Let’s talk festivals, yoga friends. Festivals, conferences, and workshops are where we learn, connect, and nourish our profession together. We meet new friends, nerd out on our favorite topics, and share our stories with other yoga folks who understand our language, values, and passions. So this week Heather Shereé Sanders talks to us about the Sedona Yoga Festival, what lights her inner fire about networking people together, and why themes capture the best of the moment. Key Takeaways: *It used to be the goal to be a yoga teacher who travels, but through covid, it made the industry shift perspectives on where we go and why. There used to be a circuit that yoga teachers who were well known would travel on, teaching in different cities all over the world.  Now those festivals have gone by the wayside, replaced by more local and regional feeling events that foster community.  I love a lot of what this shift has indicated for us and our priorities.  How about you? *Especially here in 2024, I agree with Heather that we just want to get back together again.  We want to gather in groups and connect and move and learn and grow together.  Heather’s theme of the conference this year, being all together, now, is what we all want. *We do want to connect as much as learn, and if you ask me this is THE reason I go to festivals and conferences.  I swear at least ½ of the people on this podcast I have connected with in some way during a festival or conference.  I love meeting y’all out in the wild, learning what lights your inner fire, and getting to share bits of your passion on this podcast.  So let me say a heartfelt thank you to those of you whom I have met in these spaces–you are the best. *Do you want to do events?  Small events?  Big events?  You all need a theme.  My studio community just gave me some guff for hosting a potluck without a theme–and they were right.  If you want to know more about how to do this, I just read a book called The Art Of Gathering by Priya Parker to learn how to make skillful parties, gatherings, and events. *How are we facilitating connection in our communities?  I know that this is something I have asked before on the podcast, and connection is one of my forever themes for my life, but I want to say we don’t need to host giant events to facilitate community among our people.  Book clubs, potlucks, murder mystery nights, movie screenings & discussions, and collaborative outside experiences like forest baths are some of the things I have done in my community that have been well-received.  I have done bigger events too, of course, but those small events can seem much less intimidating and also create great meaning for people. RESOURCES Working In Yoga Website Working In Yoga Newsletter Sedona Yoga Festival Website SPONSOR Sunlight Streams Blog Sunlight Apothecary