Yoga Rave premiered in NYC last Thursday when nearly 1400 people came together at Club Pacha meditating serenely and then erupting into an ecstatic dance rave and celebration in an alcohol-free and drug-free environment. The big group of party goers experienced yoga, meditation and pulsating music and danced late into the night at this unique party that provided a high energy blend of ancient Sanskrit mantras and electronic rave beats by the Argentinian duo Nicolás Pucci and Rodrigo Bustos featuring their popular music from the So What Project!
The evening marked the first stop of the seven-city national tour that is being presented by the dynamic volunteer leaders of Yesplus, the young professionals branch of the Art of Living Foundation. The tour spans New York, Philly, Chicago, Columbus, Atlanta, Houston and Seattle.
“The Art of Living Foundation is working to elevate consciousness in order to bring a stress-free and violence-free society. This can happen only if the individual is stress-free and happy,” said Annelies Richmond, director of Yesplus, the young professionals division of the Foundation. “Yoga Rave offers an alternative to the party scene where people can experience a natural substance-free high.”
Opening the night was Rasa Living founder and world-class DJ, Donna D’Cruz who led the guests into a rhythmic and deeply textured life-affirming musical journey. She was followed by the NYC-grown Bhakti Band, who dynamically fuse ancient Sanskrit chants with acoustic rock. The music transitioned into yoga by Jessica and Christian from Jivamukti Yoga, accompanied by soft chants from Bhakti band.
Taking a cue from the Happy Hour concept well-known to most New Yorkers, guests arrived for a “Happier Hour” where they enjoyed health conscious mocktails and organic and Ayurvedic food selections. Between the dancing, Annelies Richmond who is also a senior teacher at the Art of Living Foundation, led the crowd through a guided meditation taking people into a state of stillness and bliss inside. The party brought in a new wave of celebration and has the potential to change the way New Yorkers and the youth enjoy nightlife.
The proceeds from the Yoga Rave concerts will go towards bringing Youth Empowerment Seminar (YES!) to local students in public schools across these seven cities. Yesplus is working in partnership with the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) on improving the mental and emotional health of high school students by teaching practical yoga and meditation techniques so that young people can deal with stress in their daily life in a positive manner. In the 2010-2011 school year, YES! For Schools reached over 12,000 students in 36 schools nationwide.
For more information on Yoga Rave including video feeds and photographs of the NYC show, please visit http://www.yogarave.org/us
About the Art of Living Foundation:
The Art of Living Foundation is a nonprofit 501©(3) educational and humanitarian organization founded by spiritual leader and humanitarian Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. Gurudev’s initiatives have benefited more than 30 million people worldwide. The Foundation is one of the UN’s largest volunteer-based NGOs, and works in special consultative status with the UN’s Economic and Social Council, participating in a variety of committees and activities relating to health, education, sustainable development, conflict resolution, and disaster relief.
About Yesplus:
The Yesplus workshop is a special workshop of the Art of Living Foundation designed for young professionals and university students. It helps individuals live their enlightened side. It teaches powerful breathing techniques and meditation, and guides the participant through a journey of growth, empowerment and rejuvenation through self-reflection, interactive processes and practical application of knowledge. Graduates of the workshop gain a fresh perspective on life, shed layers of unwanted stress and serve their communities and world at large with renewed confidence, energy, and focus.
For more information, visit https://www.artofliving.org/us-en and us.yesplus.org
About the International Association for Human Values:
The International Association for Human Values (IAHV) is a 501©3 educational and humanitarian NGO that is committed to developing and promoting programs of personal development that encourage the practice of human values in everyday life. These values include a sense of belonging to a common humanity, respect for all people, cultures and traditions, respect for the natural environment, an attitude of non-violence and an ethic of social service. IAHV upholds the conviction that the integration of human values into all aspects of life will ultimately lead to a more peaceful, just and sustainable world.
About Bhakti:
Bhakti is a musical journey into Kirtan music sung primarily in Sanskrit, an ancient language known for its healing vibrations. Bhakti Band musicians fuse their diverse backgrounds in rock, soul, world and jazz music with their love for meditation and yoga to bring expression to this beautiful form of meditative singing.
Bhakti has performed everywhere from New York’s Town Hall and Lincoln Center to the United Nations and Jakkur Airfield in Bangalore, India in front of a crowd of millions. All band members actively volunteer on community service projects and use their music to help harmonize, heal and uplift the people around them.
Bhakti is inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, a renowned spiritual leader and humanitarian whose mission of uniting the world into a stress-free, violence-free family has inspired millions of people wordwide.
The band is composed of Manish Tandon - Vocal/Guitar Mary Walker - Vocal Aram Bajakian - Guitar Matt Miller - Bass Joey Repice - Drums Yumna Omar - Drums.
