The Ertoba Festival was a day-long event featuring various holistic practices, enticing newcomers and breaking the boundaries of what people think when they hear ‘yoga’.
Held on July 13 by Lumos Yoga Studio, the day was full of events such as dances, therapeutic workshops, lectures, and regular practices, such as tai chi and yoga. The studio’s owner, George Mirotadze, said they organized the festival as an outreach, so people could try various practices for the first time in a fun and collaborative setting. When people think of yoga, Mirotadze told GEORGIA TODAY, they tend to think of exercise and working out; however, it has various components.
“When they hear of a festival made by a yoga studio, they think there are only yoga people who are flexible and do yoga, but [at the festival] there were many people who found out they could have fun together without alcohol or other things,” Mirotadze noted.
The festival was held on Mtatsminda Hill to combine practices with the outdoors. The sessions were held by Lumos instructors, and guests who occasionally assist the studio with events. Mirotadze explained how many people saw it as a challenge to dance at the festival without any support from substances, but the structure of the sessions was very open, taking people successfully out of their comfort zones.
According to Mirotadze, the popularity of yoga and holistic practices continues to increase in Georgia, especially compared to when Lumos opened eight years ago, and very few studios existed. These practices are important, he says, because they can change destructive habits and help rid physical problems with the spine or muscles. Mirotadze noted that having a festival or workshop is the best way to entice people to these practices in Georgia, so it is not seen as ‘work’ or something that ‘has to be done’.
“Georgians can do things with disciplines like yoga and tai chi if they have fun as well,” Mirotadze told us. “It’s easier for them, because, without it, their strength will not work as well, and they will say ‘Okay I’m too lazy today to practice.’”
The word ‘Ertoba’ in Georgian has two meanings: unity, and to have fun. These are the two core components the festival focused on, seeing yoga emphasized not only as an element of physical health, but also of psychic and mental health. When people are suffering mentally, Mirotadze explained, coming together as a group can help solve problems quicker and more efficiently than if they try to withstand something alone.
“Group energies really help you understand more and to work together,” said Mirotadze.
Sometimes people practice in a group setting when they are first getting started and then decide to continue individually. Many yoga studios have different types of classes, from slow movement to upbeat or complex, that people can try to determine which ‘line’, also known as structure or way of doing, is best for them. Afterward, they individually pursue the practice that best suits them personally.
Nellie Agirba is a meditation teacher and music therapist who lives and works in Tbilisi. She started yoga and other holistic practices when she was a child, then returned to it years later after taking a gap to work. For the past 11 years, she said she has been actively practicing and discovering different methods.
At the festival, Agirba conducted a session on sound healing. She said it is an ancient healing practice where music is used as medicine to heal the body, soul, and mind. Agirba explained how people have used this practice for thousands of years, and it is still popular in areas of the world today for connecting with ‘the divine’ or ‘higher self’.
Her therapy sound practice was used to integrate guests into their surroundings and to feel connected with each other. Agirba said she started with kundalini dynamic mediation, which involves breathing exercises and poses, and Chinese tapping practices to make everyone feel relaxed. She said by doing this, people can feel the music through their bodies and connect, regardless of where they come from.
“It’s a universal language; anyone can find it for themselves,” said Agirba. “You don’t need any education or experience to feel what the music wants you to feel. You can speak and communicate in this language without boundaries.”
According to Agirba, these practices are important because they provide balance. If only physical health is being worked on, there will be a mental imbalance, and vice versa. She said yoga and holistic healing help align and improve every aspect of a person’s health, so she encourages people, without much thinking or rationalization, to take it up.
The next festival will be held on September 28, 2024, the eight-year birthday of Lumos Yoga Studio. Mirotadze said the event will have a more celebratory mood because of the occasion, and the emphasis will be on song and dance. There will be singing circles, and all yoga practices will be accompanied by music. He said this is a chance for people to try something new, see what interests them, and help these practices gain more popularity.
By Shelbi R. Ankiewicz
