Sifting through wood that was destined for the landfill, Elizabeth Nerland picked out a dozen weathered pieces to repurpose into signs for the West Coast Yoga Festival. She framed them with rustic cedar fence boards and used chalkboard paint for the middle.聽
鈥淚 learned how to use a belt sander. I had sore arms after three days,鈥� said Nerland, who, as organizer of the festival, had a goal to leave a very small environmental footprint.聽
The signs were just the beginning in planning the zero-waste festival.聽
With around 400 people attending over 13 hours, the festival only created half a tote bag full of garbage.聽
Vendors used recyclable materials and festivalgoers were asked to bring their own water bottles. The vast majority of refuse was reused, recycled or composted.聽
鈥淥verall, our footprint in the landfill was negative,鈥� Nerland said proudly. 鈥淲e had to have garbage bins there, but there were a lot of empty ones at the end of the day.鈥�
She said the goal of the first annual West Coast Yoga Festival, held at Junction Park on June 19, was to knock down barriers to accessing yoga classes and address stereotypes of who typically participates. 聽
鈥淵oga should be accessible to everyone because it鈥檚 such a profound medicine 鈥� medically, emotionally and physically,鈥� said Nerland. The cost of classes and the misperception that only young, fit people do yoga are two of the biggest barriers.聽
Seven yoga instructors held classes throughout the day as participants laid down their mats on the grass field. Each class drew between 75 and 200 people.聽
鈥淔ive out of seven classes were taught by 麻豆社国产locals. It was great to showcase different teachers in the community so people could see which teachers really resonate with them,鈥� said Nerland, a yoga teacher at Shala Yoga in Squamish.聽
鈥淚t was really beautiful. Everyone seemed content and serene. There was a lot of love, and crying and laughing.鈥�
Nerland said it鈥檚 important for anyone interested in yoga to know that people of all ages and fitness levels practise the ancient exercise.聽
鈥淪ome people were just walking by the festival, had never done yoga before, and wanted to check it out. They could say, 鈥榊es, I see someone who looks like me, someone who moves like me, and there鈥檚 someone else who can鈥檛 touch their toes,鈥欌�� she said.聽
All that yoga made attendees hungry, forcing some of the vegan food truck vendors to gather more food after selling out multiple times.聽
Vancouver-based duo SacredFire, performing 鈥渁n elixir of music聽for the body, mind, heart and spirit,鈥� played as participants took classes and relaxed afterwards.聽
麻豆社国产First Nations leaders and elders opened and closed the festival with blessings and acknowledgement of their traditional territory.聽
Money raised from the festival goes to the Squamish-based West Coast Yoga Foundation, which has a goal of providing universally accessible venues for people to practice yoga and interact with their community.聽
Formed in 2015, the foundation plans on hosting the annual festival, workshops and weekly classes on a by-donation basis, in addition to providing scholarships to yoga teachers in 麻豆社国产so they can enhance their knowledge and contributions to the community.聽
As the West Coast Yoga Festival wound down around 10 p.m., Nerland said people began chanting that there should be another event next year 鈥� an idea she said is already being planned.聽
鈥淵oga is a process that wakes us up to our inherent connection to each other and to the earth.聽When we truly realize our interconnectedness, we begin to act in a way that serves the greatest good, rather than our own selfish desires,鈥� Nerland said.聽
鈥淎nd when we, collectively, act from this place of caring for others in the same way we care for ourselves, our other problems will become easier to resolve.鈥澛�
