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WHETHER YOU ENJOY BENDING OVER BACKWARDS, CONTORTING YOUR BODY INTO

“full wheel” or not, Wanderlust O‘ahu has something for you.

Call it a grand traveling yoga festival or just a good time, Wanderlust—a large-scale lifestyle event—masters an eclectic holiday. Its mission: bring multi-day, mindful-living celebrations to conscious communities around the world. A global gathering, prior festival destinations include Melbourne, Squaw Valley and, naturally, Hawai‘i.

Wanderlust O‘ahu’s 2016 celebration is Feb. 25-28 at Turtle Bay Resort, which hosted Wanderlust’s past Hawai‘i fêtes. Urging guests to “unplug from the ordi-nary,” (Put away that damn phone already!) Wanderlust wishes festivalgoers to “fi nd

your true north” on a four-day venture. Explore hikes and horseback rides;

listen to live musicians; practice yoga and meditation; learn at lectures and workshops; taste sustainable, local foods; and so much more. Challenge yourself on O‘ahu’s strik-ing northern coast to fi nd balance … on a “staycation” spotlighting yoga, music, health and wellness. Turtle Bay’s majestic enclave, nestled at the start of the “7-Mile Miracle,” naturally beckons watermen, wave watchers and the fourth-annual Wanderlust O‘ahu.

“Wanderlust brings visitors from around the world whose passion for life parallels that of Turtle Bay,” shares Danna Holck, Turtle Bay vice president and general manager. “We love hearing that they had the time of their lives. It’s a saying we strive to hear from each and every one of our guests visiting us on O‘ahu’s fabled North Shore.”

Turtle Bay’s 850-acre property is the

epicenter of indoor and outdoor activities. When Wanderlust returns to Turtle Bay for its fourth festival, a slew of fresh features and fac-es will follow suit: mini retreats; surf lessons; SUP excursions; beer tasting; sake sampling; Aveda’s beauty bar; concerts et al. Headlined by the yoga world’s household names—in-cluding international yogis Maty Ezraty and Vinnie Marino, among island person-alities Sara Phelan, Jessica Abner and Lysha Wernig—the 2016 fi esta intends to triumph.

Activities span yoga, water sports, hikes, horseback rides, meditation (with Jennifer Reuter and Swami Ji), live music (led by Citizen Cope and Trevor Hall), and to refuel: fi ne fare by Turtle Bay’s own chef Conrad Aquino. Merchandise and victuals, too, are fi t for a spectrum of discerning pal-ates: the gluten-free vegan to the carnivore. Exemplary 2015 eateries: Hawaiian Fresh Farms and Instapressed, among other palatable island purveyors. Pura Vida, CHAI studio and Honey Girl Organics: a few past vendors. Here, you’ll sip coconut water straight from the source, patch test organic beauty products, enjoy crystal chakra read-ings, shop the latest slippers—and more.

Wanderlust O‘ahu 2016 brings bliss, enchantment, health and healing. Roll out your mat, and snag your suite early

WanderlustLifeforThe famed yoga festival returns to O‘ahu’s North Shore for its fourth year.

by CATHERINE CALDWELL

With attendance rising each year, 2016 is

expected to bring even more yogis, from near

and far.

FROM TOP: Adding a paddleboard only heightens the fun of yoga poses (photo by Shannon Cummings for

Wanderlust Festival). Connecting with nature by the ocean is commonplace at Wanderlust (photo by Ali Kaukas for

Wanderlust Festival). Guided horseback rides, one popular off-mat activity (photo courtesy Wanderlust Festival).

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FROM LEFT: Yoga-goers find serenity underwater and on land

(photo by ShannonCummings for Wanderlust

Festival; photo by Jake Laub for Wanderlust Festival). OPPOSITE

PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Yoga and concerts on

Turtle Bay’s grounds are ideal for between-session playtime (photo by Christen Vidanovic for Wander-lust Festival); Festival equipment welcomes acrobatic feats (photo by Ali Kaukas for Wanderlust Fes-

tival). Learn to surf at Wanderlust (photo by Shannon Cummings for

Wanderlust Festival).

for a mini Zen getaway. With attendance rising each year, 2016 is expected to bring even more yogis, from near and far.

Yoga instructor and jewelry designer Noelani Love was just one Hawai‘i su-perstar headlining 2015. While she will not be headlining the 2016 celebra-tion, she fancied past festivities:

“Living on the North Shore of O‘ahu, and traveling to our island home, every-one is just so passionate about yoga,” Love questions: How can this not be healing?

Lacey Calvert, CorePower Yoga’s Orange County regional program manager, echoes Love’s sentiment. At Wanderlust 2015, she was happily bending over backwards in as many as three yoga classes per day … on a stand-up paddleboard. “Being on a board and able to dip your fi ngers in the ocean during shivasana [ fi nal resting pose]” was optimum euphoria for Calvert.

Physical yoga asanas (Sanskrit for “postures”) aren’t the sole healing aspects of the festival.

Kahokule‘a Haiku, or “Hoku,” of Hawaiian Hiking Company, has escorted Wanderlust at-tendees through Hawai‘i’s natural beauty for three years. (2016 marks his fourth festival.)

“Every year gets bigger with more activities,” he shares. “You really sense that you’re in Hawai‘i, sense and feel the ocean at Turtle Bay. You step away from the senses and indulge, on a 2.5-mile hike to Kahuku Point, around whales and turtles and monk seals … You feel the earth.”

Haiku, who was raised “by the history, and in the stories of the old ways of the island,” lives and breathes Hawaiian culture, shepherding Wanderlusters on hikes to encounter Polynesian fl ora, fauna and mana (power). Haiku exudes power to experi-ence cultural island magic: Ola’s ceremonial chant, the legends of plants and animals …

“No matter where you come from, [Hawai‘i is] far away,” Haiku says. “People come here, to this isolated environment, to cleanse and to re-energize. Th at mana—I cannot wait to share the healing stories of the Hawaiian people and culture.”

Jennifer Reuter, another Wanderlust fi xture and O‘ahu-based yogi, will relish in her fi fth festival this February, conduct-ing guided meditations. Reuter anticipates

another like-minded community of attendees. “Th is blend creates a truly unique event,”

she comments of uniting “knowledge-able teachers and talented musicians.

“Wanderlust is adding a special medi-tation ‘track,’ which is an excellent ad-dition to their venue … Attendees will experience an enhancement to their day in any of these three possible ways: cen-tering in the a.m., re-charging at noon or integrating and quieting in the p.m.”

Aiming to help attendees draw aware-ness “to an inward state of being, where people can unplug, quiet down, relax and, most importantly, connect to a deeper sense of well-being,” Reuters wishes to introduce others to meditation’s benefi ts.

“Yogis say the mind is like a ‘drunken monkey.’ It is constantly moving in many

directions, from object to object, never re-ally resting, while at the same time ‘repeat-ing’ the same stories over and over again. In addition, the mind is also challenged by ‘change’ that is consistently occurring all around. Meditation is the antidote,” Reuters shares. “If we can learn to tap this fi eld, we can discover new stories, new insights and greater creativity, as well as a change-less place that brings inner calm.”

So, take a breather this month among a passionate, calming commu-nity. Change direction at Wanderlust O‘ahu, and discover your “true north.” .

wanderlust.com/festivals/oahu

Roll out your mat, and snag your suite early

for a mini Zen getaway.

EXPERIENCE . IMMERSION

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