Namaste Knowhow
Celeb yogis descend on Houston for Texas Yoga Conference
This weekend, over 1,000 yogis will descend upon the University of St. Thomas for a three-day yogasm of 72 workshops, live music and good vibes, all part of the second annual Texas Yoga Conference.
"It's a community event that we hope will show that Houston is a mecca for yoga," Jennifer Buergermeister, the director of CuraYoga and the events founder, tells CultureMap. For Buergermeister, the city is a perfect fit for yoga enthusiasts. "We have these amazing medical professionals. Also, Houston really is a diverse, cultural city. Every language on the planet is spoken here. It's the unity among all of these cultures that allies with yoga."
With this sentiment, Buergermeister arranged for a lunch with other yoga leaders in the city over a year ago, from which the first Texas Yoga Conference spawned. "We were in a private room at Miyako, 11 or 12 of us, all sitting in lotus position." Their ideas coalesced into the conference, which now in its second year, has already doubled its capacity.
This year's rendition, held Feb. 25 to 27, is themed "Yoga is for Everybody!" While there will be scores of practice sessions, there's also a focus on fun. Participants will enjoy the talents of a belly dancer, massage therapist and henna artist.
live performances by and MC Yogi on Saturday - full-time yoga teacher and performing artist, combines knowledge of yoga with love for hip hop music for modern mystics, truth seekers and urban yogis, separate ticket is $25
brainchild of long time yoga studio owner and legislative yoga advocate Jennifer Buergermeister from Jennyoga and CuraYoga, partnered with YogaOne Studio's owners, Roger and Albina Rippy to bring conference into second year
"I have been on the board of yoga teachers association. i had this big idea to gather together all of the yoga instructors. i had some ideas, free day of yoga. i really thought we should do the event together. that's really how it happened in miyako sushi, 11 or 12 of else, sitting in lotus position. we thought it would be a grand idea. four studios volunteered the first year to make it happen. curayoga and yogaone managing the conference. it's a community event that we hope to show that houston is a mecca for yoga. i always thought that we have these amazing medical professionals. it's also a meritocracy. houston really is a diverse cultural city. every language of the planet is spoken. if that's not unity in action for a city, i don't know what that is. let's start with a community event.
i had a great idea. we almost had it the first year. so we didn't get him the first year. he's pretty famous in our world of yoga. he's really hip and does some great things. we were excited to have someone that so many people in the yoga community. he and his wife teach a class together.
sean johnson, i was introduced early on last year before the conference and he offered to come on a donation basis. ironically, texas was under the scrutiny of the texas workforce commission. we had a lot of issues for regulation. we're in the process of presenting a bill to change the law. it seems to be a trend. how can we generate more revenue for our state? they're just really amazing performers, show louisiana and texas are amigos.
we have three days this year, 72 presentations versus 37
we're expecting over 1,000 people, for sure.
ust is a beautiful campus. we're taking over. register by going online.
belly dancer, massage therapist, henna
theme "Yoga is for Everybody!"
over 60 presentations with over 20 different styles of yoga being taught for all to enjoy
second annual Texas Yoga Conference
yoga professional from around the world
at Jerabeck Athletic Center, St. Thomas University
Feb. 25 to 27
over 20 different styles of yoga workshops will be taught (over 70 workshops in total) by yoga teachers known worldwide and Texas-based instructors
Houston-based and nationally recognized instructors Robert Boustany, Jennifer Buergermeister, Misha Laird, Julie Byrd, Amy Garratt, Ann Hyde and Catherine Allen
hand-selected based on submitted presentation outline and letter stating intent for participation in the conference
local music artist DJ Sun will spin live during one of asana practices, NYC's DJ Hyfi will spin as well
national imports: Duncan Wong, Sadie Nardini, Sierra Bender, Les Leventhal, Dana Flynn and Yoga Journal's November 2010 cover model and Texas-native, KK Ledford
Sean Johnson and The Wild Lotus Band kick off festivities on Friday night at 5 p.m. with Laughing Lotus yoga class with Dana Plynn and DJ Hyfi, follwed by Sean's concert in the Jarabeck Athletic Center's Scanlan Room
part of a trend that brings mantra music into the mainstream, giving ancient sounds a contemporary voice that transcends the musical, cultural and sectarian boundaries