Seane Corn, an internationally celebrated yoga teacher, will teach a special chakra-focused series of workshops from 6 to 8:30 p.m., September 6; from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 4 p.m., September 7; and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., September 8, at The Yoga Loft, in Bethlehem. Corn will guide participants in using the tools of asana, meditation, reflection, intention and prayer to facilitate an understanding of the dynamics of the chakras in order to empower our health and life. Corn is known for her impassioned activism, unique self-expression and inspirational style of teaching that incorporates both the physical and mystical aspects of the practice of yoga. Her classes integrate dynamic vinyasa flow asana (linking movement with breath) with the application of precise alignment, meditation, visualization, intention and prayer to create an inner journey toward healing and empowerment.

A long-time activist for social and political change, Corn created the yoga program at Children of the Night, a shelter that houses and educates adolescent prostitutes in the Los Angeles area, in 1998. As a result of her work with sexually exploited children, by 2004 she went on to became a dedicated champion for YouthAIDS, whose mission is to raise funds, provide services and spread national awareness about the global emergency of HIV/AIDS affecting our children worldwide. Within a year, in service to YouthAIDS, she created the Off the Mat, Into the World (OTM) campaign with the intention to use her international platform to generate outreach within the yoga and wellness communities.

In 2007, OTM expanded to become a national leadership training program designed to help participants find their own unique purpose through yoga, creative inquiry and self-exploration exercises, as well as provide them with the organizational skills necessary to activate that purpose through local outreach and service-oriented projects. This effort, designed to initiate social circles of change in local communities nationwide, lives on through OTM’s Yoga in Action program.

Since launching in 2007, OTM’s Global Seva Challenge program has raised over $3.5 million for programs worldwide, giving participants the opportunity to work in impoverished communities, providing support and aid, implementing projects and teaching yoga when appropriate. In the U.S., OTM created a program for at-risk and marginalized youth called the Empowered Youth Initiative, bringing awareness, resources, education and aid to inner city youth and teens.

During the 2008 and 2012 elections, Corn and Arianna Huffington came together along with The Huffington Post and OTM to create a wellness sanctuary for delegates, press and political officials called The Huffington Oasis. Out of this grew YogaVotes, a program designed to help increase yoga voter registration at the 2012 election. This non-partisan initiative created a much-needed dialogue within the community about yoga, values, citizen engagement and the power of one’s vote.

Locally, yoga teachers Megan Ridge, Josh Kehler and Melanie Smith are all participants in OTM’s Global Seva Challenge, raising funds to travel to Uganda, India and Ecuador, and be of service to communities in need. Yoga Loft teachers Megan Ridge and Alysha Pfeiffer also teach a weekend intensive Yoga in Action training once a year (January 24 to January 26, 2014).

The upcoming weekend workshops with Corn will emphasize the connection between the mind, body, and spirit—appreciating the inter-dependency of all moments, great and small. The chakra system provides us with a road map that affirms this perception and presents a formula to make it tangible. Using the chakra system correctly, we can identify, reconcile and heal restrictive emotional patterns and physical imbalances in our mind/body. The study of the chakras can also help us develop our intuition, awareness and consciousness, as well as balance us physically, grounding and centering our energy. It can also increase our personal power and relationship to ourselves beyond the body, which gives a more compassionate understanding toward our personal issues and can reveal insight into our spirit.

Cost: $175 (single session pricing also available). The Yoga Loft is located at 521 E. Fourth St., 3rd Floor, Bethlehem. For more information, call 610-867-9642 or register online at TheYogaLoftOfBethlehem.com.