GladSoles was thrilled to sponsor the Jivamukti Yoga School’s annual Tribal Gathering last week. Hundreds of Jivamukti yoga students and teachers from all over the world converged in New York to spend the week with Jivamukti founders David Life and Sharon Gannon. The week included Life and Gannon’s amazing master classes, guided meditation by the school’s director Ganesh Das, and Kirtan singing.

The idea was to get our GladSoles brand in front of as many new people as possible, and from that standpoint it was everything I expected and more. What I didn’t expect was to be inspired, humbled and uplifted.

We had a table in the lobby of the Prince George Ballroom on East 27th Street, along with several other vendors. To our right was our friend Kanan Kapila of Satya Jewelry, with it’s beautiful range of yoga-inspired jewelry, and on our left was Frank Angiuli, the co-founder of Natural High Lifestyle, a gorgeous line of “California casual” hemp and organic cotton clothes.

Lululemon set up a photography booth where you could “Strike an Asana” (pose) and have your photo taken. The photos were uploaded to a Flickr account for people to use as they pleased at no charge. All you had to do was sign a release. I enjoyed being close enough to the action to see the wide range of poses people struck. Some sat simply and serenely. Others contorted themselves into incredibly advanced poses – ones that are decidedly “unavailable” to me at this point!

As vendors, we were given tickets to 2 master classes with Sharon and David, as well as the opportunity to sit in on the “Ahimsa” lecture series. Ahimsa is one of the basic tenets of the Jivamukti yoga movement. It’s a Sanskrit word meaning “non-harming,” and it manifests itself in large part in a commitment to being vegan. I listened to talks by Kris Carr, Dr. Neil Barnard, and Chloé Jo Davis and Simone Reyes. Each talk approached veganism from a different angle.

Kris Carr was faced with a devastating cancer diagnosis in 2003. She became the “CEO” of her illness, taking complete charge. Her journey led her to a raw vegan diet, and now, in 2012, she’s a powerhouse of energy and vitality, and her cancer is very much in check.
Dr. Barnard described how he has managed to reverse the effects of diabetes and heart disease for his patients by replacing drugs with a low fat vegan diet. The results were astonishing, and the lesson learned was that this is completely doable for anyone at any age. Hmm…

Chloé Jo Davis and Simone Reyes are both animal rights activists who live their lives in Green Glamazon style. Simone Reyes is music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons’ right hand. Chloé Jo Davis runs GirliegirlArmy.com, which is a terrific resource for all things vegan.

The week was full of good Karma and generosity. In addition to Lululemon’s free professional photographs and chai, another vendor, Tumeric Alive spent the week giving out free samples of their delicious drink, “Tumeric – Elixir of Life” which is a blend of turmeric, ginger, spearmint, cardamom, lemon, sea salt, agave and cayenne. They were super generous and filled our water bottles each day with the drink at no charge, and we spent each day sipping it and feeling the benefits! I couldn’t resist a little shop therapy as well while we were there, and I bought some beautiful earrings from Satya, some excellent yoga pants from Natural High Lifestyle, and a tank from Ashram Chic.

Rich very kindly let me take both 3-hour master classes – one with David Life and one with Sharon Gannon. I don’t think Rich fully realizes what an incredible gift that was. It was yoga with 300 of your closest friends. We were literally mat-to-mat in the huge ballroom, with people clamouring for a spot, any spot. It reminded me of being at the Sundance Film Festival, anxiously awaiting word that there would be a last minute seat for a movie. For Jivamukti devotees, the January Tribal Gathering is their Sundance Film Festival!

Both classes included a handstand sequence. For David’s one people took turns to go to the wall and execute their handstands. Those of us who weren’t in the pose helped count 25 breaths for those who were in it.  Not being much of an acrobat, I was able to sit that part out without being noticed. Not so in Sharon’s class. We were instructed to form groups of 4. The directive was for the 3 who weren’t posing to make it the most amazing handstand for the one who was posing. I decided off the bat that I wasn’t going to do it. Those of you who know me won’t be surprised at that – I’m not exactly brave – but my teammates said “just try!” I put my hands on the floor and was told to bend one leg and keep the other straight. The next thing I knew I was being very lightly assisted into a handstand, barely supported by one of the columns. My teammates then sat on the floor and counted “inhale exhale 1, inhale exhale 2…” all the way to 25. It was exhilarating and nothing short of magical!  The master classes taught me how little I know, but they inspired me to breathe, to be present in the moment and put more into everything I do. I hope to continue learning and growing and being a force for good throughout 2012.

Links:

Jivamukti Yoga:  www.jivamuktiyoga.com
Kris Carr:  www.crazysexylife.com
Neal Barnard, MD:  www.nealbarnard.org
GirlieGirl Army:  www.girliegirlarmy.com
Simone Reyes:  @simonereyes

Our fellow vendors:

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http://www.tumericalive.com/
http://www.satyajewelry.com/
http://www.naturalhighlifestyle.com/
http://ashramchic.com/
www.lululemon.com