"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

- Albert Einstein

30,000 peaceful yogis will be gathered at Yoga Rocks the Park across the U.S. this coming year, from 250 just 4 years ago in Denver? I'll go with miracle. Let's show the world what enlightened culture looks like!

I know, although this is a simple concept, this is easier said than done… but it’s amazing what can happen when you actually do what you want minus the worry of how you will be perceived by others. 

Today, pay attention to how many times you stop yourself before doing something, just because of fear of judgment. 

Every time that happens, take a moment to trust yourself, breathe and keep moving forward. Then honestly ask yourself,”WHO cares what they think?" 

You'll soon realize you are the one in full control of that answer. 

Then, if it feels good, do the same thing tomorrow. 

"Happy Holidays" means many different things to people. It may mean Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanzaa or other religious holiday from the religion we were born into. But for many of us yoga has becoming our "religion." And I'm not just talking asana. The full 8-Limb path of Yoga (yes, this includes the hard part of slowing down and looking at your mind!) and the places we practice have become our complete spiritual practice, heart-community and church. It's where we want to go when times are tough or when we have something to celebrate. I'll personally never forget having my first child and after I called my family I ran straight to Samadhi Yoga where I did my teacher training to share the joy and show off my new child. 

So, however you celebrate the holidays I hope we can all express our love for the season by being at our sacred spaces and with our loved ones, connecting, loving, caring, giving, meditating, breathing deeply and celebrating. It may not be the tradition we grew up with, but it's the new tradition we have embraced and finding something this sacred and meaningful on our own terms… is something to celebrate.

All the best of the holiday season,

With love, 
Erik 
Founder, Open Sky Event Marketing 
Yoga Rocks the Park + Friday Night Yoga Club 

Kindness Yoga:
12:00-1:00pm with Megan Zamora

Root Yoga Center:
9:00-10:30 with Mark Perna

The River Power Vinyasa:
5:00-6:30 pm (Christmas Eve) with Kim Roecker to benefit Off the Mat Into the World

Vital Yoga:
10:30-11:30 with Amanda Lindemann and Ian Maxwell to benefit The Chanda Plan

Warrior Academy Yoga:
9:00-10:00 with Scott Anderson to benefit SafeHouse Denver

A 2014 Year Review (that's not a typo). 
By Erik Vienneau 

Forget new year's resolutions. They don't work. At least for very long. 

Try this new more powerful way, called "future polling"  to live up to your potential in 2014. Right now, in this moment, imagine that it is exactly one year from now. Instead of looking forward and planning for 2014 you look back at how the year went. This practice is all about the feeling. The more real you can make it feel that you already accomplished your dreams the better luck you'll have manifesting them in the new year. 

Right now, put yourself in the space of one year from today and write how awesome your year was. 

Try to include family, friendships, business, health and spirituality. You can also do this with a friend. Their job is to simply say "YES!" and "awesome" "hell, yeah" etc. when you review just how great 2014 was. You job is to do the same for them. The more real you can make it the better your year will be. 

Here's mine. 

2014 was an incredible year. I finally realized I was whole and not broken. I didn't just think this. I felt it. I slowed down enough to uncover who I truly am. I realized that I am not my fears, limited thinking and anxiety. I sat still and saw that I am pure potential. I saw that my true nature is capable of beauty, grace and some serious strength. I also saw that potential in all the people around me. This inspired me to further allow myself to ease into my latest role as meditation instructor. I was amazed that once I put it out there yoga studios, the Buddhist Community and my professional network asked me to share these sacred teachings. Man, that was one of the best parts of my year! 

By slowing down, I was able to focus more love and attention on my beautiful kids and wife. I volunteered at their schools, we took a couple awesome family trips but mainly I just hugged them more and really listened to them. Our house was a peaceful and super fun place in 2014. 

My business boomed in 2014. Our events, Yoga Rocks the Park and Friday Night Yoga Club grew to include 24 cities across the U.S.! We brought a peaceful community celebration to more than 30,000 people in 2014. I shared meditation talks at our events and spent more time with all of the amazing beings in our organization. I saw that they, as well as I, are completely, perfectly filled with pure potential and endless beauty. 

I stayed tuned into my true nature I wanted to feed my body well and that's what I did. I ate the healthiest of foods and took amazing care of my body. I also respected my body and mind. I got massages, acupuncture, saw a dietitian, took tons of yoga classes, walked, hiked, biked, camped... simply enjoyed having this healthy body and helped it to thrive. 

So that was my year. I invite you to share your year with us below, with your friends, family and then enjoy it as it unfolds! 

Thing big and go make it happen! A very Happy New Year to us all! 

Erik Vienneau is the Founder and President of Open Sky Event Marketing. OSE is dedicated to meeting people where they are along the path of wellness and offer them opportunities to advance to a more peaceful and health filled life. OSE creates, produces and promotes world-class music-fueled, community-minded wellness events throughout the U.S. including Yoga Rocks the Park, Friday Night Yoga Club as well as a wide range of events via Open Sky Presents and Colorado Yoga Events.  Erik’s passion for Buddhist Studies, meditation, yoga and a healthy lifestyle helped him to discover his own peaceful nature. The driving force behind Erik’s life is to show others they are pure potential and not the self-limited thoughts that our minds often generate. Connect @ info@openskyeventmarketing.com

The YRP PDX Crew is busy planning and putting our line-up together for our 2nd Season of Yoga Rocks the Park Portland this summer. Good news, we don't have to wait until then to come together again! It is our pleasure to share some upcoming events featuring some of our friends to get your New Year started with beautiful intentions and music. (p.s. We invite you to sign up for our newsletter for the latest news from YRP and our friends). Hope you're having the happiest of holiday seasons! 

By Erik Vienneau

Another school shooting in Colorado. It’s heartbreaking. Most of us ask the same questions. Why? Why would a kid shoot his fellow class mates? Why does he have that much hatred? Why didn’t someone catch it before it was too late? What can we do to prevent this in the future? We propose… better gun control. Of course. Better psychological care in our schools. Yes. Outlaw guns altogether? Something to consider.

But, having been through this a few times with the Columbine shootings, Sandy Hook, the Colorado theater shootings and now most recently at Arapahoe High School among many others, I’m tired of looking outside of myself for the answers. I’m tired of saying “something was just wrong with that kid,” or “someone needs to do something about this.”  

Is it possible that I’m responsible for these shootings? Is it possible that my lack of mindfulness and my self-centered life is part of the problem? Is it true that I’m so busy consuming and trying to take care of #1 and my family that I’m failing to show up for my community? Isn’t it true that I mostly think about myself? It’s true that I’m often so wrapped up in my work and “getting somewhere” that I barely even notice my own children?

How much time do I spend truly listening and caring for others? How often do I even notice fellow human beings in my day to day life? Why am I so damn busy and unable to slow down to truly care and be of assistance? Is it possible that we are taking the easy way out to only ask for our politicians to make another law or blaming the gun makers or even our schools? 

I take responsibility for co-creating a culture that creates kids who shoot each other. I am the problem. I'll take responsibility. We should all take responsibility. It is ‘we’ who create this shared culture. It’s not just the politicians, the gun makers and the NRA. There are no enemies outside of our own creation. 

Now, I’m directing this to the yoga/mindfulness community so you may think I’m “preaching to the choir.” Well maybe I am. But, it’s a BIG choir. 20 million Americans say they are Yogis according to latest Yoga in America Study. Another 20 million identify themselves as meditators according to a 2007 USA Today study. That’s 40 million Americans – more than 15% of us claiming to have an introspective yogic practice.

So sure, sign that petition to ban guns. Go to the rally to show your love for those affected by this latest tragedy. Shed tears. Write letters. Make meaningful heartfelt facebook posts to the parents of the children. But, it’s time to do more than those external signs of love and caring. It’s time to look within. It’s time to see that you are not broken. It’s time to see that you are whole so you can help others, especially our children see they are whole and good. It’s time to know deeply that there’s nothing worth missing out on your kid’s life for. You don’t need a bigger house or a nicer car or a higher status in your career. You need to slow down and show up and truly care for yourself so you can care for others. 

We have a foundation to make real change, and we’ve come a long way. It’s time to make great beings commonplace. It’s time for YOU to wake up and realize that YOU are a great being. It’s time to realize deeply that YOU are the change you are looking for outside yourself. 

If you’d just slow down and look within you’d see that you are Mother Teresa. You are Martin Luther King. You are Nelson Mandela. You are The Dalia Lama. You are whole, perfect, peaceful and full of pure potential. YOU are the one to go into our schools and sit with our children. You are the one to make the change. You are the one to love yourself so much that it pours out into our collective culture.

We are the hope, change and enlightened culture we’ve been looking for outside ourselves. So hit that mat. Sit on that cushion. Look within for the answers to why and how. If you do this you’ll be pleased with what you find and you will see an end of this violence in our lifetime. Our 15% will grow to 30%. We’ll hit the tipping point where the whole culture becomes enlightened, free of suffering and sorrow. It’s up to you. One at a time. We can do this. We are doing this. Let’s do this! 

Erik Vienneau is the Founder and President of Open Sky Event Marketing. OSE is dedicated to meeting people where they are along the path of wellness and offer them opportunities to advance to a more peaceful and health filled life. Erik’s passion for Buddhist Studies, meditation, yoga and a healthy lifestyle helped him to discover his own peaceful nature. The driving force behind Erik’s life is to show others they are pure potential and not the self-limited thoughts that our minds often generate. Connect @ info@openskyeventmarketing.com