Mar/April 2010 Midwest Yoga Conference June 3-6, 2010 Sacred Activism is the theme of this year's annual Midwest Yoga Conference to be held June 3-6 at the Hilton Indian Lakes Resort & Spa in Bloomingdale , Illinois . The conference will feature workshops and intensives led by master yoga teachers, yoga teacher trainings, inspiring keynotes, a yoga demonstration, concert, and an exhibition hall featuring products and services to enhance your yoga practice. The conference opens on Thursday, June 3, with teacher trainings led by Dr. Indu Arora (108 marma points), Daren Friesen (hands-on adjustments for sun salutations and standing poses), Saul David Raye (yoga of touch: hands-on healing techniques and Thai yoga massage), and Mark Whitwell (yoga of peace, intimacy, sex, and relationship). Also on Thursday are all-day intensives with Bo Forbes (the lymphatic web: revitalizing the immune system, emotional body, and happiness pathways), Andrew Harvey (sacred marriage: divine feminine and masculine), Paul Grilley (anatomy for yoga), and Toni Bergins (JourneydanceT: the chakra flow). Thursday evening highlights include a yoga demonstration by Jim Bennitt, popular yoga teacher and co-director of Tejas Yoga in Chicago , and a keynote by spiritual activist Andrew Harvey, who is an internationally acclaimed poet, novelist, translator, mystical scholar, spiritual teacher, and founder of the Institute for Sacred Activism in Oak Park , where he lives. Andrew Harvey was a Fellow of All Souls College Oxford (from 1972 to 1986) and has taught at Oxford University , Cornell University , the California Institute of Integral Studies, and the University of Creation Spirituality , as well as various spiritual centers throughout the U.S. He was the subject of the 1993 BBC film documentary "The Making of a Modern Mystic." Friday through Sunday, conference attendees can take classes with the above presenters as well as yoga stars Seane Corn, Lilias Folan, Jonny Kest, Moses, Micheline Berry , and many others. Local teachers include Dr. Indu Arora, Daren Friesen, Jim Bennitt, and Shakta Kaur. Julia Butterfly Hill is the Friday night keynote speaker. She is an environmentalist, poet, writer, educator, speaker, peace activist, and founder of the organization Circle of Life. Julia brought international attention to the plight of the world's ancient forests when, in 1997, she climbed 180 feet into the branches of Luna, a 1,000-year-old redwood tree in Humboldt County, California, where she stayed for more than two years. Her historic protest against the environmental destruction caused by the clear-cutting of ancient redwoods culminated with a negotiated agreement that provided permanent protection for the tree. Highlights on Saturday include an afternoon panel on Sacred Activism with Julia Butterfly Hill, Seane Corn, Andrew Harvey, Jonny Kest, David Romanelli, and Mark Whitwell. The day ends with an evening concert by Rara Avis & Shaman's Dream, popular among yogis for their music for yoga as well as ecstatic dance. Early Sunday morning (7-7:45), Lilias Folan leads "Greeting the Day in a Sacred Way ." The morning ritual and asana class include the vibrations of Native American cultures, t'ai chi, meditation, movement, asana, pranayama, sacred dance, chanting, and song. In the afternoon, 1:30-2:30 , Bahia Ohlsen leads a workshop on yoga and fertility. This is the eleventh year that Jonny Kest and his wife, Milla, have been bringing together a community of yoga practitioners, master yoga teachers of many traditions, musicians, speakers, and vendors who cater to yogis. Yoga students and teachers from around the country attend the Midwest Yoga Conference to improve their practice, gain new skills, learn new information, reconnect with friends, and become inspired. To register, visit midwestyoga.com or call 888.488.YOGA.
