Author Archives: cathymoo

Yoga for 50+ Retreat on Whidbey Island, March 1-3, 2013

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You spent the first half of your life becoming somebody. Now spend time working on becoming nobody – which is really somebody. For when you become nobody, there is no tension, no pretense, no one trying to be anyone or anything. The natural state of the mind shindes through unobstructed – and the natural state of the mind is pure love. (Ram Dass)

Aldermarsh Retreat Center on Whidbey Island provides a soothing, spectacular venue for a weekend of yoga, relaxation, and rejuvenation. Asana, pranayama, and meditation practices will be accessible to all. Those new to yoga will be gently guided toward the opening that the practice of yoga can offer, and more experienced students will find challenge and support for their on-going practice.

Aging brings with it the joys of experience, the challenges of changing bodies, and an opening to the possibility of a healthy, spiritually supported life. As the constraints of “the householder years” begin to fall away, we can learn to see this time of life as exciting, uplifting and filled with laughter and love. Open to the possibility that you are entering now the BEST part of your life, and feed your mind and body as you join us in this retreat experience.

The retreat will begin at 5:00 pm Friday evening and end after lunch Sunday.

For more information, click here…

Five Excellent Yoga Retreats

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Few forms of escapism are as wholesome as yoga. As its millions of acolytes attest, regular yoga practice not only alleviates stress and improves strength and flexibility (recent reports even credit it for enhanced sexual health), it’s also an activity that can be done just about anywhere. Just taking a smartphone-free hour to practice sun salutations can feel like a mini-vacation.

But even for the yogically inclined, more than an hourlong getaway is sometimes necessary. It’s certainly alluring, especially when there are so many options for rolling up your sticky mat and dashing off to an exotic locale.

These days, there are yoga retreats that cater to every ability level and goal. Some, like the Ayurvedic Rejuvenation Retreat at Shreyas Resort in Bangalore, emphasize the traditional, holistic benefits of yoga (participants receive health and dietary consultations, plus personalized ayurvedic spa treatments, along with their classes). Others, like Yada Yada Yoga’s Bespoke Yoga Retreat at the St. Regis Bahia Beach, offers guests the opportunity to combine yoga with other activities like paddleboarding, kayaking and hiking, while others offer it as a double bill with music, photography and cultural study.

Whether the goal is serenity or invigoration, ancient traditions or innovative approaches, here are five places to make your escape.

Bespoke Yoga Retreat St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort, Puerto Rico

Boutique yoga agency Yada Yada Yoga has teamed up with the St. Regis Bahia Beach to create this retreat, which offers daily instruction by a Yada Yada yogi set against the expansive natural backdrop of the five-star resort, which is the first and only gold-certified Audubon Signature Sanctuary in Puerto Rico. Classes are taught in the Forrest yoga style, which works to overcome physical and emotional blocks; in between, guests can discover the 483-acre property and its wildlife through hiking, biking and guided bird watching. Not in the bird mood? Lounge beachside, take a plunge in the resort’s seafront pool or linger in the spa’s garden after indulging in a treatment. From $1,575; June 15–18; 954-624-1784.

Kuxan Summ Maya Tulum, Mexico

According to the Mayan calendar, this year’s winter solstice will mark the dawn of a new spiritual era for mankind; yoga resort Maya Tulum is celebrating with a weeklong retreat, incorporating yoga, meditation and Mayan culture. Guests will practice yoga twice a day, visit nearby Mayan ruins and take part in ceremonial drumming and a shaman-led Aztec energy dance. Those looking for a little less adventure can opt to explore the resort’s beaches (which lie along the world’s second-longest coral reef) or indulge in a Mayan-influenced spa treatment.From $2,360; October 27–November 3; mayatulum.com.

Self-Discovery Retreat Byron Bay Yoga, Australia

This retreat, set in Australia’s most famous spiritually minded community, aims to treat the whole self: daily classes in yoga, Pilates, meditation and pranayama are augmented by massage, Yoga Nidra (deep relaxation) and organic vegan ayurvedic cuisine. The centerpiece of the program is Core Energetics Body Psychotherapy, designed to put students in touch with the mind-body-spirit connection; those who need a day off, though, may find a stroll along one of Byron Bay’s lovely surfing beaches, or the wooded nature trails at Cape Byron Headland Preserve, just as healing. From $1,595; March 30–April 4; yogahealthretreats.com.

Wanderlust Festival Squaw Valley, California

Top-flight musical acts, the biggest names in yoga and several thousand fans of both converge at this annual three-day festival in North Lake Tahoe (others take place in Colorado, Vermont and Canada). The roster of celebrity yogis teaching at this year’s festival includes Shiva Rea, John Friend and Schuyler Grant (Wanderlust’s cofounder); the musical acts include Ziggy Marley and Beats Antique. Many festival attendees choose to camp during their stay, but with penthouse suites in the Resort at Squaw Creek available right up the road, why rough it? Tickets from $475; July 26–29; wanderlustfestival.com; squawcreek.com.

Yoga Cruise Finike, Turkey

Yoga is literally transporting at this retreat, which takes place aboard a ten-cabin traditional Turkish sailing yacht as it cruises the Mediterranean. After practicing yoga in the open air on the yacht’s sundeck, guests can dive overboard for snorkeling and kayaking, and visit ancient ruins, Greek isles and a traditional Turkish hammam. Yoga Cruise arranges trips throughout the year, but in October, the company will celebrate the maiden voyage of a new, additional luxury yacht. From $1,175; October 7–14; yogacruise.net.

 

NYT Article: “How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” – Here’s How NOT to Wreck Your Body

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(by Susi Hately, Functional Synergy)

Earlier this week, I received a request from a Facebook Fan to comment on a recent New York Times article, How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body, that has created quite a stir in the yoga world. I posted a short comment on my facebook page, with a promise to fill it out later …

And, here is my take.

Yoga is amazing. All of us yoga teachers have been awed by watching what can happen with yoga. And, when not done appropriately, major problems can occur.  You would be shocked with how many emails I receive each week from yoga teachers – from the “rock star” yoga teachers, as well as from teachers who are “less known”. They ask questions with a similar theme . . . “why is my back sore, I do yoga!” As I share the mechanics of what is happening, I also add….”it is because you do yoga that your back is sore”.

Y’see the trouble is two fold. First, we have to remember that we are westerners pursuing an eastern philosophical movement program that has important tenets (yamas and niyamas) as the foundation. If we follow those tenets, we’ll progress in our practice – in all its forms – physically, mentally, and spiritually. Second, we need to consider the term “Asana” which, when loosely translated means, “sitting comfortably and still”. This means, that no matter the asana you are practicing, are you “sitting comfortably and still” or are you in “tension”?

Consider your practice – when you are in Warrior 1, Warrior 3, Triangle, Headstand, Downward Dog, or any other myriad of asanas, are you in tension? If you are. . . you aren’t practicing yoga . .  you are “doing fitness”.

It sets up an interesting predicament, doesn’t it? A predicament which has me understand and have compassion for why it is so difficult for yoga practitioners in the West “to get it”.

  1. As a culture, there is a preference for the “end”, not the “journey” or the “process”.
  2. Many trainings are about “going deeper” since there is some apparent belief that “going deeper” is “better”. (I recall a teacher who came to a training of mine who was utterly shocked that my training was the first she had been too that wasn’t about depth of asana and she was so “wow’d” that she felt so good).
  3. There is a focus on not paying attention to the pain, to move through it as opposed to listen to it.

I am all for a physical challenge, and for the mental and spiritual stretch required to see my “blind spots” so that those things that restrict or limit me can be resolved; just as I enjoy practicing with energy and prana and transcending the physical plane. But truth be told, the physical plane is where we live, and Newton’s laws still reign true. Biomechanics and Kinesiology are facts of life on this earthly plane, and we need to honour their principles. If you don’t honour them, you will suffer the consequences.

Does this mean that “some people should give up yoga all together” as written about in the article? Well, that assumes that yoga consists only of the physical postures in their classic form. Perhaps in those times of injury, it is actually time to read up and embody the yamas and niyamas so the journey back to the mat, the journey back to living the life you want to live, through great yoga therapy and then modified asanas, is one of exploration, curiosity and awe.

In One Section of Beth Israel Hospital, Some Patients are Saying “Om,” Not “Ah”

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Medical advances sometimes happen in strange ways. Someone finds a fungus in dirty lab dishes and — eureka! — penicillin is born. Now a premier Manhattan hospital is turning a cancer-treatment floor over to a world-famous fashion designer in the hope that serendipity, science and intuition will strike again.

A foundation run by Donna Karan, creator of the “seven easy pieces” philosophy of women’s wardrobes and founder of the much-imitated DKNY line of clothing, has donated $850,000 for a yearlong experiment combining Eastern and Western healing methods at Beth Israel Medical Center. Instead of just letting a celebrated donor adopt a hospital wing, renovate it and have her name embossed on a plaque, the Karan-Beth Israel project will have a celebrated donor turn a hospital into a testing ground for a trendy, medically controversial notion: that yoga, meditation and aromatherapy can enhance regimens of chemotherapy and radiation.

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Dedicate Yourself to the Study of Yoga: Breitenbush Advanced Training Retreat

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8 Limbs Yoga Centers has been offering outstanding quality yoga programs for Seattle communities since 1996. 8 Limbs teaching staff includes some of the most highly trained and experienced teachers from the Northwest including Melina Meza, Anne Phyfe Palmer and Chiara Guierreri. In 8 Limbs teacher training courses they offer serious yoga practitioners and yoga instructors the learning circle that will support them in the prompt advancement of their practice and ability to share it with others.

8 Limbs’ goal is to broaden the field of practice for each participant while encouraging yoga practice as a means to discover and fulfill one’s dharma, or purpose. A residential retreat, with healthy food, old-growth forest, thermal baths, sauna, and the nurturing qualities of Breitenbush, offers an ideal environment to enhance your growth as a wholesome yogi/yogini. To learn more about Breitenbush, click here.

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Harness the Energy of Hawaii Where Transformation is a Daily Occurrence

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On the Big Island of Hawaii, the earth is constantly changing, stretching out to create new ground upon which new life will grow. What better place to create new ground for yourself by harnessing the tremendous energy that comes from such a natural transformation. Explore your own boundaries and the possibilities for your personal transformation – for moving onto and into new ground. Flow at your own pace – slowly and quietly, or rapidly and with great fanfare.

Drink in some fun, sun, meditation, yoga, and dance when you join Chiara Guerrieri, Melina Meza, and Lara McIntosh for a new dynamic collaboration – Melina’s Seasonal Vinyasa Ayurvedic insights, Chiara’s core-awakening style of yoga, and Laura’s Afro-infused Wassa Dance come together to nourish your body, lift your spirits, and shake your bootie!

Melina, Chiara and Lara each bring over 15 years of dedication to their practice and, together, they will help you free your vitality and luminosity.

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Focus on the Feet

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In the Pacific Northwest, every season offers opportunities to get on your feet and enjoy the bounty of nature that surrounds us – even if it’s cruising around Greenlake or walking to your favorite pedicurist for a little pampering. But have you ever thought about how your feet support you? As much work as they do, you might take the time to tune into your arches.

In architecture, arches are the structures that support what is above. In the same way, arches of the feet are the foundation that supports what is above.

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