Jiva Yoga Festival Returns to the Long Beach Peninsula at the Ocean Park Camp and Retreat Center from August 26th to the 28th
BETH BAUER
Beth Bauer never intended to be a yoga teacher. It happened by accident while she was living in India. Bauer worked as an ex-pat for a software company and started a travel blog to share her adventures with friends back home. When she was unexpectedly laid off along with other staff, she was a bit depressed, and a friend suggested she learn yoga. Since India is considered the birthplace of yoga, Beth decided it was a good idea and perfect timing.
Beth sent a few e-mails to some ashrams (yoga schools) in the area to see if they would trade some free yoga classes for promotion on her blog. She was thrilled when one agreed, but when she arrived at the ashram, she was shocked to find that she was enrolled in a 30-day intensive yoga teacher training course. She was the oldest student in the program, and that month was exhausting and challenging, but it positively changed her life forever.
PENINSULA AREA
Once Bauer returned to her home on the Long Beach Peninsula, she longed to use her new skills and teach some yoga classes. Beth asked her local homeowners association if she could teach yoga classes in their building, and they graciously agreed. Soon Beth was going door to door with flyers inviting people to her classes. She had only one student in her first class, but attendance grew to capacity over the years. As Ms. Bauer watched the lives of her students change and their health and well-being improve, she began exploring ways to make a more significant impact on the community.
Of course, like many small businesses, the pandemic changed everything. Bauer was about to purchase a building to use as Jiva Yoga and Mindfulness Center in the Spring of 2020 but had to cancel her plans due to Covid. Several years have gone by, and many of the community buildings she once taught yoga in are still closed due to the pandemic. Still, Beth is determined to bring people together to celebrate health and wellness.
“We need community now more than ever,” Ms. Bauer says. “Many people have been living in isolation and have given up on their health. This festival is not just about yoga. It features workshops on breathwork, happiness, boosting your natural immunity, and many other wellness-related topics. It also includes zip-lining, volleyball, campfires, and music. It’s a lot of fun and a life-enhancing event for adults of all ages.”
This August, Bauer will host her third yoga festival on the Long Beach Peninsula. Guests from around the region will gather at the Ocean Park Camp and Retreat Center from August 26th to the 28th. If you want to deepen your yoga practice (or try it for the first time), enjoy informative workshops about health and wellness, and engage in some fun recreational activities like kayaking, horseback riding on the beach, and zip-lining registration is open to the public.
Ms. Bauer says that their time spent around the campfire, walking along the beach, star gazing, and practicing yoga is a great way to refresh mind, body, and spirit and heal from the trauma of the past few years. She feels that we forget to be present and enjoy the moment in this hurry-up world far too often. This live, in-person event will be a blessing to many as they make new friends and focus on their health. She is convinced that yoga is a holistic lifestyle that can transform people. As one of her favorite yoga teachers used to say in India, “Yoga is not a work-out; it’s a work-in.”
If you want to learn more about the event, check out the Jiva Yoga Festival website or Facebook page. Even if yoga isn’t your thing, the workshops cover various subjects, from getting better sleep to living a happier life, so don’t miss it!
