9:30am-10:30am

The Seat of a Bhakta
Cher Aslor

Find your seat as a Bhaka so that you can soar in your body.

Our pelvis is the vibrant gateway between our upper body and lower body, because it’s located in between our spine and our thigh bones. When we move our trunk or our legs, our pelvis is effected. Sometimes this movement can be too much and more stabilization is needed, and sometimes there’s not enough movement and more mobilization is needed. It’s different for each of us depending on several things, some including our individual injury history, flexibility, and core strength. In this mini workshop we’ll look at how the pelvis aligns and becomes vibrant when we are successful in using the muscles of the abdominals, spine and hip joints. We can relate this to yoga and Pilates and will try out some poses and exercises in this workshop.

11:00am-11:30am

Women of Bhakti
Bryn Chrisman

Premier Film Screening introduced by Bryn Chrisman, Owner of NYC’s Yogamaya Yoga Studio and Speaker within the Film

It is with deep gratitude and love that we present the Women of Bhakti Project!
While we know that there is an alarming shortage of natural resources on our planet, the resources of the soul; compassion, understanding and love are also in great demand. Through the awakening of divinity within each of us, bhakti can rise up like a great tidal wave, and wash us with a sense of wholeness, godliness and the unlimited capacity to serve and love. This project came about in response to the yoga community’s growing interest in learning more about bhakti. As long time students, practitioners and teachers of bhakti yoga we have experienced and witnessed the profound effects that living in bhakti can have on people both individually and collectively.

12:30am-1:30pm

Jai Uttal’s Kid’s Kirtan
Jai Uttal

The world of wide eyed, childlike wonder that is so essential to the path of Bhakti is not always that easily attainable to us highly educated, ‘spiritual’ adults. But as you mommies and daddies know, we can let our kids help us! Come to Kaia Yoga for an afternoon of “Kiddie Kirtan, heartful and simple Indian chanting for the little ones of all ages. Of course the drums, shakers and front row seats are reserved for the kids, but parents and older brothers and sisters are welcome – as long as they behave! See you there!!

This event is a party to celebrate Jai’s latest album, Kirtan Kids: The Elephant, the Monkey, and the Little Butter Thief, a wondrous collection of stories, chants and songs sung by, and for, our divine younger generation.

To find out more about Kirtan Kids, please visit http://jaiuttal.com/kirtankids

2:30pm-4:00pm

Symbolism of Hindu and Buddhist Deities and their Relevance today
Manoj Chalam and Jyothi Chalam

Using statues to illustrate, Manoj will relate the symbolism of Hindu and Buddhist deities to archetypes within us. Through their myths, we’ll uncover hidden symbolisms and learn the four ways to work with them as part of a nondualistic spiritual and yogic practice. Discover how knowing and working with your archetypes can profoundly shift you, especially during moments of life transitions, and how these ancient teachings have practical relevance to your life, bringing peace of mind and uncovering our underlying common spirit.

We will explore the spiritual meaning and significance of chanting through both Vedic chants and Kirtans.

4:00pm-6:00pm

Ecstatic Dance with Rhythm Sanctuary
Ahva Lenay with Dj SunDragon 

This class with infuse our love of the dance with Dj SunDragon leading the way. Our environment is co~created by members of our community coming together prior to the dance to create “sacred space” as they are inspired. We consider “creating the space” to be as meaningful and as much an act of devotional practice as the dance itself. It is not uncommon to witness participants meditating, making prayers, intentions, or reading cards at the altars. No special dance background is necessary, there are trained dancers as well as those who have never danced before. You may see participants in complete stillness, practicing yoga, drumming or rattling, leaping and playing, moving on the floor in contact improvisation, or sounding and clapping in spontaneous response to one another or the music.

The dance ritual itself is held in non-verbal reverence. We offer this to invite the deeper parts of our being to rise to consciousness, as well as practicing a new way of expressing that is different from our ordinary day to day communications. Here we may meet each other eye to eye, hand to hand, heart to heart or simply notice one another in passing. There are no expectations and we encourage authenticity, trust, exploration, and the freedom to emotionally express oneself.

Participating children welcome. Dress to move. Dance and be danced!

10:30pm-12:30pm

Embodying the Goddess Kali
Kamala Easton, Ph.D.

In India, reverence is given to the Divine Feminine or the Wisdom and Energy of Consciousness. The Goddesses Kali, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati represent archetypal powers – The power of the Divine Feminine, which lie dormant in us but need to be experienced, and brought into consciousness in our lives. We will honor the divine essences of these Goddesses. This workshop will focus on the energies of Kali who represents: transformation, death, destruction, change and our ability to release aspects of self which are false and/or no longer needed in our lives.
The purpose of these workshops is to enable women, in particular (but not limited as it is the experience of the Divine Feminine which is in us all), to become empowered in their worlds. Affirming their identity as spiritual beings through practices deeply rooted in the tradition of the Indian Goddesses. Through the actual experience of a higher level of vibration, participants are transformed into the knowingness of a higher reality of consciousness which can be integrated into their daily lives and practices.

Part I
of the workshop is a discussion of the goddess, what power she represents in the universe, her creation story, her symbology and what her meaning is in our lives today

Part II
is Yoga opening up the particular area in the body where her vibration is held, and Intensive breathwork to expand that part of the body. (For example, Kali’s vibration is located in the heart center and yoga movements will focus on expanding the chest, arms and torso. Specific breathwork bringing the breath into the heart center will be incorporated.)

Part III
Chanting the mantra‚s of the Devi. Each goddess or power has a sound vibration. These sounds in the Veda‚s hold the seed for all of the power, like an acorn is to an oak tree. We chant the mantra‚s 108 times followed by a deep meditation, beginning with bija mantras and ending with longer more expansive and more powerful mantras to the Devi.