Newtown Yoga Festival is a day of community, yoga movement, music, mindfulness and local wellness vendors developed by a volunteer board of local residents as a fundraising benefit. This year’s festival will take place on August 22 from 9am to 4pm at NYA Sports and Fitness in Newtown. Through the transformative wisdom and practice of yoga, the annual event strives to honor lives lost and release tensions and anxieties that accumulate as a result of physical and emotional trauma. Natural Awakenings Fairfield County is proud to be a media sponsor of the event this year.

The 2015 festival will feature authors, doctors and yogis Drs. Richard Brown and Patricia Gerbarg in a Back to Balance community class with yoga, meditation and other stress-reducing tools. Using the human body as a medium of expression, Pilobolus will also guide attendees to have fun and bring out their inner child. The full day of classes includes sun salutations, a journey dance, a yoga buffet, yoga for children with special needs, relaxation with crystal bowls and more.

Over the past two years, the festival involved nearly 500 participants and donated close to $14,000 to a local non-profit whose mission is to offer support and healing to community members impacted by December 14, 2012 in Sandy Hook.

“Last year’s yoga fest was incredible, with great teachers attending from across the country. The wide variety of sessions catered to all levels of practice. The guided meditation with music was the deepest I’ve ever experienced. Everyone in the world should practice yoga; this event is a great place to explore and begin your journey,” said Ian Hockley, project director of Dylan’s Wings of Change, which was established to honor the memory of his son Dylan, who was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Community members can help support the festival in several ways:
• Purchase a ticket and attend the event
• Volunteer onsite for the day of the event to register guests, assist with yoga classes, provide information, help with vendor organization, babysit and more
• Donate monetarily to help cover operating costs, goods and services for the silent auction as well as sponsors for this annual event

For interested companies, there are three levels of sponsorship packages available (NewtownYogaFestival.Wufoo.com/Forms/Sponsorship-Opportunities). In addition, Newtown Yoga Festival will also hold a silent auction. Vendors who donate items and/or services can attend the event and gain exposure on the event program, website and silent auction display.

Attendees are asked to bring their own mats, blankets and props for yoga activities.

For more information, email [email protected] or visit NewtownYogaFestival.org. Donations can be made through the PayPal link at NewtownYogaFestival.org or send a check payable to Newtown Yoga Festival, c/o SOUND Center, 31 Hawleyville Rd, Newtown, CT 06470. Location: NYA Sports and Fitness, 4 Primrose Ln, Newtown.