Art of Living's Yoga Rave Party Returns

Carrying forward the success of Yoga Rave, the team returns to Buenos Aires, the city of their first party, on April 30, 2010 at the college theatre (el teatro de colegiales.) The non-alcohol, non-tobacco party, which starts at 8 pm, will have the attendees experiencing Yoga, meditation followed by bhajans (devotional songs) rendered with the accompaniment of electronic music. Owing to the success of the party, a live webcast of the party from Argentina will be featured on YouTube for worldwide viewing.
The four-hour long party will begin with a small session of Yoga, ideal for beginners, followed by a guided meditation in the voice of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of The Art of Living. This will set the atmosphere for unique and energizing music and dance. A bar providing exotic & energizing drinks (devoid of alcohol) will also be catering gourmet vegetarian dishes during the party.
Members of the ‘So What Project!’ band, Nicolás Pucci and Rodrigo Bustus, will create music blending the vibrations of thousands of years old Sanskrit mantras with electronic music, in addition to a wide variety of other music styles. Nicolás and Rodrigo, who have conducted more than 20 Yoga Rave parties in Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay, believe that music which does not stir the souls of the listeners fails to perform its duties. “Our music, bereft of jarring sounds and heavy beats, aims to inspire and elevate the audience,” exclaim the musicians. The duo released their first album ‘Smile’ in 2009 and plan on releasing their next in 2011.
“The combination of music, meditation and yoga is very powerful. I went home feeling completely energized and with a genuine smile on my face. You only have to dare to do something different,” beamed an attendee of the previous Yoga Rave party.
The concept of Yoga Rave materialized when the volunteers of The Art of Living looked for an alternate way to generate a recreational environment without having to use drugs, alcohol or tobacco. Initially, the mere idea of a healthy, balanced and yet fun-filled party seemed a utopia but the exponentially increasing number of attendees bears testimony to the success of Yoga Rave parties amongst the teenagers and adults alike.
“Everything began in Argentina four years ago with the belief that it was possible to have a different kind of fun,” smiles Sabrina, volunteer of The Art of living and one of the organizers of the party. “Initially it took place in private homes but due to the overwhelming success and popularity, it became necessary to think of bigger venues. After filling a nightclub, we saw the need to get organized and professionalize the structure of the party. From that point onwards, the number of people attending the Yoga Rave has been increasing from a few hundreds to thousands.”
The funds raised from the event goes for the social projects, like ‘Breathe Together’, a program that allows children from every public school in the country to learn stress-reducing breathing techniques and ‘Breathe Planet’, a tree planting campaign in Argentina, which have been initiated by the Art of Living.
The Art of Living works to bring peace at the level of the individual, society, nation and the world as a whole. Its areas of work covers conflict resolution, disaster and trauma relief, poverty alleviation, empowerment of women, prisoner rehabilitation, education for all, campaigns against female feticide and child labor and environment sustainability.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, the founder of the Art of Living, is a universally revered spiritual and humanitarian leader. His vision of a violence-free, stress-free society through the reawakening of human values has inspired millions to broaden their spheres of responsibility and work towards the betterment of the world.