Yoga Festival Montreal

ANNOUNCING: THE 1st ANNUAL YOGA FESTIVAL MONTREAL

MONTREAL, May 1, 2012 – In a city known for its summer festivals, a new and

innovative event is slipping into the mix. The 1st annual Yoga Festival Montreal /

Festival de Yoga de Montréal takes place June 8, 9 & 10 at the beautiful, airy and

peaceful Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal.

This festival promises to be a wonderful, three-day experience of yoga in its many forms:

asana (the poses we’re all familiar with), music, deep relaxation, philosophy and politics.

Boasting an entirely local lineup of presenters, the festival includes over 50 hours of

workshops, panel discussions, lectures, eating and dancing.

Yoga Festival Montreal / Festival de Yoga de Montréal is spearheaded by Yocomo (Yoga

Community Montreal / Yoga Communauté Montréal), a grassroots initiative to recognize

the breadth of practice, skill and integrity of yoga in Montreal. The purpose of the event

is to shine a light on the people in the yoga community who quietly and steadily share

their passion, and to bring the joy of yoga to Montrealers.

“The goal of the festival is to unearth the gems of the everyday yoga community,” says

Nadia Stevens, one of the festival co-directors. “We want to show that yoga can span

ideology, tradition, culture and language, and break down the barriers between lineages.”

Yoga Festival Montreal / Festival de Yoga de Montréal is a project initiated by Nadia

Stevens, Jordan Nardone, Miranda Chapman, Roseanne Harvey and Anne-Lisa de Forest

– collectively yogis, practitioners, teachers, community builders, body workers, activists,

environmentalists, food sovereignists, performers and artists. They believe that by

coming together for dialogue and celebration, the yoga community can plant the seeds of

transformation on a larger scale.

1st Annual Yoga Festival Montreal / Le Premier Festival de Yoga de Montréal

June 8, 9 & 10, 2012 / le 8, 9 & 10 juin 2012

Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal

http://yocomo.org

For more information contact:

Roseanne Harvey

Communications Director

438 881 0667

info@yocomo.0rg

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together, we are yoga community

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Acorn Grants

Acorn Fund: Yoga Community Toronto’s Grants to Support Local Yoga Initiatives. In the inaugural year of Yoga Festival Toronto, participants and friends of the “Acorn Fund” pledged their support for the greater yoga community through their generous donations during the online registration process. The Acorn Fund was formed with a general intention of stimulating and experiencing our yoga community’s interest in sharing resources for shared philanthropic concerns.

The Acorn Fund relies on its supporters to provide a solid financial foundation for our work in the yoga community. We thank everyone who donated to the Acorn Fund and whose heartwarming acts of faith in our Yoga community and generosity have allowed us to direct the Acorn Fund into a source of Yogic benefit to the general public.

Recipients

In 2009, New Leaf was the first recipient of an Acorn Fund grant. New Leaf Yoga is a charitable organization that was founded in Toronto in 2007. “We bring yoga, including meditation, to youth who are incarcerated or considered “at risk” in Ontario. The youth we work with face some of life’s biggest challenges, including abuse, poverty, addiction, marginalization, crime and very often a lack of family and community support. New Leafsees a bright future in these young people and aspires to help them realize their potential by recognizing the resources they hold within themselves” – Laura Sygrove, co-founder. This grant is being renewed to aidNew Leaf in their project Breaking the Cycle, youth gang-exit and ambassador program in Rexdale.

Our new recipients for 2010 are The Center of Gravity Peacemakers.

The Centre of Gravity is an existing and thriving community of secular yoga & Buddhist practitioners in Toronto led by Michael Stone, whose books, research, and teaching explore the intersection of committed spiritual practice and social action. In 2011 The Center of Gravity is becoming a non-profit learning centre, re-located within an affordable housing operation. The Acorn Fund grant will be used to fund their work with healthcare clinicians, social service frontline workers, and their clients in partnership with St. Clare Multifaith Housing, which started in the 90′s as the Toronto Action for Social Change (TASC) working with homeless street youth and evolved into St. Clare’s, a successful affordable housing organization serving Parkdale area and the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Applicants

Apply for a 2011 Acorn Fund Grant

Acorn Fund Grantee Profile: Yoga-educated and experienced applicants who are ready to take their contemplative life-work and self-healing into the context of social activism.

The Acorn Fund places priority on supporting projects that seek to demystify, legitimize, and naturalize yogic practice and thought in the public sphere. Community health, rehabilitation, employment and transition services, public education, continuing-education, youth and children’s services, environmental awareness and public space topics, for the elevation of marginalized demographics through an improved quality of life, exemplify possible key areas of focus, however do not feel limited by this list.

In order to ensure fairness and accountability:

*Applications will only be considered if clear measuring devices (surveys, feedback, testimonials) are included, in order to validate the possible effectiveness of the program contents. *The proposed project should be a new initiative that the applicant is willing to personally fund to an equal or higher level than the value of the YFT grant. This may include finding other outside sources of funding or investment. The Full Description should describe the ability to manage the requested grant amidst all project resources needed. *The Acorn Fund will not be granted to already-existing projects that want a financial boost, but will consider new ideas within established programming. The Acorn Fund will not be granted for projects that promote one lineage or studio affiliation over others. *Grantees will also receive a table at the event to present and promote the funded project, and will be required to give a 20-minute oral presentation at the Festival itself on how their work has unfolded. Application requirements: * Personal data and CV * Yoga education: years, schools, teachers * Years of personal practice and/or teaching experience * Most important thing/mindset you have learned from your path so far (500 word essay) * Cultural/political themes/issues that you would most like to address in your work as a Yoga teacher * Name of Project, and Tagline of Project * Brief synopsis with timeline and phases (bullet-point) * Estimated cost of the project, detailed by hours and materials (budget section of existing business plan if appropriate) * Full Description: what motivates you toward this project? What prepares you to fulfill it? Goals, expected difficulties, fallback plans, long-term growth projection (1500 words – can include business plan if appropriate) * 2 professional and 2 personal references

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