In the Land of OM

Saturday, April 20th — what a perfect day for an event. Crowds of like-minded people, excitedly converging on an amazing location. The hype has been incredible leading up to this moment. It is going to be mind-blowing! Just the line-up alone is getting me so jacked up:

The Black Keys, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Rihanna, Usher, Enimem, Snopp Dogg, Dr Dre, etc…

I slowly open my eyes. Hey, wait a minute. I thought this was happening in the desert, in the scorching heat, with the cloud of 420 remains wafting in the air.

Why it’s cool and foggy, and there are palm trees, and sand, but it is beach sand, and I am looking at the Pacific Ocean. And why am I wearing someone else’s clothes, albeit very comfortable ones?

Was this a case of an alien abduction? Or did I go the wrong direction on the 10 Freeway? I thought it was east, but you know how it is in Los Angeles; once you get going on the freeway, there is no stopping, especially if the traffic is light. So instead of going to the Coachella Music Festival, I’ve ended up at the Tadasana Festival of Yoga & Music in Santa Monica. That touchy-feely, new-age, find your spiritual center kind of event. Or so I thought.

Even though I have been practicing yoga for the past ten years, I am not a obsessive dedicated yogi. I just do it because it feels good to stretch and keep flexible as I try to age gracefully. And pounding away at a treadmill, or trying to navigate all those weight machines and spinning bikes at the gym became tiresome, not to mention what gravity does to you while you are engaging in those activities. I could feel my face sagging with each step. My latest favorite yoga practice is sound yoga, where the instructor incorporates the healing vibrations emitted from quartz bowls and gongs between sets of postures and sun salutations. So this Tadasana Festival proved to be an unexpected surprise.

The festival is set right at the beach, about half a mile south from the Santa Monica Pier. I parked and had a leisurely walk along the pedestrian walkway, which was like a pre-meditation exercise. Foggy, with temperatures in the 60’s, it was a pleasant zone-out exercise, a great way to get into the mood. Life in Southern California is good and I feel like this is gonna be fun.

[tags]Cathleen Chin, Tadasana Festival, yoga, music, santa monica, suprise, relaxing, [/tags]