Bhakti Fest Midwest Day 1

Madison’s explosive Fourth of July fireworks on Thursday evening certainly seemed to set the tone of Bhakti Fest Midwest, as the opening day on the following morning was filled with many snaps, crackles, pops. Amy and the Bliss tribe, a local ensemble from Chicago, led the first kirtan set on main stage at the Second Annual festival with her trademark Midwestern hospitality. As “Sita Ram” and “Jai Ma” began reverberating throughout the endless fields at the hosting Alliant Energy Center, chills coursed up and down spines of attendees, artists, teachers, and staff alike as all knew Bhakti Fest’s highly anticipated return to the Midwest had finally arrived after a year long wait for the largest all-star yoga and kirtan cast the Midwest had ever seen.  For those on the Bhakti path, this is no small feat as the devotional practice of kirtan has yet to make its way in mainstream culture in the Western world.

StandUp Paddleboarding
Image by Mitchell Manz

As Bhakti Fest Midwest’s beautiful abode began to pulse with chanting, yoga classes, and workshops, a few gathered around the serene Willow Island where two new sensations on the Yoga circuit were taking place. YogaSlackers set up their one inch lines where those who dared were asked to test their balance, concentration, and even humility amidst the noise—one of the ever confronting aspects that draws so many to Yoga. Meanwhile, StandUp Paddleboarders practiced yoga on long boards on the lake itself—a much more placid environment for beginners as opposed to the challenging ocean currents. 

Coconut Bliss travels to Bhakti Fest Midwest

If you listened close enough, you could hear Yoga Shelter Eric Paskel’s music echoing afar from his yoga class. And by music, we mean Rage Against the Machine… Naturally. Yes, the innovate Paskel lead a revolutionary yoga class, where yogis and yogins confessed they sweat more than in a heated Bikram class…from dancing.  While Bhakti Fest’s classes are known to test the limit and take on a form of their own, Paskel’s class will go down in the yogic books. Needing to cool off from the summer heat, vendors HealthForce Nutritionals and Coconut Bliss combined forces to make regenerative and replenishing (coconut) milk shakes. 

           

Saul David Raye overflows Yoga Hall 1

Back to the yoga hall, Saul David Raye’s first yoga class overflowed My Yoga Online’s entire Yoga Hall 1 as the Midwest welcomed the world-renowned yoga teacher and kirtan artist back in to their arms for the short time that they get to learn from him over the weekend's course.

On main stage, Ragani initiated a hug fest in gratitude that so many people would come together to chant mantras. As she confessed, “if we weren’t here thanks to Bhakti Fest and its staff, I’d probably be chanting alone in my room right now,” many shared the same sense of appreciation. When broken down, mantra is separated into ‘mana’ meaning the mind, intellect, consciousness, or soul, and ‘tra’ meaning to free. Thus, mantras free the mind and heart. While this can be done alone, there is always a sense of unmatchable and ecstatic joy when mantras are shared in congregation. As the sun gently set behind main stage evoking a sense of presence and ease, Ragani spoke an English mantra, not quite anticipated at Bhakti Fest when she uttered “that’s what she said” into the mic. A burst of laughter spread throughout the crowd as a reminder to never take life too seriously.

GuruGanesha Band Headlines Day 1
Image by Mitchell Manz

On that note, the ever hip and multi-generational GuruGanesha Band rocked the main stage with their long beards, white turbans, and rock-n-roll guitars as Friday night's headlining act, also reminding us all to stay ever youthful and true to ourselves.  As the Sikh devotees lead the expansive crowd chanting the famous Buddhist’s Heart Sutra, a sense of universal love and respect for all spiritual practices swept over the crowd, knowing the weekend ahead would not only be life changing for some, but for the universal consciousness at large.

By Vanessa Harris