frisky so I tried Bakasana, and though the sand did not miraculously allow me to balance, I did feel more supported and a wee bit braver.
Who knew? Sand is your yoga friend. So next time you head to the beach, try some sand yoga. And if someone asks you what you did on your summer vacation, you can say you did yoga on the beach, and got in touch with your most Downward Dog.
After our day at the beach, we hiked back to our house and bumped smack into a glorious thicket of blackberries. We picked as many as our Frisbee would hold. Here's my favorite recipe for blackberry crisp, adapted from "Berries: A Country Garden Cookbook" by Sharon Kramis. It's simple, delicious, and while not exactly low calorie, it's worth it because it tastes like summer in a bowl.
Click here for the recipe.
Dayna Macy, a writer and musician who can be found at www.daynamacy.com, is the Communications Director of Yoga Journal.
Editor's Note: Robert E. Svoboda is the first Westerner ever to graduate from a college of Ayurveda in India and become licensed to practice Ayurveda there. The author of a dozen books,
Robert will be giving the opening keynote and teaching at the upcoming Estes Park conference. Click here to see a complete list of his clases.
Music entered my life from before my birth. Both my parents aspired to learn instruments and, though my father failed finally to continue with his study (his Albert system clarinet remains, however, with us still), my mother, who had begun & persisted with piano lessons in her youth, played for many years for many churches. Fortunate to be born at a time when 78s were being supplanted by 45s & 33 1/3s,
and before TV multiplied its channels and 24-ified its hours, I found myself bathed in melodies much of each day. Classical and folk competed with gospel, but for my first several years the biggest influence was undoubtedly the hymns I heard & sang at church, at home, and elsewhere.
Piano lessons began in first grade, and continued until junior high; but the instrumental bug bit me seriously in second grade, when I picked up a viola & sawed through a scale. I stuck with the viola in school orchestras through eighth grade, before shifting briefly to the cello, then the string bass, and then, in college, a brief flirtation with the bassoon;
while in high school marching band I first carried a D-flat piccolo, then a "hosepipe," before settling on the valve trombone (fingered like a baritone horn). While in India I experimented with the tabla and the guitar
("fingered" with a bar & played with a pick while holding the instrument on the lap), but each time I could not somehow find the stick-to-it-iveness to become a true proficient on any of these devices.
All during these orchestral shenanigans I persisted with vocal pursuits, chiefly via church choirs; and song continued to seek me out, as during one steamy summer week in Lousisana when a friend & I discovered a trove of dozens of old Woody Guthrie platters.
Necessity kicked in once I joined the Ayurveda college, where melody and cadence made text verses so much easier to memorize; and soon, between academic requirements and ritual preferences, I was learning to hear the differential pronunciations of retroflex & dental consonants,
aspirated & unaspirated. Soon I was memorizing Sanskritic compositions left & right, using tunes traditional & unconventional; and as time progressed I added to the tunes of my youth canciónes, chansons and canzoni, together with compositions in Hindi, Hawaiian, and languages more obscure, sung domestically and in foreign climes, with persons of every ilk.
Today, Svara Yoga (the yoga of sound) is a central focus of my personal sadhana, and of my modest personal individual effort to extend musical harmony into harmony in all spheres.
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Gift From Alba Botanica
Namaste. Alba Botanica honors the importance of yoga and natural body care in a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
As a sponsor of the Estes Park Yoga Journal Conference,
we are happy to send a complementary gift to the first 100 individuals to respond to this offer.
Our light-textured, broad-spectrum Sunscreens are enriched with vitamins and organic herbs.
Learn more and register to win.
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Free Bija Tea
As a proud sponsor of the 2006 Yoga Journal Conference at Estes Park, we invite you to embark on your journey today with BIJA tea.
We have free tea samples available to all yogis and yoginis... just click here!
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Manage Your Studio Online. Anywhere. Anytime.
MindBody Online is pleased to offer a 10% discount on MindBody
Yoga/OmSoft set-up fee to all Conference Connection readers! Manage your studio completely online anywhere with a web connection at anytime!
Simplify your life with the freedom of online scheduling for your staff & students and focus more on your clients while boosting your studio revenues. With over 1600 clients in 30 countries, MindBody Online is here to increase your revenue and manage your studio efficiently.
Call to find out more about maximizing revenue or come find us at www.mindbodyonline.com to meet the team and learn more about MindBody Yoga.
Mention Code: YJCCMBO2006
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Save at Pura Vida Spa & Wellness Resort
Pura Vida Spa & Wellness Resort, Costa Rica – SAVE $200 on a 7 night Mind, Body, Spirit Package for stays until December 15, 2006.
In keeping with the principles of the Yoga Journal's 11th Annual conference, we at Pura Vida believe the "good life" is reflected in a healthy balance of mind, body & spirit. We invite you to experience the power of transformation when you balance the inward journey with outward adventure.
The package includes 7 nights accommodation, 3 delicious healthy meals daily, 10 yoga sessions, 1 full day tour plus 2 half day tours, 1 massage & lots more!!
Call 1-888-515 4580 or go to www.puravidaspa.com & remember to say "Yoga Journal Estes Park Special" to receive $200 off!
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Save the Dates
11th Annual Yoga Journal
Colorado Conference
Estes Park, CO
Sept. 25 - Oct. 1, 2006
Registration Now Open
San Francisco 2007
Hyatt Regency
January 18 - 21, 2007
Registration Opens August '06
New York 2007
Marriott Marquis
March 7 - 8, 2007
Grand Geneva 2007
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa
May 4 - 7, 2007
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