Summer storms couldn't dampen Yoga Jam 2026: Superbloom

The theme of the 15th annual Yoga Jam festival held on Burnette Farm Sept. 3-5 was “Superbloom,” the extraordinary burst of life that emerges after seasons of challenge, uncertainty, and waiting. 

Directors of the festival’s volunteer-driven nonprofit Karma Culture, Katie Turman, and Elaine Braley, described the theme this way: Just as wildflowers burst into vibrant color after the perfect conditions come together, we believe each of us carries the potential to bloom in our own unique way. Through movement, music, art, connection, and community, we create the space to nurture growth, embrace transformation, and celebrate the beauty of becoming.

The festival began on Thursday with a ceremonial circle with Katherine Chantal and her accompaniment of wise women. Chantal incorporated the Superbloom theme into her guidance of setting intentions. Her seven-point movement meditation and Radiance Sutra (affirming words with movement) was followed by a Lotus Dance by yoga teacher and dancer, Leia Jones, who led a belly dance workshop and a yoga class later in the weekend. Chantal closed the opening circle with the words, “Allow yourself to bloom."

Chilling out in the Tea Shanti cafe on Saturday, an attendee named Will, who came from Tennessee, spoke about the Red Code storm weather alert on Friday when everything shut down for about an hour, and people were asked to shelter in their vehicles. He described being on a guided hike and being chased out of the woods by the rain. “It was around 5 p.m. and lasted about an hour or so. The rest of the day was hot,” he said.

Will said that his highlight of Friday was going to the bonfire and drum circle late in the evening and noted that what he loves most about the Floyd festival is being on Burnette Farm. Another attendee who came from Blacksburg said her highlight was a breathwork workshop. “It was a specific type of breathwork to really get you deep into your emotions and feelings. And the class that I was really enjoying before the code red happened was a meditation through the chakras. We only got to the root chakra,” she said.

Saturday saw the largest of the weekend’s attendance. Holy River, a returning Yoga Jam favorite, performed on the main stage and drew a large crowd of dancers who sang along. As the band played, large floating bubbles, colored scarves, children with beach balls and sparkling angels wings created a playful scene in the field known as People’s Playground. Later dancers worked up a sweat in the Jamland Pub dancing and singing along to Talking Heads and Cake songs performed by the Roanoke-based band Talking Cake.

The Market Bazar, Food Booths, Healing Arts Village, Kids Zone, and Art Village were active. Classes and Workshops included Recovery Dharma, Love the Skin Your Yin, Nectar of Your Heart, Acro Partner Yoga, Herbal Approach to Lyme Disease, Forest Bathing, Healing Child Trauma, Ars Poetica Poetry Reading and Writing Workshop, Eyes Closed Flow set to Grateful Dead Music, and more. It’s easy to learn something new at Yoga Jam and to make new friends.

Fen Ridella (“almost ten”) didn’t miss a beat when asked about what he liked most about the festival this year: “Big Lick ice cream.” The creek was his runner-up. Amythyst Edmond from Roanoke is a festival volunteer who worked four days before the festival, helping to set it up. She’s been coming to Floyd for the yoga since 2023 and said she loves that no matter how many people come she never feels crowded. “My favorite thing is waking up early to watch the sunrise with my friends and looking at the stars at night.”

The first two days of the festival were possibly the hottest on Yoga Jam record. Hydration stations spread throughout the festival, and some attendees wore bathing suits and cooled down in the creek that borders the property. Saturday and Sunday were a bit cooler. Around 4 p.m. on Sunday a Code Red was called again for a severe thunderstorm with wind gusts and some hail. Pop up vending tents collapsed or flew. A couple of trees came down. Scheduled performances and classes were canceled as attendees scattered and took shelter. After about an hour, Jordan Harman and the Humble Brags made it back to the main stage, confirming that life emerges through the challenges, and the Superbloom vibe continued.