“And I’m proud to be a Los Angelan, where at least I know I’m free.” Elementary-school hymn aside, there are so many reasons I am proud to live in L.A. One reason is that L.A. has arguably been an epicenter for the growth in popularity of yoga in America. We are home to superstar yoga teachers like Shiva Rea and Seane Corn, the Yoga Works headquarters and the first-ever symposium on Yoga Therapy & Research. And next weekend, September 20th and 21st, we all have the opportunity to join in this momentum at the Yoga Health Festival at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in West L.A. Even if you’re not a full-time yogi, this is a great chance to celebrate and explore one of L.A.’s finest .

The festival is a part of a month-long campaign to educate Americans about the health benefits of yoga, which you can learn more about here. And the event itself is all about interaction: from yoga classes and workshops to music, dancing and shopping. Check out the full schedule here.

While the Yoga Month tour will be visiting 10 cities across the nation, we are especially lucky here in L.A. because Saturday’s festival will be complimented by Sunday’s Global Mala Sacred Movement and Music celebration. For those of you who don’t already know, a “mala” is a strand of 108 beads used for meditation in the Hindi & Buddhist traditions. The purpose of the celebration is to “unite the global yoga community from every continent, school or approach to form a ‘mala around the earth’” in honor of the United Nations International Day of Peace. Imagine: 108 Sun Salutations, Yoga Trance Dance, Paradigm Shifting Speakers and more. A worldwide event with its hub in our own backyard!

So, save the date! And stay tuned next week for highlights on more yoga-related topics leading up to the event. Click here for ydt Events Calendar listing.

Tags: festival, global mala, LMU, yoga, yoga month