Bend Yoga Festival offers sessions for everyone, from beginners to experienced practitioners. 

Bend Yoga Festival enters its third year with a lineup of internationally acclaimed yoga practitioners and over 60 sessions including SUP yoga, forest bathing, mountain biking and hiking. The four-day festival, recognized by Yoga Journal in 2023, creates space for community, connection and healing and takes place at Riverbend Park, The Oxford Hotel and other locales across Central Oregon.

“It’s a place to heal, to play, to enjoy being fully present in the moment,” said Angela Liesching, who created the festival after searching for one to attend and finding no such thing near Central Oregon.

Her intention is to foster healing through connectedness.

“Everything we do at the festival brings you back to a state of grounded awareness where you know the truth about who and what you are, which is someone or something that’s not broken, doesn’t need to be fixed, is already perfect,” Liesching said.

How is yoga defined?

The defining characteristic of yoga is mindfulness, according to Bend Yoga Festival. With this philosophy, the practice may be found in adventure sessions such as stand-up paddle boarding, mountain biking and hiking.

Adventure sessions are an essential part of the festival and represent yoga’s expansive scope.

“When you’re on a paddle board, you’re not necessarily doing any yoga poses, but you can’t be on a paddle board without being mindful and fully aware and in harmony,” Liesching said. “Yoga is about being fully present in a single moment with a well-regulated nervous system.”

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Featured presenter Sianna Sherman

Featured presenters include Tiffany Cruikshank, founder of Yoga Medicine, Amy Ippoliti and Rebecca Rassmussen of Inside Flow and founder of Rasa Yoga, Sianna Sherman.

Sherman has practiced under K. Pattabhi Jois, developer of Ashtanga vinyasa yoga, and B. K. S. Iyengar, founder of Iyengar yoga and taught more than 80,000 yoga students, Liesching said.

“Sianna (Sherman) is one of a handful of yoga teachers who are significantly responsible for the way yoga is viewed in the United States,” Liesching said.

Sherman has been involved with Bend Yoga Festival since its inception and considers it one of her favorites due to its ability to bring people together in transformation, collective healing and real connection.

It offers something for everyone, from beginners to experienced practitioners, with physical and philosophical yoga, music, celebration and lots of inspiration, Sherman said.

Last year, Sherman led a yoga flow after dark with a DJ and yogis wearing glowing silent disco headphones.

“I want people to feel lit up and inspired for their lives — to know they are powerful creators, to say yes to their superpowers, to manifest their dreams and to bring their gifts to the world,” Sherman said. “I know that we are all magical beings, but it’s easy to forget this and feel alone, isolated and separated in our struggles. When we come together to practice in community, we remember our shared humanity and amplify the real magic that we truly are.”

Sherman will teach a hypnotic yoga flow at 4 p.m. on June 8 and a practice from 10:30-noon on June 9 with visualization, breath, affirmations and mantra practice, according to the Bend Yoga Festival website.

Liesching said, “There really is no one else on the planet who can do what Sianna does, and she does it with such joy, a thousand percent commitment and a truly open heart.”

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More on Bend Yoga Festival

Emily Tighe, founder of Do Yoga Outside, said she felt a profound sense of connection at the 2023 festival that lingered long after the event.

“Engaging with local studios, meeting skilled practitioners and embracing diverse instructors enriched my practice and left me feeling deeply connected,” Tighe said. “It’s a testament to the transformative power of community, reminding us of the beauty of togetherness both on and off the mat.”

Multi-day passes may be purchased on the festival website, with single-session passes available for select sessions and dependent on availability.

The festival is open to the public from noon to 2 p.m. on June 8 and 9 for the Conscious Living Marketplace where participants are welcome to take part in an acro yoga demonstration, mingle with presenters and visit food vendors.

If You Go

What: 2024 Bend Yoga Festival

When: June 6-9

Where: Riverbend Park, The Oxford Hotel and locations across Central Oregon

Contact: bendyogafestival.com, @bendyogafestival on Instagram and facebook.com/bendyogafestival