Yoga Retreat

Three days and two nights sequestered in the woods of Whidbey Island this weekend for a women's yoga retreat offered the chance for renewal of mind and body as well as connection with natural beauty. I signed up and paid for this retreat months ago, before I let myself think too much about the cost or the time commitment. This was clearly the right choice because the hours away were pure tonic; necessary, rejuvenating, and healthy.

The Whidbey Institute, a gorgeous venue for this retreat, provided nourishment in the form of beautiful surroundings and fabulous vegetarian cuisine (I felt virtuous and healthy) as well as cozy accommodations. My little room in the "Farmhouse" was the size of a closet but had everything I needed, including a down comforter and a window with a view of tall pines. The grounds, lush with new spring growth, offered constant invitation with paths leading deep into the woods. Wildlife was abundant, especially birds whose song was near constant, beginning pre-dawn and heard until dusk. The air felt fertile with the promises of spring, fresh and new.

This group of 22 women, guided by our amazing instructor Lee, made a journey together, harnessing the benefits of this most peaceful place. Our yoga practices were the structure around which the other wonderful moments developed; exploration of the grounds, chatting around wooden tables as we fueled our bodies with delicious food, enjoying a sweat in the sauna, a meditative walk through the outdoor labyrinth, a fire at dusk on Saturday evening, and countless other treasured memories. The yoga experience included focus on the second (sacral) and fourth (heart) chakras, pranayama breathing practices (held in the beautiful sanctuary building), guided meditation, asana and luxurious, indulgent shavasana. I'm happy to report that my bum knee was well behaved, helped by a tight ace wrap. I kept up with most of the moves and could sit cross legged for meditation. Aspirin and naprosyn eased the journey. I overheard others saying the same so didn't feel alone with my creaky joints and over-stretched muscles.

The labyrinth was unlike any I have ever walked; rustic, wild. At once disheveled in appearance by tall grasses and weeds, the path led us boldly into the center and back out again. Created from an orderly arrangement of black rocks in the style of the labyrinth at Chartres Cathedral, the path was covered with wood shavings which invited bare feet. This labyrinth was untamed, sacred, yet playful in its unevenness. Many in our group had never walked a labyrinth and I enjoyed hearing their fresh, new comments. "A metaphor for life"; "All of us walking the same path but in different ways"; "A longer walk than I had thought". All this makes me wonder (again) how I could create my own smaller version in the backyard. I've nurtured this dream for years but have always come up with reasons to talk myself out of any action. I wonder.... I'm especially encouraged by a labyrinth that does not have to be prim, proper and trimmed to be effective. I don't think I'm up for that sort of deliberate maintenance (unless caring for it became a mediation practice of sorts).

My favorite parts of the weekend? I have two. The first was filling a small bag that Lee gave each of us with "ten items from nature". We used this series of ten, tokens plucked from the earth, for a tender meditation Sunday morning in the sanctuary, an exercise that strengthened our awareness of the fundamental connection and interdependence of all things natural. My items were all once living things (no stones). I wasn't sure what to do with this carefully selected group of ten after the weekend retreat; I brought the small bag home with me as a remembrance. One was a fragile brilliant blue robin's egg that I found in two pieces while combing the wilds of the property. Although the egg was my surprise in the group of ten, the simple three leaf clover (now wilted), the moss covered bark, and the group of tiny pine cones were desperately beautiful as well.

My second favorite moment(s) came with the opportunity to listen intently and move as we wished (or not) to Jennifer Berezan's hauntingly gorgeous CD, Returning early Saturday evening. Lying on the hardwood floor of the studio hearing the continuous chant, as recorded in the Oracle Chamber in the Hypogeum in Malta (renowned as a sacred space with impressive acoustics) brought me out of my stillness and into interpretive dance mode. I moved until I could no more and then relaxed back into the floor to the unending chant of "Returning, returning, returning; to the the Mother of us all". This is fodder for another blog; the message resonates deeply.

Transitioning back into my everyday life yesterday afternoon was fairly smooth; it felt a bit odd to drive my car again, to see so many people out and about, doing their own thing, to visit with Mom and Dad and to share in brief what my weekend had been. And today, I head back to work for a few days with the hope that I will carry within my heart the bits of joy, wisdom, peace, and compassion that bubbled forth, a reminder that it takes more than eyes to really "see".

Addendum 6/6/08....

Lee just emailed this photograph of our yoga group taken after the last class and before our final lunch together. We look relaxed, mellow, and restored don't we?