Tadasana Festival: Inspiring Connection and Community


Seane Corn Shares Insights by Beth Davis


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fter intense planning over the past year, the time has finally come for the much anticipated Tadasana International Festival of Yoga and Music. Set for Earth Day weekend, April 19-22, the festival promises to be a transforma- tive experience. Attendees will be able to choose from 60 of the nation’s top yoga instructors offering more than 75 classes and workshops with live, in-class musical performances by artists from around the world, as well as dozens of lectures and an eco-conscious shopping market in an outstanding location—just five minutes from the Santa Monica Pier.


In addition to practicing yoga, the


Tadasana Village, located at the edge of the beach facing the Pacific Ocean, will offer a place for people to connect, shop, eat and gather. The Village will feature five themed yoga tents; The Daily Love Lounge Lecture Dome showcas- ing speakers who are committed to the principles of yoga, health, sustainability and service; artwork; chill zones; an organic food court; an Eco-Village with over 70 booths; and much more. According to festival co-founder, Tommy Rosen, one of the goals of the event is to create a sense of connec- tion and community—and enforce the idea that anyone can make a difference.


Perhaps nobody knows how to make a difference better than Seane Corn, an internationally renowned yoga teacher and spiritual activist. Well known for her unique self-expres- sion and inspirational style of teaching that incorporates both the physical and mystical aspects of the practice of yoga, Corn is excited to be teaching several classes at Tadasana. “Tadasa- na is such a terrific opportunity for both new and seasoned yogis, as it brings together different styles of yoga across studio lines,” says Corn. “It will be a joyful, connected experience for all who attend.”


Corn first got involved with activism when she cre- ated the yoga program at Children of the Night, a nonprofit shelter that houses and educates adolescent prostitutes. That experience helped her to recognize that service was the next inevitable step on her journey. Since then, she has been a passionate warrior for positive social change. She is the Na- tional Yoga Ambassador for YouthAIDS, co-founder of “Bare Witness” Humanitarian Tours and co-creator of the organiza- tion, Off the Mat, Into the World®


(OTM).


OTM’s vision for change is to support and inspire indi- viduals through leadership training, community collabora- tion and local and global service projects to become aware


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of their purpose in life and to awaken their capacity to be leaders of sustainable social change—all using the power of yoga. “The idea is simply to encourage yogis everywhere to take their yoga ‘off the mat’ and create real change in the world,” explains Corn.


The Tadasana festival and Yoga- Works will help bring awareness to OTM and its Empowered Youth Initiative by offering a special fundraising class called “Stand Together.” This unique opportu- nity to practice for a good cause will be held in the YogaWorks tent on Saturday, April 21 from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $50 and 100 percent of the proceeds


goes directly to the Empowered Youth Initiative, an out- reach program that works to reverse the disruptive cycles facing city youth in LA and other urban centers through training and education.


The classes and workshops will be led by an incred- ible roster of highly respected instructors including Corn; Lisa Walford, the woman largely responsible for writing and compiling the YogaWorks Teacher Training manual; Kathryn Budig, author of the forthcoming The Big Book of Yoga; Kia Miller, founder of the DVD series, “Radiant Body Yoga;” and YogaWorks teacher trainer, Joan Hyman.


“I love collaborating and sharing the power of yoga with such a diverse group of personalities,” notes Corn. “It is just the ultimate yoga—what gets created is something I could never replicate on my own. I expect it to be very positive and incredibly empowering.”


After 26 years of practice, Corn is as passionate now as she has ever been; however, she doesn’t hide the fact that just like in life, her own yoga practice can have its plateaus. “There are certainly days when I feel burned out and not so invested,” she admits. “I try to remember that it’s less about me and more about the quality of intention. Plus, I have never experienced a time when I said, ‘I wish I didn’t practice today.’”


Although her personal practice may have its ups and downs, Corn says she rarely gets uninspired when teaching. “I have many circumstances with students that remind me why I do this. I’m grateful and lucky to do what I love.”


For more info, visit TadasanaFestival.com or connect at Face- book.com/TadasanaFestival or Twitter.com/TadasanaFest. See ad, page 2. For more info about Seane Corn, visit SeaneCorn.com or OffTheMatIntoTheWorld.org.


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