Yoga Retreat

I hosted a 5-hour yoga retreat at my house today. It was wonderful! I cleared out the living room - pushed the furniture against a wall. My living room is rectangular and my furniture is easy to move, so it all fit quite nicely at one end. The five of us fit quite nicely in the remaining space on the hardwood floor, with the view of Lake Champlain easily visible from the front windows.

We spent the first two hours practicing yoga as we would in a regular class except that is usually only 90 minutes. The extra time allowed us to go deeper and to practice some standing postures, which are designed to facilitate bringing our practice into our daily lives. The first time through, that felt awkward and even painful; but after opening the spine, it felt great.

Our two yoga instructors then taught us to make kitchari, and Ayurvedic dish that looked beautiful, smelled fascinating, and tasted delightful. I wasn't sure when I saw some of the unfamiliar ingredients, some of which I even disliked when I tasted them alone. Put them together, though, and wow! I will try making this on my own...

We followed that cooking class and lunch with a visualization exercise of our digestive system. It was interesting to do that and I found it to be quite useful - as I imagined the whole process of this wonderful food meandering through my body, feeding me all along the way.

Great day!