"Our partnership with Give Back Yoga Foundation will further our mission of promoting peace and well-being by reaching underserved populations that the Give Back Yoga Foundation proudly serves. Together we can touch so many beings. I'm thrilled about the incredible potential of our partnership." 
- Erik Vienneau, CEO and Founder of Yoga Rocks the Park.

Yoga Rocks the Park™ (YRP) today announced its partnership with Give Back Yoga Foundation, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Among the partnership benefits is the provision of a 5% donation of national net profits from YRP’s ticket sales to the Foundation, with another 5% donation going towards local causes in each of the 20 host communities where YRP operates. 

Donations to the Give Back Yoga Foundation will bring yoga to thousands of people around the country in underserved communities, including veterans, incarcerated veterans, at-risk youth, prisoners, and those with eating disorders."Yoga as a path to peace should be available to all people,” said Erik Vienneau, CEO and Founder of Yoga Rocks the Park™. “Each year at our Yoga Rocks the Park™ events, we reach more than 20,000 yogis. But many people fall outside the realms of our core visitor group. Our partnership with Give Back Yoga Foundation will further our mission of promoting peace and well-being by reaching underserved populations that the Give Back Yoga Foundation proudly serves. Together we can touch so many beings. I'm thrilled about the incredible potential of our partnership."

“Give Back Yoga Foundation’s mission is to make yoga available to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the transformational benefits of this powerful practice,” said Rob Schware, Executive Director of Give Back Yoga Foundation. “We do this by supporting and funding certified yoga teachers in all traditions, to offer the teachings of yoga to underserved and under-resourced socio-economic segments of the community and inspire grassroots social change and community cooperation. I feel our partnership with YogaRocks the Park and their parent company, Open Sky Event Marketing is a way to join forces in fueling the growth of community-minded yoga events throughout the country.”

For more information on Yoga Rocks the Park™ event information, please contact Traci Wallace at 442-222-0724 twallace@openskyeventmarketing.com or visit  www.yogarocksthepark.com. 

To learn more about The Give Back Yoga Foundation and how you can give back in your community, contact Shanti Medina at Shanti@GiveBackYoga.org or 720-841-8998.  

About Give Back Yoga Foundation

Give Back Yoga Foundation inspires and promotes the methodology of classical yoga as a tangible and effective tool for transforming human consciousness. We strive to promote the experience of yoga as a powerful way to move beyond separateness, alienation, and diversity and fully recognize the fundamental unity of the universe and the underlying connectedness among all beings, communities, nations and religions. Our goal is to move from ‘self-centered’ to ‘community-centered,’ passing the gift of yoga, one individual at a time, to empower people, build communities and aid in alleviating the pain and suffering in our world. To learn more about The Give Back Yoga Foundation and how you can give back in your community visit www.GiveBackYoga.org or contact Shanti Medina at Shanti@GiveBackYoga.org or on her cell at 720-841-8998.

About Yoga Rocks the Park 

Yoga Rocks the Park™ is a movement to bring peace, joy and celebration to communities throughout the country. Yoga Rocks the Park began as a single event in Denver, Colorado seven years ago and is now celebrated in over 20 cities across the U.S. with 25,000 nationwide attendees at over 125 events. We continue to embrace the grassroots soul of our events and each event series is locally managed, staffed and supported by the local community. Our mission is to bring people of all ages to the park to celebrate community, play, bring light to local causes, engage with local wellness companies, and provide yogis with the opportunity to experience new teachers, styles, and flows, to live soundtrack provided by emerging local musicians. Each event series runs on select Saturdays & Sundays throughout the spring/summer, with 10% of net-profits donated to local and global nonprofit organizations. The weekly events feature an all-levels, 75-minute yoga class and a kids’ yoga program, Camp YRP designed for children ages 3-10, live music and access to innovators in wellness in our vendor villages. For more information on Yoga Rocks the Park™ event information, please contact Traci Wallace at 442-222-0724 twallace@openskyeventmarketing.com or visit  www.yogarocksthepark.com. 

About Open Sky Event Marketing 

Open Sky Event Marketing, Inc. (OSE) is a leading wellness-industry event production and marketing firm on a mission to create conscious community through the creation of world-class events such as Yoga Rocks the Park & Friday Night Yoga Club, that promote peace, giving, and well-being on a local and global scale. www.openskyeventmarketing.com 

Since its launch in 2009, Yoga Rocks the Park (YRP) has grown steadily from one small grassroots gathering with just 30 people in Denver, Colorado to one of the fastest growing, family-friendly, outdoor live music, yoga, and wellness celebrations in the United States with 25,000+ nationwide attendees. 

YRP has more than doubled its U.S. presence over the two years, with ongoing weekly events in 20 cities across the country, including San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boulder, Denver, Chicago, Phoenix, Portland, Omaha, Boston and many others, with weekly gatherings of over 400 yogis and their families in select cities. Yoga Rocks the Park continues to embrace the grassroots heart of their events and each series throughout the U.S. is locally staffed, supported, produced and managed with the guidance of their parent company, Open Sky Event Marketing, on a mission to develop mindful leaders and create conscious community through world-class events. 

Yoga Rocks the Park launches it's expanded 2014 season with it's Phoenix series, locally presented by returning sponsor, Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), on February 23rd and runs through March 30th, 2014.  Each weekly event includes a 75-minute all-levels yoga class led by one of Phoenix’s top yoga teachers, including Max & Lisa Cohen, Alex Austin, Jenn Chiarelli, Mary Bruce, Will Glass, Anton Mackey, Desiree Lapre, Rebecca Lammersen and Tara Martell, accompanied by a soundtrack of live music from emerging and nationally recognized musicians such as DJ Drez, h3lla, Reynaldo Moreno and Erik Stanley. 

Each event also includes Camp Yoga Rocks the Park,  a kids’ yoga class to complement adult classes, designed for children aged 3-10. The camp begins a few minutes before the event and ends a few minutes after the adult class so parents can participate in the full practice.

Events will take place on Sunday afternoons during from February 23-March 30, 2014 from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm (registration begins at 1:30 pm) at Indian School Park located at Central Avenue & Indian School Road. Tickets are $12 in advance or $15 at the park and can be purchased at www.yogarocksthepark.com. Children's tickets are $10 or $7 per child with families with multiple children. The March 9th event will be free for everyone thanks to a sponsorship by Spirit of Yoga, SWIHA's educational facility for its UNITY Yoga Teacher Training and public yoga studio offering daily classes and on-going workshops, events & continuing education classes. 

Events also include a vendor village, providing guests with unique experiences and access to innovations in wellness with YRP's national and local partners including Floating Lotus, Life Power, PIHMA (Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture), Silver & Sage, The Shine Project, and Yoga Gangsters. 

Yoga Rocks the Park is proud to donate 10% of net profits from ticket sales to various local and national charities in each of the cities in which they operate. The Phoenix series will support The Shine Project, on a mission to improve the lives of at-risk teens through service, education, and family involvement.

For tickets, complete 2014 U.S. schedule, and partnership information, please visit www.yogarocksthepark.com or email twallace@openskyeventmarketing.com. 

About Yoga Rocks the Park 
Yoga Rocks the Park is on a mission to bring as many people to the park during the summer to celebrate community, to play, to bring light to the local causes, to meaningfully engage with local wellness companies, and to provide yogis with the opportunity to try new teachers/styles/flows, to a live soundtrack by local musicians. They are also are passionate about creating a space for their community to experience all of the benefits that come from the simple act of being outside and doing yoga in the presence of Mother Nature. 
The Yoga Rocks the Park series runs on select Saturdays & Sundays throughout the summer in America’s favorite parks, donating 10% of the net-profits to local nonprofit organizations. The weekly events feature an all-levels 75-minute yoga class and kids yoga program, Camp Yoga Rocks The Park, accompanied by live music with some of the top and emerging musicians in the country, while providing unique experiences with national and local conscious companies and unique access to innovators in wellness. www.yogarocksthepark.com

About Open Sky Event Marketing 
Open Sky Event Marketing 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. www.openskyeventmarketing.com 

About the Shine Project 
The Shine Project's purpose is to inspire you to live the highest quality of life obtainable, and to motivate you to join our efforts in making this world a better place. We have many events set up around the country, and would love for you to get involved! The Shine Scholarship Project is a non-profit that was created by TSP to put our beliefs in action. Its mission is to improve the lives of at-risk teens through service, education, and family involvement. We do service projects with inner city students every other week to teach them the leadership skills that are necessary for them to succeed. The money we raise goes to sending these leaders to college, so they can give back to society.You can read more about how to get involved HERE. www.theshineproject.storenvy.com/faq

About Southwest Institute of Healing Arts 
Southwest Institute of Healing Arts is a nationally accredited (ACCET) private college and community-healing center for Holistic Healthcare careers and continuing education. We are dedicated to providing professional, affordable education (on-campus and online) for those interested in entering the healing arts profession, for those interested in continuing their education, as well as to those seeking personal and spiritual growth. SWIHA is committed to providing on-going entrepreneurial support for holistic healthcare practitioners in private practice and to those establishing or growing a business. www.swiha.edu

About Spirit of Yoga 
Spirit of Yoga was built out of the award-winning private college, Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA), which offered a Yoga Alliance approved Teacher Training program for the past twelve years. In May 2011, SWIHA opened the doors to a new, world-class educational facility and yoga studio just a few blocks away from its main campus in Tempe, Arizona. Although, our Yoga Studio facility, location, and name have changed, our mission remains the same…to offer Yoga Classes which are affordable, flexible, and transformational. For over a decade, Spirit of Yoga has changed the lives and elevated the practice of countless yoga practitioners, instructors, and devotees. www.myspiritofyoga.com

"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!

"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

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

We all want the same thing... to be happy. Cultivating gratitude is a powerful shortcut to discover lasting happiness. Let's use this Thanks-giving time to begin a lasting practice of gratitude. 

“We cannot be useful to ourselves unless we are also useful to others," says H.H. Dalai Lama. "Whether we like it or not we are all connected and it is unthinkable to be happy all by oneself. Anyone who is only concerned by his own wellbeing will suffer eventually. Even if we decide to remain selfish; let us be intelligently selfish, let us help others.” 

So those that are doing the giving are also receiving. By receiving you allow another to serve which leads to their happiness. By giving you allow another to receive which leads to their peace. We love how this works! 

We want to send our biggest heartfelt thank you to everyone that is part of the growing Yoga Rocks the Park CommUNITY. Thanks to the love and service from all of the teachers, musicians, event directors, volunteers and the amazing support of the local communities and our local/national sponsors, we have grown from one small event in Denver, Colorado (with only 30 people!) seven years ago as a way to come together to celebrate community and promote peace... to a presence in 20 cities in 2014! 

We are immensely grateful for your love and support, and it is our honor to serve you as we continue to bring you inspiring teachers, causes, speakers, innovations in wellness, musicians, artists, peace and love in the beautiful presence of Mother Nature. We sincerely thank you for this opportunity to continue to give and grow with you! 

Wishing you and your families much love and a very Happy Thanks-giving! 
In wellness and love, 
Erik, Traci, Jennifer, Stacey, Brandi, Sarah, Elle, Andy & Emily, Elizabeth, Keith, Alexis, Jen J, Jenn P, Ryan & Shayne, Kristina, Lora, and the entire Open Sky Events/Yoga Rocks the Park Family. 

Calling all conscious couples! Plan your next date with our special Lovers' Yoga workshop with Darrin & Daisy Zeer. Darrin is deemed "America's Relaxation Expert" by CNN and is the author of Lovers' Yoga & Massage.

Lovers’ Yoga is similar to traditional partner yoga but with extra oomph and a whole lotta love. To encourage closeness and ensure you and your partner are totally present, Lovers’ Yoga starts with basic partner work focusing on fun and play and then progresses slowly to a more intimate level. Prepare to connect with your partner in new ways that can easily be replicated at home. The class is designed for all yoga skill levels, from beginner to advanced. A delicious spread of artisan cheese, chocolate and wine will be provided throughout our session for you to enjoy.

Host Studio: 
Asana Studio 5701 Yukon St  Arvada, Colorado 
Saturday, November 9, 2013 from 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM (MST)

Check out the latest Origin. Magazine featuring some of our favorite yogis & friends from Denver, Colorado, the birthplace of Yoga Rocks the Park including Patrick Harrington, Tina Porter, Dakina Ma Jaeger, Chanda Hinton Leichtle, Christen Bakken and Lisa Richards... with cameos from Erik Vienneau and Jennifer Lux of the Yoga Rocks the Park Crew! 

Get your online copy now at www.originmagazine.com/online-issues. 

Yogi Roots, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting, and evolving the Portland yoga community, is proud to announce the 2nd annual Yogi Roots Festival: A Celebration of Portland Yoga being held on November 16th, 2013 at Bossanova Ballroom.

Be a part of the celebration in efforts to bring greater access to yoga within our local community, foster collaboration among yoga groups and participate in the theme of this year’s festival, Lineage: Exploring Roots in A Modern Practice, by joining us for this fantastic all day festival unique to our Portland community.

Yogi Roots is offering $10 off to the Yoga Rocks the Park Community for their annual celebration of Portland Yoga, go here to buy tickets and enter YRPRF13. 

See you there!