Giving Back

This June, dust off your travel yoga mat and head to beautiful Boulder, Colo., for the second annual Hanuman Festival! More than your typical yoga retreat, Hanuman combines yoga, music and community, all for some great causes.

When: June 8-10, 2012

Where: Boulder, Colorado, near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains

The yoga: The all-star instructor lineup includes classes with Kathryn Budig, Tommy Rosen, Kia Miller, Amy Ippoliti and many more.

The music: Enjoy concerts featuring Desert Dwellers, Jim Beckwith, Ashlee K Thomas, David Newman (Durga Das), Vamadeva Jaya, DJ Drez, The Pushpams,  David “Duke Mushroom” Schommer and many more. Artists will perform during select yoga classes as well as at scheduled concerts.

The causes:

• Off the Mat and Into the World, a program that “uses the power of yoga to inspire conscious, sustainable activism and ignite grassroots social change.”
• The Wellness Initiative, which seeks to “improve the physical health, social and emotional development, and academic performance of low-income youth through yoga-based wellness programs.”
• Give Back Yoga Foundation supports and fund certified yoga teachers in all traditions to offer the teachings of yoga to under-served and under-resourced socio-economic segments of the community.

Gaiam is especially excited for this event because it’s one of the only yoga festivals to take place right in our own backyard — less than eight miles from our Louisville, Colorado headquarters! Gaiam and Gaiam TV will each have booths at the festival, where participants will be able to check out our newest yoga mats, DVDs and other gear, as well as meet some of your favorite yoga instructors who will be stopping by to say hello or help you perfect your poses.

We chatted with Cara Fogel Ferrick, Hanuman’s sales and marketing director, who gave us the scoop on what sets Hanuman apart (and where that name came from!).

By Adri Kyser

You hear people talk about Karma more and more nowadays. They use this word to describe something good or bad that happened to them or to someone else. Often you can even hear this word used to predict the future consequences a person may receive based upon a particular action.

“What is Oneness?

Oneness is more than a beautiful word. Science increasingly shows it is our true nature – that life is a unified whole with multiple dimensions, each complementing the other.

Beyond that, Oneness is the key to peace.”

As Julio hauled the net into our skiff, we spied a green sea turtle ensnared in the mesh. In this case, we were happy to see our captive: Julio is the Magadalena Baykeeper on Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, and part of his job is working with Grupo Tortuguero — the world’s foremost sea turtle conservation group — to capture, study and release endangered turtles in order to help ensure their future.

Here at Gaiam, we don’t just walk the walk — we pose the pose. Many of us really do keep up a regular yoga practice, and yes, we love to use our Gaiam yoga mats, bags, straps, blocks and clothes. We also count ourselves lucky that we can do yoga at work — either on our own at the on-site gym or at weekly on-site yoga classes. There’s truly nothing like Warrior Pose to start the workday or Savasana to melt away stress at the end of it.

From time to time, we highlight the best articles, blogs, news, videos and interesting Web tidbits to help you live fit, live healthy, live green and live happy. Here are this week’s finds.

Health & Wellness

Hula Hooping and Self-Love

As our brothers and sisters in Japan struggle to find peace, understanding, support and a sense of order after this month’s devastating earthquake, I invite each of you to join me as I offer these words of prayer:

With the creation of Small Business Saturday this year (and its huge following!), there’s another movement taking shape this holiday season: Buy Handmade. At www.buyhandmade.org, people around the world are pledging to buy handmade gifts for loved ones this holiday season and ask that others do the same for them.

Holiday fun can wear you down — eating, drinking and festivities can take their toll on you mentally and physically. While a workout may seem like the last thing you have the time or energy for, it can enliven your spirit and alleviate stress. Think you have to choose between fitness and fun? Not so! Incorporate elements of the holiday season into your workout routine and you’ll add variety and interest and increase your motivation and enjoyment. Here are some ideas to help you put the holiday spirit into your workout:

Blue-footed Booby in the Galapagos

How would you like to win a 7-night Galapagos Islands cruise for two aboard an Ecoventura yacht, recognized as one of the most environmentally friendly outfitters in the islands? Imagine anchoring in turquoise bays, zipping ashore in small rafts and lazing on sandy beaches, empty but for colonies of curious sea lions and nonchalant iguanas sunning on the lava shoreline. Blue-footed boobies nest along island trails while albatross and frigate birds soar overhead. The wonders beneath the waves are just as amazing, as you snorkel with penguins and sea turtles.