Denver Yoga Summit

Unplug, unwind, and transition from doing to being. Tucked away in serene Creek Garden, this intimate Yin Yoga session uses the gentle sounds of the nearby creek and the shade of towering trees to soothe your senses. Enjoy a restorative, slow-paced sequence of long-held floor shapes designed to release deep physical tension and calm the nervous system. Spaces in this quiet garden oasis are limited—join us to slow down, breathe deeply, and restore your inner peace. All levels welcome!

If you think you "can't meditate because your mind is too busy," this session is for you. Step into the secluded, shaded sanctuary of the intimate Creek Garden. Guided by globally celebrated teacher Ryan Leier, this down-to-earth introduction to meditation removes the mystery and pressure from the practice, showing you that mindfulness can be both simple and joyful.

Resting under a canopy of ancient trees and surrounded by native flowers, you will use the natural, soothing rush of Deer Creek as your focal anchor. Ryan will introduce you to simple, accessible breath rituals and awareness techniques designed to instantly calm an overactive nervous system and anchor you in the present moment. You will leave this quiet garden oasis with a clear mind, an open heart, and a practical toolkit of simple habits to find your inner calm anytime, anywhere. Absolutely no prior experience required!

Yoga belongs in every single part of life, especially the chapters we’ve been told to hide, fix, or simply "push through." Step into the private, shaded sanctuary of the Creek Garden. Surrounded by the gentle rush of Deer Creek and native Colorado flowers, master teacher Sara Cook hosts an intimate, honest workshop for anyone navigating the unique experience of maturing in a body that social media has plenty of opinions about.

This session creates a brave, supportive container to untangle from society's mixed messages, consciously shift your inner dialogue, and deepen your intuitive connection to yourself. Blending compassionate mindset work, reflective journaling, and gentle, responsive movement, this workshop is thoughtfully accessible to a wide range of body types and fitness levels. This is yoga off the mat in the most honest sense—an invitation to bloom unapologetically, exactly like the native flora around you.

You’ve taken the classes. Filled your notebook. Opened your heart. Now what?

One of the greatest challenges of a yoga festival isn't finding inspiration—it’s learning how to carry that lightning bolt of insight into your messy, everyday life. Step into the soothing, shaded sanctuary of the Creek Garden for a vital integration masterclass. Guided by psychotherapist and Living AWAKE author Erik Vienneau, this experiential workshop delivers a survival kit for the post-festival transition.

Drawing from Buddhist psychology, nervous system science, and over three decades of personal meditation practice, Erik shares effortless ways to work with modern stress, difficult emotions, and corporate distraction—without adding another heavy item to your to-do list.

Together, we will explore:

Why lasting life shifts come from tiny daily micro-habits rather than temporary peak experiences.

A simple, clinical framework to interrupt mental reactivity, thoughts, and emotional loops.

Real-time techniques to regulate your nervous system and return to center in the middle of a busy workday.

How to architect a sustainable personal practice that actually matches your lifestyle.

This session includes deep guided meditation, honest reflection, and physical, take-home integration tools you can utilize the second you leave the festival grounds. Because the real practice begins when the summit ends.

Unlock the hidden architecture of your subconscious mind. Step into the shaded sanctuary of the Creek Garden for a rare, 2-hour multi-sensory immersion guided by spiritual educator and author Suzanne Toro. Rooted deeply in ancient, esoteric dreaming yoga lineages, this masterclass teaches you how to bridge your waking, dreaming, and sleeping states to refine your objective awareness and liberate stored karma.

Harnessing the natural, sacred energy of the botanic gardens, Suzanne methodically balances your biofield through a brilliant blend of lucid dreaming education, sound and electromagnetic therapy, pranayama, and gentle, restorative asana. The journey shifts seamlessly from cosmic storytelling through sacred song to silent, mindful observation.

The Takeaway: Leave this creek-side sanctuary with practical, daily tools to decode your dream states and foster lasting spiritual growth.

What to Bring (Critical): This is an extensive experiential workshop. Please bring a notebook, pen, yoga mat, hand towel or eye cover, a warm blanket, water, and dress in cozy layers as your body temperature will drop during deep meditation. Open to all levels.

When the world feels fractured, what does yoga ask of us?

How do we embody sthira (steadiness) and sukha (ease) while witnessing collective grief, polarization, or harm? How do we stay rooted in compassion without becoming overwhelmed or disconnected? And how do we care for ourselves while holding space for others?

This experiential workshop explores how the teachings of yoga become a living practice — not only on the mat, but in the moments our communities need them most.

Through reflection, discussion, and stories from lived experience, Lindsay Grabb and Ericka Jones will share what it meant to lead UP Yoga in Minneapolis through the racial reckoning of 2020 after the murder of George Floyd, COVID-19 pandemic, Congressional Assassination, Annunciation School mass shooting, and Operation Metro Surge (ICE raids). Together, they'll explore how yoga philosophy, clear values, and the practice of karma yoga became anchors for navigating uncertainty, making difficult decisions, and cultivating a community rooted in belonging and care.

Participants will be invited to explore:

How yoga philosophy can support courageous, compassionate action in times of uncertainty

Practices for remaining grounded while holding space for collective emotion and lived experience

The role of values as a compass for teaching, leading, and building authentic community

Ways to embody yoga beyond personal practice through service, discernment, and connection

How to create a practice and space of belonging inclusive of all — through safety, language, and self-care

Whether you're a teacher, studio owner, or devoted practitioner, you'll leave with renewed clarity that yoga is not simply something we do on the mat. It is a way of meeting the world with courage, wisdom, and an open heart — even when the path ahead is unknown.

Lindsay Grabb and Ericka Jones draw on their experience leading Up Yoga in Minneapolis through 2020's racial reckoning, the pandemic, and Operation Safety Net to explore how yoga philosophy and karma yoga anchor us in uncertainty. Leave with renewed clarity: yoga is a way of meeting the world with courage, wisdom, and clarity.

A Drum Journey is a rhythmic spiritual experience.

Similar to a sound bath, it's a meditative environment to have visions without the aid of psychedelics. Although, unlike sound baths, the experience is from one singular buffalo drum, which releases a sound vibration that moves through the cells of the body, rather than bouncing off the body. This can induce auditory hallucinations, believed to be the singing and instruments from ancestors of the land, sounds of wildlife can be expected; also visions, similar to a dream, with symbolism and emotion; opening the mind to solutions while remaining open to what the spirits may bring.

During the Journey, the brain starts producing theta waves, the frequency responsible for dreams.

Other scientific benefits include a drop in cortisol levels, aka, the stress hormone. When cortisol levels are high, the body lives in its sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight). By lowering these levels, the body shifts into its parasympathetic nervous system (rest & digest). Drum Journeying can also raise levels of Immunoglobulin A, which helps fight inflammation, illness, and pain. Thus, Drum Journeying can actually make us healthier! Look into NCBI for more science!

You can look forward to 60 minutes of meditation broken into sections.

• 5 minutes of adjusting into the space:

A brief explanation of what a Drum Journey is, & how it worksA cleanse (smudge) of the space, using Palo Santo, in order to neutralize the energy for safe Journeying.A meditation, in which you will create a haven in your mind to return to at any point.

• 45 minutes of drumming:

Toward the conclusion of the Journey, the tone of the drum will change to gently bring you back into your haven.

To wrap up the evening, there is a ~10 minute quiet window to discuss your experiences & visions.

What to bring?

• Socks (if your feet get cold!)
• Soft & cozy clothes
• Pillow &/or blanket
• Eye covering (if desired)

Being rich isn’t about how much you have; it’s about how fully you live. Step into the quiet, shaded sanctuary of the Creek Garden for an extraordinary workshop that flips the script on female wealth. In yoga, we constantly move beyond the physical posture into a space of deep self-inquiry, practicing the raw awareness required to ask: What is true? This session invites you to bring that exact same fierce presence to your relationship with money, identity, and power.

Guided by bestselling Rich Like Her author, FEROZ founder, and 25-year veteran E-RYT 500 yoga teacher AJ Bishop-Andrews, this transformative masterclass bridges the gap between spiritual alignment and practical financial clarity. Drawing from her two decades as a senior executive at JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, AJ helps high-achieving women stop performing success and start embodying true abundance. Through a potent blend of meditative inquiry, group dialogue, and deep reflection, you will dismantle external pressures, audit where your financial habits are out of alignment with your core values, and learn to make fiscal decisions rooted in absolute self-trust.

What to Bring: This is a non-asana, interactive workshop open to all levels. Please bring a journal, a pen, a water bottle, and a light jacket for the shaded garden clearing.

Many of us try to study the Yoga Sūtras with our intellect. This session invites you to experience them through your bones. Escape the main festival rush and step into the private, shaded sanctuary of the Creek Garden for a rare, vocal immersion. Guided by globally celebrated master teacher Ryan Leier, this experiential workshop transforms the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali into a living, breathing meditation through the ancient practice of sacred chanting.

Surrounded by native Colorado wildflowers and the soothing rush of Deer Creek, you will learn how to use your own voice, breath, and vocal vibration to unlock the deeper layers of scriptural wisdom. Rather than analyzing definitions, Ryan uses the math and resonance of the Sanskrit alphabet to automatically quiet mental static, open the heart center, and regulate the nervous system. You don't need any chanting experience, and you don't need to know Sanskrit. You need only to show up, sit close to the earth, and be willing to listen and echo.

ADMISSION NOTE: This exclusive session belongs to the Art of Teaching Track. Access requires a Full Teacher Summit Pass or a Teacher Track Add-On Ticket for entry and CE credit tracking.

Energy work does not have to feel abstract, esoteric, or separate from the way you already lead a room. Step into the secluded, wildflower-lined oasis of the Creek Garden for an invaluable, career-shifting workshop with global Energy Medicine Yoga (EMYoga) creator Lauren Walker and EMYoga Master Teacher Blaine Wilkes.

This highly practical, teacher-focused intensive offers clear, accessible methods to weave EMYoga techniques directly into your public classes, without forcing you to alter your signature lineage, class structure, or authentic teaching voice. Designed to seamlessly bridge the gap between subtle body curiosity and confident classroom application, you will learn how to unpack heavy energetic concepts into simple, grounded language that your students can understand and trust immediately.

The Professional Takeaway: Walk away with an actionable toolkit of rapid energy-balancing protocols that integrate into standard vinyasa, hatha, or restorative sequences. Learn how to elevate student vitality and nervous system regulation without adding complex class prep time or overwhelming beginners with confusing jargon.

Note: This is a limited-capacity, interactive laboratory. Please ensure you have upgraded your Visitors Center to a Teacher Track Ticket