Please give as generously as you can so that Southern Vermont Arts Center can continue our vital mission to promote and nurture the arts in our community. Space is limited. Reserve your spot early, as this event fills up quickly.

Join us for a powerful candle-lit experience of Yin & Restorative Yoga, Energy Healing, Meditation, Poetry & Live Music.

Yin & Restorative Yoga guided by Lu French and Larissa Hall Carlson

Reiki Energy Healing by Kit Chamberlain & Lee Fergusson

Live Soulful Music for Violin & Viola performed by Taconic Music’s Joana Genova & Ariel Rudiakov

Followed by a Traditional Solstice Celebration

If you can’t join us for the yoga portion of the evening, please join us for the music, meditation and celebration. If you’re joining us for the meditation and celebration only, please arrive no later than 6:20pm. You will be allowed to enter during the transition from yoga to meditation.

For everyone’s safety, proof of full COVID vaccination and booster is required for attendance. Masks must be worn at all times off the mat. Mats will be placed no less than 6 feet apart.

In collaboration with Zen Revolution. A special thank you to Alp and Depot 62 for loaning us rugs to provide some cushion under our mats.

Event Details:

5:30-6:30pm Candle-lit Yin & Restorative Yoga, Reiki and Live Music
During the yoga portion of the evening, Lu and Larissa will guide you through yin and restorative pose, while our teacher-assistants help you ease into supportive props. Kit and Lee will broadcast Reiki energy designed to promote inner peace and stimulate your natural ability to heal. The soulful sounds of violin and viola provide a soothing anchor for mindful awareness in stillness.

6:30pm Solstice Meditation and Poetry
Contemplate the darkness and welcome the return of the sun with a mindful candle extinguishing and rekindling, solstice meditation, and a reading of a poem by Poet Laureate Maya Angelou.

7pm Traditional Solstice Celebration
We’ll celebrate the solstice outside the pavilion under heat lamps with music, merriment, warm drinks, bites & solstice traditions.

What to wear
The Arkell Pavilion is heated, but to stay extra warm during practice, please wear warm comfortable stretchy clothes and warm socks.

What to bring
Please bring a firm, comfortable warm blanket and a cushion to sit on for meditation. Feel free to bring extra blankets and any props to support you. We also suggest an eye pillow or eye mask for savasana. *We will have additional clean props available for practice.

About Yin & Restorative Yoga
Yin Yoga is a gentle yet powerful practice with roots in Taoist as well as Yogic traditions. It consists of seated and supine poses supported by props and held for 3-5 minutes. Yin is designed to lengthen connective tissue, encourage the free flow of chi (vital energy) through the meridians (energy pathways) of the body, and promote mindfulness. Restorative yoga focuses on deeply supported, restful poses that encourage physical, mental, and emotional relaxation. Both Yin and Restorative yoga are appropriate for all levels of experience.

About Reiki
“‘Reiki’ (ray-key) is Japanese for ‘universal life energy’, and is also a word used to describe a system of natural healing founded by Mikao Usui in the early 20th century. Reiki promotes relaxation, stress reduction and symptom relief to improve overall health and well-being.

Larissa Hall Carlson, M.A., E-RYT500, is a mindfulness, yoga, and Ayurveda professional with 15+ years of teaching experience at some of our country’s most prestigious institutions, including The Boston Conservancy, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Tanglewood Music Center. She specializes in personal and group coaching for musicians, artists, executives and educators in high-performance environments. She previously served as Dean of the Kripalu School of Ayurveda and is a current Faculty member. Her expertise in yogic breathing techniques and seasonal self-care practices led her to be recognized as one of the “100 Trailblazers in Yoga & Ayurveda” by Spirituality & Health Magazine. Larissa is regularly featured in Yoga Journal, Mantra, InStyle, Prevention, and on the Insight Timer app, and she is the co-creator of two popular online courses with Yoga Journal, Ayurveda 101 and 201. Larissa’s teachings have been featured in Men’s Journal, The Washington Post, MindBodyGreen, Elephant Journal, and Dr. Oz: The Good Life. To learn more, visit www.larissacarlson.com

Lu French, PharmD, E-RYT, CMT, is a Kripalu Yoga Teacher and Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provide (YACEP). She is also certified in Swedish and Thai Yoga Massage, Reiki and is a retired Clinical Pharmacist. Lu began her love of yoga 28 years ago. She embarked on her teaching path with Shiva Rea’s Prana Vinyasa in 2004 and was certified in Kripalu Yoga in 2007. Since then, Lu has led countless classes in her compassionate style of yoga at various locations in Manchester, Vero Beach, Florida and in her online studio. Working with private clients and living with chronic pain for many years has afforded her a unique sensitivity to individual needs. As such, Lu has also led a number of Anatomy of the Yogic Body workshops drawing from her clinical and intuitive understanding of the physical and subtle body. A sampling of Lu’s video classes and audio guided meditations are available at www.bryoga.net. Lu recently published her first book, Faces of Eve – A Tribute to the Power of Women in Community, to benefit a new cultural center in the underserved community of Gifford, Florida. She and her husband Clark own the Northshire Bookstores in Manchester and Saratoga Springs, NY.