Today was the Here Comes the Sun yoga festival in NYC. And of course the weather was miserable! Rain, dark clouds, kind of depressing. But since I had already bought my ticket I was determined to go, if only to get out of the house and get some (well-deserved, if I say so myself) Me Time. Not to mention that I figured that the rain would scare a lot of people off and I'd have a better chance to win one of the giveaway prizes ;-)
I am really glad I decided to go, because I had a really fun day!
The event was still in Central Park of course, but this time it was in a different spot: Wollman Rink, which turned out to be a perfect spot considering the weather, since there was also an indoor space with tables and benches.
When I got there, there was absolutely no line (promising? or scary?) and I checked in really quickly. The space was almost empty, but it filled out a bit more in the following couple of hours.
It was barely drizzling, but the sky and (the weather forecast) didn't promise well. So everything was under tents, including the yoga spaces - which is great, but it reduced the available space quite a bit.
I learned last year that at Here Comes the Sun you can't do everything, because there are a lot of things going on at once, all day long, in different spots:
- Main Stage: yoga classes non-stop, some lead by
Sara Ivanhoe.
- Peace of Mind Mecca: complementary astrology and tarot card readings, henna tattoos, YogaWorks giveaways, special offers and gift cards.
- Workout with Wii: a tent to try out the new balance board, whether you want to do yoga or play one of the fun games. Also a Wii giveaway (crossing my fingers).
- Pilates Corner: mat Pilates, intro to Pilates, Pilates/Yoga Hybrid classes.
- Beginners Yoga corner: intro to yoga, intro to vinyasa, intro to gentle yoga.
- Goddess of Beauty and Light: L'Oreal booth, with complementary skincare consultations, mini facials and makeovers; also giveaways and more freebies.
- Point of Enlightenment: health and wellness talks and mini-seminars, book readings.
-
Josie's Restaurant: delicious food.
- Taste of the Sun: free food samples (and when I say "samples" I mean "full size portions") of almonds, frozen yogurt, cookies, crackers, cereal bars and
SkinnyGirl cupcakes and cookies.
What I did:
- I started out by visiting the L'Oreal booth for a bit of pampering, and got a skincare consultation and a dose of crazy. The girl doing my skincare consultation was several kinds of obnoxious, which could have spoiled what was meant to be a relaxing moment but instead changed it into a sort of stand-up comedy.
- I then moved on to the makeup section, where makeup artist Tasha did a fantastic job. I'm not into L'Oreal but I have to admit that their Bare Naturale line has some really amazing products. I got a list of what she used on me - turns out I no longer need to go crazy looking for foundation because I should just use a little concealer and all-over glow. She also gave me a full-size Bare Naturale Mascara.
- I got a henna tattoo.
Sandhya and I got off to a good start: I sat down and she said "You are wearing Satya Jewellery!" which kind of startled me because I thought Satya was a relatively well-kept secret (just me and a few thousand people in New York) but she apparently works with them and designed their new logo and stuff. I professed my love for Satya and she gave me a unique tattoo (that's right, noone else got it!): a lotus flower, which represents renewal, transformation and new beginnings. And it's really pretty.
- Had some lunch from Josie's booth. My pick: Chicken veggie mini-wraps with wasabi dip and Rejuvenating Iced Tea (cranberry, hibiscus, ginger & rose hip tea). Yum.
- I made the rounds to get all the freebies (except a yoga mat, which I didn't get because I already had one).
- I got a hug from
Sarah Ivanhoe. She actually hugged me! I am totally celebrity-struck. Where's a friend with a camera when you need one?? For those who don't know her, Sara Ivanhoe is a fantastic yoga teacher - my absolute favorite, in fact (sorry,
Rainbeau Mars and
Bryan Kest - girl's gotta pick).
- I went to hear
Ariane De Boivoisin speak. She has a new book out,
The first 30 days. I heard her speak at last year's festival and once again I was amazed at how inspiring she is. Strong, good-looking, self-assured... I got a copy of the book for myself and a copy for my friend V.
-
Bethenny, the SkinnyGirl, makes amazing baked goods, looks fantastic and is incredibly funny. She did a demonstration on making smoothies and talked the whole time and people didn't want to leave - except Delta Goodrem started singing and we couldn't hear anything anymore (girl's got quite a pair of lungs on her!). Bethenny is really fun - and as it turns out, she is one of
The Real Housewives of New York City - found that out on the way home, reading my complementary copy of Page Six.
- Entered all the giveaways: 6-months subscriptions to YogaWorks, Wii Fit, Luxury Yoga mats, L'Oreal Luxury skin care gift baskets, spa gift certificates for Oasis Spa.
I left shortly after 3pm, but not before shooting a 30-second movie of Delta Goodrem amazing voice:
If you want to see more photos of the festival, so to my
Flickr photostream.
What: An event revolving around health and fitness, with a variety of classes that span from yoga and ballet-inspired to cardio boxing and rebounding, and many things in between. The event is sponsored by SELF magazine and when it started it was the first ever event of its kind. This is its 16th edition.
