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The Joys of a Yoga Retreat

November 6, 2012 •

I lived and loved yoga dur­ing this week­end’s retreat at the Sleep­ing Lady moun­tain resort. The resort nes­tles east of the Cas­cades — 3 hours from Seat­tle, up and over a moun­tain pass, past the Tumwa­ter River, and down to Ici­cle Creek.

It’s an adven­ture to arrive in time for Fri­day after­noon’s prac­tice, brav­ing nar­row, twisty moun­tain roads at 60 mph. The adren­a­line rush while dri­ving is tem­pered by the blaze of fall foliage, water­falls cas­cad­ing down the moun­tain slopes, rush­ing rivers with white water rapids…

The long quest-like drive helps bridge the tran­si­tion from work­life to a yoga retreat.

Nature’s Beauty

When you finally arrive at Sleep­ing Lady, you find beauty wher­ever you look, no mat­ter the weather.

yoga-retreat-views

From our stand­ing yoga poses, we could gaze at jagged or cloud-capped moun­tain peaks (or rock-strewn lower slopes, as shown here). I com­muned with a blaz­ing aspen grove for sev­eral moments while bal­anced in tree pose.

We held longer-than-usual war­rior poses while con­tem­plat­ing sun­breaks, rac­ing clouds, or deer graz­ing in the nearby meadow.

We med­i­tated to the sound of raven calls or rain drops on the tin roof.

Hearts on Fire

Rainey, a grace-filled yoga teacher and retreat leader, guided our prac­tice, cen­tered on the theme of “tend­ing your heart’s flame.” On a chill week­end her theme was sin­gu­larly apt.

Rainey is par­tic­u­larly gifted at invok­ing just the right amount of heart­ful or spir­i­tual qual­i­ties in the yoga retreats that she leads. Dur­ing the open­ing and clos­ing cir­cle we shared our inten­tions, chal­lenges, and the bless­ings we hoped to bring back to our every­day life and encoun­ters with our com­mu­nity of friends, fam­ily, neigh­bors and col­leagues. Yes, there were tears, but way more smiles…

From late Fri­day through Sun­day morn­ing, we immersed our­selves in 4 juicy prac­tices (2+ hours each). After­wards we’d run, still in our sweaty yoga gear, to the com­mu­nal din­ing room, where we’d feast on organic pro­duce grown on or near the Sleep­ing Lady resort.

Trees Ablaze with Color

Yoga retreats offer many delights, no mat­ter when or where they take place. But espe­cially in the fall… In early Novem­ber the foliage flames with fiery col­ors: reds and golds every­where.

Tem­per­a­tures are chilly but per­fect for aer­o­bic exer­cise —“fleece weather,” we call it…

My hus­band joined me for this retreat — not to prac­tice, but to enjoy hik­ing, com­mu­nal din­ing, and con­ver­sa­tions with this com­mu­nity of yoga prac­ti­tion­ers. He read sail­ing books, or hiked and com­muned with nature while we sweated away on our mats…

I thank him for the pho­tos that cap­ture these visual mem­o­ries. And the courage to come along on a yoga retreat where women out­num­ber men 3:1…

About This Blog

Reflec­tions on life, travel, books, and yoga. Think­ing out loud about the pur­suit of mind­ful­ness and well-being.

Learn­ing how to recover from the loss of a beloved spouse, and then to find a trans­for­ma­tive path for­ward.

About Me

Semi-retired marketing exec, transitioning from a career in high tech. Now "managed" by two Tonkinese cats. Missing travel and friends on the West Coast. Avid reader and foodie. Staying active with long walks, biking, kayaking and yoga.

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