Aug 21, 2016 | Sedona Yoga, Sedona Yoga Retreat, Yoga Conference, Yoga Festival, Yoga Festival Experience, Yoga for First Responders, Yoga for Vets, Yoga Interviews, Yoga Philosophy, Yoga Pre-Conference
Photo: Alan Alcid Yogi’s Vo Vera & LaMonte Goode Inverted in the Vortex
What can you expect at SYF2017…?

Photo: Alan Alcid Yogini Taylor Kurz
Well, the conference and festival itself evolves each year so there’s lots we will be unfolding in late September about the Who, What, When,and Where of it all. But the WHY remains steady. We create and nurture this platform and the relationships built within and around it for the purpose of uplifting and expanding human consciousness and providing Sedona transformations with a focus on yoga and meditation.
SYF is accessible to all, and there is truly an access point for the newest beginner as well as in depth networking, studying, practice, and continuing education opportunities for the professional. We believe this intermingling leads to authentic and powerful interactions.

Photo: Alan Alcid Taylor Kurz @ Bell Rock Vortex… Flying.
Have a look at the SYF2016 pages to get a taste of what’s to come in March 2017. We hope you will join us in Sedona, where the magic happens…
If you’re curious how we’ve evolved over the years, there’s a complete archive menu over on the “About Us” page.
Stay curious, friend.


Aug 20, 2016 | Sedona Yoga, Sedona Yoga Retreat, Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Yoga Conference, Yoga Festival, Yoga Festival Experience, Yoga for First Responders, Yoga for Vets
UPDATED: 8/26/16 – wow! we have gotten HUGE response from this post! Thank you SO MUCH!!! Over the last few days, this article has received 1000’s of views from all over the world… We are so grateful to be seen as one of the top yoga festivals in the world. Please, leave a comment… like, tweet, share. SYF is here for you… are you ready to continue your evolution?
Sedona, Arizona… The undisputed spiritual mecca of the American Southwest, red rock canyons, spires to inspire, the water element of Oak Creek Canyon, and of course, the ENERGY. No matter your beliefs or background, Sedona is sure to make you feel something. And it has been known since time immemorial to support human transformation. Indigenous tribes frequented the area for ceremony and gathering, yet lived in the distant canyons. It is palpable.
People have been coming here, to this small enclave in Northern Arizona for decades now to enjoy its intrinsic stillness and beauty. Some are called, others hear about the healing and transformational energies, regardless those who find themselves here have an experience. Transformational. Growth. Expansion. Letting Go. Manifesting Dreams. Creating New Habits & Experiences… And more are possible! These are just some reasons SFY is ranked as one of the top yoga festivals in the world!
We have seen now 1000’s in attendance at the SYF, a consciousness evolution conference, bearing witness to the extraordinary experiences attendees are having. It never ceases to amaze me the ear to ear grins on everyone’s faces, as they move gracefully between classes, or the light in someone’s eyes as they tell me about talking to their favorite teacher for the first time, and best of all, when someone shares that they mark their current evolution as beginning at SYF. I have heard product designers stories of getting their big break while networking in our heart center vendor villages and teachers who connected with a new tribe… Really, anything is possible here. All that’s needed is you.

Coffee Pot Rock • Sedona • AZ • Home of one of the top Yoga Festivals in the World.
- SYF was created to support you in your transformation!
You see, I had been practicing for over a decade when I moved to Sedona, AZ to deepen my practice and become a yoga teacher. To make a long story short, I Love YOGA (it has saved me from myself over and over) and I Love Sedona. Yoga in Sedona is an absolutely mind-blowing combination. Since we both know just how important it is to be held and nurtured during these breakthroughs, Heather and I decided to hold a vision for SYF to be a safe place for sharing, where someone like me could come and be exposed to something very powerful AND be sheltered in a womb of safety, security, compassion and serenity. Our fifth annual Sedona Yoga Festival a consciousness evolution conference is next March and all feedback has shown this event is a place where anyone can come and have an experience of Yoga… Young, Old, Weak, Strong, Firm, Infirm, Stable, Unstable, Happy, Sad… There is something for everyone regardless of being a beginner or advanced student and Heather always says, “you can go all weekend without doing a lick of asana…” There is nothing to fear here. It’s safe.
- It’s what we share… Authentic Yoga from Authentic Yogis.
Every year, we are asked numerous times by the 100’s of applicants who apply to share an offering with you at SYF, “what do you need me to teach…?” Our reply has always been… “Whatever LIGHTS you up… whatever has inspired you the most… whatever your PASSION is.” And that is what you will receive at SYF, a teacher’s deepest experience, something that has transformed their lives for the better. Something, whose profound effect on themselves has been distilled into a workshop or class. This is authenticity at it’s finest (imho), and that’s what you are getting at SYF.

Past SYF Presenters
- Master Teachers, too!
Every year, SYF’s Vanguard Master Teachers are chosen with you in mind. These teachers all have decades of practice, experience and teaching under their belts and they are here just for YOU! (some don’t do many yoga festivals and you may only be able to see them here…) Imagine that. When I began my practice, Yoga Festivals weren’t happening yet, save for the Yoga Journal Conferences, and all these master teachers I was reading about seemed so FAR AWAY… Out of reach, for me, the mere mortal practicing to Inhale with Steve Ross on TV. It wasn’t until many years later that I began to interact with these living links to the ancient masters and I realized just how special it was to share a live class, or even better a conversation with a Master Teacher!

Past SYF Presenters
- Intimate setting…
You will be able to bump into Master Teacher Mark Whitwell in the halls of our Event Venue (he’s really tall!…) Or share an intimate meditation with Steve Ross, of Maha Yoga in a classroom that holds 30. Ask Rama Vernon what it was like showing Mr. Iyengar around shortly after his arrival to the United States. You see, SYF is held in a single event venue and we will all be together on this AUMazing journey… Whether you get to hang out after class or sit with someone for tea or go for a hike on the Red Rocks, it will all be rooted at the Collective Sedona & Hilton Resort Sedona Bell Rock in the southern outskirts of Sedona. Indoors or out, you will find somewhere special to just be!
- Sedona: Destination Transformation

Prayer Wheel by Dexx
Sedona has been nurturing transformation since time immemorial; Native American tribes came to this valley for ceremony long before anyone else showed up! The energy of the land here is very conducive to support you through whatever transformation is on your horizon. Our team and Angel Support staff are also dedicated to fostering an environment that supports you in your experience of transformation; along with myself and Heather, we have created an experience for you… check out our new yoga retreat center, Aumbase Sedona.
- Bonus – Optional integrated 20-hour training for Yoga teachers “Traumatic Stress: Resiliency and Healing with Yoga” is designed to provide teachers with the skills to share yoga with First Responders, Veterans, trauma survivors, PTSD and TBI sufferers and many more. This 20 hour track is integrated into the SYF experience with full access to the conference outside of the intensive held on Thursday all day, and on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings, allowing plenty of time for integration and reflection be it on the land or in other classes and workshops, among all festival attendees. (a first amongst yoga festivals, we aim to assist in transformations and providing these trainings insure we are creating a positive impact in peoples lives who suffer from oft-debilitating effects of PTSD and other stress-related mental illness or those who choose to serve this population. It is our way of creating a positive impact in the world with the SYF platform. Click here to see last years training.
You are going to have the most amazing, auspicious, synchronistic, wholistic, healing, fun AND transformative experience at SYF. One that, like many before you, will likely not be your last, nor something you ever forget. Past SYF Attendees all made the choice to come the first time and now we see them every year! The experience was just too powerful not to return and now better than 80% come back year after year. Whether yoga festivals are your thing or not, consider Sedona as your next Yoga Destination by attending the Sedona Yoga Festival or check out the other cool things the team behind this consciousness evolution conference is up to. All things Yoga in Sedona.
They now know just how powerful the experience is, how supported they are and how much better their lives become after … and you will too!
Come and get your asana rocked! Sedona style…
See you at SYF,
Marc
SYF Founder & Executive Producer.
PS. Consider joining us next year… Click here.
Aug 18, 2016 | Sedona Yoga, Sedona Yoga Retreat, Yoga Conference, Yoga Festival, Yoga Festival Experience
SYF wouldn’t thrive without the expanded community that has come together around it! We were blessed with the participation of some outstanding photographers at SYF2016 and the yoga photos they took are absolutely spectacular! Kudos, ALL and Namaste.
Heather
Director, Sedona Yoga Festival
The 2016 Sedona Yoga Festival has gone down in the history books as the most yoga photos shot and shown on our website… We are well aware of over 1111 photos, but we are sure there are more! Below you can peruse the myriad of photos taken by the absolutely AUMazing photographers that SYF2016 Photographer Liaison, Jeness May (Click here to see her Facebook Page)
Be on the lookout! Please tag with #SedonaYogaFestival, #SedonaYoga. Soon we will be able to scoop those Sedona yoga photos up to show you as well! This is gonna be fun! Like a scavenger hunt… only different. Way different.
Whether you were there or not, these photos of yoga in the beautiful landscape and wonderful venues of SYF2016 are sure to delight! This consciousness evolution conference is nearing it’s fifth birthday! Marc & Heather have alluded to some pretty special experiences planned and to date Team SYF has been on point to blow your mind at SYF2017. Check out the SYF Yoga Blog if you want to see more of what has and what will be happening in years to come.
For now, sit back… relax. Perhaps a little Nadi Shodana… then click away and see what everyone has been talking about!
The Sedona Yoga Festival Experience – consciousness evolving. Together.
Sedona Yoga Photo Gallery at SYF2016
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Did that whet your appetite? As we said… SYF2017, you do not want to miss it! Cruise the website and see what is in the making… Start Here.
Mar 8, 2016 | Sedona Yoga, Sedona Yoga Retreat, Yoga Conference, Yoga Festival, Yoga Festival Experience
Hi Yogis!
Team SYF, on the ground in Sedona, reporting. The weather is perfect, the surroundings spectacular, the details in place. We await you to complete the experience!
This message is chock full o’ details so relax and get ready to picture yourself in Sedona! At ease, filled with shakti, and most of all… connected.
Registration opens at 3pm Thursday and will be open until 10pm. On Friday and Saturday registration is from 6:30am-9:30pm, and on Sunday from 6:30am – 4:30pm. Make registration your first stop! You do not need to print your ticket, simply state your name and show ID when you check in.
Registration is located in the Tequa Ballroom of the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock. The Ballroom is a separate building “downhill” a bit from the main building, and at the end of the parking lot (bear right) that you enter from. Overflow parking is at the Collective Sedona, closer to the roundabout than the Hilton.
Tequa Ballroom is our Heart Center of SYF2016, filled with vendors, a classroom area and ChocolaTree Organic Eateries conscious cafe. Chocolatree serves organic, non-GMO, soy-free, gluten-free, processed sugar-free deliciousness to keep you fueled throughout the weekend. We have created a “Where to Eat” guide in the program and on the website, as well, for your convenience. Most of the Village of Oak Creek (our neighborhood for the weekend) is walkable. (Sedona restaurants close early so plan accordingly).
And… it is a new moon! Sedona/VOC is an international dark sky town. Please bring a flashlight, a headlamp, or keep your phone charged because you will need something to light the way when the sun is not up. Which… is perfect for stargazing!!! Join us Thursday night on the deck at the Collective Sedona (right next door) where Sedona Stargazing will point us to celestial objects. Jupiter is in the sky!
6am classes: If you arrive late and are unable to check-in at registration prior to a 6am class please simply print your ticket and be sure that your name is on the list for that class – our Angels are instructed to let you in without a wristband in this case. In all other cases you will need your wristband – which we will give you at registration along with a few other things to get into classes, workshops, and events.
Not preregistered for a class or its showing as full on our schedule? Arrive at the class early and join the “rush line”. If all preregistered attendees have not arrived by 5 minutes into class time, the rush line will be let in. So, turn that over and what do you get? Be on time! Please also be mindful not to stay after and chat in the classroom as there are only 15 minutes between most classes. And please refrain from wearing scents, many people are sensitive.
Driving in Sedona can be a bit tricky – what with no streetlights and the roundabouts. For roundabouts, you wait for an opportunity to enter them, and once you’re in you have the right of way so keep going! Be very mindful of other drivers as not everyone gets this simple formula… Getting here and around.
We do hope you will join us at the general plenary sessions every day – AMPLIFY sessions are our one opportunity to gather together in a single space and set a shared intention. We have amazing speakers lined up for these and will have Q&A. We are having our first gathering at the Opening Ceremony on Thursday, and will meet both Friday and Saturday mornings in the main ballroom. Sunday morning we are so blessed that World Peace Initiative will lead us in a meditation for world peace, something they do all over the world – Sedona is their first World Peace Meditation in the US! We will all have plenty of opportnities to Release, Gather and Integrate throughout the weekend, learn meditation practices, and juice up our vibe. With Sedona’s charged vortex energy we have the opportunity to AMPLIFY some big waves of peace and healing to the world on Sunday morning! Be there!
If you are wanting to gain CEs for NCBTMB or Yoga Alliance you can visit Sedona Wellness at registration and they will assist you with the process. Yoga Alliance also has a booth and are eager to answer any questions you may have about their CEUs or anything else!
We have added a couple of post-conference opportunities on Monday so be sure to check them out! The Yoga for PTSD pre-conference is already underway and we are so honored that yoga teachers from all over the country have come to learn from the outstanding faculty we have assembled! There’s still time to sign up for Tymi Howard’s Yin Immersion on Thursday and Stephanie Spence’s Secrets of Social Media Thursday at noon.
Which reminds me! Follow us on social media! We will have plenty of cool prizes from our sponsors, partners, and vendors to give away throughout the weekend for playing with us on instagram, twitter, and facebook. (Yes, we have heard of snapchat, no we don’t know how to use it yet!).
We already told you how great the weather is – blue skies, clean air, warm sun, birds chirping – but you do need to know it cools down significantly at night in the desert. So while you may be down to shorts and a tanktop during the day with hat and sunglasses on, you will want layers for before the sun comes up and after it goes down! And drink lots of water! We are in an arid climate and at elevation, this is important.
Recommended to bring:
- hiking shoes, hat, sunscreen, water bottle, cushion, any props you love (a strap in particular is something we won’t have very many of). We will be using Three Minute Eggs throughout the conference, those cool yoga props that work as a block and a bolster and have nice curves… Bring your yoga mat but don’t worry, we will have some travel mats for sale and a limited number to rent if you are unable to bring yours/don’t have one. Bring a notebook or journal and an open mind.
A few more details that may be of interest:
- We have a Kids Yoga program all weekend long! Can be drop-in or half day passes, or weekend passes. This is a family affair.
- The Conscious Expo is free and open to the public so tell your friends to come on by and do some shopping and maybe stay for an evening kirtan (single tickets are available).
- Wasa crackers (have you not had them? Their catchphrase is perfect: Surprisingly Satisfying!) will be offering us some yummy options at morning and midday break times every day. They are non-GMO and Marc and I have been eating them for years. Super yummy and good in a million different ways. So be sure to stop by and say “hi” to Tanya while you snack.
- Robert Sturman has just agreed to do a yoga photo shoot on Sunday morning at daybreak! We are so grateful for his support of our trauma-sensitive yoga programs and this fundraiser event. And you are sure to be super-shaktified by then. Limited space available. Book now!
With performances by Lamonte Tales Goode, Vo Vera of the Sacred G’s, White Lotus Bellydance, Joanna Mack, AcroBody and more we have a fun-filled weekend planned for you above and beyond the sessions you choose. We are so grateful you trust in us to usher in a transformation of sorts, and we thank you for being willing to explore your own self and to show up in the world from a place of cultivated ease.
We will see you shining soon.
In service & joy,
Heather & Marc Titus and the SYF Team
Still have QUESTIONS?
Contact us at info@sedonayogafestival.com
PS – We have a FAQ page 🙂 Here’s one:
How do I find the schedule that I created?
Navigate to the schedule page of the SYF website, there is a login option at the upper left. You can either view the check marks next to the classes or you can click on your profile icon and select “my Sched”
Jan 18, 2016 | Sedona Yoga, Trauma Sensitive Yoga, Yoga Conference, Yoga Festival, Yoga Festival Experience, Yoga Pre-Conference
[addtoany]
LoveYourBrain yoga has been the single most positive experience that I’ve had during my recovery. I’ve been through over nine concussions and never found something that I could do to make myself feel better besides waiting it out and weathering the concussion storm.
Each year over 2.5 million people sustain a traumatic brain injury—from concussions to severe trauma—in the United States. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) often leads to physical weakness, balance problems, isolation, and depression that compromise quality of life. This is why we at the LoveYourBrain Foundation have launched a program to support TBI survivors and their caregivers to participate in gentle yoga and meditation classes tailored to their needs. Check out our website and resources.

Kevin Pearce Anjali Mudra
We are working to partner with yoga studios across the US to offer our program. Sabra, one of the amazing TBI survivors that we have met through our program in Burlington, Vermont, shared how she came to LYB Yoga and why it has resonated with her so deeply.
I signed up for LYB yoga by accident. This happy accident was the beginning of a part of my life that I truly cherish. I was so overjoyed to hear that I could attend six weeks of yoga classes with people that understood my injury. I desperately wanted to feel better and was excited to try this new option. Over my 12-year struggle with concussion, I had yet to be presented with an active recovery option. Most people tell you what you can’t do and LYB told me that I could do something and it was tailor made for me and my recovery!
While nursing myself back from concussions, trying new things or even revisiting activities has seemed impossible or painful. The normal arch of a day can cause immense amount of pain in the form of headaches, nausea, dizziness, whatever symptom of the day my brain decided to trigger. That pain instills a fear of trying new things. So, I was nervous and wondered how would yoga make me feel better? I reassured myself that a yoga studio was one of the only places in public that was guaranteed to be quiet, serene, non-judgment—simply put, a really safe space. I thought if the class wasn’t going well, I could just lay on my yoga mat in the middle of the studio and at least be around people for an hour. Knowing of how accepting yoga is, I felt better and unrolled my yoga mat; ready to try.
After the first class, I physically felt the same. For me, moving for an hour and feeling the same is absolutely huge! I could do this and not feel worse or slide backwards in any way! My spirits were lifted! After two classes, feeling the same stretched into a breakthrough. I forgot for an hour that I had a concussion and all the pain and anxiety melted away. Forgetting the injury and the pain is like peaking around the corner at feeling normal, and LYB yoga was the sole reason I turned that corner of my last concussion. I also felt—for the first time in two and a half months—no headaches and completely pain-free. These classes have become the reset button for my body and my pain levels. It’s absolutely incredible!
Our program meets TBI survivors where they are so that they can draw upon yoga’s myriad physical, emotional, and social benefits to support their healing. To make this a reality, we are conducting teacher training workshops to train yoga teachers how to effectively adapt yoga and meditation for the TBI community. We provide a curriculum that incorporates TBIfocused yoga and meditation best practices, class themes to foster resilience and compassion, and group discussion to build community. We are so grateful to be able to share our training as part of the Sedona Yoga Festival.
The LoveYourBrain Foundation is a social profit organization that aims to improve the quality of life for people affected by TBI. Our message—LoveYourBrain—embodies our positive approach to brain injury prevention, recovery, and health. Learn more about us and our yoga program here.
LoveYourBrain makes me smile. Just the thought of those three little words. It’s involuntary. I have to smile. I finally get to love my brain during a concussion. It’s possibility, positivity, caring, and feeling more normal.
Sabra
LoveYourBrain Foundation will be part of the faculty for the Pre-Conference Training at SYF2016!


