COMMUNITY // RETREATS & FESTIVALS
By Natalie Macamget out and practice
Written by Natalie Macam a Yoga Teacher who teaches locally at Malibu Beach Yoga: tigerwaveyoga.com- Sedona Yoga Festival
February 8-
sedonayogafestival.com
Sedona Yoga Festival is a unique,
transformational, and purpose-
driven event set in the powerful
vortex of Sedona, Arizona. More
than 200 yoga classes ranging from
60 minutes to four hours offer
something for everyone from be-
ginner to advanced level practices.
Classes include kids yoga, kirtan,
dance, Ayurveda, nutrition, and
yoga philosophy. The festival also
features Yoga for PTSD training,
trauma-informed classes, sound
healing, spiritual talks, and crystal,
chakra, Reiki, energy medicine,
and multidimensional work.
Attendees can choose their own
adventure among workshops held
around town at Sedona’s yoga
studios and spiritual centers.
Shuttles are available (participants
are encouraged to rideshare).
The 2018 Sedona Yoga Festival
Heart Center is located at the
Posse Grounds Park area. The
location features an outdoor stage
with spectacular scenery of the
beautiful red rock formations. The
festival also features the Con-
scious Expo, an art exhibition, the
lounge, and open mic at the Posse
Grounds HUB – Sedona’s perfor-
mance art venue. The gorgeous
setting of Sedona is reason enough
to attend this event.- Sat Nam Fest
Joshua Tree
April 11-
satnamfest.com/west
There is something special—even
magical—about hundreds of
people sharing practices from
the same lineage. By chanting the
mantras and practicing the kriyas
together, individual efforts are
amplified to create a beautiful and
powerful healing group energy.
Sat Nam Fest allows attendees
to immerse themselves in the joy,
transformation, and rejuvenation
of Kundalini Yoga, sacred chant,
and creativity.
This year, Sat Nam offers
the 21 Stages of Meditation in
partnership with The Kundalini
Research Institute. Participants
join the community for morning
sadhana, meals, and evening con-
certs; and spend days exploring
the depths of meditation with two
powerful guides, Krishna Kaur
and Nirvair Singh.
Sat Nam Fest is a family-friend-
ly event; children participating is
intrinsic to the festival’s life force.
The event welcomes both long-
time Kundalini Yoga students as
well as those who are just intro-
duced to the practice. Join other
practitioners and deeply connect
with each other by sharing yoga
practices in the desert energy of
Joshua Tree.- Imagine Fest, Malibu
Apr 21
ImagineYogaMusic.com
This community-centered day of
yoga, live music, and art is held
at Peter Strauss Ranch, between
Malibu and Agoura Hills. Pro-
ceeds benefit Unlikely Heroes, a
nonprofit dedicated to rescuing
and rehabilitating child victims of
sex trafficking.
The inspiring bohemian envi-
ronment features sacred music
artists Satsang and Govindas and
Radha as well as asana, medita-
tion, Yoga Nidra, and sound heal-
ing. Instructors Sesa O’Connor,
Drorit Rudin, Kate Duyn Cariati,
Sri Hari Moss, and Julie Kundert,
and meditation and Yoga Nidra
teachers Tracee Stanley and John
Vosler teach throughout the day.
Youth programming is curated by
the Peace Guardians.
Imagine Fest’s new speaker
series, led by Unlikely Heroes
Founder Erica Greve and other
experts, shares wisdom related to
sex trafficking, yoga and medita-
tion in rehabilitation, and how we
can be conscious citizens affecting
positive change.
Imagine Fest includes local and
mindful vendors, food trucks,
farm-to-table vegan picnic lunch
by Chef Caspar Poyck, Acro Yoga,
and more community-oriented
activities.- Costa Rica Retreat w/
Chandra and Jeff Gero
May 19-
chandrageroyoga.com
Chandra and Jeff Gero lead this
seven-day Yoga and Meditation
retreat, nestled in the foothills of
Nosara, Costa Rica. The setting
is Bodhi Tree Yoga Resort, next
door to eight acres of lush tropical
gardens, and a short walk to the
beautiful Guiones Beah, a world-
class tropical surfing beach.
On site, enjoy high-end
Balinese-inspired accommoda-
tions, superb dining, a world-class
fitness center, refreshing salt water
pool, soothing spa, juice bar, and
boutique. It is an ideal location
for finding peace, relaxation and
rejuvenation, and deepening your
yoga and meditation practices.
Chandra Gero, holds a bach-
elors degree in dance and is a certi-
fied therapeutic yoga teacher who
has been teaching for nearly two
decades. Jeff Gero PhD is a life
coach and meditation teacher who
wrote his dissertation on medita-
tion and has been meditating for
over 40 years. They are students
of their beloved teacher Baba Hari
Dass. Their retreat experience
includes three meals daily, yoga
and mediation classes, plus a one
hour private Life Coaching session
with Dr. Jeff.