Art and Yoga Urban Retreat

Join YOGA LOVE magazine and the Rubin for a half day of workshops and classes pairing the art of the Himalayas with the magazine’s community of teachers, artists, and leaders in the yoga world. View the full schedule for the retreat below. Attendees are asked to bring their own yoga mat and a warm sweater or blanket. 

Schedule of Events

Doors open | 10:00 AM

Session 1: Sound Bath Experience with Basia Blonska | 10:15–11:00 AM

Welcome to a transformative sound bath experience, where you’ll be enveloped in a symphony of healing vibrations carefully crafted to induce deep relaxation, inner harmony, and restoration. In this immersive event we’ll harness the power of sound to facilitate a journey inward and to reconnect with your true essence. 

Session 2: Blooming in a Sea of Fire with Kelly Kamm | 11:15 AM–12:30 PM

It’s natural to want to avoid discomfort, to squeeze our eyes shut when faced with the news or to reach for whatever might momentarily numb us when grief comes calling. While this may temporarily dull the pain and dissatisfaction, it also cuts us off from the ability to develop wisdom and compassion. As it’s often said, there is no liberation without some suffering. It’s only when we cultivate our capacity to sit in our own sea of fire that we can blossom like the rare and precious blue lotus of Buddhist lore. 

This all-levels workshop will include gentle yoga, mudras (yogic hand gestures), and storytelling, to help us transform pain into power. Meeting the world as it is and staying until we understand is how we find stability and freedom in the midst of it all. 

Break | 12:30–1:00 PM

• Guided Meditation
  12:40–12:55 PM
  During the break, join Tashi Chödrön, the Rubin’s Himalayan programs and communities ambassador, in the Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room for an awakening practice. This mindfulness session will include a 15-minute guided meditation.

Session 3: Kriya Yoga to Purify Your Consciousness with Sarah Platt-Finger and Alan Finger | 1:00–2:30 PM

As human beings, we are mostly governed by the unconscious realm, which is the realm of limiting beliefs, programming, and social constructs. These beliefs are developed over time through our life experiences, and they shape our everyday reality. Living in the unconscious realm keeps us trapped in a cycle of suffering and inhibits us from experiencing insight, bliss, and creativity. Kriya is a non-binding action that purifies our consciousness, transforming us from the realm of form and matter into the realm of infinite potential. When we practice kriya yoga, we access, as Paramahansa Yogananda said, “the direct path to enlightenment.”

In this session, we will explore ancient kriya techniques and how to integrate them into asana, pranayama, and meditation. Through this powerful practice, we become liberated out of the unconscious realm and into a state of superconsciousness, which is unbounded and unlimited. We’ll complete the session with a practice known as artha vatva samyama: bringing that inspired state of awareness into each moment of your living.

This program is presented with YOGA LOVE magazine.

About the Teachers

Basia Blonska is a classically trained flutist who has been a professional musician for over 20 years. She received her MA in music performance. Her passion for music expanded beyond performing and teaching, as she developed a profound interest in learning about the healing and transformational effects of sound and music.

Basia has studied different modalities of sound healing with teachers such as Grammy nominee Silvia Nakkach, renowned sound theorist Dr. John Beaulieu, and the Great Gong Master Don Conreaux, earning a sound practitioner certification from New York’s Open Center.

Basia brings healing sounds to intimate sound baths, yoga classes, and private, group, and corporate sessions. She uses her unique musical skills to create tranquil healing soundscapes. You can find her at basiablonska.com.

Kelly Kamm studied Eastern philosophy and Japanese, hiked the Appalachian Trail, traveled the world, and worked as a stylist in the NYC fashion and music business prior to discovering yoga. When she found yoga she saw it as the confluence of everything she valued and longed for—creation and form, connection to the magical unknown, the fusing of the sacred and the everyday. 

Kelly’s classes are smart, poetic and always a little unexpected. She is known for her storytelling and her ability to make the philosophy of yoga relatable, to bring big subjects into an every day perspective. Expect a challenging and creative flow with lots of variations for all levels. Her aim is always to make each person feel welcomed and at ease. Learn more about Kelly at kellykammyoga.com. 

Sarah Platt-Finger is the director of Chopra Yoga at IIN, and the co-founder of ISHTA Yoga, LLC. Deepak Chopra has called Sarah “an extraordinary teacher of yoga that has called enormously to my well-being.” Her newly released book, Living in the Light: Yoga for Self-Realization, which she co-authored with Dr. Chopra, is currently one of the top 10 best-selling yoga books on Amazon.

Sarah has made it her life’s purpose to share the authentic teachings of yoga worldwide. She believes that the practice of yoga can be used as a microcosm for the reality we create off the mat, and that a deeper awareness of our physical, mental, and emotional patterns can bring us closer to the essence of our being. Learn more about Sarah at sarahplattfinger.com. 

Tantric and kriya yoga master Alan Finger began studying yoga at age 16 with his father, Mani Finger, and renowned swamis of the past century. Alan and Mani created ISHTA Yoga. ISHTA is an acronym for the Integrated Science of Hatha, Tantra, and Ayurveda, and it translates to “that which resonates with the individual spirit” in Sanskrit. The ISHTA style integrates breath-based flow yoga with alignment, meditation, and healing bodywork. Alan co-founded Yoga Works, Yoga Zone, and Be Yoga, and has co-authored several books including Introduction to Yoga with Al Bingham and Chakra Yoga and Breathing Space with Katrina Repka. Alan travels the world to share his teachings. He currently lives and teaches in NYC where he co-owns ISHTA Yoga with his wife, Sarah Platt-Finger.

The Rubin Museum’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, as well as by generous donations from the Museum’s Board of Trustees, individual donors, and members.

Image Credit

Photo by Filip Wolak