Sharon Gannon has been called a “21st-century Renaissance woman” for her devotion to a plethora of spiritual, artistic and social media, all drawn to the path of attaining enlightenment through compassion for all beings. But her influence comes from a tradition developed in India around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE. She and David Life are known for teaching yoga as spiritual activism and for connecting the ancient teachings of yoga to the modern world. They’ve created the Jivamukti Yoga Method, producing yoga-related DVDs and books to spread the word. An artist, writer, musician and proponent of animal rights and a vegan lifestyle, Gannon practices the precepts of nonviolence (ahimsa), kindness (maitri) and compassion (karuna), even extending these to include non-human animals, for which she has established a 125-acre wild forest sanctuary.
Short of signing up for a yoga class or visiting the sanctuary, locals can meet Gannon for a cup of tea this Saturday at Mirabai Bookstore in Woodstock, where she will hold a salon, serving from her own Jivamukti line of teas, some of which are hand-harvested from her Woodstock home. “We’ll be drinking some delicious Jivamuktea and sharing stories,” she writes. “If you have a tea-related story that you would like to share, please bring it!”
Tea Salon/Afternoon Respite with Sharon Gannon, Saturday, November 7, 4 p.m., free, Mirabai Bookstore, 23 Mill Hill Road, Woodstock; (845) 679-2100, www.mirabai.com, https://bit.ly/1LP2wkg.