If you are feeling in the mood for some inspiration, drop into one of Kerri Kelly’s classes at Hanuman Festival. Kelly teaches from experience – that experience includes living life to the fullest every day and giving back through Off the Mat Into the World. She is truly on a quest, searching for the best way to live her life every moment and she wants you to be there on that same path. You’ll can even go hiking or biking with her in one of the non-yoga offerings during the Hanuman weekend!

How did you start doing yoga?

I discovered yoga in the 90s…being an athlete for most of my life left me with a broken body at a young age.  Yoga helped me discover a new way of being in my body…one that felt good, healthy and balanced.  However, the more I did yoga, the more the yoga did me and it became more than a physical practice.  The yoga really hit home after 9/11.  I lost my stepfather, a fireman, in Tower 2 and yoga was my only resource to feel and heal.  While that time was difficult and painful, it also was a time of awakening.  The more I listened, the more I discovered what I was meant to do in this world.

What type of yoga do you teach?

I call it the “Yoga of Possibility”. Over the years, I’ve been influenced by many different disciplines and great teachers and they definitely come through me in my teaching. However, the more I practice, the more I realize the yoga that speaks authentically to me and I teach from that place.

I believe that when you move and plug into your body, you get present and awaken to a better way of being. The possibility through yoga is to heal and to embody the tools to live better. Often it begins with feeling better in your body, but what I’m more interested in is the possibility of cultivating a better life…one that is more alive, more available and more expansive.

How do you live your yoga off the mat?

Humbly. Those who know me know that I am full on in my life…(often I take on too much, I’m a perfectionist and I can be insanely impatient). Yoga does not make me perfect…but it does keep me in check. It provides me with the inner tools to stay connected – to my body, to my environment, to my experience, to my community. When I am connected, I am more present, more available and more prepared to take on life off the mat. And I am much nicer to my husband.

Yoga has also inspired me to expand my practice further into activism and social change.  I have learned to pay attention to the needs of the community AND take action. It is not enough any more to have good intentions; you have be the change in every way…in how you show up in your life, in how you give back to the community.

Why are you excited about the Hanuman Festival?

Yoga, music, beautiful Boulder…but what gets me really excited about this festival is the coming together of community. Something powerful happens when people come together with intention and movement. It is going to be an inspiring weekend of connection and positive change. See you there!