Welcome to the first weekend of February 2012! We hope that you have found joy and abundance in the new year thus far, and continue to enjoy every beautiful moment that it has to offer. We have selected a few of our favorite events going down around the world to help you kick off this  new month with a bang! Check out our weekend picks below, and get out there and have some fun!

Don’t see events listed in your city? Want to submit an event of your own? Email us at Submissions@yoganonymous.org and let us know the deal!

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Montego Bay, Jamaica

Thursday, February 2nd – Sunday, February 5th

Get ready for the 1st Annual Caribbean Yoga Conference in Montego Bay, Jamaica this weekend!

The conference lineup includes workshops for all abilities with world-class instructors including Toni Bergins, Gaia Budhai, Kathryn Budig, Jeffrey Cohen & Andrea Boyd, Seane Corn, Sharon Feanny, Scott Feinberg & Amy Lombardo, Moses Jas Jeet, Noah Levine, Nadine McNeil, Sadie Nardini, Jason Nemer & Jenny Sauer-Klein, Simon Park, Stacey Shanks, and MC Yogi & Amanda G.  Topics range from Vinyasa Flow and Journey Dance to Core Strength and Kudalini.  The conference will offer two 2.5-hour sessions each day with opportunities for morning meditation and Noon yoga on the beach.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Philadelphia, PA

Friday, February 3rd – Sunday, February 5th

The Gravity Cowboys are heading to Philadelphia this weekend – don’t miss Brock and Krista Cahill at Dhyana Yoga!

Lift Off! | 2/3 | 6:30pm – 8:30pm: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.  We’d like to thank you for joining us as we fly the friendly skies.  En route this evening we will be crossing over many points of interest, including the grand handstand, oceans of navasana, mountainous arm balancing postures, and rivers of vinyasa.” Enough said.

Buoyancy Control | 2/4 | 12pm – 3pm: Brock & Krista will take the principals of basic arm balancing techniques, and refine them using cultivation of bandhas (energetic locks). You will learn how to tap into the subtle energy in the body and explore how the blending of physical strength and energetic power can create a state of weightlessness.

One Giant Leap | 2/5 | 12pm – 3pm: One small step for man, one giant leap for your practice! We will investigate the jumps in this workshop, including jump throughs and jump backs, jumps to handstand, jumps into arm balances, jumps into standing poses…and more! Take a leap, and the landing will appear…if you want it to.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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New York, NY

Saturday, February 4th – Sunday, February 5th

Alanna Kaivalya will be teaching her Art of Adjustments workshops at Pure Yoga this weekend!

Explore the principles behind save and transformative hands-on assists and effective adjustments to convey technique, sublety and mastery. All types of adjustments will be covered, and an understanding of how to “see” the body and optimize students’ freedom in asanas will be examined.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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New York, NY

Saturday, February 4th

Also at Pure Yoga this weekend – Arm Balancing + Gravity Surfing w/ Kay Kay Clivio!

Join Kay Kay as she guides you through a broad range of playful and safe poses, step by step. Build strength, courage, and connection in a graceful arm balance practice.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Newburyport, MA

Saturday, February 4th

Join Ame Wren for her ‘Hot Core Cool Sequencing’ workshop at Repose Yoga Studio on Saturday afternoon!

In this 2-hour workshop, Ame will lead a 90-minute open level class focusing on smart and creative sequencing and the firing up of agni, or core strength to create internal heat. Through bandha work, core transitions, and specific anatomical and breathing cues, you will sweat your way into a deeper understanding of how to move  fluidly, fiercely, and intelligently from your core self. Following the asana practice Ame will open the space for questions about how to greater utilize your core throughout your practice.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Venice, CA

Saturday, February 4th – Sunday, February 5th

Head over to the Exhale Center for Sacred Movement for a meSheeky trunk show!

meSheeky takes you from studio to street, looking fit, fab and full of sheekitude. Our line of yoga-inspired skirts, pants and tanks is designed to accentuate your best parts and cover up the stuff you’d rather not display to the world. We’ve got leg-lengthening, hip-hiding and booty-boosting in the bag with mixable, matchable pieces to flatter every body. It’s no wonder Sheekynistas are effortlessly stylish wherever they go. Featured everywhere from the Today Show to Health Magazine, this is way more than well-crafted fitness wear, it’s a shot of confidence. meSheeky is yogi-owned and operated by Flowmotion yoga founder Sarah Tomson Beyer in Park City, Utah.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Wishing you a safe & wonderful weekend,

With LOVE,

YOGANONYMOUS

Hari will be teaching her Kundalini Gong class on Saturday February 11th as well as Saturday, March 10th. More information below:

Kundalini Gong Classes w/ Hari

February 11th & March 10th | 5pm

Join Hari for Kundalini Yoga (as taught by Yogi Bhajan style) kriya, meditation and deep relaxation with the sacred gong. The 32″ Paiste symphonic gong is the ultimate gong instrument for reaching all the subtle bodies and vibrating your prayers and intentions into every cell of your body. Hari Kaur – NYC Kundalini Teacher and Trainer, will lead you into a gong sound relaxation that helps release fear, promote healing, and helps you reach extraordinary meditative states. Move, sweat, meditate, relax and heal.

Click here for contact info/registration

Guess what?! It’s the last month of January – we are 1/12 of the way through 2012! We hope that the new year has started off well for you, and if it hasn’t, that’s ok too – there’s plenty of time to turn things around! You can start by checking out our weekend picks for some great yoga events happening across the country. Wherever you may be this lovely weekend, get out there and have some fun!

Don’t see events listed in your city? Want to submit an event of your own? Email us at Submissions@yoganonymous.org and let us know the deal!

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Boston, MA

Friday, January 27th – Sunday, January 29th

Root, Rise, and Fly with Brock and Krista Cahill at South Boston Yoga this weekend!

Root to Rise | 1/27 | 6p – 8pm: This workshop begins with plentiful amount of core work to warm the body by igniting the fire within and awakening the inner warrior. Brock & Krista will then go over proven secrets to make arm balances and inversions effortless! The workshop will conclude with a few creative “arm balance medleys” created by Brock & Krista that sequence these challenging postures together in a fun & melodic flow.

Get Grounded | 1/28 | 1pm – 3pm: Powered by the ebb and flow of rhythm and spirit, fueled by the seductive tunes of rock „n roll, and focused by the fluidity and grace of moving meditation. Move quietly into a space of poetic stillness and use the breath to create a mantra of healing and rejuvenation.

Monkey Business | 1/28 | 3:30pm – 5:30pm: This practice is hanuman training. We will take a trip down the rabbit hole to the monkeys den, and practice hanuman style. Of course this will include his namesake pose, and great news! We will be on our hands quite a bit, and riding the wind. Jai hanuman!

One Giant Leap | 1/29 | 1pm – 3pm: This workshop is geared toward giving you the tools you need to resist landing. This is a fantastic way to practice honing your leaping skills, building confidence, so that when a leap appears out in life, you are ready to rock.

Flight Club | 1/29 | 3:30pm – 5:30pm: Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We’d like to thank you for joining us as we fly the friendly skies. En route this evening we will be crossing over many points of interests, including the grand handstand, oceans of navasana, mountainous arm balancing postures, and rivers of vinyasa.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Chicago, IL

Friday, January 27th – Sunday, January 29th

Get ready for a weekend of Forrest Yoga w/ Allison English at the Chicago School of Hot Yoga!

New Year, New Yoga: Introduction to Forrest Yoga | 1/27 | 6pm – 8pm: Start the New Year off by exploring a different style of yoga or deepening your knowledge of a favorite path. This Introduction to Forrest Yoga will take you on a journey into the simple yet transformative four pillars of this amazing practice – Breath, Strength, Integrity and Spirit. Open to all levels of practitioners.

Forrest Yoga: Opening Your Heart to the Unknown | 1/28 | 1:30pm – 3:30pm: Inherent in each new moment, period or year is the opportunity for the unknown to become the experienced. In this Forrest Yoga workshop learn to safely and therapeutically explore backbends into the unknown pockets of energy and strength within your body, mind and Spirit.

Changing Perspectives: Moving from your Wiser Self | 1/29 | 1:30pm – 3:30pm: The practice of Forrest Yoga is grounded in the direct use of Spirit to guide decision making from a powerful space of personal wisdom. Interweaving inversions and arm balances into an exciting adventure, this workshop will help you connect to and use your Spirit to change your perspective on decisions or resolutions you are making in your New Year. Open to all levels of practitioners.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Denver, CO

Friday, January 27th – Sunday, January 29th

Don’t miss Les Leventhal this weekend at Bliss Yoga in Denver, CO!

Hips & Twists: Liberate Your Hips, Free Your Spine: In this workshop, we will open our hips by stretching our hamstrings and relaxing and strengthening our quads and thighs, while cultivating awareness of the challenges that we hold deep in our hip and pelvic regions. We will also free our spine with twists, which can release enormous amounts of tension and can tone and rejuvenate the abdominal and pelvic regions.

Art of Backbends: Backbends are some of yoga’s most invigorating postures and sometimes some of the most challenging. In this workshop we will explore the physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of backbends. While  balancing effort and surrender, we will open the  entire front body, with emphasis on the heart center.

Arm Balancing & Inversions: Arm Balances and Inversions are some of yoga’s most fun and exhilarating poses to practice. In this workshop you will learn to safely defy gravity, strengthen your core, build upper body strength, and begin cultivating awareness of your body being upside down and moving through space.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Boulder, CO

Saturday, January 28th

Join Nancy Kate Williams at Om Time Yoga in Boulder for an ‘Honoring the Transitions’ workshop!

The transitions we embark upon in life are powerful opportunities for growth and personal evolution.  Honor and embody the spaces between breath and posture to allow the practice of weaving them to become a broadened current of time to savor, reflect, and deeply feel.  Learn to embody fluid connection with ease through fun transitions on and off the mat to bring yourself more deeply into the call of each moment.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Philadelphia, PA

Saturday, January 28th – Sunday, January 29th

Don’t miss out on this awesome weekend of liquid flow yoga with Simon Park at Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia!

Jai Hanuman! Inversions & Arm Balances | 1/28 | 2pm – 4:30pm: Handstands and inversions are empowering mudras that embody the best qualities of Hanuman, the archetypal heroic monkey: courage, fearless flying, pranic body of power, agility and light. Learn a pathway of flows within a powerful Vinyasa Flow workshop so that you can evolve to enjoying handstand in the center of the room with creative energy and empowered vitality.

Chakra Vinyasa – Focus on Backbends | 1/29 | 2pm – 4:30pm: Practice an accessible and universal approach to the chakra system within vinyasa that accesses the essential truths of our energetic body to live in greater alignment with our authentic flow. Experience a full spectrum practice dedicated to the elements and chakras, and how backbends such as Naturajasana, King Pigeon, and Scorpion are the perfect way to ignite the Chakras.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Del Mar, CA

Sunday, January 29th

Take your practice upside down with Aubrey Hackman at Bindu Yoga in Del Mar this Sunday in ‘Demystifying Upside-Down Poses’!

Stop missing out on the most integral part of your yoga practice! Discover the ease and benefits of going upside down in this physically available inversion session. Explore headstand, shoulderstand, hand stand and all of the possible modifications as we breakdown any fear or hesitation that may be related with the most potent of yoga asanas (poses). Come flip your world upside down in this Jivamukti style workshop!

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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New York, NY

Saturday, January 28th

Join Alanna Kaivalya at Land Yoga for her Myths of the Asanas Workshop!

Alanna’s first book, Myths of the Asanas, was released in Spring 2010 to great praise by yogis and non-yogis alike.  Join us for this very special lecture/workshop based around Alanna’s book and learn the Beautiful Stories behind your Yoga poses.  Your practice will be transformed!

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Wichita, KS

Friday, January 27th – Saturday, January 28th

Join Dave Romanelli at Siva Yoga in Wichita for 3 beautiful, funny, delicious workshops!

Yoga & Wine | 1/27: Unleash the mind with a little….

Yoga & Chocolate | 1/28: How exotic chocolate  makes you look and feel awesome!

Yoga for Foodies | 1/28: The rich taste of slow food from Tanya’s soup kitchen!

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Wishing you a fun & fabulous weekend!

With LOVE,

YOGANONYMOUS

Get ready for a great weekend of yoga, workshops, lectures, concerts, and much more! Even better? We are here to hook you up with an exclusive discount! Enter promo code NY19 for an additional $50 off your main conference pass! Early-bird pricing ends March 2nd, click here to get your tickets today!

Featured Presenters

This year’s NY Conference features some of today’s greatest yoga teachers including: Elena Brower, Seane Corn, Sharon Gannon/David Life, Dharma Mittra, Sadie Nardini, Aadil Palkhivala, Tao Porchon-Lynch (93 years old!), Shiva Rea, David Romanelli, Desiree Rumbaugh, Colleen Saidman Yee/Rodney Yee, and more!

Conference Highlights

Special Events:

Get Your Dance On | Friday, April 13th | 7:30pm – 11:30pm

Get Your Dance On is a high vibe dance party that welcomes absolutely everyone. Born in NYC, we are festival, house party, tea lounge, and temple. The night begins with a yoga class led by Elena Brower and Dana Flynn, featuring the legendary India-infused beats of DJ Drez, and continues with a trance dance lead by Shiva Rea and Da’Riddim INya Drum Ensemble. Then the party opens up into two rooms: Drez and Da’Riddim INya will keep the high energy dance room going while the Didge Project and House of Waters play mellow grooves andCraig Anthony Miller whips up live paintings in the chill space.

Click here for more information.

In addition, Yoga Journal will offer free community classes Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, as well as free meditations and panel discussions!

Featured Classes:

Yoga for Dudes w/ Nikki Costello | Saturday, April 14th: 3:30pm – 5:30pm

Stabilize and stretch. Move and breathe. Unwind and soften. The components of this class are like all yoga classes. So why is it so special for men? Come find out how men learn, improve at, and get hooked on yoga when the class is focused on their strengths, challenges, and a little friendly competition.

Hip/Hop Asana w/ Jules Febre | Saturday, April 14th: 3:30pm – 5:30pm

Hip-hop asana is Jules’s union of Jivamukti Yoga and hip-hop culture. Finding ways to creatively bring yoga to the community that you are from will be emphasized. Fun sequencing distinct to the Jivamukti Yoga method will warm you up and keep you cookin’. Come prepared for an upbeat session with great music and sequences. Music will be provided by DJ Derek Beres of EarthRise SoundSystem. A hip-hop dance teacher will warm us up for the asana practice. This is classic Jivamukti: original, sequential, inspired with spirit, and a little wild. A vigorous Jivamukti Yoga class for all levels.

Yoga & Steve Jobs: Unlocking the Collective Consciousness w/ Dave Romanelli | Sunday, April 15th: 8am – 10am

The late cofounder of Apple Computers, Steve Jobs, studied and traveled in India before his revolutionary career. His otherworldly vision and tenacity to stick to his guns stem from an ancient Eastern embrace of simplicity, meditation, and purpose. In this vinyasa flow, you’ll explore how a relaxed body frees a connection to the collective consciousness and how other great innovators, from Einstein to Mozart, sensed the treasures that await us if only we can unlock the code and free the mind.

Check out this awesome video below, just in case you weren’t already excited enough:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Don’t forget – early-bird pricing ends on March 2nd – and enter promo code NY19 for an additional $50 off your main conference pass – Click here to register today!

We hope that you had a fantastic and productive week wherever you may be, and that you are getting ready to rock and roll all weekend long! We have selected some of the best yoga & wellness events happening across the country this glorious January weekend. Check ‘em out below, and get out there and have some fun!

Don’t see events listed in your city? Want to submit an event of your own? Email us at Submissions@yoganonymous.org and let us know the deal!

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Pasadena, CA

Saturday, January 21st – Sunday, January 22nd

Join Yoga Tune Up® creator, Jill Miller, for a weekend of workshops and trainings at the Yoga House in Pasadena, CA!

Refine Your Spine | 1/21 | 10am – 1pm: This workshop identifies spinal “blind spots,” and reconditions them with new therapeutic moves. Learn to thoroughly prepare your spine from every conceivable angle. This workshop will give you a new backbone!

Hip Help | 1/21 | 2:30pm – 5pm: As your practice evolves, some of your poses will feel comfortable and expansive, while others will feel stubborn and stuck. Locked hips can wreak havoc on the practicing yogi. Tight hamstrings lead to back pain and postural imbalances, while bound hip flexors limit abdominal strength and backbend fluidity. Even hyper mobile students have issues with stability.

Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Ball Training | 1/22 :Tap into the amazing healing power of Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Balls in this one-day practitioner training course with Jill Miller. Designed for professionals from any body-based discipline, the training will empower you to help clients of any level of fitness to adopt a simple and effective self-care regimen. The YTU Therapy Balls can be used as an adjunct offering within personal training sessions, stretch, Pilates, dance classes, wellness coaching, yoga, massage therapy or with kids and special needs populations.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Santa Monica, CA

Sunday, January 22nd

Head on over to Naam Yoga for the Ashley Turner’s Aroma Yoga Book Launch Party & Signing!

Aroma Workshop | 1:30pm – 3:30pm: Take your practice to the next level with the medicinal benefits of therapeutic-grade essential oils. This workshop is designed to systematically clear, rebalance and open the chakras using essential oils and a corresponding asana sequence.

Book Signing, Launch Party, and Trunk Show | 3:30pm – 5pm: After 18 months of brainstorming, brilliant collaboration + juicy fun….it’s here! Come help us celebrate the launch of AROMA YOGA GUIDE! Raw chocolate, raffle + FREE gifts from Manduka, YogaEarth, Zobha + more!

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Boston, MA

Friday, January 20th

Join Ame Wren and Georgia Reath for a Smart Sequence Flow workshop at Back Bay Yoga to kick off your weekend!

Ame and Georgia join forces to create an intelligent sequence that will deliberately and creatively build into a peak pose or open and strengthen a specific area of the body. Known for teaching sequences in their classes that are fun, empowering, unique and rooted in proper alignment, the dynamic duo will alternate teaching the sequence in an off-the-cuff manner that will respond to what is taking place in the room at the moment. Interesting transitions, pranayama (or breath work) and bandha (or internal locks) work will link together asanas (or poses); music will inspire and delight; and well-earned sweat will cleanse the system. After a 90-minute flow and sweet sivasana, Ame and Georgia will open the practice to a dialogue about the sequence’s development and intentions as well as a more general discussion of how to create a smart sequence.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Scottsdale, AZ

Friday, January 20th – Sunday, January 22nd

Join Leeann Carey all weekend long at Blissful Yoga in Scottsdale for a Yaapana Yoga Master Intensive!

Yaapana (ya-paw-nah) an Ancient Sanskrit word Meaning the Support and Extension of Life. Yaapana yoga is a uniquely inspired and innovative blend of vinyasa flow to warm and prepare the body for poses that are held dynamically and restoratively usingprops for therapeutic support. Yaapana practice is easily modified and adapted to meet individual student needs at all levels of experience and skill.Learn how to place props strategically to create a compelling, therapeutic and fulfilling space for feeling, breathing and sensing what is happening now.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Edwards, CO

Friday, January 20th – Saturday, January 22nd

Join Simon Park at Dogma Athletica in Edwards for a weekend of liquid flow workshops!

Surfing the Vinyasa Wave | 1/20 | 4:30pm – 6:30pm: Experience the latest evolution of Prana Flow Yoga, the unique Vinyasa style of Shiva Rea. Dynamic asana, creative flows, and integrated pranayama as a moving meditation that will tune and tone you from the inside out while giving you the tools for navigating life’s changes with grace, power, and confidence

Jai Hanuman! Inversions & Arm Balances | 1/21 | 4pm – 6pm: Handstands and inversions are empowering mudras that embody the best qualities of Hanuman, the archetypal heroic monkey: courage, fearless flying, pranic body of power, agility and light. Learn a pathway of flows within a powerful Vinyasa Flow workshop so that you can evolve to enjoying handstand in the center of the room with creative energy and empowered vitality.

Mandala Namaskar | 1/22 | 4pm – 6pm: The Healing Power of Circular Movement within Yoga and Nature - In a increasingly grid world, experience the healing power of a mandala (sacred circle)within a “namaskar” or moving meditation vinyasa. Developed by Shiva Rea, you will unfold in an integrated circular flow for embodied wholeness, vitality and creative resonance with nature.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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New York, NY

Friday, January 20th – Sunday, January 22nd

Seane Corn will be teaching a series of workshops at Pure Yoga this weekend!

Setting a Powerful Context | 1/20 | 6pm – 8pm: Purify and detoxify the physical and energetic body in a vigorous vinyasa flow class.

Earth/Fire | 1/21 | 10am  12:30pm: Focus on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd chakras in a stimulating, provocative and challenging vinyasa flow.

Fire/Water | 1/21| 3pm – 5:30pm: Focus on the 4th chakra in a slow, deep and restorative heart-centered class.

Air/Spirit | 1/22 | 10am – 1pm: Focus on the 5th, 6th, and 7th chakras in a creative, inspiring and awakening vinayasa flow that will tie the workshop together and unite the themes for all the individual energy systems, restoring balance and harmony in the body.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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New York, NY

Sunday, January 22nd

Learn the ancient practice of QiGong with Alexandra Damiani at Katonah Yoga in New York City this Sunday!

Long forgotten but recently discovered behind a fake wall in the White Cloud Monastery in China, 24 drawings of the Jade Maiden guide us back to the feminine practice of QiGong and our feminine essence.

QiGong and Yoga are branches from the same tree, books of wisdom written in the language of movement. Sacred dance is a gentle practice where movements are synchronized with the breath to channel the body’s life-force and cultivate our internal light.

During the Workshop, the basic movements of alchemical Qigong will be explored. These basic movements will then form the building blocks of the Jade Maiden form.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Sao Paulo, Brazil

Saturday, January 21st – Saturday, January 28th

Micheline Berry’s Liquid Asana Immersion kicks off this weekend in Sao Paulo!

Get ready for Ritual, healing and transformation through alignment-informed Vinyasa Flow yoga with Micheline Berry. A week-long immersion into the sacred architecture of asana meeting the healing elixir of creative flow. You will connect to the inner currents of pranashakti that ignite your creativity, deepen your personal sadhana, and awaken your heart’s dharma. All sessions cultivate a profound inner stillness and contemplation as the source material (materia prima) of your practice. Music (including special live music sessions) to deepen the flow as we embody peak poses through organica vinyasa krama from inversions, to arm balances to heart-opening backbends, landing in deep, healing liquid savasana. Jai! Bring your mat, water and a towel for the journey.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Wishing You a Wonderful Weekend,

With LOVE,

YOGNONYMOUS

She has written a book, is an accomplished singer/songwriter and musician, and is celebrated across the globe as one of today’s greatest yoga teachers. As if that weren’t enough, Alanna recently launched her own teacher training program, the Kaivalya Yoga Method. Since Alanna lead my 200 hour teacher training at Pure Yoga a few years back, I have been her biggest fan. She has the ability to engage her students, make them laugh, and make them see yoga as something that is happening right now, something that we are all capable of. I highly recommend studying with her.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Alanna and talk to her about the Kaivalya Yoga Method. Check our interview below, and if you are interested in learning more about TKYM, click here. The first program kicks off April 1st in NYC.

Interview w/ Alanna Kaivalya

Michaela Best: First of all, congratulations on the creation of The Kaivalya Yoga Method, what an incredible accomplishment. What was the inspiration behind developing your own teacher training system?

Alanna Kaivalya: Thank you! I’m really excited about this process, which has arisen pretty organically in response to students’ requests that I develop a training and a method for them to study and learn what I’ve learned over the years. Having worked with and developed teacher trainings across the country, I now have an eager body of students who want to be able to take their teachings to the next level. What’s interesting for me is that this process has demanded that I do the same. As I started to think about doing my own training, naturally, I had to figure out what to call it. Then, once I named it, I needed to quantify the specifics of what it would include. While it hasn’t necessarily been easy, it has been effortless, and it seems like that’s the sign that it’s the right time for The Kaivalya Yoga Method to be brought to life.

Michaela Best: That’s so exciting! How does the Kaivalya Yoga Method stand out from other 200-hr programs, and what sort of students would benefit most from participating in it?

Alanna: One of the things that became clear to me over the years was that there is only so much that can really fit in to an initial 200 hour teacher training program. While these programs are great ways to begin a teaching career, the serious teacher eventually needs to get another injection of wisdom and knowledge to take their teachings up a notch. That’s who this training is for – those who’ve been teaching for a while and feel they’ve plateaued and want to develop further their knowledge of anatomy, adjustments, philosophy, sanskrit and sequencing and learn how to tie all these things together into a masterfully artful class backed by substantiated knowledge. What I’m looking to provide is the platform for mastery, understanding and intelligence in teaching. I’m hoping to give the folks in the training what they need to be able to open their eyes to individual students (even in group classes) and truly see what they need to be happier and more free in their bodies and heart.

Michaela: That’s great, there is definitely a need for that sort of refresher. Is the program appropriate for individuals without any prior certification as well?

Alanna: It could be! I’m honestly looking for committed students with a solid history of yoga practice and study. This training will require a kind of “spiritual maturity” because we’re not covering basics, per se. There is an application process so that people will get a feeling of whether this is a good fit for them, and also so that this training can be filled with students who are ready to make a leap into the depths of yoga. What’s important to me at this early juncture is cultivating the right group of individuals – individuals who are interested in teaching yoga and seeing students without boundaries and beyond hierarchy – to help substantiate and grow this method. It’s an important, exciting time, and I can’t wait to develop a team of people in April who are excited about sharing yoga in this uncomplicated and profound way.

Michaela: Yes of course – that leads us right into our next question: what are your visions for the future of the Kaivalya Yoga Method? How do you see this program growing in years to come?

Alanna: My vision is to facilitate the growth and training of responsible, educated and compassionate teachers. The Kaivalya Yoga Method isn’t about creating a formatted kind of experience, but rather giving teachers the foundation and structure they need to create authentic, important and intelligent classes for students informed by the fact that they have the tools they need to live this practice. Maybe most important is this: Yoga is not an external experience. We cannot throw it out to students without having run it through our own bodies and hearts first. It’s not rote or experimental, but rather known and experiential. While each of the TKYM teachers will need to fortify all they learn with me through their own dedicated practices, they’ll have a comprehensive set of tools to be the kind of teachers that help students find more peace and freedom….because they’ve had that experience themselves. It’s an optimistic vision, but one that I believe there is room for. I’m hoping to relinquish hierarchy and dogma in favor of cohesiveness and integrity. I think if these principles are the foundations than the future will be shaped by those on my team – TKYM teachers who can hold space for students to transform and evolve in a responsible, effective and safe way.

Michaela: Fabulous! Anything else you’s like to tell our readers?

Alanna: Just that on the heels of all the hubbub about the recent New York Times article, this seems like a good time for all of us to examine how and why we teach and practice. This kind of inquiry can result in profound insight. I hope to facilitate both the inquiry and the insight with those who study with me, and extend that wisdom to the students whose lives we may have the opportunity to touch. This is an exciting time in our yogic culture. Yoga has taken hold of the west and is here to stay so I think we have to be conscious and cautious of how we continue to make our mark on the world.  This idea brings me back to a quote from one of my favorite movies, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder version) – “We are the music makers, we are the dreamers of the dream.” This is true, and so what dream are we going to create together and how will that music sound? We have this great responsibility as yogis to be those who affect the greater world through our actions because we’re so aware of them, and this awareness is best when fueled with heart and compassion.

Check out this video below to learn more about the Kaivalya Yoga Method:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to learn more about the Kaivalya Yoga Method & to apply today!

Karma Kids Yoga Teacher Training is launching 2 teen yoga intensives this month! The first on is February 3rd – 5th in New York City, and the second one is February 18th – 20th in Wellington, FL. More information below from the studio website:

Karma Kids Yoga Training for Teaching Yoga to Teens with Erin Wilson & Shari Vilchez-Blatt

New York, NY: 2/3 – 2/5 | Wellington, FL: 2/18 – 2/20

Teenagers today are more stressed than ever and sharing the practice of yoga can transform them and positively influence the rest of their lives. These are the years that they begin to explore who they are and dive into the deeper dimensions of the yoga practice.

This course will teach you how to guide students in a journey of self-exploration, giving students effective yogic tools to handle stress, anger, anxiety, depression, and other challenges facing teens. You’ll learn how to help students develop compassion and self-confidence, so that ultimately they will be empowered to be agents of peace in the world.

You will Learn:

~The benefits of yoga for Teens

~ Teen appropriate yoga poses, class themes, relaxation exercises, visualization and meditation techniques, including laughter meditation

~ Games and activities that address teen issues such as self-esteem, body image, nutrition, stress, anger, forgiveness, relationships, addiction, and sexual health

~ Creative ways to build confidence, trust, teamwork, focus, concentration, and a sense of peace from within

~ Working with at-risk populations

~ Helping teens overcome self-destructive behaviors and attitudes, replacing negative habits with healthy habits

~ Helping teens identify negative thought patterns and replace negative self-talk with positive affirmations

~ How to make yoga philosophy accessible to teens; including principles of yoga (Yamas, Niyamas, non-violence and karma yoga)

~ The male/female dynamic in the yoga classroom and how to avoid pitfalls

~ Breathing techniques to calm, energize, and balance the nervous system

~ Yoga practice for insomnia

~ Developing a yoga class that is fun, safe, effective and engaging

~ Identifying teaching objectives

~ Learning how to connect with teens and how to hold the space in the classroom

~ Establishing the balance of discipline and order in the classroom with spontaneity and play

~ Incorporating props, music, art, and poetry into teen classes

~ Teaching with confidence and creativity, patience and acceptance, with an open-heart and an open mind

~ Establishing appropriate teacher boundaries

~ How to inspire teens to create goals and develop the courage and perseverance to follow their dreams

Testimonials

“I really loved this course! It covered so much more than I had expected and made me realize that you can use a yoga class to teach a lot more than just asanas.”I loved how well this course was structured and how thorough the manual is. This course exceeded my expectations and I feel very grateful for the time that Erin and Shari spent sharing their knowledge and joy for teaching teens.”"I love the various types of meditations and feel much more comfortable teaching it to teens now. All of the material was very age-appropriate.”I cannot express enough how thorough this training was. I came into this thinking that reaching out to teenagers to teach them yoga would be the scariest thing ever, and now I feel like I have the tools and resources to be successful at it! Thank you!”

“This is a wonderful training – so fun yet chock full of information. Anyone who works with teens in any capacity, would like to serve this population, or even just does yoga and has a teen at home, might enjoy. The Karma Kids program itself is transforming many adolescents who really do need these practices and benefit SO much from them as I can attest to from my work with the Lineage Project, in juvenile detention centers, and from seeing the teens at IYI, a few of them whom took my lunch class recently. They were so into it!”

“I can’t express in words how this teacher training weekend has changed my life in such a positive way.”

Giving Back

Karma Kids Yoga works directly with Reach Grenada to provide quality training for teachers, caregivers, social workers, and other caring adults to be able to provide yoga to the children in Grenada. We provide the yoga component to the multi-dimensional, evidence-based approach so that the children of Grenada have every opportunity to be healthy in mind, soul and body.

Click here for more information and to register today!

Dharma Mittra’s ‘Life of a Yogi’ next certification program starts on February 24th at Dharma Yoga in NYC! More information below from the studio website:

Dharma Yoga Life of a Yogi Teacher Training

February 24th – March 4th | New York, NY

Our Dharma Yoga “Life of a Yogi” Teacher Training Immersion Programs are ideal for seasoned teachers, dedicated practitioners, and those discovering Yoga. Our goal is to disseminate classical Yoga from the lineage of living Yoga Master Sri Dharma Mittra, and to impart its essence by means of Divinely-realized techniques. When one is established in Yoga, sattva or peace pervades our life and teaching. The essential tools for teaching Dharma Yoga will be shared by Sri Dharma Mittra and his long-time, senior level, certified and dedicated teachers. These trainings immersions are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to change your life and your teaching skills.

“By keeping the Ethical Rules, gradually we’ll reach all beings everywhere. Then there will be Divine Love everywhere.” Dharma Mittra

The Dharma Yoga 200 Hour LOAY TT is an exploration of Yoga, with an emphasis placed on mastering both physically and through teaching the Dharma I and Dharma Gentle classes. Also covered at the 200 Hour level are: physical anatomy, psychic anatomy, Pranayama, Deep Relaxation method and philosophy discourses.

There is little in the classical canon of Yoga not covered at both the 200 and 500 Hour levels. The 200 and 500 Hour programs exceed Yoga Alliance standards in all areas. Both trainings delve into the ethical rules (Yama) and observances (Niyama), the postures (Asana), the breathing exercises (Pranayama), concentration (Dharana), meditation (Dhyana), diet practices, purification techniques (Kriyas), physical and subtle (psychic) anatomy, the seven major energy centers (Chakras), seals (Mudras) and locks (Bandhas), philosophy, scriptural study, pedagogy, Dharma Yoga teaching methodology, Yogic lifestyle, Dharma Partner Yoga, Psychic Development, Mantra initiation and instruction, alignment, adjustments, assisting and correcting, and include actual experiential practice, clinics, lectures, Satsang and Kirtan. There is homework and reading assigned prior to the actual commencement of each intensive, assignments and an examination during, and an internship which includes required components such as teaching, assisting and service if one aspires to become a certified Dharma Yoga instructor.

Staff: Our regular teaching staff for these trainings includes Yogi Sri Dharma Mittra, Ismrittee Devi, Adam Frei, Kim Jeblick, Bernadette Duthu, Rebecca Kovacs, Eric Hubel, Lorie Bebber, Penny Kalloo, Amitai Cohen and Chikako Mizokami.

Testimonials

“Only the fire of Yoga can purify the spirit. I have chosen this program because I believe Dharma Mittra to be a pure spirit, and I’d be honored to learn to teach others through a program designed to embody the grace and generosity of a great Yogi.” Student

“For me it’s essential to regularly take class with Dharma — to drink from the well that is deep with experience, knowledge, and sincerity. Dharma is integral to who I am now as a teacher. I hope to reflect as best I can, in any way that I naturally can, the teachings that I have learned from my teacher, to my students.” Yvonne

Click here for more information and to register today!

Join Isauro Fernandez at Pure Yoga in New York City for his 100-hr Ki Power Vinyasa Teacher Training! All the info is below from Pure’s website:

Ki Power Vinyasa Teacher Training w/ Isauro Fernandez

January 21st – February 12th

Created by Isauro Fernandez, ki power vinyasa is a powerful and purposeful blend of sweat, strength and spirit and combines the movement and breath of vinyasa with the grace, focus and physical intensity of the martial arts.

The ki power vinyasa teacher training program seeks to educate and certify inspired individuals who wish to enhance their ki – their life force, authentic self and essential energies in order to teach, train and touch others through the healing arts of yoga, Thai yoga massage, meditation and martial artistry.

ki power vinyasa teacher training will challenge you as you embark on a journey of personal development to uncover your authenticity through movement, meditation and mantra. You will hone your spiritual alignment as well as your physical as you deepen your knowledge and are given the fundamentals to explore and share the dynamics of ki power vinyasa.

The ki power vinyasa teacher training also offers unlimited ki classes until graduation and continued mentorship.

Curriculum includes:

~ Intensive study of ki postures

~ Teaching methodology with a strong emphasis on the mastery of proper alignment and the art of assisting

~ Meditation training

~ Thai yoga massage

~ An introduction to the skill and precision of the martial arts

~ Applied anatomy and kinesiology

~ Communicating from the core

~ The business of yoga: Branding, Marketing and PR

~ Savoring the power of the present moment

~ The role of music and bhakti

Guest Faculty: Michael ” Mukti” Buck, Paris Spates and Fred Henken

Click here to visit Isauro’s website and learn more!

Click here for more information, schedule, and to register today!

Don’t miss out on this rare opportunity to practice with one of LA’s most celebrated teachers! Jen will be leading her Manifestation Yoga Workshops at Pure Yoga and Yoga Vida in NYC, as well as at Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia. More information below:

Manifestation Yoga w/ Jennifer Pastiloff

Join Jennifer Pastiloff, as recently featured on Good Morning America, for her signature workshop designed to help release what is no longer serving you as you manifest your dreams on and off the mat.

Complimentary wine and treats offered during the workshop

“Thank you Jennifer for shining your light on mine.” ~~ Christy Turlington.

Jennifer Pastiloff was recently featured on Good Morning America. She is a yoga teacher, writer, and advocate for children with special needs based in L.A. She is also the creator of Manifestation Yoga® and leads retreats and workshops all over the world. Jennifer is currently writing a book and has a popular daily blog called Manifestation Station. Find her on Facebook and Twitter. She is also the creator of GAMEyoga.org.

East Coast Tour Dates:

Wednesday, March 28th at Dhyana Yoga in Philadelphia | 6:30pm – 8:30pm | Register Here

Thursday, March 29th at Yoga Vida NYC | 6:15pm – 8:15pm | Register Here

Sunday, April 1st at Pure Yoga NYC | 1:30pm – 3:30pm | Register Here

Ari will lead a 2-hr extended vinyasa class accompanied by the musical stylings of Garth Stevenson. More info below:

Vinyasa Yoga & Live Music w/ Ari Halbert & Garth Stevenson

Saturday, January 14th | 5pm – 7:30pm

Feeling cold, depleted, or uninspired? Take our candlelit Vinyasa class with live music to warm you up and lift your spirits! Join Katonah yoga teacher Ari Halbert and Brooklyn based double bassist/composer Garth Stevenson as they lead us through  a night of movement and melody!

About Ari:

In Ari’s classes, he strives to help students explore the inner realms though the forms and expressions of the physical body. He enjoys the intellectual stimulation of exploring the intricacies of precise alignment, and at the same time crave the immense sense of freedom that comes when letting those thoughts go to flow organically from movement to movement. It is his opinion that through the grace of the movements of the physical body, one can imbue the same sense of grace and peace within. In the words of the ancient adage: as above, so below; as without, so within.

About Garth:

Brooklyn-based composer and double bassist, Garth Stevenson, draws most of his creative inspiration from the natural landscapes beyond the metropolis in which he has lived for the bulk his twenties. Garth was raised in the mountains of British Columbia by parents that spent all of their free time in the outdoors. Nature became his primary inspiration and the common thread between his life and music. In the past four years, Garth has released two full-length solo albums, informed by his experiences carrying his 150-year-old double bass to the woods, the beach, and the desert. His most recent and critically acclaimed release, Flying, is a seventy-five minute adulation to a recent life-changing trip to Antarctica. Of Flying, iTunes praises, “Garth Stevenson joins the likes of Brian Eno, Sigur Rós, and David Sylvian as a practitioner of this ethereal yet accessible genre… ‘The Southern Sea’ offers the aural equivalent of effortlessly swimming underwater without ever needing to come up for air.”

Click here for more information and to register today!

Off the Mat NYC is partnering up with The Somaly Mam Foundation (www.somaly.org) to create a global yoga month in January 2012 to raise awareness and funding to help bring an end to sex trafficking.

Yoga Freedom Project

Tuesday, January 31st | Tweleve21: 12 West 21st St. New York, NY | 6:30pm – 9:30pm

Somaly Mam is a survivor of sex slavery who has dedicated her life to saving victims and empowering survivors of sex trafficking. Money raised during this month will go back to the Somaly Mam Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to the eradication of sex trafficking and modern-day slavery and the empowerment of its survivors. SMF supports victim services, empowerment programs such as job skills and education, and advocacy and awareness campaigns.

This global initiative will culminate in an inspirational Yoga for Freedom practice led by NYC’s leading yoga teachers; Elena Brower, Dana Flynn, Alan Finger, Sri Dharma Mittra, Cyndi Lee, Tricia Donegan, Sierra Bender, Jodie Rufty, and Suzanne Sterling.  The evening will be a celebration of the yoga community’s commitment to the eradication of sex trafficking. Don’t miss this opportunity to unite for freedom with the NYC yoga community!

Click here to purchase your tickets today!

Join Tevis Trower this Saturday at YogaWorks SoHo for a workshop that will change the way you think, feel, and act every single day. More information below from YogaWorks’ website:

Yogification: Live Your Passion 9 – 5 & 24/7

Saturday, January 7th | 1:30pm – 5:30pm

Let Master Yogini Tevis Rose Trower lead you in a four-hour love affair with your Optimal Self.

Wiring your being for an intention-driven year, you’ll explore the connection between your highest intentions and managing physical, mental, and emotional responses in support of your greatest good in every venue of your life, in any circumstance. In this afternoon immersion, you’ll get soaked in movement and soothed by stillness, inspired by music and lavished with silence, feel the power of your own written word and repeated affirmation as you orient your sights resolutely forward moving peacefully and courageously into your very best year.

About Tevis

Tevis Rose Trower has been applying yogic wisdom to real life challenges for over 20 years.  As student of Prana Flow vinyasa, a devotee of generating bliss from within, and die-hard realist about the radical outcomes possible when these tools are consciously applied in everyday life, Tevis has served as Chief Executive Yogini in delivering these insights to organizations ranging from Google to the NYPD. She has served on the advanced management faculty at NYU and been a featured presenter at Omega and Kripalu.  She’s a renowned coach to top executives in organizations around the planet, and interweaves her love of the physical yoga practice with her love of keeping yoga alive in everything we do, everywhwere.  Media fascination with her ability to apply timeless insights with impact on real-time issues has spurred coverage in YogaJournal, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, RealSimple, FoxBusiness, MSNBC, CNN and CNBC, among others.  She presents globally and divides her time between Manhattan, the ocean, and the mountains, wherever and whenever she can find them.

Click here for more information and to register today!

2011 is coming to an end my friends, what a wonderful year it has been! We want to take a moment to thank you, our readers, for making this year so incredible for us here at YOGANONYMOUS. We are so excited for what 2012 has in store, and we can’t wait to continue to share this journey with you. In the spirit of gratitude, start your 2012 by taking some time to practice yoga! We have selected some of our favorite events happening across the country this weekend, check ‘em out below, and have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Don’t see events listed in your city? Want to submit an event of your own? Email us at Submissions@yoganonymous.org and let us know the deal!

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New York, NY

Friday, December 30th

Get ready to rock with Chris Calarco’s Phish Yoga: Surrender to the Flow at Yoga Vida NYC on Friday afternoon, before the 3rd night of the band’s 4 night run at Madison Square Garden!

Phish shows and yoga can create a similar state of heightened consciousness. Through unparalleled improvisational communication the band profoundly unifies body, mind, and spirit. This is yoga. Join us for an aligned vinyasa yoga practice set to the sonic spectrum of live Phish. Open to all levels of yogis and Phish fans.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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New York, NY

Saturday, December 31st

Join Kay Kay Clivio at Pure Yoga NYC for a New Year’s Evolution Celebration on Saturday afternoon!

This New Year’s Eve workshop focused on planting the seeds of intention for the year ahead with guided writing exercises, a strong vinyasa practice and meditation. Create clarity in the mind, in the heart and in life.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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New York, NY

Sunday, January 1st

Join in the festivities at Dharma Yoga East and West on New Year’s Day!

Dharma Yoga West will offer by donation practices from 12 – 4:30pm, open to all, on New Years Day. Dharma East will hold our annual New Years Day Chanting of the Hanuman Chaleesas All are welcome, as we spend the day chanting 108 rounds of the Chaleesa. Please bring a pillow or blanket.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Sacramento, CA

Saturday, December 31st

Begin your New Year yogi style at Zuda Yoga’s New Year’s Eve Celebration!

Come join Zuda Yoga for a New Year’s practice that will help slough off the stress of the season, ground you in the now and open you to the potential of what’s to come. What a perfect way to spend New Year’s Eve!

You will integrate the beautiful, awakening practices of asana, pranayama, meditation, contemplation while surrounded by candlelight.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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San Francisco, CA

Sunday, January 1st

Les Leventhal will be leading a Yoga & Recovery workshop at Yoga Tree Castro on Sunday afternoon.

Whether you are a member of a 12 step recovery program or not, most of us are looking to recover or heal from something in our lives – patterns of behavior we are looking to change or relationships that keep going in a direction that prevent us from giving and receiving the love and intimacy that we truly desire.

We will explore patterns that lead to destructive behavior and how distractions such as drugs, alcohol, food, smoking, sex and shopping separate us from family and friends. We will discuss addictions to drama, adrenaline and focusing on other people’s problems (co-dependency). We will review the 12 steps of recovery to see some samskaras (old habits), some which we might not even be aware of or that they compromise our self esteem or step over the boundaries of others.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Santa Monica, CA

Saturdy, December 31st – Sunday, January 1st

Head on over to the Bhakti Yoga Shala for 2 awesome events and ring in the New Year with Yoga, Kirtan, song, and joy!

12-hr Maha Ritual & Celebration | 12/31 – 1/1 | 8pm – 8am: Come join us at Bhakti Yoga Shala to usher in the sacred and transformative year of 2012 with 12 hours of countinuous heart opening Kirtan. This will be auspicious ritual to join together in community, plant deeply our sweetest intentions for 2012 in the garden of our hearts, and sing, dance, meditate and celebrate together as ONE! Drop in for a few chants or even better stay for the whole 12 HOURS! JAI GANESH!!!

New Year’s Day 108 Sun Salutations & Kirtan Ritual | 1/1 | 10am: New Year’s DAY 2012 is a sacred day to set intentions and purify anything within ourselves that doesn’t serve our highest truth and love. In India, 108 is revered and celebrated as a number connected to divine auspiciousness. A Yoga Mala is any yoga practice intentionally repeated 108 times. Like adding flowers to a garland, Govindas and Radha will sensitively yet courageously lead us through the purifying and transformative ritual of 108 Sun Salutations – the full body yogic prayer to the Sun- metaphorically described as the divine light that shines at the core of our Being.

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Santa Monica, CA

Sunday, January 1st

Ring in the new year with Brock and Krista Cahill at Yogis Anonymous in Santa Monica!

The Gravity Cowboys will be teaching a very special New Year’s Day class at 10am. This SWEATacular, all-levels flow class is approachable for everybody. Build a killer core and the strength, agility, and mental focus you need to FLY confidently into your inversion practice and your life. No prior handstand experience necessary!

Click here for the Full Scoop!

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Lenox, MA

Thursday, December 29th – Sunday, January 1st

Join Sean Johnson, David Newman, Mira, Guara Vani, Shantala, and John de Kadt for Bhakti Bliss at Kripalu in beautiful Lenox, MA!

Ride the waves of bliss as you usher in the new year with some of the foremost innovators of joy-filled kirtan. This weekend is filled with mantra chanting and intimate teaching experiences focused on the path of love, and culminates with the Saturday New Year’s Eve kirtan concert.

oining heart and voice in celebration and praise of the Divine is the perfect way to create openness and positive intention for the new year. In addition to performing kirtan, the presenters share the stage to explore devotional and musical interplay, guaranteed to heighten your bliss and inspire your spirit.

Click here for the Full Scoop

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Wishing You a Safe & Spectacular New Year’s Weekend… see y’all in 2012!

With LOVE,

YOGANONYMOUS