I Am festival

Now it’s personal

Participants stretch on a new medium with paddleboard yoga.

Supplied photo

Getting in touch with yourself can be a transformative experience. The I Am Festival is dedicated to helping people achieve this goal.

“The I Am Festival is the personal development and wellness festival, so we do mind, body and soul all in one,” Tracy Thibodeau, vice-chair of the I Am events board, says.

The three-day event takes place in a natural setting where participants can find personal fulfillment through workshops, talks, music, meditation, yoga, nature walks and much more.

Among a large program with many choices, some subjects include connecting with nature through mandalas, paddleboard yoga, a silent walk in the woods and a mindfulness panel.

One unique event is a sound bath. In a forest setting, participants are surrounded by different aural frequencies.

“Scientists have proven that we operate at different frequencies … our heart operates at a different frequency, and our mind operates at a certain frequency,” Thibodeau says.

“By surrounding yourself in those frequencies ... you actually start to affect your cellular makeup.”

The organizers’ goal is to fulfill a need for personal development through an immersion weekend in the woods.

“The world needs more places and opportunities for people to just step out of their crazy day-to-day with their lives and … people getting lost in the turmoil,” Thibodeau says.

“So there’s just such a need to create a space for people to just go and reflect and find direction and focus for themselves.”

Thibodeau adds that the results can be life-changing.

“People who are coming to the space, they’ve just taken moments for themselves to find out what they wanted to do next,” she says.

One participant “followed a dream they’ve had forever and now are super happy with life.”

Published in Volume 72, Number 25 of The Uniter (May 31, 2018)

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