In Search of YOGA: Barcelona Yoga Conference

It's time again, one of the best yoga experiences I've had the pleasure of being a part of...the Barcelona Yoga Conference is back for its 2nd year!  Register before March 1 (less than a week from now) and it only costs 165€ for the 3-day pass (or 75€/day) compared to 215€ by June 1.  The conference runs from July 5-9 (but it was so awesome I have to mention it now!)

Once again, there will be such a variety of yoga classes to try, all taught by incredible teachers.  AcroYoga carries a noticeable presence throughout the conference (led and founded by Jason Nemer and Jenny Sauer-Klein, who both played a major role in organizing the whole conference) and I knew nothing about AcroYoga but had fun learning.  Part yoga, part Thai massage and part acrobatics, this is a FUN and different style of yoga.  Practicing this brought back memories of my childhood gymnastics days, minus the scary coach and bruised body.  Jason and Jenny did a terrific job of safely teaching and allowing us to practice in a safe, supportive environment with each other and additional AcroYoga teachers participating in the class.  "Antigravity" massages and "therapeutic flying" are terms you will learn and experience firsthand if you can make it to one of these classes!

The 'Joy of Handstands' was one of my favorite workshops.  Here's a brief instruction on how they taught us to get into a handstand (with a partner spotting):  Start in Down Dog, but bring feet a bit closer to hands, shoulders stacked over wrists, feet together, (spotter standing behind in Vira 1), kicker kicks both legs together (hips also as high over shoulders as poss), starting kicking in squats, then straddles, then pikes..eventually each way can come up to handstand!

Lots of handstands with partners...

 

But its not all acrobatics and handstands!  You'll get to try these styles and more:  Kundalini, Asthanga, Anusara, Yoga Esenio, Iyengar, Sivananda, Shadow Yoga, Vinyasa, Jivamukti, Bhakti, YinYoga, Traditional Hatha Yoga, Prana Vinyasa Flow...
Don't miss it if you can!  Barcelona doesn't get much better than this!

My highlights of the conference:

• Swim breaks on Barcelona's beach!
• The warm n fuzzy energy and love flowing around!
• Variety of yoga styles taught by talented, inspiring teachers!
• "Joy of Handstands" and "Yin and Reiki" workshops
• How much this conference opened my mind and heart to new styles and methods of yoga

In Search of Yoga: Yoga Expo München 2012

Come get your dog down at this year's YogaExpo, here in Munich.  This is a great chance to explore many different styles of yoga by many expert yoga teachers.  Just pay one entrance fee (either 13€ per day on Saturday/Sunday or 2 days for 22€, or all 3 days for 30€).  There is enough to do, see and experience each day to get your money's worth, some suggestions I can recommend firsthand:

• German-American Patrick Broome is teaching a jivamutki class each day - GO!  He will leave you feeling like you've been to Samadhi and back.  He brought the Jivamutki style to Germany from New York, which has become quite popular here as well.
  
• Susanne Giesse is a fun, soothing, spirited teacher who gives the gift of a deeply rooted yet uplifting practice.  You can't help but smile in her class.   She will be teaching some YogaWorks classes which is the teacher training I did in 2010 at her beautiful studio, Yogalounge in Pullach (just outside of Munich central).  If you can't make a workshop, get to her studio sometime soon!  Susanne teaches Sat, Sun.
  
• Jasmin Kirstein, owner of MySportLady in Munich and a heartfelt teacher, will lead a unique type of yoga class, Hormone Yoga and Meditation (and I will assist!).  She learned from the pioneer of Hormone Yoga, Dinah Rodriguez who founded this method.  Even if your hormones don't need balancing it's a calming and relaxing class.  Depending on how many attendees are there, you'll even receive a mini massage!  The meditation will leave you...well & happy!

I think the Handstand workshop sounds like fun and I highly recommend trying an Iyengar style class.  This style is so valueable for a safe, precise method of practicing yoga (which seems more and more to fall by the wayside these days).  Their teacher trainings are much more rigorous and take a lot longer than most to accomplish.  Strong focus on technique, sequence and timing separate this from other yoga styles.

At this YogaExpo one can dabble in the whole yogi lifestyle without committing by making the rounds:  Ayurveda methods, vegetarian foods, kirtan concerts, yoga for kids, accessories/equipment/clothing, lectures, meditation workshops.  As the popular Yoga Journal puts it, "Eine Messe für Körper, Geist und Seele" or "A Tradeshow for Body, Mind and Soul."
Hope to see you there!