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Sunset photo from the final flight of my round-the-world trip By Sonja Bjelland

Big news this month in the yoga travel world.

For starters, San Francisco International Airport unveiled its new yoga room today.

An observant yogi posted on her blog about this last week and officials held a press conference in Terminal 2 this morning.

Rose 101has a photo of what the new sign for “yoga room” looks like. I think this means I have to fly somewhere through SFO.

I’ve been saying for more than a year that they should darken those old smoking areas and turn them into yoga dens. I just want someplace where I can do a downward dog and not look inappropriate. This is especially true when I’ve got a long layover or I’m staring down a 14-hour flight to Asia.

Turns out Airport Director John Martin may well know those feelings. He’s been into yoga for 18 years and rocked a sun salutation in honor of today’s unveiling, according to the San Jose Mercury News article.

A Sivananda yoga students sits by the nearby lake. By Sonja Bjelland

Yes, I’m sure some people will roll their eyes and think that’s so San Francisco. But maybe it’ll get other airports to find creative ways to use their open spaces. I’m just glad this one’s free because I can envision an entrepreneur taking off with this idea.

Other news happening this month, the Hanuman Festival sent me a note that they’re lineup will be announced Jan. 31 so fellow Coloradoans be on the look out.

So what else is happening in the world of yoga:

• One writer survives a yoga boot camp meant to get skiers in shape in the Canadian Rockies and writes about it for the U.K. Telegraph.
• A husband and wife team, both former professional snowboarders, are opening a surf and yoga retreat company.
• A woman who left the corporate world to do her yoga teacher training talks about her time at the Sivananda ashram where I stayed in India.

Fall colors in Colorado By Sonja Bjelland

This week the folks over at the Wanderlust Festival announced their adding a third location – Colorado!

The music and yoga festival is bringing on an in between venue to it’s original site in Lake Tahoe, Calif., and last year’s addition of Stratton, Vt.

Of course, now that I live in Colorado this makes me pretty excited and apparently this is the place to be considering there are two other yoga festivals and a Yoga Journal conference.

Joshua Tree at sunset By Sonja Bjelland

The annual Wanderlust Festivals blend the most popular yoga teachers with leaders in the green community and top musicians. It’s hard to get more hippy but it also sounds like fun.

A few of the big names in the lineup announced Tuesday for the inaugural Colorado outpost include Ziggy Marley, Anusara yoga founder John Friend and Deepak Chopra.

Hopefully, I will have money before all the tickets sell out. Advanced tickets go on sale Jan. 24.

If you can’t come join me at Wanderlust Colorado July 5-8, here’s some of the other major yoga festivals going on this year:

BaliSpirit Festival March 28-April 1: The fifth annual event that led the world yoga festival scene is doing it up big this year and many favorite teachers will be returning. This festival gets more of an international flare because musicians and yoga teachers don’t have to hassle with American immigration. No seriously, that’s what they told me when I interviewed them last year.

Shakti Fest Joshua Tree, Calif., May 11-13: A pairing with the fall Bhakti Fest, the first incarnation of the spring version has gotten some big names including Shiva Rea and Saul David Raye.

• Hanuman Festival, Boulder, Colo., June 8-10: Yet to announce it’s 2012 lineup, last year’s event featured the festival regulars Seane Corn and MC Yogi.
• Wanderlust Vermont June 21-24: The lineup at this one includes musician Ani DeFranco and yogi Rodney Yee as well as Twee Merrigan, whose class I enjoyed at last year’s BaliSpirit Festival.

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  Los Pinguos performing at the BaliSpirit Festival By Sonja Bjelland

  Telluride Yoga Festival July 12-15: A smaller scene from Wanderlust, this year’s festival will include a brother and sister coming from India to teach Sanskrit, yoga philosophy and chanting.

• Wanderlust California July 26-29: Similar to the Colorado lineup with a few changes, it’s the original.
• Evolve Music and Yoga Festival, Vernon, N.J., Aug. 31-Sept. 3: This will be the 5^th annual for an event that last year boasted 50 bands and 30 yoga workshops.
• Bhakti Fest, Joshua Tree, Calif., Sept. 6-9: Still a ways out for a lineup, this is the biggest such festival in Southern California. The festival’s base is in kirtan and chanting but organizers have added more asana (pose) classes as it has grown.