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Namaste and welcome to the November edition of Conference Connection. If you're planning on joining us at this year's San Francisco conference,
don't forget the early bird discount ends next Friday, November 17th. Space is still available, but it's filling quickly and sold out last year.
You think you've been to a lot of yoga conferences? Then meet the Tates! The Tates, now in their 60's and 70's have been to every Estes Park conference we've held. Read their heartfelt dedication to yoga below in our Student Spotlight.
This month's Teacher Spotlight is on Carlos Pomeda. Carlos, who spent 18 years as a monk studying and practicing in the Siddha Yoga tradition, also has a Masters Degee in Religious studies from UC Santa Barbara and one in Sanskrit from UC Berkeley. You can read his story below on how he learned to fly when he met Swami Muktananda.
Also this month Yoga Journal contributor Erin Hull explains why we all need Karuna this holiday season.
Finally, congratulations to Terri Pitts from Southern California, who was randomly selected to win a free Yoga Journal conference pass by completing the 2006 San Francisco conference survey.
Namaste,
The Yoga Journal Conference Team
Elana Maggal, Conference Director
Renee LaRose, Conference Manager
Heidi Hill, Conference Sponsorship Associate
Alden Conant, Conference Coordinator
San Francisco, CA
January 18 - 21, 2007
The early bird discount for our 4th annual San Francisco conference ends November 17th.
Study with esteemed teachers like Rodney Yee, Patricia Walden, Baron Baptiste, Ana Forrest, Seane Corn and many more!
In addition to our Main Conference, there are two Beginners Conferences, All-Day Intensives, Kids and Family 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. You don't have to be a conference attendee to stop by and shop! Our Yoga Marketplace is FREE and open to the public! 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.
Also don't forget to pre-order your conference t-shirt, designed this year by Yoga Tribe and Culture. It is 100% organic! Purchase one online before December 22nd for $20, or at the conference, for $25!
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. Teachers include: Eddy Marks, Natasha Rizopoulos, Sianna Sherman, and Rusty Wells.
- 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 and sponsored by Yoga Alliance for Continuing Education Credits.
Registration opens November 17, 2006.
Lake Geneva, WI
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa
May 4 - 7, 2007
We are thrilled to return for the third time 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 next month!
We are offering 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 (including application guidelines and deadlines, and how to donate) visit www.yjevents.com/scholarships.
Attending every Yoga Journal Estes Park conference, one Yoga Journal yoga cruise and a host of other conferences, the Tates are undoubtedly the most prolific Yoga Journal Conference attendees! When asked why they come to so many conferences, here's what they had to say…
"Since discovering that there was a Yoga Journal Conference many years ago we have put it on our "Must Do" list of events we attend. Our yearly visit to Estes Park is one we look forward to--it is the best combination of a gathering of like minds, great yoga experiences, meeting old and discovering new friends around the tables at meal times and staying in a most pristine setting of the YMCA of the Rockies. The conferences have always been a delight and it is a wonderful way to have the opportunity to be with many different yoga teachers to broaden our yoga knowledge."
"We are perpetual students - never tiring of learning. Yoga is a lifetime of lessons and a wonderful way of living and learning about ourselves. As we are now in our 60's and 70's we know how blessed we have been to discover yoga and its benefits."
by Erin Hull
The winter holidays are drawing near, and with them the tired advertising gimmicks of the season. Many people lose the essence of the holidays – generosity, love and compassion – under the stresses of shopping malls, wrapping paper, and turkey basting. Commercialized gift-giving and family guilt drive many of us to spend these months completing acts of kindness out of a perceived obligation rather than out of an inner feeling of selflessness. Reconnecting to selfless giving can be difficult, but it can also be a valuable undertaking during this time of year.
How can we know if we are giving from a selfless place? Part of the resistance towards the holiday season comes from the feeling of required giving and the required time with family. In order to maintain one’s integrity, however, giving should not be done under pressure, and should not be goal-oriented. Expecting something in return, even if that something is merely good vibrations, takes away from the selfless aspect of true compassion. Selfless giving is done with no anticipation of how that gift will be received, and is done for the sake of humanity, not for a sense of beneficence.
In addition to giving to our families, we should look in our communities for those who are suffering. It is not only those overseas who are languishing in poverty; there are many in our own neighborhoods who are suffering, from poverty and other mental and physical ailments. Visiting a local homeless shelter, volunteering at a convalescent home, or simply bringing a warm meal to a lonely neighbor can bring greater compassion into this world.
In giving a part of ourselves to a stranger in need, we embody Karuna, the Sanskrit word for tender loving-kindness. Only in finding Karuna will we as a planet progress to a more peaceful society.
Erin Hull is a regular Yoga Journal contributor based in San Francisco.
Editor's Note: Carlos will be teaching at the upcoming San Francisco conference. Click here to see his classes (including his The Joy of Sanskrit Seminar.)
Ever since I was five, I wanted to be a pilot. But I was raised a Catholic in Spain and was strongly attracted to spirituality, so I figured I would become "a pilot with robes." I finally did learn to fly in 1976, when I met Swami Muktananda, who taught me to flly - in the inner space of consciousness!
My first big revelation took place a couple of years earlier, when I started to practice hatha yoga and meditation. I remember a particularly vivid session, after which I could clearly perceive that, although we are in our bodies, we are not solely our bodies. This was revolutionary for me. When I finally met my Guru, he opened the door to my inner being and I had, for the first time, the sublime experience of the presence of God within. After that, my life was never the same again.
But before I could go to India and dive into the study and practice of yoga, there was a practical matter: military service was mandatory for all males in Spain in those days. I dreaded the thought of spending a year and a half in the army, but I had no choice! Fortunately, having read the Bhagavad Gita, I drew inspiration from Arjuna, and adjusting my attitude helped me to make the situation a learning experience and for time to pass faster.
In 1980, I became a swami (monk) of the Saraswati order, and in 1982 was finally able to go to India in for the first time. Of my 18 years as a swami, about 9 were spent in India. During this time I learned the various systems of Indian philosophy and immersed myself in the practice of yoga by receiving formal, traditional training at the Siddha Yoga ashram, first under Swami Muktananda and later with his successor, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda. I also traveled throughout India and the world.
At one point, more than 10 years ago, I felt the need to combine my traditional training with academic study, and with my Guru's encouragement I received a Masters Degree in Religious studies from UC Santa Barbara and another one in Sanskrit from UC Berkeley. I also taught several courses in the South Asian Studies Department at UC Berkeley. As much as I love teaching in higher education, nothing beats the experience of teaching a class at a yoga studio, full of practitioners and seekers of all levels. It is in this setting that I feel the teachings come alive for people. Yoga is not an intellectual exercise, but a constant experience of expansion.
I am now working on my dissertation, which centers on a specific and fascinating school of the Kashmiri Shaiva Tantra, my specialty. I love conducting courses, seminars, workshops, and lectures on topics related to the yoga traditions, Indian philosophy, Yogic practices, and related subjects. My greatest joy is seeing this powerful wave of yoga sweeping through the West, and seeing people's lives transformed as a result. I can't wait to see how this process unfolds!
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Free Gift from
Avalon Organics
Avalon Organics honors the importance of yoga and organic body care in a healthy, balanced lifestyle. As a sponsor of the 2007 San Francisco Yoga Journal Conference we are happy to send a complimentary gift of our award-winning, organic lemon bar soap to the first 150 individuals who respond to this offer.
Learn more and register to win.
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The Mind/Body Center Teacher Training with Jason Crandell
The Mind/Body Center at the San Francisco Bay Club is honored to announce 3 teacher-training opportunities with Yoga Journal regular Jason Crandell. Join Jason Crandell--said to be taking the art of teaching to "its next level" by Rodney Yee--for weekend trainings in April, August, and October and receive a 10% discount.
For more information visit http://www.sfbayclub.com or www.jasonyoga.com.
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Manage Your Studio Online. Anywhere. Anytime.
To all Conference Connection readers, MindBody Online is offering a savings of 20% on all purchases when you call 1.877.755.4279.
As a sponsor of the 2007 San Francisco Yoga Journal Conference, MindBody Online is here to simplify your life with the freedom of online scheduling for your staff and students. Spend more time focusing on your clients and boost your studio revenues by 10-15% by using MindBody Yoga, the industry's leading web-based management software solution.
With over 1700 clients in 31 countries, MindBody Online is here to increase sales & reduce costs to run your studio effectively and efficiently.
Call 1.877.755.4279
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FREE SHIPPING at
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öm time
has an extraordinary online yoga boutique. Featuring consciously produced yoga and lifestyle clothing for men and women, jewelry and gifts from small, independent companies as well as fabulous yoga essentials.
Enjoy FREE SHIPPING on your order of $75.00 or more through the end of the year. Enter code webholiday06 at checkout.
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Save the Dates
San Francisco 2007
Hyatt Regency
January 18 - 21, 2007
Registration Open
Early Bird Deadline 11/17
New York 2007
Marriott Marquis
March 7 - 8, 2007
Registration opens 11/17/06
Grand Geneva 2007
Grand Geneva Resort & Spa
May 4 - 7, 2007
Registration opens 12/06
Estes Park 2007
YMCA of the Rockies
September 23 - 30, 2007
Registration opens 5/07
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