Open Your Heart: A Bhakti Yoga and Creativity Immersion

Join critically acclaimed spiritual music artists Sean Johnson and The Wild Lotus Band for a Bhakti Yoga immersion. Sing your heart out, tap into your inner poet, and rejoice in the awakening of your unique voice and creativity during this heart-opening weekend.

Are you yearning for creative inspiration that reinvigorates your spirit? This retreat is an invitation to drink from the life-giving well of Bhakti Yoga, the Yoga of the heart.

Sean and the band will create a safe and invigorating space for you to:

• Tune your being with singing meditation, kirtan chanting, song, and dance
• Explore your own life story more deeply through interactive storytelling, mythology, coloring, and journaling
• Merge your physical and emotional consciousness with heart-centered vinyasa Yoga practice accompanied by enchanting live music
• Spark a romance with life itself and explore the love poetry of the Bhakti tradition

The retreat will be accompanied by the live grooves of The Wild Lotus Band—a favorite headliner at Yoga and music festivals nationwide—featuring guitar and bass player Alvin Young and percussionist and vocalist Gwendolyn Colman.

All are welcome to attend.

Bring your children with you this weekend!

Sign them up here for the Kid’s Yoga Program, a childcare program for guests who come to visit with children ages 5–11. While you enjoy your program, you can feel confident that the kids will be well looked after by our experienced staff and entertained through a variety of fun activities.

Concert

If you can’t attend the full workshop but would still like to see Sean Johnson and The Wild Lotus Band live,
join us for the Saturday night Satsang Concert.
Tickets: $30 in advance and $40 at the door
Doors open at 7 pm

Tentative Weekend Schedule

Friday Evening
Open the Heart: Storytelling and Kirtan
Tonight we open the gates of our heart and set the tone for our weekend retreat with an intimate evening of storytelling, live music, and kirtan. Sean will share stories both from the mythology of Yoga as well as from his personal journey to help bring more meaning and depth to the songs and chants we’ll sing together.

Saturday Morning
Bhakti on the Mat: The Mythic World of Yoga
Merge the heart-opening qualities of Bhakti Yoga with the sensuality and vitality of asana. This deep and playful all-levels practice includes storytelling from the mythical world of Yoga, soul-stirring kirtan, graceful vinyasa sequences, imaginative meditations, and evocative live music. Some experience with asana is recommended. Sean and the band have guided this workshop at festivals and conferences across the country, including sold-out attendance at The Yoga Journal Conference and Bhakti Fest.

Saturday Afternoon
Yoga of Sound Playshop
Explore one of the most ancient and powerful forms of Yoga—the Yoga of sound vibration. Learn about how sound has been used to shift consciousness in cultures around the world as well as in the fields of science and medicine. Experience a special vocal Yoga singing practice designed to help you tune the instrument of your body. Dive into a playful rhythm session guided by Gwendolyn to help you get in touch with your inner drummer, and savor the power of delightfully bringing song and dance together to awaken joy and brighten your soul.

Saturday Evening
An Evening of Mantra Music
Free your heart and stir your soul in this interactive evening of ancient mantras given new voice through dynamic songs that merge New Orleans roots, rock, gospel, and world grooves.

Sunday Morning
Bhakti on the Mat: Poetry of the Heart and Body
Join Sean and the band for another deep and playful all-levels practice that includes storytelling, heart-opening poetry, soul-stirring kirtan, graceful Vinyasa Yoga sequences, imaginative meditations, evocative live music, and a safe space for you to awaken your inner poet. Bring a journal and crayons or magic markers.

Continuing Education Opportunities

• Yoga Alliance (YA):  Approximately 10 contact hours. You can input your contact hours using your YA login information.
• Integral Yoga Teachers Association (IYTA) can provide you a CE certificate with your program’s total contact hours for a $10 fee (free for IYTA members.) For more information, email membership@iyta.org.

Testimonials

I have taken a few programs at Yogaville, and this has been my favorite. Sean and his band create a safe, fun, and educational space to really tap into creativity through song, wonderful stories, and intuitive movement. If you’ve ever struggled with creativity, consider this heart-opening and inspiring experience.—Meghan King

The program combined music, chanting, storytelling and poses in an amazing way. Sean and the Wild Lotus band did a fantastic job keeping us engaged. The program was very interactive and allowed us to dive deep into our creativity.—Izzet Murat

A wonderful opportunity to grow in creativity in a safe friendly environment. Sean and the band will help your spirit soar.—Heather Dotterweich

Indescribably delicious- your heart will open. Fear, self concern, worry, and inhibitions will melt away. Sean is amazing and will open a safe space for you to spontaneously grow into.—Michael Selzer