Over the course of 3 days, yoga practitioners from all over the Pacific Northwest converged right outside Sandpoint, Idaho. From Friday July 22 to Sunday July 25, the 7th edition of the annual Northwest Yoga Feast took place. Many people from the Seattle area made the 6 hour drive to participate in this event.

The festival is a one of a kind gathering that has grown organically over the years. The feast attracted over 150 people this year, many of whom come back every year. Throughout the 3 day festival, a variety of workshops, classes, ceremonies, and activities took place – all aimed at the “enrichment for the body, mind, heart and spirit”. Cosetta Romani and Amber Tande led the opening and closing ceremonies. During the day, attendees could pick specific workshops to participate in such as “Slackline Yoga” led by Erika Dixon and Liz Karkula (yoga teachers based in Portland, OR) or “Yoga & Aromatherapy” taught by Erin Wert (a yoga teacher based in Spokane, WA). In the evening after dinner, everyone gathered for a special program which included a live Kirtan performance by Rob & Melissa Lundsgaard followed by a Sound bath by Daniella White on Friday evening and a Yoga Trance Dance with a candle dance performance on Saturday evening.

Here is a short video highlighting some key moments from the festival:

Music in the video from Nathan Zavalney who also participated in the 2016 Northwest Yoga Feast.

The festival attendees got to experience organic vegetarian communal meals prepared by Chef Colin Patterson and his team. He is the former co-owner of the Sutra restaurant in Seattle for 8 years. Colin recently relocated to Leavenworth to open a new restaurant named Mana.

In terms of accommodations, some took advantage of the few cabins available at the Eureka Center while the large majority camped out in the beautiful 42 acre property just minutes from Lake Pend Oreille.

The Northwest Yoga Feast is organized by the Eureka Institute whose mission is to “support life-long learning and leadership through education, experiential and recreational activities.” Throughout the festival, Steve Holt, the executive director of the Eureka Institute worked relentlessly to ensure that the event ran smoothly and that everyone enjoyed themselves.

Below is a selection of photos taken over the course of the Northwest Yoga Feast by Idaho-based professional photographer Lance Ross:

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Big thanks to the Northwest Yoga Feast organizers for inviting the Seattle Yoga News team to participate in this event. We can’t wait for next year!

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