On a hazy Los Angeles afternoon in 2007, international master yoga instructor Cristi Christensen just wanted to dance. Having spent the last several years studying yoga and movement with the likes of Shiva Rea and Seane Corn (just to name a few), while simultaneously opening and operating the uber popular yoga studio Exhale Center for Sacred Movement in Venice Beach, and basically spearheading the entire West Coast yoga movement – it was no secret that Cristi Christensen was the real deal – a serious yogi and an enlightened entrepreneur who walked her talk.  Yet, hiding just beneath her impeccable yogic flow and boss lady badassery was a part of herself she had tucked away since childhood, and it was yearning for a comeback.

Dance hadn’t always eluded Cristi, her earliest years were spent enthusiastically expressing herself through dance classes, but as she grew older, she traded the glitz and glamour of the dance world for the highly competitive and fiercely athletic world of gymnastics and platform diving – where she excelled. Unfortunately, a serious injury cut her rising Olympic career short and she once again changed gears by trading in the rough and tumble world of competitive sports for the less demanding and more flexible world of yoga. Cristi embraced her newfound calling and quickly became a well-respected yogi, teacher and fitness entrepreneur.

As successful as she’d become in the yoga and fitness world, Cristi couldn’t seem to shake a nagging desire to “lighten up” energetically. She began searching for a supplement to balance the sometimes too serious and rigid sides of yoga. Cristi dug deep and intuitively realized what was missing – the unabashed freedom and authenticity of dance. But options for joining a mindful dance collective in her area were slim. She had tried ecstatic dance but found it to be a little too chaotic for the deep, soulful vibes she was seeking. Hitting the LA club circuit wasn’t doing it for her either, and she found herself increasingly disillusioned by an atmosphere that cared less about the art of the dance and more about the art of the hook up. She longed for a safe space to authentically express herself without having to deal with the annoying side effects of unwanted attention and general douche-baggery.

It was on a fateful night in 2009 that she stumbled upon DEEP, a weekly live music and dance experience in Los Angeles conducted by world renowned DJ Marques Wyatt. Through his deeply soulful and spiritually infused music sets, she and many others finally found a safe and supportive place to get their groove on. After 3 years of consistently attending DEEP, Cristi randomly crossed paths with DJ Marques outside of the dance floor and they had a chance to chat. He confided in her that not only was he a DJ, he was also a yogi, and she confided in him that not only was she a yogi, she was also a dancer. In that very moment the stars lined up for the greater good, a bunch of angels got their wings and the Deep Exhale revolution was born. A brilliantly soulful mashup of yoga, dance, meditation, spoken word and a live DJ/music set.

“We wanted to create a space where yogis could get on the dance floor and burner/club kids could get on the mat,” explains Christensen, who guides each experience by wearing many hats – yogi, soul dancer, life coach and playful muse.  “A supportive place for each of us to tell our authentic stories through movement.”

Deep Exhale first debuted outside of LA in 2013 at Lightning In A Bottle, a colorful arts and music festival held at Buena Vista Lake in Kern County, CA. Lightning In A Bottle (LIB for short) invites thousands of people from all over the world to engage in a diverse and eclectic celebration of self-expression featuring art, music, dance, yoga, performance art, social activism, and holistic health. Deep Exhale’s soulfully good vibes fit right into the mission of the festival, and they’ve been invited back consecutively for the last six years.

“We have created a multi-layered experience to ignite our soul’s fire and courageously tell our stories on the dance floor. We start off with a meditation and move into a yoga warmup and then allow the live, improvised music to collectively guide us toward our own individual bliss. Along the journey you may find yourself physically expressing many emotions – you may start by dancing your rage or anger or grief which then transforms into finding and dancing your joy and freedom and bliss,” explained Christensen who has found her own physical and emotional healing through guiding the event. “The transformative healing power of Deep Exhale cannot be stressed enough. I literally see the energy in people shift, their judgements about themselves and others drop away, and they give themselves permission to be fully present and alive.”

In 2018, Deep Exhale set a record at LIB with 700 participants on the dance floor indulging in the spiritual movement awakening. This year, Deep Exhale has been granted access to the extremely popular WOOGIE main stage complete with an incredible sound system and lots of room to set your soul on fire.

“Our dream is to spread the joy of Deep Exhale globally. We would love to host the experience in Central Park, Dodger Stadium the beaches of Ibiza and beyond. Even if we only get one minute of one hour of one day to help people wake up to their bliss, it would be worth every second.”

Lightning In A Bottle 2019 will be held May 8th – 12th.