Yoga Summer Solstice Celebration in Colorado's High Country
108 Sun Salutation Ceremony, Kids Yoga, Sofa Lounge, Kombucha Bar, Ayurvedic Community Dinner, Evening Kirtan, Half-Moon Spiritual Practice
Date and time
Location
Wedding Garden and Pavilion
911 Gothic Road Mt Crested Butte, CO 81225Refund Policy
Agenda
3:30 PM - 3:45 PM
Check In
3:45 PM - 4:00 PM
Introductions and Blessing of the Land
Jim Withey
4:00 PM - 4:10 PM
Sitting into Surya Namaskar Mala
Jim Withey
4:10 PM - 4:25 PM
Gentle Warm Up
Kaitlyn Siefert
4:25 PM - 6:00 PM
Surya Namaskar Mala
Jim Withey
Bruno Treves
4:30 PM - 6:00 PM
Kids Yoga
Jessica Noll
6:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Sofa Lounge and Kombucha Bar
6:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Ayurvedic Community Dinner
Jackie Just, Ayurvedic Health Counselor
7:15 PM - 8:45 PM
Divino BetSatori, A Kirtan Band Featuring Bruno Treves and Anna Roberts
About this event
- 19 hours 45 minutes
A Celebration of the Sun Standing Still
The 2024 Yoga Summer Solstice Celebration is happening again in the beautiful Wedding Garden and Pavilion located in Mount Crested Butte, Colorado.
Over the course of this one and a half day event, we will perform 108 sun salutations to strengthen the capacity of body and the awakened mind. While we find the subtle body in a rhythm of devotion, your kids can take a yoga class especially design for them. After closing with music and a mantra, we will chill in the sofa lounge, refreshing ourselves with kombucha, community and a plant-based ayurvedic dinner. As the sun sets over the montains, we will join together in immersive song, lead by Divino BetSatori.
Next morning, we will do a Half-Moon Sādhana, using half-moon pose as a laboratory for noticing changes in capacity and inner reflection after each of 3 body and mind tuning exercises. Divino BetSatori will lead one of those exercises.
The sun and moon govern channels in our subtle body, and like us, this solstice celebration seeks to provide balance. Just as the sun lights the moon, and the moon reflects sunlight, so can108 sun salutations realize qualities of our true self and Half Moon Pose realize qualities of our reflections.
Lodging
We have arranged a room discount at the Elevation Hotel for our out-of-town visitors; it's $189 a night plus taxes, with no resort or parking fees.
If you chose to stay in this mountain paradise instead of driving home in the afternoon after the Half Moon Sādhana, the Elevation Hotel has given our group an extra discount for additional night stays: $169 plus taxes, again with no resort or parking fees!
There is much to see and do in an afternoon and the next day: chair lifts up the mountain, hiking, horse back riding, rafting, early wildflowers and live music on the weekend.
Click on this weblink to book. If you call, let the front desk know you are part of the Summer Solstice Yoga Celebration.
This event is sponsored by Drshti Shala and the Town of Mt Crested Butte
Parking
Below is a map detail showing two parking areas. You can park in either event parking or food truck parking. If both are full, or you are leaving from the Elevation Hotel, you can take a bus from the base area to the event.
Frequently asked questions
For the 108 Sun Salutation Ceremony: sun screen for face, hands and feet, a sun hat, UPF shirt and pants and a water bottle. A towel and yoga mat are optional. For Kirtan: a puff or light jacket. Yoga blankets or meditation cushion are optional. For Half Moon: yoga mat, blankets and a block.
The celebration is already discounted for all participants. Consider the individual pricing of the events: 108 sun sun salutations, $30; kombucha and sofa lounge, $15; Ayurvedic community dinner $25; Live music, Kirtan, $30; Half Moon practice, $35 - that’s $130. And add kids yoga for parents, $25.
Kids yoga is tailored for kids 11 and under. Kids can eat free at dinner, but there is not a kids menu. If you know that the menu is not to their liking, you may want to bring drinks, snacks, and dinner for them. There is a playground with swings and bars for kids of all ages by the pavilion.
There are two options and a dessert. Option 1 is a grain bowl with herbed chick peas, roasted veggies and coconut cilantro chutney. Option 2 is a salad bowl with fresh greens, roasted sweet potatoes and beets, toasted pepitas and a cashew green goddess dressing. The options are100% Ayurvedic.
The summer solstice marks the northmost point of the sun in a calendar year. As this time marks the beginning of vigorous growth, and the sun appears to rise and set at the same spot on the horizon over a few days, we show respect and gratitude for all that it does for us while it’s standing still.
A sun salutation is a homage to the sun that starts with hands in prayer and continues with a short bow, a prostration, an opening of the heart, an extended bow, and then another short bow.
A prayer garland, a mala, has 108 beads. Each sun salutation is a bead to be counted and focused on. Over 108, the mind firms, becomes detached from experience, and perception separates from the senses. As reflection dissolves into illumination and memory narrows to counting, the Self is gained.
We do sun salutation A: 1 inhale arms up; 2 exhale forward fold; 3 inhale raise head, lengthen spine; 4 exhale, jump back and lower down; 5 inhale upward dog; 6 exhale downward dog, 5 breaths; 7 inhale jump to position 3; 8 exhale forward fold; 9 inhale stand arms up; 10 hands in prayer, 2 breaths.
Work on consistent placement of hands in count 2 and feet in counts 4, 6 and 7. Respect your capacity. Try bending knees in count 2 to get palms on the ground. Walk back in counts 4, 6 and 7 until you find a consistent foot placement.
Release pressure on wrists over 5 breaths in downward dog by lengthening the index finger through the top of the lower arm and rotating the arm pits forward. Open the back of the knees and gently push the hip crease upward through the sitz bones. Use the legs to pull the torso up and back.
Practice jumping from a forward fold to plank on count 4 or from down dog to forward fold, on count 7, engaging the shoulders before jumping.
You need to practice to build capacity and a stable mind. If you drift to an asana, you will forget the count! Divide the mala into 9 sets of 12 sun salutations or 6 sets of 18 sun salutations. Practice a set of 12 or 18 until it is effortless effort. Then you only have to do 6 or 9 of those sets!
Most people have to stop due to shortness of breath. Add extra inhales like when moving from upward dog to downward dog. If you pause your practice, remain standing and continue the sequence in your mind. And if you can, keep up with breath sequence. Join back in anytime.