Dec 18, 2023 | Sedona Yoga
The winter solstice is upon us, marking a return to the light and a natural evolution toward the sun. These days of darkness are seemingly mirrored in the world at large, as wars rage on, the news continues to peddle in fear, and the fabric of society seems to fray at the very seams. It can feel daunting at best — and impossible at worst — to find a sensation of grounding and calm. But in a world and a society that functions and thrives on this fear, joy and peace are an act of resistance. Coming together in collective consciousness is the beginning of a revolution, and choosing to live and love in the spirit of interconnectedness creates currency. That’s what SYF2024, “All Together Now” is all about. We can choose to live in love and interconnectedness. We can share our gifts and bring light to the world, even as it is shrouded in darkness.
It may be a return to the light, but this week’s winter solstice energetically ushers in the season of an inward journey. Just as animals in the wild burrow and tuck away for the colder months, so too our souls crave the sensation of hibernation by taking the time to focus within. As SYF Communications Director Lisette Cheresson and her co-author Andrea Rice write in their book, The Yoga Almanac, “The quietness of the winter season gives us pause to reflect on the roader spectrum of life. It is in contemplative inquiry that we can via life from its deepest depths to highest heights and begin to understand that difficulty and ease can coexist.”
To say — we cannot change the darkness of the world, but we can welcome the light as a counterbalance, and we can look to be it when we can.
Some yogis in the northern hemisphere consider the winter solstice to be a portal, in which our inner mystical sun is connected to our share sun as it reaches its lowest point on the horizon. It is thought that the sun has properties that may help to open and nourish the third eye; we have an opportunity to energetically connect to these healing properties as the sun dips on the winter solstice before beginning its ascent to the summer solstice once again.
With our third eye — our seat of intuition and self-knowing — energetically roused, it is fitting that the solstice comes toward the end of the Gregorian calendar year, a time in which many choose to set intentions or goals for the near future. How will YOU use this solstice to align to your greatest truth?
Explore it, and then share with your intentional community this March 14–17 at the Sedona Yoga Festival. Tickets available now!
Lead photo by Charles Ruscher.
Dec 6, 2023 | Sedona Yoga
If you’re looking for a gift for the conscious seeker in your life, look no further. We’ve put together a Giving Guide featuring our friends and partners — as well as some recommended nonprofits to consider for end-of-the-year donations. We believe that gifting can be an extension of the mindful ways you live your life, and we are committed to showcasing some of the most beautiful products and experiences that support those larger goals and beliefs.
Please note that this is just a teaser of all the extraordinary gifts we are highlighting this year. To receive your free Giving Guide in all its complete glory, please sign up for our newsletter here. You will receive your 2023 Holiday Giving Guide upon confirmation of your email address.
Please note: If you are already signed up for our email, stay tuned to your inbox for a direct link to download!
The Root Board is the perfect embodiment of form and function. It is made from eco-friendly and highly renewable Moso bamboo. Weighing 28 lbs, it is purposely heavy to provide a secure foundation to place your mat. Expect it to elevate your yoga-at-home sanctuary while providing the stability you need for challenging balance and inversion poses. The Root Board is meant for all uneven or soft surfaces, such as carpet, grass, sand, and dirt. It’s portable, so take it with you on your yogis-in-the-wild (outdoor) ventures.
Take $20 off with a coupon code you will find in the Giving Guide!
Kerala Ayurveda
Explore the power of Ayurveda by giving one (or all!) of these extraordinary products from our friends at Kerala Ayurveda. Guided by CEO Vaidya. Jayarajan Kodikannath — who will be presenting at SYF2024! — Kerala Ayurveda is committed to mindful care, preserving ancient traditions, and meeting modern standards for safety and effectiveness.
Nov 1, 2023 | Sedona Yoga
November is upon us, and it’s that time of year to take stock and begin dreaming about next year’s adventures. As you embark on a new cosmic journey in 2024, take time to embrace intentional travels that resonate with the rhythm of your soul. Imagine: a palm-fringed beach in tropical gardens surrounded by 189 acres of pristine rainforest, flowing together alongside fellow yogis, in a location and with hosts strongly dedicated to doing real good in the world. It’s not too good to be true! Soul Community Planet (SCP) is on a mission to connect you with authentic, sustainable, mindful adventure — and they’re bringing their magic to the Elemental Connections Retreat in January 2024, at SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge in Costa Rica.
This incredible and remote retreat combines adventure and relaxation with a convenient all-inclusive model. Reachable by boat through mangrove wetlands, you’ll find yourself tucked away on the edge of the Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula, known as the most biologically intense place on earth. Reserve your space in this exclusive retreat today to experience daily yoga, meditation, guided ocean and jungle excursions, and much more — surrounded by the pristine beauty of remote beaches, waterfalls, botanical gardens, and protected rainforest.
The retreat will be led by yogi and smile-maker extraordinaire, Andrew Sealy. Andrew has spent his illustrious career prioritizing the planet and true, holistic wellbeing and joy. “I love having the opportunity to lead Yoga and Nature Reconnection Retreats in the heart of the jungle, and there is no place that compares to the absolutely lush paradise of SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge,” he says. “From seeing whales breach the water while practicing Yoga at the Seaside Yoga Shala, to enjoying the fresh scents of blossoming flowers while meditating, to awakening to the sight of a sloth enjoying the sunrise; leading retreats at SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge is an absolutely incredible experience that I highly recommend to anyone looking to deepen their relationship with Nature and Self.”
What Is Soul Community Planet?
Soul Community Planet (SCP) Hotels was born out of a vision to help make the world a better place by serving those who value personal wellness, social good, and the environment. At SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge this vision comes to life throughout every intentionally designed detail, from the sustainable upscale villas and bungalows to the wealth of outdoor activities at this once-in-a-lifetime Costa Rican destination. Retreats are designed to explore and journey through the environmental elements. Each element — Earth, Water, Fire, and Air — is connected to a specific Yoga and Meditation routine and specific activity to emphasize connection with the natural world while deepening the Awareness and Sensitivity of Soul, Community, and Planet. The beautiful natural setting of our retreats and the intentional practice of connecting to the elements around us can provide a more grounded and present mindset for both instructors and retreat attendees.
SCP practices what they preach, too, through the impacts of the Every Stay Does Good® program. Through this program, every time you choose to stay at an SCP Hotel you provide well-being resources to adolescents, light the home of a family in need, plant a tree in an unnaturally deforested area, and more!
Learn More About SCP — and Enter a Retreat Giveaway! — at SYF
Stop by the SCP booth at Sedona Yoga Festival for a mindful moment to relax in their lounge, explore apothecary products from their partnership with Anima Mundi, and enter a retreat giveaway! The SCP team will have all the details on their January Elemental Connections Retreat with Andrew Sealy at SCP Corcovado Wilderness Lodge in Costa Rica, as well as an upcoming May retreat at SCP Mendocino Inn and Farm with SYF presenter Peter Sterios.
We hope you’ll accept the invitation to participate in this consciousness-raising conference March 14–17, 2024! Tickets available now.
Oct 4, 2023 | Sedona Yoga
The biggest question of our time just might be “What does Unity look like?” Spanning in-person connection, video connection, text connection, and phone connection, there are plenty of ways for us to come together and explore what it means to be in a shared or unified space. And yet while technology has brought us closer together across the globe, we are still facing so much division internationally, intra-nationally, and societally. The theme for SYF2024, All Together Now, asks us to ruminate on this: Despite being more “connected” than ever, our world is still largely defined by what separates us. How does Yoga help?
Yoga, of course, is a practice of unity, an exploration of what it means to link body and breath, thoughts and movements, stillness and evolution. It can be a deeply personal and private endeavor, but is one most effectively explored with the support and guidance of experienced teachers and community. So what happens when we come together in intention and consciousness?
There’s no shortage of studies on the power of togetherness, and as we all continue to emerge into a post-pandemic lockdown reality, there are no shortage of personal anecdotes on the importance of face-to-face togetherness, either. As writer Gretchen Kelly eloquently puts it for The Good Men Project:
There’s something special that happens when people come together. There’s a humanity in showing up to share an experience. There’s connection with people who are otherwise strangers. It gives me hope every time I go to a show. Hope because there is power in people. There is energy and strength in being united and finding a common purpose. Hope because for all of our differences, there are times when we can come together and make something incredible happen. Hope because we are all broken, flawed, beautiful people just trying to make it in this world.
As you explore what All Together Now means personally for you, we invite you to consider the following:
- How do we hold each other in community as we walk our unique paths?
- What tools and practices and networks support us in evolution of the collective consciousness as well as our own?
- How do the two interplay and are in fact one and the same?
- How do we together build the future and how do our collective and individual actions in the now serve to co-create that future?
- What does yoga have to offer us to support the will and energy required to build a just and abundant world joyfully while navigating the many crises we face together as one human family in the company and respect of our plant and animal neighbors?
Never has it been more compelling for us to proactively create — in our unique way — toward the collective goal of peace, equanimity, and compassion. The Sedona Yoga Festival is an opportunity to co-create the future you want to see, and that begins with togetherness. We can’t wait to be together with you in March!
The 11th Annual Sedona Yoga Festival is March 14–17, 2024, in Sedona. Tickets on sale now!
Lead image by Ty Dobbs.
Sep 20, 2023 | Sedona Yoga
by Lisette Cheresson, SYF Communications Director
photo by Ty Dobbs
The autumnal equinox is upon us — the moment of equal parts light and dark, night and day; the moment when the world is in a state of balance, at least on its axis. It ushers in the changing of the seasons, a moment of transition from the levity and playfulness of summer to the beginning of a more introspective season brought on by those shorter days and nights.
Yoga is many things, of course, but can be at its foundation viewed as a practice of balance; both physical and metaphysical, in mind and in body, in philosophy and in practice.
The idea of balance is touted often in asana classes: classes are sometimes constructed entirely upon sequences that build to a peak balance pose. Instructors will often use postures such as Tree Pose to illustrate that the sense of inner calm necessary to hold the pose can be illustrative in other moments or challenges in life. The resiliency required by balancing asanas can be viewed in other contexts as lessons for living a more balanced life.
The more general teachings of yoga are also pertinent as we explore the idea of balance in practice. We seek the balance of integrated movement and breath. We aim to live a life in pursuit of service to others and in the knowing of our interconnectedness. When living in integrity of our dharma, we seek balance of personal goals with those of our human family as a whole. We are called to explore the balance of light and dark in our lives, and strive for living in the light even while acknowledging the shadow of our darkness.
Sutra 2.46, “sthira sukham asanam,” can be interpreted as a philosophical call to balance. It translates to an instruction that postures need be both steady and easeful; that when we come to practice meditation or asana, we are seeking that balance of effort and ease. We open our minds and hearts to meditation when we are able to sink into our breath, and be fully in the present, without being aware of pain or unease in our physical bodies. We are in the most expressive version of asana when we are steady and still in our expression — not when we hit the most “advanced-looking” version. The balance of ease and effort defines the way that we integrate our yoga into our selves, and informs the way these lessons show up in our everyday lives.
And so, on this autumnal equinox, may you find both comfort and inspiration in your practice, and in the natural world as we tip the scales toward winter. Happy fall!
Apr 18, 2023 | Programming Spotlights, Sedona Yoga
by Judyth Shamosh, Ph.D., Systems Herbalist
Ayurveda
A philosophy for perfecting
through the art of the heart,
the timeless Truths of millennia
balancing Beauty
and graceful Goodness
to manifest our material matter
in harmony and healthful rhythm
to understand the Universe
to understand ourselves.
~J. Shamosh
Ayurveda is the earliest form of medicine on our planet originating in India well over 5000 years ago. It was, at first, a Vedic oral tradition before it was eventually written down. From northern India, the knowledge and wisdom of Ayurveda spread and was modified as it expanded throughout the world. Ayurveda is the Big Bang of medicine.
Ayurveda for over 5000 years has continually valued what modern physics has shown to be reality—the foundation of life is consciousness and body or energy-matter, but the essence of life is the spirit-awareness, the “heart of matter” –part of the living cosmic web of life. Our lives are physics and poetry, matter and expression, context and awareness. It is this fundamental understanding and wisdom of all aspects of life that renders Ayurveda so valuable in maintaining our health.
The vital science and system of Ayurveda provides guidance for living in harmony with our inner, microcosmic, and outer, macrocosmic, environments as well as other beings around us. Ayurveda’s way of teaching us is very poetic, because life is poetic, with much more going on between the lines than is readily apparent by just the material facts themselves.
Ayurveda is unique in that it clearly informs us how to live in harmony with Nature. One may call it the original ecological worldview where the fundamental interdependence of all living systems is primary. Ayurveda encompasses all aspects of life—our physical bodies, our thoughts and emotions, our spiritual connections, our relationships and inter-relationships to each other and the other living systems in our environment. Ayurveda teaches us how to maintain a dynamic harmony with these concepts to maintain and regain our health.
The Five Phases of Ayurveda precisely and poetically, describes the energetic processes that are inherent in the energy and matter of our bodies. The actions and experiential effects of the Five Phases transmit the chemical actions or potency of herbs and foods into our bodies to help us heal and maintain our health. Ayurveda’s foundational theory of the Five Phases combine in different ways to constitute our doshas. Learning the roots of the Five Phases gives us a more profound understanding of our doshas.
Explore more Ayurveda techniques, recipes, and foundational philosophy with Judyth and many more at SYF2023 April 27–30! Passes available here.
