2024 Workshop Schedule

Dear Backwoods Friends and Family,

I’m excited to share with you our 2024 workshop schedule!

It’s my goal to make our workshops alone worth the cost of the Backwoods ticket. That way, we have something for everyone.

Enjoy 3 days filled with retreat-quality classes that will expand your mind, stretch your body, and increase your vibration.

Yes, I’m coming back as your resident yogi. Teaching yoga gets me out of the production office and allows me to connect with you; and connecting with you is my favorite part! I’m bringing Yoga Electrified back to the mountain Friday and Saturday, but on Sunday, I’m taking you to church! Both Friday and Sunday classes will end with an extended savasana and guided meditation.

Yoga Electrified is a mixed level Vinyasa-style yoga class to kick-ass Electronic Dance Music. Different postures and movement meditations are used to help students move stagnant, negative energies out of their bodies to experience greater levels of joy. Music is used intentionally to aid in the facilitation of this process.

Yoga Church is a slow, stretchy, meditative flow to heart-filled, spiritual music - releasing your muscles and connecting you to your higher Self.

Aubrey Warren - Event Director & Yoga Teacher

I am an Experienced Registered Yoga Instructor (E RYT 500) and Certified Yoga Education Provider with over 25 years of teaching experience.

However, if I’m not your jam or if you’d like to get your yoga on earlier, join Sage Peeples for Gentle Yoga + Meditation class every morning at 9am.

Sage Peeples - ADA Manager, Merch Manager, Gentle Yoga + Meditation Teacher &
Energy Work, 101 Instructor

Gentle Yoga + Meditation is a slow-paced class featuring gentle movements to improve flexibility and relaxation, ending with breath practice and guided meditation, accompanied by Mother Nature as the soundtrack.

Sage Peeples - RYT 500 - Reiki Master, has been a yoga practitioner for the last 10 years, teaching for 4, and a Reiki Master for the last 12 years. Yoga and energy work has become a form of therapy both mentally, physically, and spiritually for them and they hope to share this knowledge with anyone curious about healing and connecting to their true authentic selves.

Sage is also teaching Energy Work 101.

In this workshop they will dive into the basics of understanding energy anatomy and how we are energetically connected to the world around us. Learn breath and meditation techniques to connect to and feel the subtleties of these energies, and what we can do with this energy to empower and heal ourselves.

When Sage isn’t teaching workshops, find them at the merch booth. He’s also our Merch & ADA Manager, and we’re grateful to have him on our team.

Chris Campbell (aka Cosmic Soup) is a full spectrum sound shaman and will be providing healing vibes in the workshop space. Between his mastery of eclectic musicianship with world instruments, and his DJ capabilities that take you on a bass journey to multiple continents, you will feel the vibes through every cell in your body. A sound healer extraordinaire, he will show you the way frequency and vibration can transform your being.

Cosmic Soup - Sound Bath + Contact Improv Ecstatic Dance DJ

Join Cosmic Soup for a relaxing Sound Bath on Friday and Sunday mornings immediately following Gentle Yoga + Meditation. He’s also bringing the beats for the Contact Improv Ecstatic Dance on Saturday. So, no matter if you want to chill out or get down, he’s going to bring the bliss!

The Contact Improv Ecstatic Dance will be facilitated by Mika Hollis.

Mika Hollis - Art Gallery Manager,
Authentic Relating Games & Contact Improv Ecstatic Dance Facilitator

Contact Improv is an improvisational partner dance that uses motion and momentum as a creative playground for moving with another person. In this dance we learn to focus on the moving point of contact and to stay both creating and listening to our partners as we drop the traditional roles of lead and follow. This becomes a dance of deep listening and connection as the dance starts to be the mover, versus the bodies doing the dance.

Mika Hollis is dedicated to learning the uniqueness of the individual healing journey. She is enthusiastic about awakening our true nature through communication, movement, holistic wellness, sacred sexuality, and ceremony to build healthy, conscious relationships with ourselves and each other.

Mika is also leading Authentic Relating Games.

Authentic Relating (AR) is the practice of freely expressing your true experience in the company of others. This practice creates a safe, intentional space - rooted in play and supported by clear boundaries - to create meaningful and enjoyable connections to self and one another. By learning Authentic Relating skills, you can drop your conditioned relational habits, and learn to relate with yourself and others from a deeper more authentic expression of your truth.

Mackenzie Smith (aka Zipporah & SubRosa…) is returning to the mountain as our Laughter Yoga instructor.

Laughter Yoga is hilariously simple. Breath is essential to life, and laughter is a potent breathing ‘technique’ that everyone has experienced before. Using laughter to heal, laughter yoga implements childlike games and silliness exercises to stimulate forced laughter, which creates genuine deep-belly joy-inspiring giggles when paired with interpersonal eye contact. Laughter Yoga was created by a medical doctor as an accessible yogic breath work practice, stimulating the vagus nerve, cycling oxygen deep into the lungs, and offering a connection-building activity for all involved. We ask that all participants arrive to Laughter Yoga without judgment, open minds, open hearts and willingness to make eye-contact.

Zipporah has been teaching laughter yoga at festivals, weekly clubs, and at private events for 4 years. She also facilitates Tantra-related classes. Her intention is to create space for your authenticity to shine, without shame, fear, or judgment. It's her joy to cultivate an environment of warm-hearted silliness for you to play and explore!

Not only is Zipporah our giggle-guide, but she’s also blessing Yoga Electrified with a SubRosa... a Mulberry Mountain debut. SubRosa... is an up-and-coming experimental bass music artist that evokes passion with her unique sound and journey-esque approach.

It’s going to be so much fun co-creating with this goddess!

Kinsey Cahill (aka kinzspinz) is new to our workshop team, but she’s not new to Backwoods. Last year, she performed. This year, she’s excited to help you start your flow journey.

kinzspinz is a multi-prop flow artist. Growing up a gymnast, her love for movement transformed into a passion for flow. She is an insured fire dancer and loves sharing her passion of flow arts with others. Join her for Hoop Dance & Intro to Poi.

kinzspinz - Hoop Dance & Intro to Poi Instructor + Flow Jam Facilitator

Hoop Dance is a single hoop workshop, where participants will learn a variety of beginner to advanced hoop tricks depending on skill level. Tricks you'll learn include a compilation of fun isolations and trippy illusions to add into your hoop flow.

Poi is a flow art, where weights on the ends of tethers are swung through rhythmical patterns. Come learn the basics of poi to find your own flow.

If you have a hoop and/or poi, please bring them with you to class. However, don’t let your lack of toys keep you from coming. There will be hoops & poi provided for each class on a first-come-first-serve basis. So, get there early if you don’t have your own props!

Emily Ashley is a warm and intuitive Breathwork Facilitator, Ceremonialist and Counselor who cultivates healing spaces for individuals seeking personal growth and embodied transformation. Emily draws upon her lived experience in ritual arts to help transform suffering into wisdom, guiding seekers to awaken to their own empowered healing through a myriad of holistic practices. Emily draws upon her background in Rebirthing Breathwork Therapy, Yoga, Meditation and Esoteric Arts to purify the body, resolve negative emotions and help in restoring an individual’s wholeness. She is a student in somatic embodiment and the shamanic healing arts and will be leading breathwork and a philosophy class while at Mulberry.

Emily Ashley - Rebirthing Breathwork & Radiant Presence 101 Instructor

In Rebirthing Breathwork you'll embark on a journey of self-discovery and inner healing. Through this guided rhythmical breathing practice, you'll practice mindful awareness and experience the profound wisdom of your breath to release stress, increase vitality, cultivate a deeper connection to your true essence, and tap into an altered state of consciousness.

All these experience-based classes are geared for all skill levels. No experience is necessary. Just bring a yoga mat, water bottle, and open heart.

Emily Ashley will also share her philosophical knowledge in Radiant Presence 101.

In this workshop we delve into the mystical realm of cultivating radiance from within. Explore ancient wisdom and esoteric teachings as Emily guides you on a journey to unlock your inner light and unleash your true essence. Through sacred practices and transformative insights, you'll learn to harness the power of self-love, mindfulness, and energetic alignment to radiate beauty and authenticity in every aspect of your life. Don't miss this opportunity to awaken your luminous potential and shine brightly in the world.

Desiree “Dez” Johnson is our resident Tarot reader. Instead of simply offering you readings, this year she’s also teaching you how to start your own Tarot practice. If you’ve ever been interested in tarot but don’t know where to start, this is the workshop for you!

Dez Johnson - Resident Tarot Reader, Tarot 101 & Magick 101 Instructor

Tarot 101 teaches you the tarot basics. Learn meanings behind the cards, explore the difference between tarot and oracle, practice listening to intuition, and learn how to expand your knowledge at home.

Dez is the creator of Stoner Tarot and is passionate about teaching others how to use tarot as a self-care tool. Dez prides herself on taking a cozy, kitchen-table approach to reading cards. Go visit her tarot tent in the woods; and if you see her roaming the festival, be sure to stop her and ask for a Backwoods Spirit Animal reading! However, if you miss her on the mountain, find her at www.weedandsage.com.

Dez is a wedding officiant and is enthusiastically looking forward to officiating her first festival wedding at Backwoods this year! So, if you’ve ever considered getting married on the mountain, hit her up, and plan for next year.

Dez is also our Magick 101 instructor. In this informative workshop, learn about the history, un-just demonization, and evolution of Magick. Discover how to practically incorporate magic or magick into your life and gain empowering wisdom that will support your already-established spiritual practices. Please come with an open mind.

Sex Magic 101 is led by me and my king, Jacob Warren, and is back by popular demand.

This workshop will take your intimacy to the next level. Sacred sexuality is a path that turns sex into a spiritual practice. This workshop focuses on the lineage of Egyptian Sex Magic and inner alchemy. Learn the philosophy and some physical practices to help jump-start your journey. (No nudity or sex will be involved during the workshop.)

Jacob & Aubrey Warren - Sex Magic Teachers

Jacob and I have been married for 20 years, have 2 teenagers, and have been on a spiritual journey together since the day we met. Before having children, we made a pilgrimage to Egypt that changed our lives forever. I study with a Tantra Kundalini Master and Guru of the Shaktipat sect. My relationship with my teacher guided me into turning all aspects of my life into a spiritual practice. As a tantrika, I started bringing meditative practices into the bedroom with Jacob, and we’re excited to share this information with our community. We hope it brings more connection, presence, and passion into your life and relationship(s).

Last but not least, we’re including some opportunities for you to express and share your creativity through art. Rose Bud is an artist, a community builder, and a trauma-informed space holder who is passionate about cultivating pathways for self-expression. As host of the Radiant Sun Poetry Society and director of Ecstatic Dance Fort Worth, she is privileged to help guide others along their creative journeys. She is excited to connect with like-minded souls here on the mountain.

Rose Bud - Workshop Stage Hand & Sidewalk Chalk Group Art Project + Community Jam Facilitator

Join Rose on Friday for a group art project. Meet at the workshop space, but then you will shift locations together. Create a community side-walk-chalk mural that will add beauty and inspiration to the mountain throughout the weekend.

On Sunday, she’s hosting a Community Poetry Jam. Bring something you’ve written and want to share or come ready to riff. Rose is the facilitator, while YOU are the art and artist.

So, as you can see, we have a lot to offer, and we hope you soak it all up.

If you don’t have your Backwoods ticket yet, it’s about time you get yours!

See ya on the mountain, fam!

All my love,

Aubrey Warren
Event Director & Festival Fairy Godmother

Where’s the Lineup?