Yoga, anyone?

Sunday mornings are generally quiet along Eagle’s streets, but throughout the summer, there has been at least one hot spot in town.

While this hot spot is popular, it is also quiet. But that is by design as dedicated practitioners gathered at Eagle Town Park for Yoga in the Park for the past three months.

“We have had 75 to 100 people at each session,” said Yvonne Schwartz, owner of Yoga Off Broadway and the organizer of the weekly session.

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Yoga in the Park is a free event, with instructors from throughout the valley donating their time. Participants can give donations, which are in turn collected for a local non-profit. This year the donations were earmarked for The Cycle Effect, an Eagle-based group that seeks to enhance the lives of young women through mountain biking and to empower them through mentoring and education.

“We collected at least $1,200 in donations this summer,” said Schwartz. She noted that amount reflects the popularity of the weekly option, as well as the charm of the setting.

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Yoga in the Park marked its final session last weekend, but enthusiasts don’t need to mourn its conclusion. The popularity of the summertime weekly program is a spring board to Eagle Yoga Fest, a three-day event planned Friday through Sunday, Oct. 3-5.

Here comes Eagle Yoga Fest

Schwartz describes the event as a community-oriented yoga festival. While touting the quaint nature of the Eagle community, she promotes a schedule featuring “the best of local, regional, and national yoga teachers such as Shannon Paige, The Yogaslackers, R.R. Shakti, Gina Caputo, and more.”

“While at the festival, enjoy yoga and a hike, meditation, local mountain biking trails, and music,” states the event website.

Schwartz stressed that Eagle Yoga Fest is not just for the experienced to advanced practitioner.

“We have all kind of yoga opportunities and anyone can participate, regardless of their level of expertise,” said Schwartz. “We have both ends of the spectrum. That is something I am passionate about.”

Eagle Yoga Fest

instructors

Schwartz noted that one of the biggest draws for a yoga festival is the line up of instructors. Eagle Yoga Fest will give participants the opportunity to sign up for classes with instructors they have heard about, but never experienced. The maximum size for any of the classes will be 75 people.

“We want people to feel like they are having an intimate experience,” said Schwartz. “But if you want your perfect schedule of what classes you want to take, you have to sign up early.”

Here’s who is coming to Eagle Yoga Fest:

:: Jim Keegan

Jim Keegan is the founder of Yoga Nirvana Studio in Tempe, Ariz. He has taught yoga in the East Valley of Phoenix for more than nine years. In addition to teaching at the studio, he teaches internationally, in workshops and retreats. He has a B.S. Kinesiology and Biomechanics, and served as head yoga teacher at Arizona State University for nine years.

:: R.R. Shakti

R.R. Shakti ERYT 500 has been teaching “the blissipline” of Inner Power Yoga® since 2000. She is a certified massage therapist and has studied holistic approaches to health and well being for more than fifteen years. Shakti has traveled extensively throughout the world gaining insight, experience, and inspiration; bringing yoga and hope to people from all walks of life. She combines ecological awareness, social service, and mind/body integration to offer a message of peace and personal empowerment.

:: Shannon Paige

Living fully as a student, author, sacred activist, motivational speaker, and dedicated teacher of integrated, expressive flow yoga, Shannon is a respected teacher and mentor of teachers. She is the founder of Anjali Restorative Yoga, Bala Therapeutic Yoga, and Bhava Yoga for Depression and Anxiety. Her classes and trainings are dedicated to a sense of mystery and wonder within a vinyasa of self-honoring, self-cultivation, and radical self participation. Shannon is the founder and director of Om Time yoga centers, tours, teaches and speaks nationally and internationally.

:: Gina Caputo

Gina’s passionate and inspirational style of teaching is a balanced fusion of informed, flow-style yoga with attention to holistic alignment, personal evolution and humor. She’s an inspiring, empathetic teacher known for her clear and playful style of encouraging you to fearlessly navigate your edge, open your heart and boldly dive in. Her home base is in Boulder but she travels the world teaching yoga with the intention of shifting peoples’ limited perspectives of themselves and learning how to see the play, or lila, inherent in this exploration that we call yoga practice.

:: Tara Goike

After moving to Vail in 1999 to pursue her passion for skiing, Tara completely fell in love with the art, movement and breathe of yoga. Tara has been a local yoga teacher in the Vail Valley since 2003 and has been inspired mainly by the style of prana flow yoga taught by Shiva Rea. Complementary to this style, she has also completed 60 hours of Budokon training with Cameron Shayne.

:: Jessica Jollie

Jessica Jollie was raised on a sweet little farm in the southeast and has been practicing and studying yoga for 20 years. A snowboarding accident in Northern Tahoe left her with a bulging disc in her lumbar spine and fractured bones in her arm. The event turned out to be a blessing in disguise as she learned how to heal her back with the therapeutic powers of yoga. She has been a teacher for 15 years and her masters degree in counseling additionally influences her classes to be introspective physically, psychologically, emotionally, energetically, and spiritually. She teaches Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Yin Yoga and she is a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapist.

:: Amanda Brooke Leavitt

Amanda uses a multidimensional approach to teaching yoga is based on nature-inspired yogic principles, mindful awareness, Baptiste methodology, and the underlying anatomical structures of the body. Her high-energy flows are paired with deep musculoskeletal release, exploration of habitual patterns through awareness practice, and a playful mindset. She has been classically trained in hatha yoga at the Pavones Yoga Center. These teachings stem from the Kripalu tradition and intrinsically focus on Iyengar alignment. She has done additional training with Baron Baptiste, which focused on power vinyasa yoga.

::The Yoga Slackers— Sam Salwie and Raquel Hernandez-Cruz

Sam Salwei is a modern day Nomad, traveling coast to coast living a lifestyle that is uniquely his own. Initially driven by his passion for Eco-Adventure, life on the road began in 2004, quickly leading into a diverse career encompassing adventure-racing, rock climbing and slacklining. In 2005 Sam co-created the company “Yoga Slackers”, specializing in combining Yoga poses on a slackline as well as integrating other body awareness practices such as partner acrobatics. Despite the misleading nature of the name, the slackers are quite accomplished athletes gaining the support of over 20 different sponsors, who share in the desire to promote ecologically sustainable living.

Rachel is a marine biologist, scientific diver, yoga teacher (500 hrs), reiki master, pranic healer, yoga slacker, acroyogi, adventurer, triathlete, traveler, Ironwoman and more.

:: Dave Farmer

Dave Farmar is a certified Baptiste power vinyasa yoga teacher based in Denver. He has taught classes and workshops for students and instructors across the United States and internationally, and each day reaches more than 1,000 students around the world through his top-rated yoga podcasts on iTunes.

:: Amy Baker

Amy teaches from a place of personal experience and wisdom, but asks that her students discover their own truths. In classes, she brings a contagious, lighthearted humor while bringing students back to the essential actions and attention that keeps them challenged, engaged, and safe.

:: nancy Kate Williams

Nancy Kate has been featured in local and national publications, is an ambassador for Lululemon and Manduka, and has taught at the highly acclaimed Wanderlust Festival.

:: Julia Clarke

Julia completed her first teacher training at Integral Yoga Institute of New York in early 2009. Seeking fresh air, adventure, and the time to enjoy both, it didn’t take long for Julia to settle on Vail as her ideal playground. She moved to the Rocky Mountains in 2009 and currently works as the Yoga Director for the Vail Athletic Club at the Vitality Center, teaching soulful and dynamic yoga classes.. Julia leads workshops and trainings across Colorado and is proud to be a Lululemon ambassador and a Rishi for Veda Bars.

:: Yvonne Schwartz

Yvonne Schwartz MT-BC, RYT is the owner of Yoga Off Broadway in Eagle. She began her first formal teacher training at the South West Institute of Healing Arts in Phoenix with Jim Keegan and Mary Bruce in 2005 and completed her 200 hour RYT yoga certification through Inner Power Yoga with R.R. Shakti in Colorado a few years later. Yvonne also completed her level one Anjali Restorative Yoga certification with Julia Clarke in 2012.