Yoga for Life
A new yoga tour stops in New Orleans to explore how yoga has affected the people in our community.
July 4th, 2016 by: Misty Miloto
The Live Be Yoga Tour, presented by Yoga Journal and Gaia, is a six-month cross-country tour that is documenting yoga in America. A recent study conducted by Yoga Journal and Yoga Alliance showed that there are more than 35 million yoga practitioners in the United States. On the heels of that study, Yoga Journal and Gaia decided to start the Live Be Yoga Tour to explore how yoga is transforming lives across multiple platforms.
“As we looked toward releasing our 2016 Yoga in America study, we saw a continued explosion of people in the U.S. practicing yoga (more than 36 million, up from 20 million just a few years ago), with another 80 million or one-third of the population saying they are likely to try yoga this year,” says Melissa Strome, publisher of Yoga Journal. “Our goal was to highlight the culture and transformative effects of yoga and mindfulness in the myriad ways the practice is being integrated into everyday life.”
The tour includes stops not only at yoga studios, but also at festivals, farms, prisons, healthcare facilities and events in more than 20 major cities across the country. In addition to seeking out standout yoga teachers at popular studios, the tour is focused on how yoga can touch all walks of life. The Live Be Yoga Tour stopped in New Orleans May 28 for a special yoga session at Shanti Yoga Shala on Magazine Street, followed by a juice reception hosted by Raw Republic.
“We wanted the tour to be community-driven, and from the outset we wanted to provide an opportunity for practitioners around the country to join us at each tour stop,” Strome says. “New Orleans was a must-stop for us because of the culture the city brings to so many aspects, from food, to music, to architecture, to attitude. Nathalie Croix and Shanti Yoga Shala was a great fit for our NOLA host studio because the space is beautifully unique and representative of New Orleans style, and Nathalie came highly recommended from the Yoga Journal team because of the strength of her practice, teaching style and leadership within the yoga community in New Orleans.”
In the coming months, the Live Be Yoga Tour will be traveling to additional cities, such as Los Angeles; Squaw Valley, California; Portland, Oregon; Vancouver; Seattle; Chicago; and Denver. “We’ll be visiting San Quentin prison and profiling their prison yoga program; we’re visiting with yoga and mental strength coaches for professional sports teams; and much more,” Strome says. We also are looking forward to meeting each community along the way and seeing/hearing how yoga is taking shape in each city.” livebeyoga.com