By Silvia Mordini

Happiness is a continuous state of quiet joy that exists in the moment from the inside out. Happiness is what love looks like. It is the manifestation of what it means to love ourselves, love our day, love our lives.

“Contentment is about falling in love with your life.” – Swami Rama

As seekers of happiness it is important to understand how much of it depends on internal versus external factors. Based on her research, in her 2007 book The How of Happiness, positive psychology researcher Sonja Lyubomirsky concluded that roughly 50 percent of happiness is determined by our genes and 10 percent by our life circumstance, but 40 percent depends on our daily activities.

This 50% is what is commonly known as our Happiness Set Point. The great news is that we have the power to influence 40% of our happiness.

You can seek daily activities that inspire enthusiasm. This is why Sedona Yoga Festival is a Happiness Reset. For four days you choose exactly those events that you are most passionate about such as a drumming workshop, going on a hike in the red rocks, taking a Chakra Workshop, or kicking back listening to amazing musicians share what they love.

The yogic philosophy of Santosha, often translated to mean contentment, is about living into your choices and within those happenings loving what life is offering us moment to moment. Finding the peaceful joy that is our natural state is the return to self that a weekend in Sedona brings about.

“Happiness depends on ourselves.”  – Aristotle.  

1. Take Responsibility

How to be Happy starts with taking responsibility for the quality of your life. When we are willing to accept accountability, it gets easier to authentically describe what we want our happiest life to feel like. From there, the whole world opens up!

“Happy people avoid blame in all its incarnations. They don’t blame other people, they don’t blame circumstances, and they don’t blame themselves. To happy people, blame serves no purpose. It doesn’t ever get us what we truly desire. In fact happy people not only avoid blame but they also avoid its family members envy, greed and jealousy – which are among the key indicators of unhappiness.” -The Choices Happy People Make

2. Choose Now

The act of waiting for happiness to be happy, or “happiness procrastination” as I refer to it, can be paralyzing. If we have a prerequisite of a certain condition taking place to facilitate happiness then we’ll always be waiting as opposed to being happy in the moment. If we fool ourselves into believing that we have to understand the reasons why we’re unhappy, the result will be getting stuck in that state of unhappiness. Instead choose those activities that spark joy, stop over intellectualizing your choices and live in the present. 

What’s so important about being in the moment? Spiritual practice teaches us that the present moment is the source of healing, love, inspiration, and happiness. In fact, the purest form of happiness is found in the present moment. The yogis call this power of presence shakti. But to reap these benefits, we can’t just have fleeting moments of presence. We have to stay long enough in the present moment to really soak in the happiness.

Apply this Happiness Rx (Prescription):

• Each day take time away from your electronics and have a face-to-face conversation (instead of Face-to-book)
• Each week take one Media Detox day without technology (tv, laptop, cell phones, ect)
• Each month plan a nature trip whether it’s hiking in the mountains or walking the beach.
• Take a long weekend each year to attend a Wanderlust Festival for a happiness reset.
• Each year go on retreat where you can unplug from your business life for a week.
• At the end of the year, take a business “savasana” where you celebrate all that you attempted and accomplished and find pleasure in resting in that knowledge.

3. Stoke Your Passion!

Happiness is a direct experience of enthusiasm. Remember, it is not how or when we accomplish something that matters most, it is the sense of enthusiasm during the process that demonstrates our quality of life. Enthusiasm gives us the chance to go beyond our happiness set point. The foundational teachings of yoga tell us that joy is our birthright. That doesn’t mean it comes easy: It takes real effort. However, this exertion is well worth it and we should never let a day go by without putting forth our best effort to live with passion.

Practice this Mantra: I love myself, I love my day, I love my life!

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SYF Kids Yoga

We’re excited to announce that the SYF Kids Yoga program is back for this years festival and the new schedule is live! A full weekend of free and open to the public kids yoga activities will be created by our team from among the amazing presenters that work with kids all over the world in all different ways – with YOGA!

• Mats and materials provided
• Bring water and snacks
• Can drop off kids any time between Friday – Saturday 8AM – 5 PM
• Can drop off kids any time between or Sunday 8AM – 5PM
• Classes are 1 hour long, supervision will be constant during open hours
• We have release forms available on site for parents

SYF2018 Kids Yoga Schedule

Download Printable Schedule Here

Feb. 9th Friday- Unity of Sedona Yurt

8:00- 9:00       Dance Play Circle with Jennifer Smith

9:00-10:00      Energy Ball Kids Yoga with Lou Ann Bruck

10:00-11:00    Kids Yoga+ Breath+ Mindful Movements with Alanna Endahl

11:00-12:00    Clown Around with Deborah Williams

12:00- 1:00     Lunch Break- Playground Play

1:00-2:00        Mindful Humans Kids Yoga with Jill Tuttle

2:00-3:00        Family Yoga with Melissa Osborne and Colt Dyer

3:00-4:00        Kids Yoga with Samantha Sambrooke

4:00-5:00        Kids Yoga with Aya Schiff 

5:00-6:00        Peace Talk and Pin Wheel Craft with Ana Hansen

Feb. 10th Saturday- Sedona Charter School

8:00- 9:00         Chakra Dance for Kids with Lisa Faremouth Weber 

9:00-10:00        Family Yoga with Melissa Osborne and Colt Dyer

10:00- 11:00     Yoga Nidra for Kids with Angie Cox

11:00- 12:00     Meditation for Kids with Terry Dawn

12:00- 1:00      Lunch Break-Playground Play

1:00-2:00          Peace Dove Finger Painting Craft with Katarina Houser

2:00-3:00          Sun Salutations for Pre-Teens/Teens with Ana Hansen

3:00-4:00          Playing with the Elements with Melissa Camacho

4:00- 5:00         Mindful Humans Kids Yoga with Jill Tuttle

5:00-6:00          Kids Yoga with Aya Schiff

Feb. 11th Sunday- Sedona Charter School

8:00- 9:00         Yoga and Mandala Art with Lisa Faremouth Weber

9:00-10:00        Energy Ball Kids Yoga with Lou Ann Bruck

10:00-11:00      Yoga Nidra for Kids with Angie Cox

11:00- 12:00     Meditation for Kids with Terry Dawn

12:00- 1:00       Lunch Break-Playground Play

1:00-2:00          Playing with the Elements with Melissa Camacho

2:00- 3:00         Kids Yoga+ Breath+ Mindful Movements with Alanna Endahl

3:00-4:00          Kids Yoga with Samantha Sambrooke

4:00-5:00          Dance Play Circle with Jennifer Smith

5:00-6:00          Sun Salutations for Pre-Teens/Teens with Ana Hansen

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Crazy Salad

For retreats I usually do this salad with tofu marinated and baked in the shwarma sauce, but at home I’m more likely to make it with chickpeas.  Crazy salad was inspired by a salad I used to make with the first retreat catering chef I worked for.  Of course it’s versatile, the toppings mentioned are my favorite, but you can include whatever you have. I do insist that you include the herbs and the mango, they’re wonderful with the dressing.  I also use this dressing for the salad with my Thai menu- cucumbers, red peppers, purple cabbage, shaved carrot, mango, green papaya and curried cashews.

Yellow curry salad dressing

1 c olive oil

1 c apple cider vinegar

3/4 c honey or agave

2 T fresh minced ginger

1 T dijon mustard

1 T curry powder

3/4 t salt

1/2 t pepper

1/8 t cinnamon

1/8 t ground cloves

Puree all in a blender until well combined and emulsified. Keeps a really long time in the fridge.

www.balsamicmercy.com

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All of my adult life I have been active with one form of exercise or another
including aerobics (which I taught for over ten years), weight training,
Pilates, running, swimming, and horseback riding. Upon retiring after 26
years of a successful, but very stressful, corporate career, I found yoga.
My very first serious yoga class was an ashtanga Primary Series class taught
in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was very intimidating and challenging, but
also called to me. For two years, I attended classes at this studio and
practiced Primary Series five to six days a week. In 2009, I completed the
200-hour Yoga Alliance Teacher training, which deepened my
understanding of yoga as more than just a practice, but as an entire
philosophy and guide to how to live your life. Since that time, yoga has
been a constant touchstone in my life.

The idea for Yoga Blessings was “hatched” in 2014. Upon moving to
Sedona in 2012, I had noticed how there was no store for yogi’s, despite
the large number of yoga instructors and studios in Sedona, the annual
yoga festival, and the thousands of locals and visitors who practice yoga in
Sedona! I thought a store dedicated to the yoga enthusiast could fulfill a
need. However, the timing wasn’t right in 2014, so I put the idea on the
shelf waiting for a better time. When Sedona Hot Yoga needed a new
space, the idea of co-locating the hot yoga studio with a retail yoga store
seemed like a natural fit and Yoga Blessings became a reality!

I feel truly blessed to have yoga as part of my life and hope you do also.
Please come visit us at Yoga Blessings– the store created just for you, the
yoga lover and enthusiast!

Blessings and Namaste,
Wendy Yarno

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Unity of Sedona is a heart-centered, spiritual center located amidst the energy vortexes of one of the world’s most renowned hubs of New Age spirituality—Sedona, Arizona. Our center is for spiritual “travelers on the path” and those committed to remembering their true identity (love). We incorporate the teachings of all spiritual traditions and teachers, such as Jesus, Buddha, the Ascended Masters, and Eastern and Western mystics, as well as incorporating the paths of healing and spirituality as a means of awakening the Light within.

Our Sunday services, usually led by our primary Spiritual Leader, Michael Mirdad, are not like anything an attendee might experience elsewhere; it’s more like a miraculous experience. In a single event, some audience members experience the greatest teachings and insights in their life, while others are brought to the deepest tears, and still others to laughter from the wonderful lightness and humor.

In addition to our globally broadcast Sunday Sacred Services, we also have classes, workshops, concerts, spiritual gatherings, 12-step meetings, and numerous other events. Our Center also features a labyrinth and a metaphysical bookstore and gift shop to be enjoyed year-round.

Unity of Sedona sponsors most of Sedona’s premiere spiritual events and concerts (such as Deva Premal), including the annual “Sedona Summer & Winter Festivals”—featuring speakers, performers, psychics, and vendors. These Festivals are generally attended by people from throughout the country and beyond, and are a great way to honor the natural cycles of the year, the earth, and our own consciousness—all while learning, sharing, singing, and playing.

Our Mission Statement: Unity of Sedona is a spiritual center that integrates the paths of healing and spirituality to awaken the Inner Christ, creating a world of Love, Peace, Joy, and Abundance.

Unity of Sedona Website

A partnership in the works for a few years, SYF is thrilled to be partnering up with YogiTunes in 2018!  The first boon from this partnership, is that Alex King Harris (aka Rara Avis) will be a featured DJ.  Aside from being the CEO and Co-Founder of YogiTunes, Rara is an internationally known pioneer of contemporary music for yoga, dance and the healing arts.  A dedicated master of his craft with over 2 decades experience in multi-instrumental live performance and music production with a core focus on where the electronic underground, yoga and ecstatic dance movements collide. Rara’s guitar, vocals, flute, didgeridoo and dj techniques combine pre-produced sounds with live electronic elements to create a truly original, shamanic music for embodiment. Whether it be in a yoga class or on an ecstatic dance floor – Rara’s sounds are guaranteed to take you on a journey of blissful re-entry into the soul.  Check out his lecture and ecstatic dance church.  He will also be on faculty for Yoga for PTSD training! www.raraavis.com

Yogi Tunes will also be bringing DJs to play with SYF and to help hold down a sound space – a constant container of music – onsite: The YogiTunes Lounge in vendor village! Be sure to stop by! YogiTunes will be sponsoring some great classes as well!

Another boon from the SYF and YogiTunes partnership is the FREE musical compilation “Sounds of Sedona Yoga Festival 2018”  – a carefully curated selection of tracks from this year’s hugely anticipated festival lineup, in addition to SYF Alumni Artists.  The compilation will be available on January 3rd. Go to the SYF homepage www.sedonayogafestival.com and follow the giveaway link. Deepest bows to the artists who have generously gifted these tunes for our enjoyment at home and in class!  You will love it!

We are all so excited and we hope you are feeling it too!  Get ready to come experience the glory of Sedona’s transformative and enlightening energy, the stunning beauty of the red rocks and the talents and gifts of all the presenters! We can’t wait to see you in February! 

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