KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — Malaysian yoga enthusiasts are in for a treat as Organic Life, a prominent yoga and lifestyle festival originated from Tokyo, is set to take place in Kuala Lumpur this coming August.

Themed "Come Together”, Organic Life KL 2018 will see a weekend packed with yoga workshops, free community classes and a wellness bazaar featuring a variety of vendors offering healthy food choices and organic lifestyle products.

There will be a total of 35 yoga workshops to choose from, all of which will be led by renowned yoga experts and rising stars within the local and regional yoga scene, including Malaysia’s own Atilia Haron, Darren Chen, Dennis Koh, Foo Jong Hau, Hansen Lee and James Wong; as well as Yenny Christine and Mariana Sin from Indonesia, and Hermanth Venkataram from India.

Festival organiser Joanne Soo, who is also the studio manager of KL-based Japanese yoga studio Under The Light, said the event aims to gather like-minded people to build a strong yoga community in Malaysia.

"Each workshop will focus on various specific aspect or technique in yoga such as handstands, arm balances and backbends, perfect for those who want to deepen their practice and gain the knowledge they might not find in a traditional class.

"The community classes on the other hand, will offer basic styles such as hatha and vinyasa which will be a great way to introduce yoga to newbies. And the best part, these classes will be free for all.

Husband-and-wife duo Foo and Junko will be teaching a handstand workshop, as well as a special acro yoga demo at the festival.

"So whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned yogi, there will be something for everyone at the festival,” said Soo.

One of the headliners of the festival is none other than jazz songstress-slash-yoga instructor Atilia, who will be leading a 75-mins Vikasa Flow workshop, a yoga style she's best known for.

"My classes are usually an hour but for this festival, I will extend it a little longer to focus on breathing techniques.

"Because I’ve noticed a lot of yogis, when they go onto the mat, it’s all about going into asanas (yoga poses) without realising that they’re not breathing properly,” said the pint-sized founder of popular yoga studio chain YogaOneThatIWant.

Vikasa, said Atilia, is a yoga sequence created by Konstantin Miachin, a Thailand-based Russian yoga teacher who trained her to become a certified instructor.

"It’s a total body workout with a lot of chaturangas (yoga push-ups) involved, so it can be quite intense — but it’d be easy once you get your breathing right. This is why I want to explain deeper on the right breathing method so that you can flow with ease,” she said.

Another highlight at the festival will be the handstand workshop by husband-and-wife duo Foo and Junko Kominami, better known as Foo & Junko.

The pair has been teaching yoga for 25 years collectively, and are founders of Inspired Yoga, which offers teacher training courses. They specialise in asana alignment and techniques, as well as acro yoga, also known as partner yoga.

"Handstands can be intimidating but there are many tips and tricks on how to achieve one, which you’ll get to learn in this workshop,” said Junko, who hails from Osaka, Japan.

"Beginners, including those who have never attempted a handstand before are welcome as we’d be guiding you from whichever level you’re at.

"It’s a progressive, step-by-step workshop, so it doesn’t matter if you can’t do one at all, as you’d get to at least learn the foundation,” said Foo, a respected pioneer in the local yoga scene.

Founded in Tokyo in 2014, Organic Life Festival recently held its sixth instalment in April, bringing together 109 yoga teachers and a whopping 34,000 participants, making it the biggest of its kind in the region.

Malaysia will be the first country in the world to host Organic Life after its massive success in Japan.

"The festival has been extremely well received in Japan and we hope it will be the same for Malaysians,” said Soo, who is a yogi herself for the past five years.

Having personally attended the festival in Tokyo recently, Soo shared that the Japanese yoga community is a very tight-knit one, who is very dedicated and disciplined towards their practice.

"The Japanese yogis also tend to be more spiritual, they get very deep into the relaxation and healing aspect of yoga; as opposed to most Malaysians who do it merely for fitness,” she said.

"I had a really nice time — there was something about the atmosphere there that was very zen, and the people were very calm and centered, which we hope we can emulate here.”

Organic Life KL 2018 will be held at three locations (The Square, White Box and Black Box) in Publika, Solaris Dutamas on August 25-26, from 9am to 9.30pm.

Choose from two different ticket options — unlimited day passes (one-day for RM148 or two-day for RM248) or single-entry workshop pass for RM50. Early bird rates for unlimited day passes (RM128 and RM198) are now available until July 15. Each ticket comes with a goodie bag.

For more information, visit www.organiclifekl.com.  

Festival organiser Soo said about 3000 yogis will be expected to attend the two-day event.