VA Yoga Week 6/10-6/17

Fifth Annual Virginia Yoga Week
June 10 -17, 2012

Virginia Yoga Week - Engaging Community, Promoting Wellness, Sharing Yoga

Alexandria, VA. – The fifth annual Virginia Yoga Week (VYW2012) will take place from June 10-17, offering people of all ages and fitness levels a variety of free and $5 with the opportunity to raise funds for local charities. From Arlington to Leesburg, Richmond to Reston, Sterling to Alexandria, the public will have a chance to sample many forms of yoga from different traditions and styles. Virginia Yoga Week offers something for everyone.

"Virginia Yoga Week was founded five years ago to unite Yoga studios and Independent Teachers in a state-wide effort to promote the benefits of yoga for mind, body and spirit. We also foster community involvement and a pay-it-forward attitude through the VYW Karma Project, benefitting those in need,” states VYW founder Margaret Townsend. “The positive energy generated through our efforts resonates throughout the other 51 weeks of the year."

We are honored once again to include the Exalted Warrior Foundation amongst our 2012 charities. Tom Steffens, founder of the Exalted Warrior Foundation says, "Yoga classes for recovering soldiers, their families and their care givers started at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 2005 and led to the founding of the Exalted Warrior Foundation in 2008.  This special adaptive yoga program has since expanded to seven military and VA hospitals and to the Marine Corps' Wounded Warrior Battalion and Detachments. EWF's mission is to make available the healing power of yoga to our Wounded Warriors as they recover in hospital, and to establish centers of excellence for Veteran's yoga throughout the nation as they and their families return home."  

Highlights of Virginia Yoga Week 2012  include:

Thursday, June 7: Acro Yoga Workshop with Adi Carter at River's Edge Yoga Virginia Yoga Week 's sneak preview begins with this 6:30-8:30 pm workshop on Redefining Balance. This evening will feature Acro Yoga, Thai massage and, weather permitting, slackline at the riverfront. A percentage of the profits from the workshop will be donated to The Surfrider Foundation and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Price: $25

Friday, June 9: Community Kirtan at East Meets West                                                This special preview has just been added - Get ready to relax and enjoy this form of devotional yoga, Bhakti yoga involving live music and chanting beginning at 7:00 pm.

Saturday, June 10: Love Your Body Day
Virginia Yoga Week officially opens on June 10 with Love Your Body Day, from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. This family friendly free festival features yoga, henna, live music, massage, food samples and unique vendors. Proceeds from the day will benefit RestonInterFaith.

Thursday, June 15: Yoga After Dark with Lynne Valdes at East Meets West
Enjoy a unique vinyasa practice and meditation by candlelight with live music from 7-9:00 pm. Donations to Mind Body Solutions.

Sunday, June 17: Free Yoga in the Fresh Air in historic Old Town Alexandria
Virginia Yoga Week’s closing event in Old Town Alexandria is designed to ‘energize and inspire’. From 3:00-5:00 pm, free outdoor yoga and bellydance classes will be offered in conjunction with a food drive to benefit both humans and our four-legged friends.
VYW is delighted to offer an additional closing event with BeYoga to benefit Off the Mat, Into the World.

Virginia Yoga Week 2012 is made possible by the sponsorship of Sport&Health/Serenity Day Spas, Yogis for Positive Change, River's Edge Yoga, and East Meets West Yoga Center.

"Yoga is so universal in its principles and so holistically beneficial, it is possible for any person, young or old, to embrace and enjoy this practice.  Yoga heals, nourishes, and challenges us.  Virginia Yoga Week is a beautiful opportunity for the community to gather in celebration of a healthy and happy life!" says Dawn Curtis from East Meets West Yoga Center.

"I am excited to be a part of Virginia Yoga Week for the first time,” says Krista Zember of BE Yoga. “I love having the chance to work together with studios to promote yoga in our area. This year, I will be promoting the idea of SEVA or selfless service through my project with The Global Seva Challenge, a program of Off the Mat, Into the World. All the money I raise at my new studio, BE Yoga in Sterling will be donated to this project to help rescue, rehabilitate and empower victims of sex trafficking. It is such an honor to be able to share that yoga isn't just about what you do on your yoga mat, but also what you give back to the world selflessly."

Donation-based Karma classes promote the yoga of selfless service. Beneficiaries of VYW's 2012 Karma Projects include the Carpenter’s Shelter The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Dogs XL Rescue, King Street Cats, Off the Mat and Into the World, Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue, Reston Interfaith, Tranquil Space Foundation, and YoKid.

Profiles of the beneficiaries as well as the full Virginia Yoga Week class and event schedule are also viewable on the website and on our social media channels.

Visit www.virginiayogaweek.com to find a full listing of all VYW2012 supporters, friends and community members. Follow us on Twitter @vayogaweek or via the hashtag #vyw2012. "Like" us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/VirginiaYogaWeek