Yoga festival ‘not only about yoga’

“Yoga allows you to rediscover a sense of wholeness in your life, where you do not feel like you are constantly trying to fit broken pieces together.”

— B.K.S. Iyengar

Founder, Iyengar style of yoga

Practitioners of yoga believe it promotes wellness on many levels, from increasing flexibility and energy to sharpening mental clarity and focus, and attaining peace of mind and a positive outlook.

Launched in 2013 at Kalani, a 120-acre nonprofit wellness retreat on the east side of Hawaii island, the Hawaii Yoga Festival welcomes both beginners and longtime yogis to explore all aspects of the discipline, which is at once calming and invigorating.

“Yoga is more than poses, breath work and meditation,” said Wendy McNeal, the event’s coordinator. “It’s a system of beliefs and physical, mental and spiritual practices. When you embrace yoga’s philosophies, they influence every aspect of your daily life.”

About 1,000 yoga enthusiasts from Australia, Japan, England, Canada and the U.S. are expected to attend this year’s event, which features 36 teachers, performers and facilitators hailing from Hawaii, Australia and across the mainland. They include Jessamyn Stanley, a 30-year-old instructor from Durham, N.C., who started practicing yoga just five years ago. Since then she has become an international phenom for championing a “body-positive” approach that encourages followers to ask, “How do I feel?” rather than, “How do I look?”

Stanley is black and decidedly plus-size. “We have this whole idea in our society that (yoga) is only meant for slender white women,” she said in a recent USA Today story. “The reality is that if you can breathe, you can do this practice.”

She will teach two classes and participate in a panel discussion at the festival. The event’s theme, “Love in Action,” was inspired by a book of the same name by Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh. The book is a compilation of Hanh’s observations on nonviolent social change written over the course of more than two decades.

“‘Love in Action’ seems especially appropriate given current cultural and political events,” McNeal said. “Yoga creates a feeling of unity among people. It calls for us to be mindful and to show love and respect for all beings. At this year’s festival we will ponder ways in which ‘ahimsa’ (nonviolence) can bring about constructive social change.”

Singing, dancing, drumming, journaling, live music and visual art will be combined with yoga in some of the more than 60 classes. One session, “The Mothership: An Epic Journey to Your Infinite Self,” features sound-healing with items such as crystal bowls, didgeridoos and tuning forks.

The Gong Bath is a popular segment of this session. “As you relax in a chair or on a yoga mat or blanket, gongs are played in changing rhythms, tones and volumes to create sound waves that stimulate the nervous system, clear blockages and soothe the psyche into a meditative state,” McNeal said. “It’s more than just hearing sound; you’ll be immersed in it. You’ll feel the vibrations on your skin, and they’ll also resonate deep inside you. When it’s over you’ll feel totally refreshed.”

At the festival you can also learn how to dance hula, make a ti leaf lei, use Hawaiian medicinal plants and engage in hooponopono (making right), a set of practices in Polynesian cultures to achieve forgiveness and reconciliation. You can pick up permaculture tips during a one-hour tour of Kalani’s gardens and orchards and visit a lively open-air night market in the nearby village of Kalapana.

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“The Hawaii Yoga Festival is not only about yoga,” McNeal said. “It takes you off the beaten path to Kalani’s spectacular tropical jungle setting where you can be part of a diverse community that believes in the power of harmony, self-awareness, connectedness, living simply, learning joyfully and honoring the land.”

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ACROYOGA

Oct. 11, 3-4:30 p.m.

AcroYoga integrates yoga, acrobatics and Thai massage techniques that will help participants develop a deeper self-awareness and figure out the concept of balance with others.

INTUITIVE AQUATIC MOVEMENT

Oct. 12, 6:30-8 a.m. Repeats Oct. 14, 4:30-6 p.m.

Experience meditative movement in Kalani’s watsu pool that supports and strengthens the body. Swimsuits required; each class limited to 14 participants.

YOGA AND MEDITATION TO RECLAIM YOUR WORTH

Oct. 12, 8:45-10:15 a.m.

Through journaling, hatha yoga, meditation and discussion, learn practices to help heal from toxic messages and instead cultivate self-acceptance.

YOGA AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: BUILDING CONSCIOUS COMMUNITY

Oct. 13, 1-4 p.m.

A panel discussion spotlights four yogis, including Jessamyn Stanley, who has written about topics such as how to create empowering yoga communities and how oppression interferes with “ahimsa.”

ODISSI

Oct. 14, 10:30 a.m.-noon

Session introduces the fundamental principles of Odissi, a form of tantric yoga-dance that originated in the temples of ancient India. The moves are playful, elegant, graceful and sensual.

HEALING JUSTICE, HEALING YOGA

Oct. 14, 1:15-4 p.m.

Expect to move, breathe, journal, connect, laugh, perhaps even cry. Use meditative techniques to identify emotions that might be clouding your mind, judgment, decision-making abilities and life.

Descriptions adapted from hawaiiyogafestival.com

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.