tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10590369025729859622024-03-19T20:28:30.180-07:00TravelingOms.comBent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1059036902572985962.post-91674771404143207072012-01-18T08:26:00.000-08:002012-01-18T08:27:15.315-08:00Interview - Northwest Yoga Conference<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">We sat down with Melissa Hagedorn
to learn more about the 1st annual <a href="http://www.nwyogaconference.com/" target="_blank">Northwest Yoga Conference</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">TravelingOms.com:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Why did you decide to start a yoga conference?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Melissa Hagedorn:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> I started it because it is what I wished I had been able to attend in
previous years. Most yoga conferences and retreats are far away – you go to
some white sandy beach to get away from the cold Washington winters. That
sounds amazing, but most people I know can’t afford to do that. I wanted to
create that immersive yoga retreat vibe locally. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> What were some of the hardest hurdles when starting a new conference?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">MH:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> I would say the biggest challenge was that I am just a yoga student. I
am not a teacher with tons of industry connections already in place.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> How did you overcome that?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">MH:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> I reached out to my local teachers and they were all receptive to the
idea. They emailed the information out to their connections and it grew from
there. I had originally planned for a fairly small event but something in my
head kept saying “go bigger” so I did!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> I’ll say – you have what, 36+ workshops? For not being connected,
that’s a lot!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">MH:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> We advertised in the local yoga
newsletter and searched the Internet for various teachers and workshops. We put
up a link on our website to solicit presenter proposals. All together we ended
up with about twice as many applicants as workshops.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> How did you decide which presenters to bring onboard?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">MH:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> The hardest part was turning people down. But being a new conference, I
wanted us to have some credibility. That meant bringing on people who knew what
they were doing. So having some sort of past experience presenting at events
played heavily in our decision. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, we wanted a balanced
offering with sessions for complete beginners to introduce them to yoga, for
yoga students like me to deepen our practice, and for advanced teachers to
deepen their knowledge. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Do you have any advice for teachers looking to present at events?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">MH:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> We didn’t make a decision on the presenters until after the presenter
proposal deadline, but I found I gravitated towards those that got their
applications in early. I think I had more time to contemplate their workshop
idea and it had time to grow on me.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also, the more thorough and well
thought-out the proposal the easier it made my job. I didn’t have to track
people down for more information and could really get a sense for what they
were going to teach immediately. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lastly, we looked at how willing
and able they were to help promote the conference. We needed to get the word
out so people who came to us with stellar marketing ideas and who seemed really
invested in making the conference a success, stuck out. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> Thank you, Melissa!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">AT A GLANCE</span></span></b></div>
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<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Event Name:</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Northwest Yoga Conference</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic;">Location: </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">Lynnwood, WA (Lynnwood Convention Center)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">2012 Dates:</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> February 18</span><sup style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222;">th</span></sup><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">and 19<sup>th</sup></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> <span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"> </span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Number of Years Event has Been Going
On:</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> First year!</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Estimated Attendance:</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> 300+</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Number of Presenters</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">: 35-</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;">40</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Types of Presenters:</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Wide variety of yoga (kids yoga, kundalini, iyengar, chanting,
meditation, yoga philosophy, workshops specific for yoga teachers, etc.)</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">Website:</span></i><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.nwyogaconference.com/" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #e69138;">www.nwyogaconference.com</span></span></a></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 7pt/normal 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"> </span></span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 10pt;">How to Submit a Presenter Proposal:</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-indent: -0.25in;"> Applications are available in the spring for presenters to
submit workshop ideas. </span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">More than 300 yoga students and instructors are expected
to attend the first annual Northwest Yoga Conference–the only yoga conference
in the Seattle area– which will take place on February 18 and 19 at the
Lynnwood Convention Center in Lynnwood, Washington.</span></div>
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">If you would like to have your event highlighted on our blog, please contact us at jslis@travelingoms.com</i>
</div>Bent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1059036902572985962.post-78193649632416155022012-01-11T06:17:00.000-08:002012-01-11T14:18:38.233-08:00Interview – Caribbean Yoga Conference<br />
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<a href="http://www.caribbeanyogaconference.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JnKA5JZJ8w-h6MrNK0qd7EmGBIaSuWuESGimfqllS9IUS0dfT13rYWSX1uiBFChBiHdKwSK9Ju8MXN3LnaLlJcrxh52V_QK531K39eIK69k9vcn0wvKCeFFoifgHQXAKpJtn7Dk0ILk/s320/cyc_logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">This week we went behind the
scenes with Kimberly Moon of <a href="http://www.bellalunayoga.com/" target="_blank">Bella Luna Yoga</a> to chat about
her newest undertaking: creating the <a href="http://www.caribbeanyogaconference.com/" target="_blank">Caribbean Yoga Conference</a>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 10pt;">TravelingOms.com:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;"> What prompted you to start the Caribbean Yoga Conference?</span> </span><br />
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<b style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Kimberly Moon: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-weight: normal;">I was visiting Jamaica for Bella Luna Yoga and got to know the yoga
community there. There are some amazing teachers and students, but the industry
is in such infancy right now I wanted to do something to help it grow. I am
hoping this conference will help spread the word about yoga further into the
community.</span>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> How did you go about deciding on the faculty and presenters?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">KM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> We began planning about 18 months ago. With this being a new
conference, I really wanted to start off strong. I sat down with the CYC
Director of Programming, who formerly worked in Kripalu’s programming
department, and we put together a “Dream Team.” We wanted to bring in some
presenters that already had a proven following to ensure people would make the
trip to see them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> So a big part of your decision to bring someone on is his or her
established following?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">KM: </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Yes. For a large conference such as this, we need to know ahead of time
that the cost of bringing someone down here will be offset by the audience they
will draw in. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> What do you look at to establish if someone has enough of a following? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">KM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> One great indicator is their social media reach – number of facebook
friends and/or Twitter followers. Another would be the size of their marketing
database. Someone who has hundreds of people they connect with consistently
(for example, with a monthly newsletter) will be able to help us promote the
conference to their fans. Also, we look at previous events they have been at or
workshops they have taught to gauge public interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Is there anything else you look for, besides following?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">KN:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> The established following is for our heavy hitters. But we don’t want
to go into an emerging market such as Jamaica and fly in the entire conference
faculty. We want to choose some presenters locally as well since they will be
the ones staying behind to cultivate the yoga community after the conference is
over. We want to establish relationships between local teachers and local
students. So location can be one criterion in our decisions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">In addition to location, we want
to have presenters that fit with our theme. This year our theme is Seva
(community service). Therefore, the amount of community service our presenters
do factored into our decision – many of them have started non-profits or
contribute to charities regularly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Are you are open to presenters reaching out to you, even though when
you start planning for next year you may already have an idea of whom you want?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">KM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Absolutely! We have a <a href="http://caribbeanyogaconference.com/?page_id=383" target="_blank">Presenter Proposal link</a> on our website that stays
up year round. Each and every Presenter Proposal we receive through the website
we read through and consider. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> What is your best advice to presenters looking to break into the larger
conferences?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">KM:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Most importantly, grow your following. Use social media to connect with
people who may have never experienced you in person. Begin a marketing database
of relationships, so if asked, you know exactly what you can bring to the
table. Start looking for smaller local events to establish yourself as a
presenter. Usually smaller events don’t have the budget to bring in people from
out of town, so being local is a huge benefit. Go to the bigger conferences and
network, network, network. Get your name out there. Come on down to Jamaica and
say hi to us in person, so we know who you are when your Presenter Proposal
comes across our desk.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">TO:</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Great advice! Thank you Kim!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">AT A GLANCE</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Name:</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Caribbean Yoga Conference</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Location:</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Rase Hall Resort and
Spa, Montego Bay. Jamaica</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Dates: </i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Feb 2-5, 2012</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">2012 Theme:</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Seva (community service)</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Number of Years</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">: First Year!</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Number of Presenters:</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> 21</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Types of Presenters:</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> Yoga,
Meditation, Dance, Music</span></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Website:</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"> </span><a href="http://caribbeanyogaconference.com/" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">http://caribbeanyogaconference.com</a></li>
<li><i style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">To Submit a Presenter Proposal</i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">: </span><a href="http://caribbeanyogaconference.com/?page_id=383" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">http://caribbeanyogaconference.com/?page_id=383</a></li>
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<b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">The 1st Annual
Caribbean Yoga Conference | February 2nd – 5th - Montego Bay, Jamaica </span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">For it's inaugural
event, the <a href="http://www.caribbeanyogaconference.com/" target="_blank">Caribbean Yoga Conference</a> is landing in beautiful Montego Bay,
Jamaica for 4 days of sun, sand, seva and sangha. The conference lineup
includes workshops for all abilities with world-renowned instructors including
Seane Corn, Simon Park, Paige Elenson, Sadie Nardini, Kathryn Budig, Jenny
Sauer-Klein, Jason Nemer and Toni Bergins. The conference will also offer a
rockin’ beach concert with MC Yogi and opportunities for morning meditation and
noon yoga on the beach. There will also be plenty of time to just sit back,
relax and connect with community. A unique element of this conference is its
scholarship and sustainability program, which is geared towards Jamaica’s youth
workers. The aim with this program is to spread the reach of yoga related tools
to the marginalized children of Jamaica. See you in Jamaica!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>If you would like to have your event highlighted on our blog, please contact us at jslis@travelingoms.com</i></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>Bent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1059036902572985962.post-29718467762861614212012-01-04T08:11:00.000-08:002012-01-04T08:11:13.881-08:00Welcome, 2012!Well, here it is: Yet another year we are going to consciously choose to make amazing :)<br />
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Here at TravelingOms.com we are pretty excited about what is coming. Throughout the last few months we have been working hard to connect with event planners and organizers. We have been gathering information to aid you in your journey of booking conferences, workshops and retreats and we are almost ready to share!<br />
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Make sure to sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of TravelingOms.com so we can let you in on all of the insider information we have been collecting.<br />
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Stay tuned..........Bent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1059036902572985962.post-11220644858184342342011-10-31T11:50:00.000-07:002011-10-31T11:50:07.116-07:00TaDa!As promised, the new TravelingOms.com changes have now gone live. We are well on our way to becoming the premiere online source of Healthy Living talent!<br />
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We are allowing current Oms until Dec 1st, 2011 to update their Om Profile with all of the required information. After that all incomplete Om Profiles will be disabled and no longer come up in searches. To learn more about what is now required, check out this quick video.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red;">Note to current Oms - as soon as you begin updating your profile it will need to have all requirements met before it can be put live again. </span>Bent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1059036902572985962.post-4324755952364908082011-10-15T07:49:00.000-07:002011-10-15T07:49:06.664-07:00New Changes Coming Your WayWe have some exciting news! We have been picking the brains of some people in the yoga event world, and gotten some great advice on how to make our site indispensable to them. We are poised to capture not only the yoga event planners, but the eye of all event planners (what corporate retreat doesn't have a stress release section?! How many fundraising lunches don't have an inspirational speaker?) with just a few small changes.<br />
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The biggest change, is we will begin requiring more information from our Oms. No longer will we allow profiles without tags, or detailed descriptions, or videos, to go live. While we realize this is a bit of a time commitment on the part of the Oms, we are confident it will help us present the best batch of Oms to the event planners now and in the future - full profiles will keep them coming back year after year. To offset that extra effort on the part of the Oms, we will be keeping the site free for a bit longer.<br />
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Another big change is how you submit your Om profile. We will be breaking it up into more of a wizard - showing you step by step exactly what will make your profile shine. Lots of help, video explanations, example text - everything you need to help you build a full and complete profile. Look for this change in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, you can get a jump start on filling in your Om profile completely by logging in today.<br />
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We hope you are excited by this feedback from actual event planners as we were. We are on our way towards becoming the premier source for staffing events and workshops.<br />
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Namaste.Bent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1059036902572985962.post-65606400014383189132011-10-02T11:49:00.000-07:002011-10-02T11:49:09.666-07:00Don't Waste Your Cancer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TdLXSyEMON1uy1q3T15Yeyl22o-6uX6jM901rVw0h9FQWgVo5g9fCcaIR5Gjeh0MXxCXl22A__xhiGBpJvjTg-tOtHBtQyLrnNfgHM_gMBQevjt44xQlAeUr6PPMEyATCHCa0D9NqiA/s1600/kriscarr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="129" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TdLXSyEMON1uy1q3T15Yeyl22o-6uX6jM901rVw0h9FQWgVo5g9fCcaIR5Gjeh0MXxCXl22A__xhiGBpJvjTg-tOtHBtQyLrnNfgHM_gMBQevjt44xQlAeUr6PPMEyATCHCa0D9NqiA/s200/kriscarr.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>Yesterday, I had the privilege of seeing<a href="http://crazysexylife.com/"> Kris Carr</a> speak. I honestly did not know who she was before this luncheon. I believe I am very lucky to have not heard of her, seeing as she is such a large figure in the world of cancer. My ignorance of her reflects my ignorance of the disease - I have never had a reason to research it and come across this amazing woman names Kris.<br />
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Her story is one of a heroine - girl gets cancer, girl vows to fight cancer, girl shares everything she learns with others, girl's info saves others' lives. Rinse and repeat. The entire morning was packed with emotion and wisdom, but one statement stood out to me: Don't Waste Your Cancer.<br />
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This statement at first shocked me. It was almost as if she was criticizing those who felt victimized by their cancer. But then I began to understand where she was coming from.<br />
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Since I cannot relate to a cancer diagnosis, I interpret "cancer" to be anything in your life you need to overcome. Maybe it is a physical disease. Maybe it is an abusive relationship. Maybe it is just crippling fear stopping you from moving forward. We all have our own "cancers" in our lives.<br />
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To me, this message of "Don't Waste Your Cancer" is life-changing. When something bad is thrown our way, it is so easy to play victim and wallow in self pity. It is so easy to sometimes get too tired to fight. To make excuses. To lean on this mountain as a crutch. But there is another way to look at things. When something bad happens, use it to learn. To grow. To overcome. Don't let it pass as a wasted opportunity.<br />
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My yoga teacher told us a story about this woman he ran into a few years ago. He had known her previously, but when he saw her on this day, she looked amazing. He told her as much - that she looked radiant and glowing and asked what she had been doing. She replied, "I got cancer and had to learn how to take care of myself." That is what is meant by not wasting your cancer. Use it to better yourself and as a wake up call to make changes in your life.<br />
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Kris Carr didn't waste her cancer - she made a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umnbB9QKr2Y&feature=player_embedded#!">documentary</a>, wrote 3 books, started a <a href="http://crazysexylife.com/">health and wellness website</a> and now travels around speaking to audiences like ours. She isn't a doctor or professor or even in the health industry. Instead, she took something as horrible as a cancer diagnosis and turned it into a chance to change her life. She learned everything she could about how the body works - what parts nutrition, mentality, physical exercise, and community play in her world and then used that knowledge to attack her cancer head-on. You don't have to become a New York Times Best Selling Author to feel like you are not wasting your cancer. You just have to make something positive out of it. It could be changing your eating habits, or motivating someone to exercise with you on a regular basis. It might even be just putting yourself out there with something that scares you. Let the "cancer" become your teacher. A forced chance to get out of your comfort zone and shake up your life a little bit.<br />
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Next time you find yourself wallowing over some huge obstacle put in your way, try to look at is as an opportunity instead. Don't Waste Your Cancer.Bent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1059036902572985962.post-4793921020324255652011-09-26T13:31:00.000-07:002011-10-02T10:58:33.849-07:00WEBSITE HELP: Check Out the New Om Profile LayoutBelow is a quick video tour of the new TravelingOms.com profile page. There have been quite a few changes, and we want to introduce you to them one at a time. Here is the initial overview. Look for a deeper dive into how you can use each element to your benefit in future blogs.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Some of the most important changes to highlight are:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><ul><li>Use of subdomains to link directly to an Om profile. For example, my profile can be found at http://jennslis.travelingoms.com. This makes it easy to share your Om profile on business cards, your website, social media websites, etc. Go claim your subdomain today!</li>
<li>All elements brought onto 1 page instead of clicking through multiple pages per Om.</li>
<li>Tagging per Om Profile (instead of per video). This allows the Oms to be found easier in searches.</li>
<li>News stories allows you to link to any external story either from you or about you, to give a clearer picture of how you interact in your yoga community.</li>
<li>Videos brought front and center since they are a very important element of your Om profile that allow event planners to get a sense of who you are and your presence.</li>
<li>The ability to contact the Om through the website instead of sharing their personal email/phone publicly. </li>
</ul>If you have a TravelingOms.com profile, go on in and start using the new features! If you don't have a profile yet, what are you waiting for?!?!? They're free, <a href="http://www.travelingoms.com/login_register.php">see you there</a>!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Namaste,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The TravelingOms.com Team </div>Bent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1059036902572985962.post-50366810058226369072011-08-29T11:27:00.000-07:002011-08-29T11:27:37.360-07:00Welcome to the TravelingOms.com Blog!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslltyPUuWRzNe-L12RCd8VlSbcB0SkyL3ya6xLCeui599YC4xceJu3UY-OgclIshp0kSx61Cd-Bo4DqvuYw-2-GyPZdiKgbgVXiFAR0SJXdbj0va1y4TosaWAnHmQ8wOt00jwmcolrFg/s1600/tank_front.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgslltyPUuWRzNe-L12RCd8VlSbcB0SkyL3ya6xLCeui599YC4xceJu3UY-OgclIshp0kSx61Cd-Bo4DqvuYw-2-GyPZdiKgbgVXiFAR0SJXdbj0va1y4TosaWAnHmQ8wOt00jwmcolrFg/s200/tank_front.png" width="200" /></a></div>We are so excited to begin this journey with you! The TravelingOms.com blog will be a mixture of site feature updates and yoga-related events. We would love to help promote you, so if you ever get an itch to write a blog about an event you taught at or attended, please contact us to be a guest blogger. We would love to have you!<br />
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TravelingOms.com was born from an idea sparked in Savasana at the Midwest Yoga Conference. So many conferences feature the same teachers and speakers over and over. Yes, because they are good is a factor. However, another big factor, revealed after some subtle inquiries of conference planners, is because they are known. People putting on these conferences have never had anything besides word-of-mouth to rely on. They hear about someone, go experience them and remember them for their next event. That makes it a pretty difficult industry to get into. Like the (vegan) chicken-and-the-egg theory - how can you get your name out there as a travel teacher if no one has ever heard of you to hire you so others can get to know your name?<br />
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TravelingOms.com is turning this process on its head (Sirsasana anyone?)! Our website allows conference and workshop planners to experience you through your <a href="http://travelingoms.com/">TravelingOms.com</a> profile. Not only can you put up the normal info - like a brief description, contact info, and fee information - but you can also create an entire experience by linking to audio and video files showing your presence. By adding media files, you are allowing someone who may have never seen you in person get a feel for the way you teach, speak, carry yourself, and connect with others. No longer do conference planners need to travel to see you in person. It's all right there in your TravelingOms.com profile!<br />
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Don't have any videos? Bummer. But if you have a cell phone that can record video, you can change that! Just have a friend video you teaching or doing whatever it is you do best and upload it to YouTube. YouTube is completely free and will do all conversions necessary to make your video web-ready. Then just log into your TravelingOms.com account and link to your YouTube video. Simple and free - we like that!<br />
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While TravelingOms.com is still getting populated, it is completely FREE. So there are no excuses! As an added bonus, anyone who creates a profile during this beta period will receive 2 months free once the monthly subscription rate of $7/mo sets in.<br />
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What are you waiting for? <a href="http://www.travelingoms.com/login_register.php">Go create your profile today!</a>Bent Yoga Studiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01433432976430465536noreply@blogger.com0