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Upcoming Events

TONIGHT, THURSDAY MAY 8

Ashtanga Yoga Confluence. May 8 – 11.  Celebrate the legacy of Sri K.Pattabhi Jois with Ashtanga Yoga Master teachers: Richard Freeman, Manju Jois, Dena Kingsberg, Tim Miller and David Swenson. Donating a percentage of its proceeds to Yoga Gives Back. YGB premiers its new film at the special screening on May 10th. San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina.

FRIDAY, MAY 9

6:45 P.M. Men’s Community Gathering – An evening of practice and camaraderie. Facilitated by Zat Baraka and Demetri Velisarius. Men want and need more connection with other men, we are hardwired to be in tribe for the benefit of everyone. Ggather in community for an evening of transformative masculine practice. By Donation. RSVP Requested. Santa Monica Studio. 716 Taft Ave., Santa Monica.

7:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M. Sonic Sanctuary. Sacred sound meets ancient Indian melody and mantra with Gabriel Braun and Sheela Bringi integrating Qi Gong, breath, mindfulness, sound healing, and a 70-minute sound bath. $30 Yoga Desa.

SATURDAY, MAY 10

Wanderlust Yoga In The City. FREE 1-day celebration of yoga and music at Santa Monica Pier. Yoga in the City brings Wanderlust’s inspiring mountaintop adventures down to sea level. Free withregistration.

1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M. Yamuna at YAS. This workshop for cyclists, runners, yogis, and anyone noticing hip restriction presents powerful preventative and maintenance tools to improve performance and facilitate freer movement. $100. YAS Fitness Center. 1101 Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice.

1:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. Divine Energy Immersion.  Kayren Peace and Odile Dell’Aquila present an exquisite, healing, loving immersion supported by a gentle crystal bowl sound bath. $111 Beautiful Private Topanga Location.

2:00 P.M. – 3:00 P.M. Family Yoga Class with Beth Prandini and Annie Marks. All Ages, Kids Under 12 Are Free. Every Saturday. Yogis Anonymous 1221 2nd St, Santa Monica.

2:30 P.M. – 5:00 P.M. Quieting the Sheaths of The Body with Christine Stein. The quietness of forward bending asanas is a gift for all of us who live in the city. This is a time for inward reflection, quieting the nervous system, and self study. Pre-registration highly recommended. Space is limited. Yoga Upstairs. 5308 Derry Ave, Agoura Hills.

4:00 P.M. – 5:30 P.M. On the Path: Mantra, Meditation and Healing Practices for the Urban Yogiwith Sarah Garney. This weekly class is devoted to developing and deepening a spiritual practice with mantra, meditation and healing practices. We will practice specific mantras, meditations and techniques for empowerment, health, prosperity, self-realization and more. Bhakti Yoga Shala 207 Arizona, Santa Monica.

7:00 P.M. Ra Ma Yoga Institute Anniversary Party. Ra Ma turns one! Come celebrate with us Post-White Tantric Yoga. White Sun and RA MA Records Concert, Dinner, and Celebration. Ra Ma Yoga Institute. 304 Lincoln Blvd. Venice.

7:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M. Yoga Dance Trance led by Ariana Bates. Meditation, ecstatic dance, and prana flow yoga are combined with a sound bath savasana. $15 pre register, $20 at door. Stella Luna Yoga 9191 Valley View St, Cypress.

7:00 P.M. – 9:00 P.M. Divine Mother Love Feast. A pre-Shakti Fest event with vegetarian food, kirtan, ecstatic dance, sound baths, and a yoga rave. Enter the $5 raffle for a free Shakti Fest ticket. Benefit for Share Necessities, a nonprofit helping homeless individuals and agencies. Naam Yoga 1231 4th Street, Santa Monica.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 14

8:00 P.M. Solace: The Art of Asking the Beautiful Question. Using the insights of poetry, David Whyte explores the line of inquiry that helps us reimagine ourselves, our world and our part in it. Presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. $20/$10 UCSB Students. Campbell Hall, UCSB.

Emma Goldman: Love, Anarchy, and Other Affairs. McCready Baker stars in this show written by Jessica Litwak and directed by Gina Young. Goldman was a radical activist ahead of her time who made monumental efforts for human rights. May 14 – 17. Civic Center Studios 207 S. Broadway, Los Angeles.

FRIDAY, MAY 16

Shakti Fest: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine. May 16 – 18. Shakti Fest is a heart-opening experience with world-renowned kirtan artists from a variety of traditions including Jai Uttal, Dave Stringer, Donna de Lory, and Wah!  with yoga classes and workshops led by star teachers like Shiva Rea, Sara Ivanhoe, Mark Whitwell, Saul David Raye, and more. Joshua Tree, California.

7:00 P.M. Friday Night Yoga Club. 75-minute yoga flow with your favorite DJ’s or live musicians, inspiring yoga teachers, healthy eats and wellness vendors. 10% of the net-profits from ticket sales FNYC LA benefit Lionhearted Kids. This week Ashley Cummings and a special guest. Agni Yoga. 7327 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood.

SATURDAY, MAY 17

Shakti Fest: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine. May 16 – 18. Shakti Fest is a heart-opening experience with world-renowned kirtan artists from a variety of traditions including Jai Uttal, Dave Stringer, Donna de Lory, and Wah!  with yoga classes and workshops led by star teachers like Shiva Rea, Sara Ivanhoe, Mark Whitwell, Saul David Raye, and more. Joshua Tree, California.

Ayurveda Deconstructed. A four weekend workshop series that brings Ayurveda to you from dosha to detox; the fundamentals broke down, applied and celebrated. Yoga Rock Studios and Liberation Yoga.

4:00 P.M. – 5:30 P.M. On the Path: Mantra, Meditation and Healing Practices for the Urban Yogiwith Sarah Garney. This weekly class is devoted to developing and deepening a spiritual practice with mantra, meditation and healing practices. We will practice specific mantras, meditations and techniques for empowerment, health, prosperity, self-realization and more. Bhakti Yoga Shala 207 Arizona, Santa Monica.

SUNDAY, MAY 18

Shakti Fest: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine. May 16 – 18. Shakti Fest is a heart-opening experience with world-renowned kirtan artists from a variety of traditions including Jai Uttal, Dave Stringer, Donna de Lory, and Wah!  with yoga classes and workshops led by star teachers like Shiva Rea, Sara Ivanhoe, Mark Whitwell, Saul David Raye, and more. Joshua Tree, California.

12:00 P.M. – 6:00 P.M. Venice Family Clinic Art Walk and Auction. This fundraiser for Venice Family Clinic features a 350-piece art auction, live entertainment, and gourmet food trucks. Free. Google Headquarters. 340 Main Street, Venice.

On the Horizon

May 22 – 26 Lightning in a Bottle. For the past nine years, The Do LaB has been producing innovative and inspiring events. Their signature weekend, Lightning in a Bottle, is a fusion of electronic music with installation art, live performance, spiritual workshops, and an overarching embodiment of cultural and environmental consciousness. San Antonio Recreation Area 2091 New Pleyto Rd., Bradley, CA.

Submit Your Program for LA Yoga’s Mid-Year Teacher Training Guide

The LA YOGA team is currently compiling our mid-year 2014 Teacher Training Guide. To have your program considered for listing in LA YOGA Magazine’s Teacher Training Guide (June 2014 issue), click here to fill out the submission form by May 9. Preference is given to programs within California.

Email us to inquire about additional advertising opportunities.

Please fill out the form by May 9, final deadline! Email uswith any further questions.

Animals in Need: Meet Lombard

Lombard is a real social butterfly, loves people and will greet you at the door when you come home. She gets along great with other cats. If you are looking for a pair, her sister and brother are also looking for their forever home. Lombard can be adopted with one of them or as a single cat. She is spayed, up to date on shots and microchipped.

Email Cathy to learn more about how you can meet Lombard.

A Cat’s Tale is an all-volunteer, no-kill rescue group based in the South Bay of Los Angeles.  Their mission is to rescue homeless cats and kittens and find them loving forever homes.  A Cat’s Tale is part of a coalition of rescue groups who are working towards making Los Angeles a no-kill city for homeless cats. Find them onFacebook. A Cat’s Tale holds adoptions every Saturday and Sunday at Petco in Culver City from 12 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.

SYTAR Early Bird Registration

The Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR) is a conference hosted by The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT). This year, IAYT is celebrating its 25th anniversary. SYTAR is dedicated entirely to professional education, research, practice, and policy issues for yoga therapy.

SYTAR will take place June 5 – 8 in Austin, TX. The theme of this year’s conference is “Where Your Talents and the Needs of the World Cross” -Aristotle.

Sessions include Ayurveda 101 for Yoga Therapists, Creating a YRx Presence in Your Community, and Yoga Survivorship: Strategies in Cancer Treatment just to name a few.  Keynote speakers include Michael Lerner, PhD, Judith Hanson Lasater, PT, PhD, and special guests including Richard Miller, PhD, co-founder of IAYT.

Early Bird Registration Deadline is May 14th! Register now and save $100.

“The work of our hearts, our heads, and our hands. These are the eternal instruments that human beings have been given. It is through love, wisdom, and will that we create meaning in our lives and discover ourselves and our vocations.” – Dr. Michael Lerner

Read our full interview with Dr. Lerner on LAYOGA.COM

Alanis Morissette Writes New Single as the Official Song for Marianne Williamson Campaign

Alanis Morissette has been a strong supporter of Marianne Williamson from the beginning. She sang at Williamson’s announcement to run for Congress on October 20, 2013 and has given keynote talks on her behalf. Because of her fervent backing of Williamson’s politics of conscience and a new bottom line, as well as Williamson’s love of Morissette’s artistry, it was an obvious choice to ask Morissette to write the official song of Marianne Williamson’s Congressional campaign in California’s District 33.

“I am thrilled that Alanis has written and recorded the song `Today’ for my campaign,” said Williamson.  “Her artistic genius is a gift to the world; the fact that she would use it in support of my campaign is the highest honor I can imagine.”

Read more on LAYOGA.COM

Watch the video for Today here and download it for free!

Learn more about Marianne Williamson and how to get involved. Primary elections are on June 3rd.Click here to register to vote. Deadline for registration is May 19.

Yogis, Become Empowered

YogaVotes, a project of Off the Mat Into the World, is a national, nonpartisan campaign to get yogis out to vote. For many people who practice yoga, the mat becomes too small to hold our practice. We find our yoga affecting our experience of our bodies, what we buy, the way we treat people, and how we engage in relationships. Let’s extend that awareness to the decisions we make for our schools, communities and our country.

Become Empowered:

Off The Mat presents, Beyond Duality: Yoga And Social Justice. OTM’s first online training featuring amazing speakers including Nikki Myers, Teo Drake, Michael Skolnik and Jacoby Ballard who will explore the issues of racism, bias, oppression and privilege. Confronting these challenging issues may help us begin to comprehend the impact systemic oppression and unconscious privilege has on the freedom of all beings. These online trainings are offered on a sliding scale.

Vote!

Voter Registration Deadlines by State

Register to Vote in California (Deadline May 19 for June 3 Primary)

Find Your California Polling Place

Shakti Fest is One Week Away: $50 Off

Shakti Fest is the ultimate Yogic destination retreat and gathering place for the collective consciousness. This three day festival , May 16 – 18, offers an unprecedented line up of internationally renowned yoga teachers, kirtan artists, and workshop leaders including Jai Uttal, Donna De Lory, Sara Ivanhoe, Tim Miller, Wah!, Mark Whitwell and more. Come a day early for Shiva Rea’s Body Pilgrimage Intensive which will include a prana yoga flow, meditation, in nature, and very special guided hike to the “Shiva Lingam Temple.” Or stay a day longer for Saul David Raye’s “Bhakti: The Ancient Path of Love” post-festival intensive. For more details, visit Shakti Fest Intensives.

Join Shakti Fest for one of the most uplifting yoga festivals to date! Tickets on sale now. Use promo code layoga14 to save $50.

Win an Arnicare Adventure

Arnicare works naturally with your body to relieve muscle pain and stiffness due to minor injuries, overexertion and falls, and to reduce pain, swelling and discoloration from bruises. Smart travelers keep this convenient and easy-to-use pain-reliever on hand for quick against pain before it slows you down.

Enter to win “Your Arnicare Adventure.” Complete the online sweepstakes form. Randomly chosen weekly winners will receive an Arnicare prize pack. The winner of the grand prize drawing can choose either a five-day, four-night trip for four to Red Rock State Park and the Grand Canyon, or a six-day, five-night trip for two on a Carnival Western Caribbean Cruise.See rules and details. 

Book Review - Healing: A Vibrational Exchange by Wah!

In this book, Wah! alludes to her own near-death experience, the subsequent four years of illnesses and injuries, and her increased sensitivities. As she describes, “My work is focused on holding higher energies for myself and modeling that for others.” This is part of the key to healing—through everything we do—using all of our sensory experience.

Read Felicia Tomasko’s full book review of Healing: A Vibrational Exchange on LAYOGA.COM

Have a sensory experience with Wah! on the Kirtan stage next weekend at Shakti Fest in Joshua Tree. May 16 – 18.

Beet-Farro Salad by LYFE Kitchen

By Chef Tal Ronnen and Chef Jeremy Bringardner

397 calories
425 mg sodium

Ingredients:

2 cups mixed greens

1/2 cup farro, cooked and cooled

1/2 cup apples, sliced 1/8?

1/2 cup fennel, shaved as thin as possible on a mandolin

1 tbsp red onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp walnuts, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup roasted beets

2 tbsp dried cranberries

1 tbsp basil, torn

1 1/2 oz maple-sherry vinegar

For full recipe including directions on making farro and roasted beets, visit FINDBLISS.COM

Vedic Astrology: Time to be Patient

There is a distinct possibility of other people’s communications and miscommunications getting on your nerves—as well as your poor communication getting on other people’s nerves.

It is best to slow down and be tolerant and patient with others and their missteps, as the strong Mars has a tendency to increase our overall impatience and irritability. To counteract this, these are good days to chant the Gayatri Mantra.

For more of your May forecast, visit LAYOGA.COM

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