NEPA Yoga Fest

🌞 Sunday Morning Opening Meditation with Mara Morell
Begin your Sunday at the NEPA Yoga Festival with a gentle, grounding meditation led by the heartful guidance of Mara Morell. This morning session is designed to help you arrive fully in the moment, connect with your breath, and open your heart to the experiences ahead.
Through breath awareness, intention setting, and subtle inner stillness, Mara will guide you into a space of clarity and peace — creating the perfect energetic foundation for your final day at the festival.
🧘‍♀️ In this session, you’ll experience:

• Centering breathwork and guided mindfulness
• A heart-opening meditation to connect with self and community
• A calm, supportive space to awaken your spirit with intention

All levels are welcome — no prior meditation experience needed. Just bring your presence, your breath, and a willingness to start the day from a place of stillness.

Dreams are one of the most common ways our intuition, subconscious mind, and even loved ones in spirit communicate with us. In this lecture, Medium Tara Grossi explains the difference between ordinary dreams, symbolic dreams, and true visitation dreams. Learn why messages often come through while we sleep, why dreams may feel vivid but unclear, and how signs, guidance, and intuitive insight can appear in dream form. Tara will share real-life experiences, common patterns seen in visitation dreams, and ways to become more aware of the messages we receive during sleep. The class will conclude with a short guided visualization to help open awareness dream communications. 

Japa Mantra MeditationLearning the Sacred Practice of Mala Beads
This class offers a grounded and accessible introduction to Japa Mantra Meditation, an ancient devotional practice rooted in the yogic tradition and referenced in texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
The word japa means “to repeat softly,” and mantra means “instrument of the mind.” Together, Japa is the rhythmic repetition of a sacred sound, word, or phrase to steady the mind and awaken deeper awareness.
In this workshop-style class, students will learn:
• The history and spiritual significance of Japa meditation
• The structure and symbolism of the 108-bead mala
• How to hold and move through the beads properly
• The purpose of the guru bead
• Breath coordination with mantra repetition
• How to choose or connect with a mantra
Traditionally, a mala contains 108 beads, representing spiritual wholeness and the cyclical nature of existence. Each bead becomes an anchor for attention. With every repetition of the mantra, the practitioner gently moves to the next bead, creating a tactile rhythm that keeps the mind from wandering.
This practice activates the parasympathetic nervous system through repetition and breath regulation, while also cultivating focus, devotion, and inner stillness. The vibration of mantra is said to refine consciousness and purify mental fluctuations.
Students may work with a universal mantra such as “Om,” “So Hum,” or a loving-kindness phrase, depending on the intention of the practice.
Expect:
• Gentle guidance into seated meditation
• Instruction on mala use and etiquette
• Group mantra repetition
• Silent personal japa
• Reflection and integration
This practice can be devotional or secular. It can be done for five minutes or an hour. What matters most is sincerity and consistency.
Japa is meditation with movement.
With rhythm.
With intention.
One bead.
One breath.
One mantra at a time.

This meditation is rooted in the ancient Buddhist practice of Loving-Kindness, known in Pali as Metta Bhavana, meaning “the cultivation of boundless goodwill.” For centuries, practitioners have used this simple yet profound method to soften the heart, dissolve resentment, and awaken compassion as a lived experience rather than an idea.
At its core, this meditation uses five intentional phrases that are repeated gently, like planting seeds in the soil of the mind. The practice traditionally moves in widening circles:

1. Ourselves
2. Someone we love or feel gratitude toward
3. Someone neutral
4. Someone difficult
5. All beings everywhere

We begin with ourselves because compassion cannot authentically extend outward if it does not first take root within. From there, the heart expands gradually, including those who are easy to love and eventually those who challenge us. The practice culminates in extending loving-kindness to all beings without exception, dissolving the illusion of separation.
The classic phrases often sound like:
• May I be safe.
• May I be healthy.
• May I be peaceful.
• May I live with ease.
• May I be free.
These phrases are then adapted as the focus shifts:
“May you be safe…”
“May you be peaceful…”
“May all beings be free…”
The wording is flexible. What matters most is the sincerity behind it. The phrases can be tailored to reflect what feels authentic and aligned, as long as they arise from a genuine place of care and goodwill.
This practice can be:
• A focused five-minute daily reset
• A full hour of deep heart cultivation
• Practiced in one complete arc
• Or explored one category at a time depending on what the heart needs
It is traditionally practiced seated in meditation, but it can also be done lying down, walking slowly, or even integrated into yoga asana or daily life. The beauty of Metta is its accessibility.
For seasoned meditators, it refines and deepens compassion.
For beginners, it offers structure and simplicity.
Over time, loving-kindness meditation has been shown to gently shift inner dialogue, reduce reactivity, and increase feelings of connection and well-being. Spiritually, it is said to purify the heart. Practically, it changes how we show up in the world.
This is not about forcing positive emotion. It is about cultivating the intention of goodwill, even if the feeling follows later.
One phrase.
One breath.
One widening circle at a time.

🎶 Kirtan Camp with Scott Moss: Find Your Voice, Open Your Heart
Step into the joyful and devotional world of Kirtan — a call-and-response chanting practice rooted in Bhakti yoga, the yoga of love and devotion. Led by Scott Moss, this immersive Kirtan Camp invites you to explore sacred sound as a tool for connection, healing, and spiritual awakening.
Through simple mantras, rhythm, and melody, you’ll experience how Kirtan quiets the mind, uplifts the spirit, and opens the heart. Whether you sing, clap, play an instrument, or simply listen, you’ll be part of a powerful shared vibration of love and unity.
🕉️ In Kirtan Camp, you’ll:

• Learn the meaning and pronunciation of foundational mantras
• Explore vocal expression and devotional chanting
• Join in community music-making — no experience needed!
• Tap into joy, stillness, and a deep sense of presence

All voices welcome. Come as you are — whether you’re a lifelong chanter or completely new to mantra, this session will leave you feeling energized, inspired, and deeply connected.

When we intentionally settle and relax the mind, we are not becoming passive. We are becoming steady.
A restless mind pulls the body with it. Shoulders creep upward. Jaw tightens. Breath shortens. Posture collapses or strains. The nervous system stays braced, as if something might happen at any moment.
But when the mind softens, the body reorganizes.
The breath deepens.
The spine lengthens naturally.
The feet root more firmly.
The muscles engage without gripping.
Relaxation is not weakness. It is efficient strength.
In yoga philosophy, when the fluctuations of the mind begin to quiet, we move closer to clarity and alignment. The internal noise that creates tension fades, and what remains is steadiness. This steadiness allows us to stand tall not from force, but from integration.
On the mat, that may look like a mountain pose that feels grounded yet light. A warrior that is stable without strain. A balance pose that feels focused rather than frantic.
Off the mat, it becomes emotional resilience.
When the mind is settled:
• We respond instead of react.
• We speak with intention instead of impulse.
• We move through challenge without collapsing or hardening.
Relaxing the mind builds an inner vertical line, a sense of dignity and calm strength that supports us in conversations, decisions, and stress.
We stand tall because we are not fighting ourselves internally.
We stand strong because our energy is no longer scattered.
True strength is not tension.
It is composure.
And composure begins in a quiet mind.

In this class, you’ll embark on a transformative journey that awakens both body and mind. Through dynamic Vinyasa flows, you’ll build strength, flexibility, and energy, moving with intention and rhythm while connecting deeply to your breath. Then, as the practice transitions into the restorative stillness of Yin, you’ll release tension, quiet your mind, and dive into profound inner calm. This unique blend of movement and stillness invites you to explore balance, resilience, and self-awareness. By the end of class, you’ll feel energized yet grounded, empowered yet peaceful, carrying a sense of harmony and presence off the mat and into your everyday life. Flow within and discover the strength in stillness and the serenity in motion.

This class returns us to the foundations of Vinyasa Yoga: our Sun Salutations. After a gentle warm-up, we’ll break down each movement, building strength, awareness, and fluidity as we create a seamless flow.
Once the body is warm and energized, we’ll shift our focus to breathwork, practicing pranayama techniques designed to balance our energy and guide us into a deeper, more centered state of meditation

Leave this yoga class feeling beautiful, powerful, light and care-free. Unlock the strength and magic that lies inside of your soul. 


Learn powerful chanting that will vibrate your body and soul to bring you closer to yourself and to nature. 


Experience a type of yoga that is fluid, dance-like, and a little bit devious. Learn to enhance your practice with herbal incense, sage, sound, and creativity.