Yoga festival to return to Albany
‘Bigger and better’ than ever is how an annual Albany yoga festival is shaping up, a yoga teacher at Kawai Purapura says.
More than 100 workshops will feature at the 2018 New Zealand International Yoga Festival, which includes many different forms of yoga - acro, aerial, and paddle board - as well as music, concerts, presentations and food trucks.
The festival is now in its seventh year, and is now run over four days - an increase due to participants asking for it to be longer, New Zealand International Yoga Festival spokesperson and teacher Katie Ramsbottom said.
‘‘It’s back-to-back workshops for all of three days.
‘‘It really gives people so many opportunities to try something that may be new for them.’’
There will also be more than 75 local and international presenters across different yoga styles.
Ramsbottom, who is also a yoga teacher at the centre and has been practising yoga for around 10 years, said the benefits of the practice were multi-faceted.
It was not only a tool for releasing physical tension, but also a way to refresh and revive the mind, she said.
Several Kiwi presenters will also be addressing the issue of anxiety and depression through yoga practice, including a therapist and a former member of the New Zealand Defence Force.
Ramsbottom said she definitely sees yoga as being on the rise, as more people engage with it.
‘‘From our perspective, the more people that engage with yoga around the world the better.
‘‘And with this festival, that’s really what we’re trying to share.’’
The New Zealand International Yoga Festival runs at the Kawai Purapura Retreat Centre, 14 Mills Lane, Albany from February 22-25.
See yogafestival.nz for more.