12 Yoga Festivals You Must Know About

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For those who’ve been to a yoga competition, you realize the hum that takes place. All over the place you look, there’s exercise. Attendees are unrolling their mats on the grass, lecturers are providing insights, distributors are sharing artisanal wares, and meals vans are allotting their creations. Because the solar goes down, the dwell music turns into louder and the training shifts to dancing. It’s an unparalleled expertise.

Lately, yoga festivals have developed to attraction to these of all expertise ranges and pursuits. Some give attention to conventional practices whereas others are extra new age-y and “glittery.” Whether or not you’re simply beginning yoga or are years into your apply, there’s a competition that can vibe with you.

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12 Yoga Festivals You Must Know About

Though every yoga competition has its personal distinct persona, all of them share the frequent threads of connection, presence, and celebration. The next record of annual yoga festivals is much from full though it options longtime gatherings that ship training, inspiration, and group. Right here’s a few of the historical past and highlights of every.

1. Bend Yoga Competition

Bend, Oregon | June 6-9, 2024

Discover the majesty of the Cascade Mountains at Bend Yoga Competition. Located within the stunning mountain city of Bend, Oregon, this competition includes a targeted mixture of world-class presenters, wellness periods, and outside adventures.

The Bend Yoga Competition takes place at Riverbend Park, providing direct entry to the flowing Deschutes River, beautiful mountain views, and greater than 15,000 sq. toes of garden. Throughout the competition, attendees can discover close by pure points of interest, such because the lava caves and Smith Rock State Park. Be a part of a guided hike to the highest of Smith Rock, adopted by a yoga apply and native brew tasting, or take to the river in an open paddle class.

All through the weekend, you’ll be able to be a part of worldwide and regionally liked presenters together with Sianna Sherman for afternoon yoga periods at collaborating native yoga studios, all inside strolling distance of the principle venue. Lodging isn’t included, so that you’ll need to discover a keep at an area Airbnb, campsite, or resort.

2. Mammoth Yoga Competition

Mammoth Lakes, California | June 20-23, 2024

Mammoth Yoga Competition is a getaway for these in search of journey, progress, and connection in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. Each September, it gives “yoga and meditation for each physique, all ages, and each potential,” making it accessible to all who want to make the pilgrimage.

Whether or not you’re a curious newbie or a yoga trainer in search of to increase your understanding of how you can share the apply, Mammoth Competition shares an array of lessons that will help you develop your apply. Previous festivals have included early morning periods on inventive yoga sequencing, the facility of cueing, and decolonizing yoga. And each evening, the Vendor Village Market lights up with performances from mystically-minded musicians, which included Trevor Corridor, DJ Taz Rashid, and Cas Haley in recent times.

The competition is acknowledged as an accredited Persevering with Schooling Supplier by the Nationwide Academy of Sports activities Drugs, making it a wonderful alternative for yoga and health professionals to realize wanted persevering with training credit.

3. Telluride Yoga Fest

Telluride, Colorado | June 27-30, 2024

For a completely immersive yoga expertise, the Telluride Yoga Competition is to not be missed. The four-day occasion gives greater than 100 lessons, together with yoga, meditation, music, mountain climbing, wellness talks, and social gatherings. The occasion takes place amid the intimate setting of a small village nestled on the base of the Telluride Mountains, surrounded by rugged peaks, mountain air, and crisp blue skies.

Begin your day with a mountain-top meditation, hike the fan-favorite Jud Wiebe memorial path, or just sleep in. With its campus in Mountain Village,  linked to the historic City of Telluride by way of a free gondola, the competition gives a singular gathering that’s fully faraway from the hubbub of on a regular basis life. The competition has hosted a few of the most well-seasoned yoga lecturers, together with Kia Miller, Hawah, Scott Blossom, and Noah Maze.

Telluride gives a collection of motels, condos, and personal residences that cater to each price range.

4. OM Competition

Manchester, Vermont | July 24-28, 2024

Dance, move, and play your approach to wellness on the annual OM Competition, a summerfest held on 150-plus mountainside acres overlooking the Battenkill River. Also referred to as the Vermont Yoga Competition, it gives 5 days of yoga, meditation, dance, and move arts lessons the place festival-goers can move, play, and groove.

The OM Competition combines pure magnificence and historic appeal. Lessons happen in a 200-year-old barn on the expansive non-public grounds and within the completely coiffed meditation backyard. At evening, the competition comes alive with music and embodiment celebrations, together with kirtan, bhakti yoga, and ecstatic dance DJs.

Most friends keep on-site, both at The West Mountain Inn, the hub of the competition, or camp in a non-public subject or alongside the river (river campsites are restricted and promote out rapidly). These staying on the inn can anticipate romantic, antique-y rooms, mountain views, and farm-fresh eating.

5. LoveShinePlay

Asheville, North Carolina | July 25-28, 2024

The LoveShinePlay Competition, previously referred to as the Asheville Yoga Competition, is a four-day occasion held in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. The competition gives an expansive schedule that features greater than 70 kinds of choices, together with Bhakti and anatomy, Kundalini and yin, and every little thing in between.

Asheville is taken into account the wellness capital of the South, and the competition takes benefit of its environment, permitting attendees to increase their data and apply within the coronary heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. All through the weekend, attendees can expertise lectures on sensible astrology, Ayurvedic yoga lessons, “yin yoga and story time,” plus lessons and live shows from DJ Drez and MC Yogi.

Lessons are dispersed round Asheville in motels, group facilities, and outside levels, all walkable from {the marketplace}. The central hub for the competition, {the marketplace} options hand-selected distributors providing high-quality wellness merchandise. You’ll additionally discover meals vans, free group occasions, and outside areas to relaxation.

6. Soul Circus

Elmore, UK | August 15-18, 2024

Spearheaded by its charismatic founders, Roman and Ella Wroath, Soul Circus is a holistic yoga, arts, and music competition set within the rural countryside of Cotswold, United Kingdom. The mixture of yoga asana, wellness workshops, and dwell music is undeniably extra glittery wellness rave than conventional yoga competition. With its world-renowned DJs and afterparties that final till 2 am, Soul Circus needs that will help you tune in and let unfastened.

By day, stretch out in yoga tents dotted alongside the countryside or be a part of sought-after yoga instructors and wellness practitioners in any of the 300-plus wellness periods, together with cacao ceremonies, astral projection, lucid dreaming, and ecstatic dance.

As the sunshine fades, the competition takes on a completely totally different vibe. DJs set the skies alight with exhilarating music and dance. Those that want a reset after a marathon dance session can settle right into a wood-fired sizzling tub or sauna on the on-site Soul Spa, which additionally gives daytime holistic remedy periods.

Soul Circus is an undoubtedly energetic and distinctive yoga expertise.

7. Soiled South Yoga Competition

Atlanta, Georgia | August 23-25, 2024

The Soiled South Yoga Competition is a homegrown celebration that’s all about creating group and selling mindfulness in a approach that embraces a “tough across the edges” power.

Based in 2013 by a bunch of Atlanta-based yoga lecturers, Soiled South Yoga arose from a necessity for genuine connection within the wellness group. The group cites the Zen Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh and his well-known saying “No mud, no lotus” as a foundational inspiration and would be the first to confess they’re not prim and correct. They usually apply falling and attempt to present as much as themselves, their apply, and one another as greatest they’ll.

The competition takes place at The Loudermilk Convention Heart in downtown Atlanta, the place members can enjoy a whole weekend of workshops, lessons, and actions. Founder Jessica Murphy has stated she is aware of what it’s wish to lengthy for connection within the yoga world, and with Soiled South Yoga, she hopes to offer a spot of help, steering, and friendship.

8. Bhakti Fest

Joshua Tree, California | September 27-29, 2024

A “yoga and aware music competition,” Bhakti Fest continues to domesticate self-awareness and group because it has for greater than a decade. Organized by the nonprofit Heart for Non secular Research, the three-day desert gatherings in Joshua Tree Nationwide Park ship instruments for “self-discovery and inside success” and encourage attendees to “discover varied non secular traditions, interact in heartfelt dialogue, and forge significant connections that transcend boundaries.”

In alignment with the custom of bhakti, the intention behind the competition is “to create a deep sense of group that celebrates variety and honors the common ideas of compassion, peace, and repair.” The lineup reads like a who’s who of yoga lecturers, together with Dianne Bondy, Susanna Barkataki, Seane Corne, Shiva Rea, Janet Stone, Harpinder Kaur Mann, Andrew Sealy, and so many extra. Featured musicians embody Krishna Das, MC Yogi, and greater than a dozen others.

Bhakti Fest promotes itself as a family-friendly, alcohol- and drug-free vacation spot. Lodging choices embody campsite, trailer, and RV hook-ups for individuals who favor to benefit from the stargazing afforded by the desert. Close by motels and home leases are additionally accessible.

9. Lamu Yoga Competition

Lamu Island, Kenya | October 30-November 3, 2024

From dawn yoga periods on pristine seashores to moonlit meditations beneath the celebrities, Lamu Yoga Competition emphasizes complete, undisturbed bliss. This celebration of yoga, tradition, and tranquility occurs within the coastal area of Kenya and immerses in a world of serenity, tradition, and conscious exploration.

Yoga, breathwork, and meditation are taught at a dozen distinctive venues and studios. Uncover the attract of Lamu Outdated City, a UNESCO World Heritage Website, with its charming structure and charming historical past. Expertise the native tradition and traditions by means of an awe-inspiring opening ceremony on the seaside, a standard Kenyan dinner, a scenic crusing journey, and a mesmerizing bonfire to shut your journey.

Coming in 2025

10. Worldwide Yoga Competition

Banks of Ganges River, India | March 9-15, 2025

Per week-long celebration of yoga and meditation, the Worldwide Yoga Competition in Rishikesh, India, attracts 1000’s of individuals from world wide to the birthplace of yoga. Nestled among the many Himalayas on the banks of the holy River Ganga, the competition takes place at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, one of many largest interfaith yoga establishments in India. It’s a tranquil atmosphere the place members can join with themselves and their non secular apply.

The goal of the Worldwide Yoga Competition is to “increase international consciousness and produce therapeutic again to the planet, one particular person at a time.” In help of that, it hosts a few of the best lecturers from each japanese and western lineages of yoga, making it a perfect pilgrimage for devoted college students seeking to join with the origins of the apply.

The intensive schedule features a mind-boggling array of actions, from early morning kundalini sadhana to night kirtan and every little thing in between, together with asana lessons and dharma talks. It usually attracts greater than 2,000 members from 80 nations, providing a singular alternative to come back collectively and share within the transformative energy of yoga. The competition’s emphasis on the origins of the apply is a testomony to yoga’s enduring spirit, affect, and skill to unite folks within the pursuit of progress and well-being.

11. Sedona Yoga Competition

Sedona, Arizona | Could 1-4, 2025

Many imagine that sure areas on the planet expertise a better vibrational power than others. With its seven vortices, or power facilities, Sedona is a kind of locations. The Sedona Yoga Competition, now in its tenth 12 months, attracts on this enigmatic power to foster group and non secular progress.

Billed as a “consciousness evolution convention,” the competition boasts a powerful roster of audio system and wealthy coursework and continues to be a pioneer of large-scale conscious occasions in the US. Workshops and immersions happen amid Sedona’s mystical panorama and world-class performing arts services and supply alternatives to discover all eight limbs of yoga.

Attendees can collect within the mornings for a communal ceremony earlier than dispersing into lectures or desert excursions. There are greater than 100 periods to select from, together with yoga practices amid the crimson rocks. Evenings function keynote addresses from top-tier non secular minds, lectures, sacred chanting periods, and dwell leisure.

12. BaliSpirit

Ubud, Bali | Dates TBD

If training yoga in Bali is your dream, the BaliSpirit Competition in Ubud could be the final vacation spot. Held yearly on the Yoga Barn Ubud, this three-day “spirit competition” encompasses yoga, dance, martial arts, breathwork, private growth, and extra, making it a catalyst for transformation.

A magnet for aware vacationers and non secular seekers, BaliSpirit has grown significantly because it was based in 2008, bringing financial progress and evolution to the city of Ubud. Held in a standard Balinese open-air venue surrounded by wildlife and flanked by a sacred river, the fest gives a singular alternative for attendees to attach with themselves, others, and the environment.

The holistic strategy of the competition is mirrored in its greater than 150 workshops representing totally different kinds of yoga (together with Hatha, yin, Anusara, and Ashtanga) in addition to different varieties of motion (Capoeira, Qi Gong, Silat, Poi, Laughter, and hula hooping). Every evening ends with a musical lineup of world performers, creating an intimate live performance expertise resulting in deeper connections and sacred celebration.

This text has been up to date. Initially revealed Could 17, 2023.