Envision Festival

Cover Photo By Jess Bernstein

By Autumn Feldmeier

I walked into Envision Festival late because of delayed flights. I was jetlagged and grim. Within minutes, my whole mindset changed. Entering Envision always feels like a cross between entering the set of  Lord of the Flies with the kids running the show, and The Beach, before the shark came and ruined it all. Envision is like entering a lush gathering of sweet hippies all excited to dance. The vibe is sweet, light and super connected.

While Envision offers a comfortable environment, it's unafraid to delve into challenging subjects. One of the best parts, is that they had way more to offer than the typical vInyasa yoga classes I am used to. One of my favorite of the yoga offerings was taught by Aubry Marie. It was a fierce and intense practice that ended in a group hug.

There were so many workshops, it was hard to choose which ones to go to. I loved the workshop on 'Reclaiming the Masculine' by Anton. The workshop played with gender roles and tribal cultures. I also loved the Red Tent Temple Movement. It was a tent set up for womb’yn to gather in celebration for the female mysteries. I went to a guided meditation there with Sofiah Thom. It was called, 'Embody Womb Wisdom,' and it was the perfect introduction to her Temple Body Arts.

Another really special place was The Unity Temple. It had cool drum workshops, a cacao ceremony and even a cuddle puddle. And, after many, many yoga festivals, 10 trips to Burning Man, a Lunar Eclipse Festival and several weekends at Harbin Hot Springs, I thought I had experienced everything, but something unexpected happened: Gregorio Avanzini!

He had a midday Saturday class called 'The Breath of One.' It was a 2.5 hour experience that included closing our eyes and finding a partner through movement and touch, then sitting across from this stranger and eye-gazing. My partner and I both ended up crying. We then sat back to back and did some intense breath work that ended with people having huge releases. All of this was flawlessly encouraged by Gregorio and his blissed out team. 

Another beautiful place, was where the Village Witches were holding space. After 5 years at Envision, the witches have been successful in reclaiming the ideas of what a witch is through their diverse educational series. They even had elixirs made by herbalists that they offered instead of alcohol. 

A truly amazing festival. Yoga + Beach + Jungle + Tribal Talks + Sustainability + Witches + Live Music +Art + Connection + Meditation + so much more!! Envision, you surprise me every time!

To stay in touch with Envision visit envisionfestival.com.