West Coast’s Most Beloved Gathering…Beloved Festival!

Cover Photo By Amandala Photography

By Courtney Alex Aldor

Beloved Festival is almost here and we’re counting down the days! SF Yoga Mag is honored to be joining in the festivities once again at one of the West Coast’s most beloved gathering…Beloved! This year it takes place August 9-12th on the stunning Oregon coast in Tidewater Falls. For those who are still unfamiliar (though among friends this is often touted as one of THE sweetest warmest and most not-to-be-missed festivals of the year). Beloved is a 4-day sacred art, movement and music festival whose intentions are for mass healing and to experiment with new models for culture as a whole. Which means, among other things, that through the coming together of one big loving community, we can all teach and support one another in the creation of this new paradigm shift! And that we support Mother Earth and our fellow humans through a shared experience of joy, love, health, community, and equal opportunity. And to do this, all we need to do is come together with our friends in a conscious and most importantly, open embrace. 

And once again this year, there will be tons to learn and share! As always there will be several flavors of Yoga and movement labs with classic names like DJ Dragonfly, Johanna Beekman and Jim Beckwith, Martin Keogh, Laura Black, Brandy Berlin and Suzy Aragon, the lovely ladies Audra Carmine and Jessica Aray of Love Hive Yoga, Acro-Yoga taught by Brian Meyerand and even more, who are sure to share some inspiring classes. 

I’m personally looking forward to so much beautiful music from around the world to back at home. Musicians I know and love like Porangui, Jupiter and Okwess, Sudan Archives, Desert Dwellers, Dirtwire, Sasha Rose, The Hanuman Project, Climbing Poetree…and even classics like Digable Planets will be performing. And this year, they’ve changed focus to Diasporic music and Folk Futurism in order to be more all-inclusive - yes, even more inclusive! What is folk futurism, you may ask? According to the folks at Beloved, it is invoking the relationship of performer to specific time and place manifested through diverse instrumentation like woods, strings and hollow things and laptops, bleeps and bloops. In other words, embracing both analog and digital - because the more we integrate two sides of the coin in all regards, the more it filters outward. First in our music, and then as a collective humanity….at least that’s how it looks from where I stand.

This year, there are new camping options! And the grounds are always known to be spectacular. With plenty of sun and shade, this patch of nature is love itself, each year decorated with natural altars and artful mandalas, set in a magical mossy forest by the Oregon coast. There’s a secret lake, hilly wild terrain, camps for families. Tons of healthy food and drink, in addition to vegan options, tea zones and places to lounge with new friends are always on offer. And of course, there’s always the opportunity to create communal kitchen and cooking spaces in campgrounds with old and new friends. 

Ecologically, the festival aims to be a pioneer of large gatherings that honor and respect Mother Earth. Aware of the environmental impact festival settings can have, their goal is to have a net positive effect - which is always inspiring because what better way to lead than by example? Because when you visit a festival that not only talks about what can be done for positive change, but also models it for us, well…it becomes easier for all of us to bring those lessons home to our neighborhoods and communities far and wide. There will be talks about plants and planets and social justice with people from years past like Bibi McGill as well as those yet to be announced, which are always enlightening thought provoking.

And in line with Beloved tradition, there will be just one stage. Why? So we can all get loved up in community, the coming together around one shared experience carefully considered. And, at the time of writing this, Tier 1 specially priced tickets are still available but sure to go fast, so check out the link to ticketing here.

To learn more about Beloved Festival, visit belovedfestival.com.

Below is all of the Yoga happening at Beloved Festival….

AcroYoga with Brian Meyer
Learn to hold each other up, and integrate flying lifts into your dance as we delve into the foundations of the ancient art of circus acrobatics.

Baptiste Flow with Suzy Aragon and Brandy Berlin
Experience the 11 energetically-intentional sequences that make up the Baptiste Journey into Power practice to access vitality, power and freedom.

Vinyasa Yoga with Audra Carmine and Jessica Garay
Audra and Jessica trust that yoga is the potent process by which we awaken to our fullest potential.

Kundalini Yoga for Ultimate Freedom with Grant LaCorte
This is movement, body geometry, and breathwork to help us shake off the shackles of limiting beliefs and expectations.

Shake Your Asana with Laura Black
This is a high-vibe Afrobeats-dance-infused yoga flow session!

Contact Improvisation: Intimately Rooted with Martin Keogh
Contact Improvisation is a partner dance form based on spontaneous interaction. Participants experiment with mass, momentum, gravity, and mutual support. The dance is a process of discovery — there are no steps to learn.

The Spirit of Devotion: Kundalini with Signa Cheney
Signa will teach practices to strengthen deep body systems, like the nervous and glandular systems. This practice will quickly release stress, activate self-healing, and unleash creative capacity.

Vibrate Higher with Bibi McGill
Through yoga asana, the breath, and focusing the mind, we have the ability to raise our frequencies while cultivating more strength, balance, clarity and joy.

Primal Vinyasa™ with Annie Adamson
Primal Vinyasa is an evolution of traditional vinyasa, uniquely designed to remind you of your innate ability to enjoy simple yet powerful movements of body and spirit.

Ecstatic Dance with Dragonfly
A full-spectrum, body-mind-soul dancefloor movement experience through the ecstatic edge of sound, where genre-morphing, tempo twisting, globe trotting bass, beats, and groove unlock the magic of somatic release.

Lullaby Yoga™ (Yin Yoga with Mantra) with Johanna Beekman
A unique blend of restorative and yin yoga with heart-opening live music. Focus on deep relaxation and healing using principles from therapeutic yoga, yoga nidra, bhakti yoga and nada (sound) yoga. Johanna gently guides participants through a series of deeply relaxing poses while singing to them.

Yin-Thai Yoga Massage with James Kapicka
Deepen your energetic awareness in this immersive experience into active witnessing, intuitive connection, and compassionate touch. Journey into the water-like quality of your fascia and organs in this somatic yoga ceremony. Realign on a cellular level through richly textured sound baths.