8/19/2009

It's time to pack up and head west for our Autumn soujourn. The first Swadhyaya Retreat at Christine Center was well attended and what a group! There were people from Southern Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and one person came all the way from Florida to attend the retreat. It is magical how people and events come together. We had beautiful weather. It was humid and hot in a way that almost stifles or smothers the awareness. It felt thick and heavy at times. Then, the sky would rumble with big black clouds and a storm would move through, dumping freshness and plenty of rain. We sloshed and slopped through the mud, in silence, back to our hermitages. We even had a tornado warning Saturday night. I love the contrasts - they enliven the senses. The food was great, the silence settled in around us with ease and I marveled at the group's openness, readiness and willingness to be fully present and alive.

A turtle lumbered across the lawn, the hummers and dragonfies were in a frenzy, and every so often a gentle breeze would move through the tree tops with a gentle shhhh sound to soothe the soul. So much more is available to awareness when we aren't constantly engaged in conversation and busyness. Some great questions were offered over the weekend. I always love a good question, whether or not I have the answer.

If you've been waiting on the sidelines, thinking about taking a retreat but not sure, go to the schedule page and scroll down to read the comments from participants of previous retreats. If you still have doubts, email your concerns directly to me. Having a lump of time to relax and sink into your practices is pretty luscious. I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy facilitating these seminars! When I was teaching at the studio, I used to think, "I wish I had more time with them, a weekend would be nice". Now that I am doing weekends pretty exclusively, it is a really great opportunity, but I still find myself wishing for larger chunks of time. Wouldn't a week be great? A month? If you haven't done a month long, there is no way I can describe the effects it can have on you. If you have, you probably agree, it can't be described.

Swadhyaya II is November 20 - 22. It'll get you in a good space for the holidays. Please register well ahead of time(www.christinecenter.org). They do fill up. I will post some information for you on this website as the time draws nearer. I look forward to seeing you in November. If not, stay in touch and check in here and at my blog: www.smilingyogi.blogspot.com for little yoga nuggets. And do let me know if you have any questions, suggestions or requests for this website or my blog. Have a colorful Autumn!

 

7/9/2009

I hope you got to see July's full moon. WOW! I watched it come up over the Wisconsin River - enormous and red, it was breathtakingly gorgeous. As I write this the elderberries are in bloom, along with a plethora of colorful flowers in my gardens. It is high summer - watermelon, blueberries, cherries, cookouts, fireflies, butterflies and dragonflies, red-winged blackbirds and bluebirds, kayaking the Plover river, biking all over the county, and yoga on the patio in the early morning air.

I've been writing. Go to the blog at www.smilingyogi.blogspot.com and check it out. There you can read some of my little yoga nuggets and add comments or any questions you would like to post for me. I hope you find that helpful.

Don't miss the retreats coming up at Christine Center. One in August and one in November - related but seperate. Read about them on the schedule page. If you have any questions about my retreats, email them to me. If your questions are logistic, you can find contact info for Christine Center at www.christinecenter.org.