Early next May, as the last of the snow seeps into the ground and Jasperites begin preparing for summer, hundreds of yogis will descend upon the town, to take part in the second annual Grounded in the Rockies Festival.
Hosted by Mountain Park Lodges, the festival will run from May 2鈥�4, and will offer a sizable selection of yoga classes, alongside events like an artisans market, live music, gourmet dinners and meditation hikes into the mountains.
Jordan Tucker is MPL鈥檚 sales and catering manager, and spearheaded efforts to organize the festival. In an interview March 28 he explained that for years people had been asking for some kind of yoga retreat in Jasper. None had really materialized, so MPL decided to make one happen. Organizers started last year, hosting about 100 people for a weekend yoga festival.
Stephanie Sophocleous is a local yoga teacher who gave classes at the festival. She said she had 鈥渁n amazing time鈥� last year, not only teaching yoga to beginners and seasoned practitioners alike, but also learning from some of the talented yogis that came to teach.
鈥淛ust the quality of yoga teachers was exceptional,鈥� she said.
Ichih Wang, a yoga teacher and life coach based out of Ottawa, also taught at the festival last year. She said her strongest memories of the festival were of 鈥減eople being positive and happy, and [getting] to learn from all sorts of different teachers.鈥�
Wang said part of what made the festival so great was that it was perfect for people of all skill levels.
鈥淚t鈥檚 available for everybody; it鈥檚 available for every body,鈥� she said, adding that simply getting a bunch of yogis together to share their experience and their passion makes for a great environment.
Tucker echoed her sentiment, joking that at last year鈥檚 festival there was 鈥渟o much love in the air from all that positive energy there wasn鈥檛 a cloud in the sky鈥� the whole weekend.
He explained that Grounded in the Rockies is unique in Alberta because it offers yoga classes in a more 鈥渇estival-style鈥� atmosphere, with several classes happening simultaneously for visitors to choose from.
Along with the selection of classes by some highly regarded yogis, MPL also puts on an artisans market with local food and crafts, and creates a festival atmosphere with live music. It also hosts a 鈥渓iving cuisine dinner,鈥� which Tucker explains is code for 鈥渞aw food.鈥�
Everyone assumes it鈥檚 going to be 鈥渃arrot sticks and hummus鈥� when they hear raw food, but it鈥檚 so much more than that, he explained of the gourmet dinner.
As well, he explained that the setting in the Rocky Mountains means festival-goers have the chance to get 鈥渢hat Jasper experience鈥� along with a sound mind-body balance.
Volunteers from Friends of Jasper National Park will help take visitors into the woods for meditation hikes, and Audrey Duval will offer yoga for mountain bikers, ending the class with a trail ride.
鈥淵ou have to have that balance. You can come to Jasper but you have to experience Jasper as well鈥攜ou can鈥檛 just be in a hotel or a banquet hall and have that authentic experience,鈥� he said.
While last year MPL brought 100 people to town for the festival, Tucker said that this year he hopes to bring in 250.
The pairing of yoga and the beauty of Jasper is a natural one, he said, so there鈥檚 no reason Grounded in the Rockies can鈥檛 become a significant event for the town.
Trevor Nichols
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