June 19, 2015 Kenya Tourism Board

Kenya Celebrates Lamu Yoga Festival

Teachers of yoga and the community on Lamu island are proud to announce that they have come together to host the Lamu Yoga Festival (LYFe) on March 12 – 16, 2015.

The yoga event is the first of its kind in East Africa, and it will be joined by renowned international yoga teachers and practitioners from Kenya and around the globe. This unique festival blends yoga and meditation with the characteristics of Lamu island, and is immersed in its people, culture, tradition and natural beauty.

Yoga is an ancient physical and mental exercise with large health benefits and access to harmony and peaceful co-existence, and it has turned into a hugely popular practice across all walks of life worldwide. Lamu has developed different yoga venues over the last ten years with daily yoga classes taking place around the year, and the island is today considered a major wellbeing destination in Kenya.

Outreach projects in the local communities and schools are an important part of the Lamu Yoga Festival. Weekly yoga classes are offered to different groups of adults and children, in addition to an ongoing jigger campaign for medical aid, support to Secondary Girls School and Safari Doctors.

“Yoga can really empower communities and create harmony and togetherness”, says festival vice chair and yoga teacher Kelly Alomba.

A variety of yoga classes will be available in Shela, Lamu and Manda during the first Lamu Yoga Festival, and highlights will include a dhow sunset meditation, workshops like laughing meditation, Swahili diner at Bahari Bazar, and a grand finale beach party with Lamu drummers and acrobats.

The festival wishes to bring people together across cultures and religion, and to offer all levels of practitioners the opportunity to experience various forms of yoga under the guidance of 16 teachers from across the world. With miles of empty beaches, no cars, and abundant fresh seafood and produce, Lamu makes an ideal destination to leave behind the stresses of a fast paced modern life.

Partners of the Lamu Yoga Festival are Bikram Yoga Nairobi, Africa Yoga Project, Equity Bank, DTB Bank, Banana House & Wellness Centre, Safari Doctors.