These days we are all about health and wellness, but don’t think that it doesn’t extend beyond your local gym and health food store. Consider traveling the world for a spiritual awakening. Picture sitting on the beach and going completely zen or perhaps heading to the mountains to get into downward dog. From yoga and wellness festivals to community and art festival or a combination of it all, here are my picks for the best “good for your soul” festivals from all over the world.
Wanderlust Festival
GREAT LAKE, TAUPO, NEW ZEALAND | January 29 – February 1
COCKATOO ISLAND, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA | February 20-22
O’AHU, HAWAII, USA | February – March 1
SNOWSHOE, WEST VIRGINIA | June 5-7
STRATTON, BONDVILLE, VERMONT, USA | June 18-21
ASPEN-SNOWMASS, COLORADO, USA | July 2-5
SQUAW VALLEY, CALIFORNIA | July 16-19
WHISTLER, BRITISH COLOMBIA, CANADA | July 30 – August 3
TREMBLANT, QUEBEC, CANADA | August 20-23
Held in locations throughout North America as well as in Australia, New Zealand and Chile, Wanderlust Festivals are all-out, ecstatic celebrations bringing together the world’s leading yoga teachers, top musical acts, renowned speakers, exquisite chefs, and thrilling performers. From multi-day mountaintop experiences to urban retreats, unplug from the ordinary and discover the extraordinary.
MORE INFO www.wanderlust.com
Sedona Yoga Festival
SEDONA, ARIZONA, USA | February 5 – 8
Deepen your practice and tap into ancient wisdom with three days of yoga, music and energy work in the undisputed spiritual center of the West. The flexible conference structure gives you an unparalleled opportunity to weave your own experience in the richly colored cultural and natural tapestry that is Sedona. Known for its tangible regenerative and inspirational effects, deep spirituality, and healing lands, the small and picturesque town of Sedona, Arizona rests amidst endless acres of evergreen wilderness, red rock formations, and canyon lands.
MORE INFO sedonayogafestival.com
Envision Festival
RANCHO LA MERCED, COSTA RICA | February 26 – March 1
In just four years, Envision has blossomed from a backyard event into an internationally acclaimed community gathering, representing an elevated festival experience of spirit and community. By bringing people together in the lush landscape of Costa Rica, Envision offers opportunities to celebrate the spirit, heal the body and mind, and revitalize the soul while experiencing the beauty of the landscape, healing undertones, artistic expression, and the “Pura Vida!” way of life. Located near the famous surf mecca and beautiful beaches of Dominical on the pacific coast of Costa Rica, Envision Festival – Costa Rica offers something for everyone including surfing, lush jungles for exploring and camping, renowned DJs and musicians, world-class yoga teachers, workshops, adventure travel, and art.
MORE INFO www.envisionfestival.com
International Yoga Festival
RISHIKESH, UTTARAKHAND, INDIA | March 1-7
The world famous annual International Yoga Festival on the banks of the holy Ganges river, in the lap of the sacred Himalayas, the birthplace of yoga at Parmarth Niketan Ashram. Receive the darshan and inspiring, uplifting wisdom of revered saints, the teaching and touch of renowned yoga teachers from across the world, from a wide variety of lineages, plus ecstatic kirtan, divine Ganga Aarti and much more. The International Yoga Festival is a truly globally-unique event bringing together so many masters from so many traditions, cultures and countries in one sacred, beautiful place!
MORE INFO www.internationalyogafestival.com
Bali Spirit Festival
UBUD, BALI, INDONESIA | March 31 – April 5
A spiritually charged event that takes place on the tropical island of Bali, the annual BaliSpirit Festival inspires and unifies the global community through yoga, dance, healing and the beat of world music. In a synergy of global cultural collaboration and non-denominational spiritual practice, the Festival welcomes a targeted, passionate and enthusiastic global audience from over 50 countries to Bali each year.
MORE INFO www.balispiritfestival.com
SpiritFest
PAARL, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA | April 8-12
SpiritFest aims to create community around mindful living, specifically through the practice of yoga, eating well, and adapting a green life through the utilization of renewable energy. The event is a drug, alcohol, smoke and attitude free event. “Coming together in LOVE, music and movement connecting all of our senses, allowing us to experience the profound nourishment of the self that we are capable of creating. Immerse yourselves in all the yoga you could wish for. Get your body moving with amazing dance. Chant ecstatic mantras accompanied by incredible live music. Lift your spirit up to it’s highest potential.”
MORE INFO www.spiritfest.co.za
Sat Nam Fest
PENNSYLVANIA, USA | April 8-12
JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA, USA | August 26-30
Sat Nam Fest, a 4-day Kundalini Yoga and Music celebration, brings together a community of yogis, musicians, teachers and artists for a weekend of yoga, chanting and music. Sat Nam Fest is the ultimate Kundalini Yoga experience and welcomes Kundalini Yoga newbies and lifelong practitioners. Sat Nam Fest West is held at the Joshua Tree Retreat Center, the oldest and largest retreat center in the Western United States; a unique architectural landmark on a sacred site. Sat NameFest East is held in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Waynesboro.
MORE INFO www.satnamfest.com
Yoga-Rainbow Festival
CIRALI, TURKEY | May 2-8
The festival is held at a picturesque seaside area with the unforgettable landscapes of Turkey. Here you will have an opportunity not only to check out and practice various styles and masters, including international yoga stars, but also to have a pleasurable and inexpensive holiday held in the peaceful village Cirali, Turkey on Mediterranean coast.
MORE INFO rainbow.yogafest.info
Bhakti Fest
JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA, USA | May 15-17
MADISON, WISCONSIN, USA | June 26-28
JOSHUA TREE, CALIFORNIA, USA | September 10-13
Bhakti Fest is a yoga, dance and music festival which celebrates the devotional path that has its roots in yoga, kirtan, and meditation. It embraces ancient and modern sacred wisdom and traditional and non-traditional spiritual practices. The festival is a vehicle for evolution of human consciousness through a heart-centered revolution. Bhakti Fest builds a community of people drawn to follow the path of the heart – a devotional, prayerful, loving, healthful, respectful family. All the artists, presenters, and vendors embody, practice, and share the spirit of Bhakti through a variety of ways.
MORE INFO bhaktifest.com
Hanuman Festival
BOULDER, COLORADO, USA | June 11-14
Hanuman Festival is a community-oriented yoga and music festival set at the foot of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Join us in Boulder, Colorado for a celebration with world-class yoga instructors, mind-blowing music, inspirational experiences and a nourishing community. Immerse yourself in body, mind and heart as you relax and rejuvenate, dance and devote, connect and expand, have fun and just be.
MORE INFO www.hanumanfestival.com
The Groove Yoga Festival
SYDENHAM, ONTARIO, CANADA | June 20-21
GOA, INDIA | October 1-6
BERLIN, GERMANY | November 13-15
The Groove creates a space to celebrate communities of families and friends, local communities, communities of yoga, communities of love networked across Canada, Germany and beyond. The Groove honors the relationship between these human communities and the local traditions that have sustained them, the relationship held between cultivating livable environments and nourishing a healthy soul. The Groove welcomes all bodies of all ages for a weekend of dynamic movement, music and creative play. Through this shared experience we strengthen the grooves that lead us to each other, and forge new grooves of connection.
MORE INFO www.thegroovefestival.com
No Mind Festival
MOLKOM, SWEDEN | July 4-11
The No Mind festival is, like the name implies, a festival which invites us to live outside of the confines of our mental constructions, ideas and concepts. The invitation is to explore and be connected to life beyond the mind. It’s not about making the mind our enemy, rather to nourish, nurture and enjoy our other aspects of being, that can be so much more juicy and creative. The festival includes wisdom teachings from different traditions: sufism, satsang/non-duality, shamanism, etc.; workshops in movement, yoga, dance, tantra, meditation, creativity, theater, etc.; and concerts, performances, happenings, ceremonies, party and more! Since 1997, the No Mind festival has happened yearly, with one exception of 2014 when the festival took a break.
MORE INFO en.angsbacka.se
Telluride Yoga Festival
TELLURIDE, COLORADO, USA | July 9-12
The 8th Annual Telluride Yoga Festival is a 4-day event featuring over 100 offerings. These include yoga, meditation, music, hiking, dining, social gatherings and more. World-renowned teachers, artists, philosophers and scholars lead intimate workshops throughout the towns of Telluride & Mountain Village in eclectic and historic venues with stunning views of the majestic mountains surrounding the Telluride area…making it a unique and special gathering unlike any other.
MORE INFO www.tellurideyogafestival.com
Arise Music Festival
LOVELAND, COLORADO, USA | August 7-9
The ARISE Music Festival features 3 days of music, yoga, workshops and co-creative experiences of all kinds. Located just 65 miles north of Denver, Colorado at Sunrise Ranch, in a breath-taking rocky mountain oasis, this magical and secluded landscape is a perfect container for participants to entertain and be entertained, be inspired explore their creative potentials, connect with nature, stretch out, dive in, and dance to the wee hours.
MORE INFO www.arisefestival.com
Symbiosis
OAKDALE, CALIFORNIA, USA | September 17-20
Symbiosis intends to facilitate peak experiences through a synthesis of art, music, transformational learning, and sustainable living integrated into an unparalleled extravaganza of fun beneath the starry skies. A collaboration of insomniacs and mad scientists on a mission to create massive, mind-bending atmospheres, Symbiosis sets out to revel in the absurd nature of the human paradox. It is a social experiment founded on the five Rs of ecological living– Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Respect and Restore–participants shared a deep commitment to creating a green gathering on every possible level. Since 2005, Symbiosis Events has earned a worldwide reputation for delivering transformational peak experiences through a fusion of nightly art and music mixed with daytime workshops for mind, body and beyond.
MORE INFO en.angsbacka.se
So many festivals, no enough time! Envision is my favorite (so far) on your list!