Yoga Weekend Highlights

I’m back from the Yoga Retreat and I had an amazing time. It’s a challenge to put into words all that the weekend encompassed, so I’ve decided to share a few highlights:

The woods in which The Yoga Lodge is nestled: A 360 degree view of trees makes for a very peaceful and relaxing environment.

The innkeepers Wendy and Dan were wonderful, friendly considerate and nurturing.

Amazing home-cooked, organic, vegetarian food: If Wendy were my personal chef I could easily see living without meat for the rest of my life.

Time with good friends Jennifer, Christian and Elize.

Connecting with new people who were a lot of fun.

Lots of sleep and naps.

Finishing a good book that left we with plenty of food for thought.

Watching two deer that grazed in the grass right in front of the floor-to-ceiling-windows to the yoga studio while were practicing and then seeing them dash off together when they were done.

Watching a long white slug slowly trace a path from the bottom to the top of the window during the course of another practice session.

The soft, steady soothing rain that fell for most of the weekend. There is nothing that compares to the sound of falling rain…unless it is rain falling in the woods.

The sun that came out at one point while it was raining, illuminating the whole studio and causing the rain to shimmer and sparkle as it continued to pour down.

A late night walk in the dark woods with Elize to ensure all kerosene lamps were turned off at the sauna.

An impromptu session in the sauna when we discovered two new friends still in there (although we had no towels, we improvised using our tops to sit on).

A late night streak through the woods back to our rooms wearing only our shoes. It seemed like a wild and crazy idea at the time and remains a highlight in hindsight. Very freeing and surprisingly warm for a late November night. It generated a lot of laughter and was very bonding  (It also helped that everyone else were in there beds, including Christian. He was the only man on the property that night and his room was on the other side of the building from our rooms. We did give the venture some thought before we made our dash!)

Leaving the retreat immediately when it ended because I wanted to get home to my family as soon as possible. I missed them so much. (Door-to-door it only took an hour and a half to get home, and that included the ferry crossing. It seemed as if the travel gods were with me all the way.)