Many of us recognize the power that music has in our lives.

It has the ability to deepen our journey, evoking both emotional and spiritual states of awareness. However if we look a little deeper at the power of vibration and sound itself, we see that there are forces at play that can greatly enhance the power of one’s practice.

Such is the underlying philosophy of sound healing, or vibrational therapy. In this article we’re going to explore some concepts and techniques you can bring into your class to begin teaching students how to empower themselves through their own innate ability to use sound as a tool for self reflection, empowerment and healing.

Use ‘Toning’ and Chanting to Help Your Students Create Strong Connections to Their Voice as an Instrument:
We start where many classes start—the Om. Another word for the practice of chanting Om, or AUM as it’s also spelled, is called ‘Toning’. Toning is actually the practice of producing long, steady tones through any instrument. When done by the voice it slows down the breath, strengthens the diaphragm and chest, and relaxes the mind.

To instruct students in toning, one must understand that good singers use their diaphragms to inhale and exhale, controlling the pace at which the air moves out of their lungs. This allows for tension to release from the neck and vocal chords area, which creates a more open instrument.

Instruct your students to drop into some belly breathing, only using their diaphragms to activate deep breathing. Then, when it feels natural and engaged, have them begin singing long tones using the vowel sound ‘O’. Instruct them to do this for an extended period of time, encouraging them to lengthen their breath on the inhale and use their diaphragm muscles to slowly release the air while toning. If they need to take a break tell them to do so as and when they need to.

The class can spend 5 minutes toning and at the end, silence. This produces a wonderful sense of euphoria and strengthens the connection to their voice as an instrument and meditation tool.

Next, bring toning into the asana practice. At moments when it feels natural, have your class tone in a posture. Assuming the posture is open enough in the belly to allow for freedom of movement, have them tone their way into a deeper pose. It should feel as though by toning, the mind is relaxing and the pose is deepening. Try having them do it at a time when their not out of breath or working too hard… try it yourself and see when and in which asana it feels most natural to tone.

Tone directly into different parts of your body that need attention, just as though you were singing to relax a child into beautiful slumber. See what arises when you do so…

Introduce Instruments to Promote Deep Relaxation:
Another technique used in sound healing is that of bringing instruments that resonate, or create long tones in direct contact with the body. For this the best instruments are brass bowls and didgeridoos.

If you can get your hands on a brass bowl, try placing it on someone’s chest during savanna and gentling striking the bowl. After striking, rub the wand around the outer edge to produce a longer tone… the vibration will penetrate into the persons body and allow them to relax more deeply. If you can find someone who plays didjeridoo, or are adventurous enough to learn the basic tone yourself, bring that to class and use it in a similar way during savasana.

Play the didjeridoo in close proximity to a person’s body while they lie in savasana. Quietly next to their ears, and more loudly near their body cavity. You don’t need to be circular breathing, which is harder… you can just practice your own long tones… when you run out of breath simply breathe in and repeat.

Use Sound Frequencies As Powerful Amplifiers of Thought and Prayer:
Finally, it’s an interesting study to look at vibration and how it relates to the Chakra system. Each Chakra has a number of petals… the first Chakra has four, the second has six, third has ten, fourth has twelve and the fifth has sixteen. Amazingly enough these correspond to whole number frequencies that resonate in the related areas of the body—40 to 60 Hz or cycles per second (low bass) can be felt mostly in the pelvis… as you raise the frequency up through 100 Hz to 120 and 160, you feel it more in your chest and neck.

Above that, you hear the frequencies more than you feel them…thus the sixth Chakra has only 2 petals and the seventh has 1000. But it’s more important to understand that Chakras map out frequency just like sound does. Bass is felt in the body, and higher frequencies are felt in the head.

Incredibly the Gyoto Monks of Tibet chant at almost exactly 60hz, which is the frequency of the Svadhisthana Chakra (second). The fact that they understand frequency and how it affects the body and mind demonstrates the concept that toning and vibration are powerful amplifiers of thought and prayer. A

nother very cool study in vibrational therapy is Cymatics—which uses different frequencies to create amazing mandalas in sand that’s placed on ceramic plates. Go to Google Images and search for Cymatics and you’ll see what we mean—it’s truly amazing what kinds of patterns vibration can create.

Amazingly enough this week we’re giving away a free song by Steve Gold called The Golden Om.

Click here to download your free copy of this fantastic example of sound healing in action.

Steve’s entire new album can be heard here.

For another great example of some healing and relating sound therapy songs, check this release out:

Savasana Yoga Music: Healing Instrumentals & Singing Bowls for Meditation & Relaxation

Enjoy the vibes!

Snuck between the barefoot slaps in studio hallways and crouched beside the shedding rental mats, looped through the ashy whispers of forbidden pre-class conversation is a sneaky goblin of narcissistic posturing.

What we say about our practice says more about our intentions than our product. And what we intend has been hijacked by this pandemic goblin, revealing a dearth of genuine yoga-ing.

If your yoga-speak sounds like this, your practice is no longer your own:

“I’ve been doing yoga for two weeks and now I can finally do one-legged-hovercraft-splits.”
How quickly you mastered your headstand/crow/non-existent-circus-poses does not define your worth as a human nor a yogi. If you started practicing because you’d really like to eventually touch your toes for fun, that’s one thing. If you continually push yourself to figure out how engaging your muscles will help you move around in space in new ways, that’s another thing. But racing to get upside-down the fastest is not a thing. I’ve been doing yoga for twenty years and there are poses, transitions and adjustments I haven’t figured out yet. It’s part of what keeps me coming back.

“I sweat so much in that class I had to wash my lulus four times. It was such a hard class.”
Your sweat-to-difficulty ratio is not always aligned. These are separate concepts that occasionally crash together in a slippery epiphany. Sometimes making your body move makes you sweat. Sometimes a practice space is just hot. When I taught heated classes I had students who thought every droplet that fell to the floor was another calorie burned. They would ask me to turn the heat up and up until every face was red and every smell was a gym sock on fire. This is not how to succeed in difficult things. You have to do the difficult work first, not place obstacles in the way of ordinary work.

“OMG, you have to have a Turbo-Pro Spider-Sense Self-Cleaning Mat. Otherwise you’re not really living.”
I have a Jade mat. I have a lululemon mat. I have a Gaiam mat. I usually use rental mats because I don’t like carrying a bunch of stuff around all day. For a year I did yoga in my apartment on the floor with no mat at all. I haven’t gotten any weird diseases or broken any bones because of any of these choices. Which mat is the best mat? The one you use the most.

“I’m so mad I missed class yesterday because I wanted to go every day this week.”
Why? Did your body want to move that much? Because that is the only acceptable answer. Otherwise your brain is forcing your body to adhere to some notion of what legitimate yoga looks like. The outward expression of what your yoga looks like has to start with inwardly how it feels to do it. Does your body want to move around again? Start there. How many classes you took this week should reflect that. Nothing is worse than getting to class and realizing all you really wanted was a nap.

“I just love back-to-back classes. I took two yesterday and I’m going for three today.”
No. Just, no. The case against back-to-back classes looks like this: If you worked hard enough to satisfy your body’s movement cravings, you wouldn’t want another class. I say this because I’ve done it. The back-to-backs, the double workouts, the million classes a week. And then I moved to Boston and I slept for a week straight because I had spent a year moving my body more than it wanted to move.

When we lose sight of what the physical body wants to do, our practice is no longer our own. It belongs to that sneaky goblin hidden in plain sight of your mat. Listen for it in the studio, splashed between drops of sweat and tucked into folds of spandex. Drag it out by its preening ego. And shut it up.

Memorial Day is almost here, and that means camping, grilling, and backyard parties.

While classic barbecue sides like potato salad and macaroni and cheese are big favorites, they don’t always work for those following a vegan diet. If you’re planning a barbecue this holiday, here are 8 side dishes that will have vegan friends coming back for seconds:

Spicy Chipolte Hummus:

Ingredients
>>2 (15.5 ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained
>>1/2 cup water
>>1/4 cup tahini (sesame-seed paste)
>>1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
>>2 tablespoons olive oil
>>1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
>>2 cloves garlic
>>1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
>>1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
>>6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained
>>1/2 cup chopped cilantro
>>1/2 teaspoon salt
>>ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Place the garbanzo beans, water, tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, chipotle pepper, garlic, and cumin in the bowl of a food processor; blend until smooth. Add the red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, cilantro, salt, and pepper. Pulse the mixture until the ingredients are coarsely chopped into the hummus base. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover, and chill until ready to serve.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Ingredients
>>1/2 cup quinoa
>>2 tablespoons lemon juice
>>1 bunch flat leaf parsley
>>3 green onions (scallions), finely sliced
>>1/2 cup almonds

Directions
Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook quinoa for 9 minutes or until cooked to your liking. Drain. Meanwhile for the dressing, combine lemon juice with 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Season. Finely chop the parsley stalks and coarsley chop the leaves. Toss together the cooked quinoa, dressing, parsley, green onions and almonds. Season with a little extra pepper.

Roasted Garlic Artichoke Spread

Ingredients:
>>28 oz artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and water lightly squeezed out
>>10-11 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
>>3 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped or 1 1/2-2 tsp dried
>>1/4-1/3 c olive oil
>>1 tbsp lemon juice
>>1/2 tsp sea salt
>>freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Chop artichokes into small chunks and pieces. In a baking dish, combine artichokes with remaining ingredients  and mix well until combined. Cover with aluminum  foil and bake for 45-50 minutes, stirring once or twice, until garlic is softened. Remove from oven and let cool a little before serving.  Season to taste with additional salt and pepper if desired, and a squeeze of lemon.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients:
>>aluminum foil for pan
>>2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
>>2 tablespoons olive oil
>>1 tablespoon brown sugar
>>salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 F. Half the sweet potatoes lengthwise. Place on flat slide and slice 5-6 spears (thick and long strips) of sweet potato. Place them on the aluminum foil and toss with olive oil and sugar. Spread them in one layer. It is important that they have space around them and aren’t piled up on each other. Bake for 15 minutes and turn with tongs or a spatula. Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Add salt and pepper. Serve hot, room temperature, or cold.

Spring Salad

Ingredients:
>>1/3 c cooked buckwheat groats (not Kasha)
>>75 g firm tofu (or protein of choice)
>>1 carrot, sliced
>>1 tomato, sliced
>>3/4 c cucumber slices
>>1/3 c fennel sliced
>>50 g avocado, sliced and cubed
>>1 c butter lettuce (or lettuce of choice)
>>1 olive, sliced

Directions:
Cook buckwheat (I cooked 1/3 c raw buckwheat groats with 2 c water). Bring to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 F. Cube tofu and mix with 1/2 tsp olive oil. I also added 1 tsp curry but you can totally omit that if you don’t like it. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Now wash, peel and chop/slice your vegetables and place in a bowl. This took me 20 minutes so my buckwheat and tofu was done just as I finished up the slicing. Drain buckwheat and measure 1/3 c cooked and add to bowl. Chop the tofu to smaller slices and add to the salad. Dress the salad however you like, I ate it without anything so the veggies stay crisp and fresh.

Broccoli and “Cheese” Hummus

Ingredients:
>>1 15-oz. can chickpeas
>>1 1/2 cups cooked broccoli florets
>>1/4 of a vegetable bouillon cube, dissolved in 1/2 cup of hot water
>>1/2 cup nutritional yeast
>>1 tbsp. olive oil
>>1 clove of garlic, minced
>>1 tsp. minced dried onions
>>1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
>>Pinch of black pepper

Directions:
Dissolve the bouillon cube in the water and set aside. Place the remaining ingredients, except for the broccoli, in a food processor. Once the cube has dissolved, place mixture into the processor and blend until smooth. Add broccoli and blend slightly, so there will still be visible bits of broccoli.

Are you tired of seeing yet another tropical yoga vacation retreat postcard hanging outside the door of your local yoga studio?

You know the one—there’s the beautiful woman doing ‘yoga-on-the-beach-wearing-sunglasses-under-a-palm-tree-drinking-a-pina-colada,’  and you’re like, “Will I ever afford a retreat like that?”

Or maybe you haven’t even considered treating yourself to such a luxurious retreat.  Maybe you think, “My yoga practice isn’t about that. I don’t need those bells and whistles.  My worn out yoga mat and I have character.”

Ironically, you’re sitting there in meditation in your yoga class, and your teacher is reminding you to “nourish yourself” to “treat yourself with love.” Then you find your mind wandering to that woman on the beach, laughing under the sun drinking a pina colada in warrior 2.

As much as we know in our heart we don’t need the pina colada or the beach, we still think, “It sure would be nice to treat myself to a vacation…” Then we remember, “Yoga is about opening the heart.  And it is also about treating ourselves well. It is about balance.”

If we buy into the materialism of the yoga industry and forget the roots of our practice, then we lose sight of the real benefits yoga brought to us in the first place.

On the other side, if we deny ourselves time off, a new yoga mat, or a change of scenery, we are no longer cultivating our capacity for expansion and love, we are just plain worn-out.

So how do we meet ourselves somewhere in the middle?

Yoga barn at Green Oaks Farm, Pescadero, CA

 
In an effort to balance my true practice and cultivate self care, I attended a “One Day Retreat” along the Pacific Coast in Pescadero, CA. Taking the day to be near the beach on a farm felt great. A certain strength is cultivated by treating yourself well. I left feeling rejuvenated, connected to my practice, and to some great new people.

A one day retreat usually takes you on a quick trip outside the city to connect to nature.  I practiced yoga in a barn and had a farm tour after class. Finding a retreat with an easy commute from the city (and more are popping up within the city as well) was not hard to fit into my schedule (5 hours on a Sunday), and was offered at an affordable rate.

The one-day retreat is becoming more and more popular as people seek balance in their lives.  As we strive in a fast-paced society, scheduling in a day of rejuvenation where you can sit back and be taken care of is like pressing the restart button.  You don’t need to save up thousands of dollars or plan in advance to take a week off from work to go on a one-day retreat.  It’s a simple way to bring the balance of staying true to your yoga practice and treating yourself to something special without dramatically altering your schedule.

Here are some more highlights from what you may expect at a “one-day retreat”:

Connect to People Outside of Your Community:

Our yoga teacher Amanda on the right

 
I found myself connecting to people I don’t normally meet in my social circle.  My group consisted of techie’s, yogi’s, startup-ers, and nutritionists to name a few. I don’t normally connect with people who work in Silicon Valley at Apple, and Youtube. I realized these people who work a typical 50-hour week need a day of rest and rejuvenation but usually can’t fit it in except for on a weekend afternoon. It was great to see people from all kinds of backgrounds taking the time to cultivate self-care while adhering to a busy schedule. I found it to be a great opportunity to learn about other people’s lives different from mine with the added opportunity of networking.

Practice Bhakti Yoga:

Our yoga teacher led a Bhakti flow class where we dedicated our practice to someone in our lives.  Connecting to Bhakti, or Devotion in your practice connects you back to something greater than just stretching and holding poses.

Treat Yourself Well:
Studies on placebo pills found in many cases that they are just as effective as a prescription.  What it really comes back to is the idea of taking care of yourself.  Just in the act of investing in yourself, you feel better.

Learn Something New:
After yoga, we were led on a farm tour. I learned that planting potatoes over a crop before planting your kale and lettuce prevents pesky bugs from eating them! I also learned the origin for the name “Strawberries.” Strawberries grow best when they are packed down with straw around the berries to prevent the weeds from creeping in.

Yummy asparagus, olive and smoked mozzarella salad

 
Eat a Farm Fresh, Organic Meal:
A one day retreat typically provides a delicious vegetarian lunch prepared with local, fresh ingredients.

Pay What A Yogi Can Afford:
One-day retreats generally range from $60 – $150 for a day. When looking to optimize self care, find a change of scenery, enjoy fine food and yoga, it’s an affordable and worthwhile investment.

More info on One Day Retreats like this one here.

About the Author:

Meredith Rom is a yoga instructor, blogger and photographer. She loves sharing her own life lessons and insights in her yoga classes and writing. She encourages you to live a healthy, lifestyle, manifest your dreams, heal through yoga and speak your authentic truth. She enjoys instagramming, making green smoothies, teaching the benefits of raw, organic foods and coming up with new “raw goddess desserts.” Meredith is an ambassador for Solyoga trips and a volunteer editor for YogiTimes. She recently moved to Sonoma county, CA with her boyfriend Michael where she teaches yoga and writes from a sweet country cottage. More info at meredithrom.com.

If you are going to practice one pose in a day, let it be Downward Dog.

A masterful pose as it strengthens and lengthens the muscles of the arms, the shoulders, core, legs and it also gives you the benefit of inverting which is beneficial to many of the bodies’ systems (i.e., nervous, endocrine, circulatory). We explore the most commonly practiced pose in yoga, Downward Facing Dog in this posture lab offered by YogaWorks teacher trainer and MyYogaWorks instructor, Melanie Metzler.

Set Up
In YogaWorks Teacher Trainings, we teach from the foundation up – what’s on the floor and taking the weight of the pose, then moving through the rest of the body.  We also start with a preparatory pose that sets up the actions of the final pose that we are focusing on to warm up the body first.

A great preparatory pose for Downward Facing Dog is Child’s Pose.  Child’s Pose offers a great opportunity to learn the actions of the hands, arms and shoulders while resting the forehead on the mat and buttocks on the heels. Walk the hands forward toward the front of the mat. Hands are shoulder distance apart. Press the hands into the mat and feel the forearms and the elbows lift off the mat. Firm the outer arm muscles in toward the ears so you are already building strength and getting a stretch through the arms, chest and shoulders.  On the next inhale, press up onto hands and knees. On the exhale, curl your toes under and press up into Downward Facing Dog.

Key Actions
As you have already spent time setting up the hands, arms and shoulders, once in Downward Facing Dog, pay close attention to the feet. Step the feet mat width apart. As Melanie suggests, for the first Down Dog, bend the knees and begin to focus on pressing the hands down and lifting your hips up, so you are stretching through the shoulders all the way up through the spine. Let the breath travel up and down the spine.  Focus on the length and the firmness and support of the arms.  Take a break and rest in child’s pose.

For round two of Down dog, begin by lifting up to the tip toes and focus on pressing the tops of the thigh bones back while on the tip toes so that you can work on straightening your legs, then slowly work the heels down toward the floor. They may not get to the floor which is absolutely fine. But as you are working the heels toward the floor, keep working the hips up off the wrists and shoulders, so you maintain that sense of length through the side waist.

Modifications
For students who have elbows that splay wider than the shoulders, you can offer them a strap to place above their elbows and teach the actions of firming into the midline by trying to make the strap loose.  You can also teach the actions of the legs firming in and up through the use of a block between the thighs.

Risks
The areas to pay close attention to in this pose are the neck, shoulders and the lower back. When the elbows splay wider than shoulder distance apart there is a lot of congestion that can accumulate around the neck. Another area of the body to pay close attention to as well is the lower back. There is a tendency to tilt the pelvis and splay the ribs on bendy bodies which end up arching the low back. In this case have the student work on lifting their forearms and soften the ribs to ensure they are working on strength and using their core. For those in stiffer bodies, tight hamstrings become an obstacle, so have the students work with knees bent, so they aren’t rounding their backs but working toward lengthening the arms and spine.

Benefits
Downward dog lengthens and strengthens the arms, opens the shoulder muscles, lengthens the entire back and spinal muscles, stretches the hamstrings and has the benefits of inversions as well.

We hope you enjoy this educational video, brought to you by MyYogaWorks.

Frosting:
That store-bought frosting from a tub might taste great on cakes and cookies, but it’s packed with problems. “It’s one of the only items in the grocery store that still has trans fats, which are terrible for your health and waistline,” says Melina Jampolis, MD, physician nutrition expert and coauthor of The Calendar Diet. “Trans fat raises bad cholesterol, lowers good cholesterol, and causes inflammation, which can lead to belly fat and diseases ranging from heart disease to diabetes.” On top of that, tub frosting is loaded with sugar, and high-sugar diets contribute to premature wrinkles. Yikes.

Bagels:
If you’re prone to skin problems and tempted to grab a bagel before you go in the morning, think twice. “Bagels have a massively high glycemic index, which increases insulin and leads to increased inflammation in the body, which is shown to possibly accelerate aging and worsen acne and rosacea,” says dermatologist Dr. Elizabeth Tanzi, codirector of the Washington Institute of Dermatologic Laser Surgery in Washington, DC. Opt for an English muffin with peanut butter instead.

Processed Baked Goods:
So convenient, so tasty (if we’re being honest here), but so not worth it. Those pre-packaged mini muffins, doughnuts, and dessert cakes will add tons of calories and loads of unwanted sugar to your diet, plus they aren’t easy to digest. “These foods are bad on so many levels, because they are filled with high sugar content and preservatives for a longer shelf-life — they can literally sit there forever,” says Dr. Tanzi. “Sugar increases inflammation in the skin, which on top of irritating acne and rosacea, can make you look puffy and bloated. Skip the wrapped stuff and grab fresh fruit for a sweet fix instead.

Soda:
Dietitians and doctors all agree: Soda should be nixed from your diet completely. “One can of soda is like a can of water with 10 packets of sugar in it,” says nutritionist Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, and director and owner of BTD Nutrition Consultants, LLC. “The recommended amount of daily sugar for a woman is about six teaspoons or 24 grams, and soda has way more than that.” Good old fashion H2O is still your best option. If you want to jazz it up, add a slice of fresh fruit for flavor.

Sugary Cereals:
A bowl of Frosted Flakes, Froot Loops, or Cap’n Crunch might taste like nostalgia, but it’ll wreak some havoc with its high amount of inflammation-causing sugar and gluten content. “For some people with sensitive skin, gluten can exacerbate breakouts, leading to increased redness and, yes, more breakouts,” says Dr. Tanzi. Opt for low-sugar, gluten-free options like Rice Chex and Corn Flakes.

Stick Margarine:
Choose a small amount of regular butter or soft spread over stick-shaped margarine when topping foods or baking, says Taub-Dix. “Margarine is usually loaded with trans fat,” she says. Don’t forget that stick margarine is found in plenty of pastries, crackers, snack foods, and even microwave popcorn, so limit intake to keep cholesterol levels in check.

Jarred Sauce:
It’s easy to forget sources of sugar when you’re making recipes that aren’t traditionally considered sweet, but they do exist. Tomato sauce is a big culprit, says Dr. Tanzi. “Make your own, because the store stuff has a ton of sugar.”

Bacon:
Noshing on bacon as a side for breakfast, as a topping for salads, or as an addition to your sandwich? Bad habit. “I know it’s only 45 calories a strip, but it is really high in fat, sodium, and the preservative sodium nitrate,” says Taub-Dix. Veggies or a few nuts are better options for a crunch, and won’t create such problems for your heart and digestive system. You’re better off avoiding it, but if you must have a little bacon? “Stick to half a strip to crumble on foods like salads and sandwiches,” Taub-Dix says.

Maraschino Cherries:
This preserved fruit might turn up in your cocktail or on your sundae. Start choosing the real deal over sugar-packed, processed maraschino cherries. “These have artificial colors, like red-40 and red-3 dyes, that add no nutritional value,” says Taub-Dix.

Soy Sauce:
Soy sauce is low in calories and has some good vitamins and minerals like riboflavin and vitamin B-6, but the extremely high sodium content will leave you bloated and at risk for conditions like hypertension. “There are so many low-sodium, lighter soy sauce options, there’s no reason to buy the regular stuff anymore,” says Taub-Dix. Yet she still recommends using the light stuff sparingly. “A tablespoon of the low-sodium soy sauce is about 600 milligrams of sodium instead of 900, so it is less but not none.”

Source

Memorial Day Weekend is the official start of summer and we can’t wait for longer days, warmer nights, barbeques and bonfires.

But one of our favorite parts about summer? All of the killer music and yoga festivals that go down from June-September. Since we provided you guys with some healthy go-to festival eats we figured we would hook you up with a list of our fave festies below—put them on your to-do list, they’re definitely not-to-be-missed:

Bonnaroo
When: June 13 – 16
Where: Manchester, TN
Who: Paul McCartney, Mumford & Sons, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Björk, Wilco, Pretty Lights, R. Kelly, The National, The Lumineers, David Byrne & St. Vincent, Passion Pit, Kendrick Lamar, Grizzly Bear, and more.

Hanuman Festival
When: June 13-16
Where: Boulder, CO
Who: MC Yogi, Trevor Hall, DJ Drez, Saul David Raye, Derek Russo, Jim Beckwith, Amanda Giacomini, DJ Taz, The Zen Drummer, Amy Ippoliti, Anand Mehrotra, Christina Sell, Saul David Raye, Darren Main, Giselle Mari, Gwen Lawrence, Kia Miller, Mary Clare Sweet, Matthew Sanford, Olivia Hsu, Sara Ivanhoe, Sianna Sherman, Tiffany Cruikshank, Tommy Rosen, and more!

Wanderlust Festival
When: VT: June 20-23, CO: July 4-7, CA: July 18-21, BC: August 1-4
Where: Vermont, Colorado, California, British Columbia
Who: Moby, Blue Canyon Boys, Femi Kuti & The Positive Force, Quixotic, Caravan Palace, Sarah Neufeld, MC Yogi, Hannah Theim, DJ Drez, Garth Stevenson, Seane Corn, Ana Forrest, Elena Brower, Schuyler Grant, Aarona Pichinson, Adam Rinder, Annie Carpenter, Cameron Shayne, Carrie Owerko, Chelsy Korus, Dave Romanelli and more.

Electric Forest
When: June 27 – 30
Where: Rothbury, MI
Who: The String Cheese Incident, Pretty Lights, Passion Pit, Empire of the Sun, Knife Party, Dispatch, Lotus, Benny Benassi, Yeasayer, Beats Antique, Madeon, Holy Ghost!, Grimes, Tommy Trash, and more.

Bhakti Fest
When: Midwest: July 5-7, West: September 5-8
Where: Madison, WI, Joshua Tree, CA
Who: Jai Uttal, Saul David Raye, Sean Johnson, Govindas and Radha, Krishna Das, Girish, Shiva Rea, Shyamdas

Lightning In A Bottle
When: July 11-15
Where: Lake Skinner in Temecula, CA
Who: Purity Ring, Nicolas Jarr, Rusko, Paper Diamond, Pantyraid, Tycho, Emancipator, Blackbird Blackbird, Joplin, Lee Burridge, Ashley Turner, Bryan Kest, Kia Miller and more.

Gathering of the Vibes
When: July 25-28
Where: Bridgeport, CT
Who: The Black Crowes, Phil Lesh & Friends, Tedeschi Tricks Band, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, The Roots, Dark Star Orchestra, Deep Banana Blackout, Max Creek, Blues Traveler, Fishbone and more.

Lollapalooza
When: August 2 – 4
Where: Chicago, IL
Who: Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Jack White, Florence + the Machine, At the Drive-In, Bassnectar, AVICII, The Shins, Justice, Passion Pit, Kaskade, The Weeknd, Sigur Rós, and more.

Outside Lands
When: August 9 – 11
Where: San Francisco, CA
Who: Paul McCartney, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pretty Lights, Vampire Weekend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nine Inch Nails, Willie Nelson & Family, Young the Giant, Band of Horses, Daryl Hall & John Oates and more.

Burning Man
When: August 26-September 2
Where: Black Rock City, Nevada
What: 2013 Art Theme: Cargo Cult. Read more about this year’s theme here.

For more events, yoga teacher training, yoga retreats and workshops happening this summer, please click here.

Adapt and adjust quickly. 

The rapid rate of change in our economy has made chaos a defining construct of business + life.

Embracing adaptability and the openness to learning from anywhere are proving to be two key ingredients to thriving best in this environment.

Regardless if you are mom, soloprenuer or big wig at a Fortune 500 company the new metrics of success have become our individual ability to be nimble and unfearful of change.

We can’t prevent the chaos of change only decide how we are to respond to it.

Collectively we have transitioned into an era  that relentlessly denies the status quo. The dizzying rapidity at which change strikes us today is inescapable.

It’s perplexing at best and jarring at worst. So how exactly do you prosper or—at the very least—make the best of it?

You go with it.

Accepting, and yes, even indulging in adversity is the approach required by our chaotic economy + lives.

Reconfigure your DNA so that waiting is honored but innovation is encouraged.

“If something works we double down on it. If it doesn’t we discard it and move on.”   Brad Smith~ CEO of Intuit

Fear of change has no purpose in the current market. Institutionalizing flexibility and embracing inconsistency will keep you on your own leading edge + your business ahead of the curve.

“What really sets superstars apart from everyone else is the ability to escape dead ends quickly, while staying focused and motivated when it really counts.” Seth Godin

Inconsistency is the new constant.

There is no running from it, nor should we want too.

Decide to be undeterred by it.
Instead, encourage curiosity.

Mostly, understand that no matter what curve balls are thrown your way you are ready for it + flexibility is your greatest ally.

Zach Sobiech is a 17 year old diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. With only months to live, Zach turned to music to say goodbye. Zach turned 18 years old on May 3, 2013 and passed away yesterday, May 20, 2013. Check out what he has left behind:

We all want to be happy, right?

Right.

While doing research for my first book, I uncovered a formula to help people boost innate faith, increase confidence, + attain genuine happiness + satisfaction.

After years of schooling, training, and working with a plethora of clients, I have discovered the one thing we all want at the end of the day: to be happy.

All my clients say: “but I just want to be happy.”

So what stands in our way?

False or negative belief patterns about ourselves + the world and to get to happiness, we must first stop believing in and acting on the negative.
I’ve outlined some tips to help you be happier.  Like, right now.

Realize that opinions ≠ fact:
There are two things we’re not short of: people and their opinions.

Opinions are fantastic! They add variety, dimension, breadth and depth to any discussion or good debate. They have the potential to unify us + spark innovation. But, be wary of taking on other peoples opinions as fact or truth. This can damage your emotional stability and send ripples of doubt through your confidence and disrupt your happy.
It’s important that you cultivate an inner circle of trusted confidants whose opinions you consider carefully. But even then, watch how you let those ideas sink into your psyche.

Listening to others opinions and taking them as fact can precent you from reaching your full potential. Too often we listen to our rational mind and to what other people think, failing to ask ourselves how we feel about our current situation.

Stop obsessing over the past + worrying about the future:
Don’t cry over spilled milk. Life is a roller-coaster  and you’ll so much more comfortable in the now if you learn to focus on the moment + haul your attention away from the past.

Clean up fearful thought patterns:
How? Begin by actively noticing how your unresolved angst with the past and fear of the future is blocking you from your power. It’s keeping you stuck.  Start by asking yourself where you are playing small.  When you really, consciously pay attention to your behavior, you can start to get honest about what fears are at the root of your worry.

Change your mindset:
Let go of those fears and choose a more empowering mindset. When obsessive worry about the past or future comes up, say to yourself:

“My worry is unnecessary and I will not allow myself to go there. 
I choose to be kind toward myself instead.”

Our bodies are molecular entities that are always vibrating an energy. Your body is positive when your thoughts are positive and negative when your thoughts are negative. Our energy fields are magnets and they attract their likeness. If you’re caught up in worrying about your future, you will attract negativity into your life.

Who want’s that?