elephant journal is proud to co-sponsor the Hanuman Festival. Read the latest installment of the weekly column.

How many yogis does it take to screw in a light bulb?

You hear a variation on this joke often, with the answer revealing a certain amount of wisdom, or lack thereof, appointed to an archetypal group of people. It seems that the more people it takes to screw in one light bulb, the dumber that group of people is considered.

What if you shifted your perspective? What if you brought together hundreds of yogis to generate ideas and commit to action so those ideas come to fruition? So that the energy emanating from that one “light bulb” becomes something much larger than the idea itself? The idea of collective energy manifesting through the union of like-minded souls coming together to spawn serious positive social change is powerful.

People as energetic beings have the ability to raise the vibrational frequency of their individual energy waves through being part of a group. The greater good becomes more and more attainable through the power of people coming together as one.

This is our ultimate vision. To allow you the chance to connect with your fellow yogis and yoginis and feel that divine oneness. To carry that inspiration with you, even when you are in your living room practicing alongside your trusty DVD player.

Just imagine for a moment if yoga instructors were robots. Monotonous, stiff and out of touch with human emotion. Without any aura or energy field and without the ability to connect with others. The magic and wonder of Yoga would forever be lost and buried under steel and computer technology. You could do the poses, but something would alwaysbe missing. The lightheartedness, that connection to community that starts with your favorite teacher and a relationship.

No matter what your reason for coming to your mat, you can’t deny the charged energy that arises during a large class. You can feel the vibration; you feed off the general feeling in the classroom, be it excitement, peace, or even a sluggishness that can’t be shaken on a cold, rainy day.

So I hope that the answer to that joke is a million – and I know this doesn’t reflect on the overall intelligence level of yogis the world over.

Join us as we raise the vibration this June at Hanuman Festival in Boulder, CO, with Waylon Lewis and the elephant journal crew! June 16-19, 2011.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

The Hanuman Festival is Boulder, Colorado’s community-oriented yoga and music festival, set at the foot of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Seane Corne, Kathryn Budig, MC Yogi, Waylon Lewis and elephant journal will be there. Come celebrate – June 16-19, 2011 with world-class yoga instructors, mind-blowing music, inspirational experiences and a nourishing community. Immerse yourself in body, mind and heart as you relax and rejuvenate, dance and devote, connect and expand, have fun and just be.