Our AMAZING Summer Yoga Retreat!

Although it's been over a month since our weekend retreat, I still think about it often and am always delighted to share the details with everyone.

We took our first-ever Jade Apple yoga retreat to the hottest spot, literally, we could find.  Palm Springs!

A small, but mighty crew joined Amanda & I for a 3 day weekend which began Friday afternoon.   Upon arrival to Palm Springs, the temperature read 113 degrees.   To describe it as HOT wouldn't really do it justice.  ;)  I showed up early that day to buy and set up our food and make sure the room was ready to go. Amanda drove out with Sheryl and Cassie after lunch and arrived at around 4pm.

We did a late afternoon flow practice inside our wonderful suite.  Oh wait, let's talk about this suite.  We stayed at an incredibly charming little inn, located at the south end of town in a very secluded and quiet little area.  The inn, "A Place in the Sun" is a delightful series of suites.  Each room has a living room, kitchen and private outdoor patio.  Our suite was the biggest one in the place.  It had a very large living room, plus an indoor alcove with a dining room and full kitchen.  There were 2 deluxe rooms with either 2 beds or 1 large bed, plus 2 full bathrooms.  We had our own private patio that even had a jacuzzi!  The living room had a beautiful fireplace (we didn't use it this time, for obvious reasons).  We were able to rearrange the furniture in the main room and made it a fantastic yoga room, where we did the majority of our practices for the weekend.

After our Friday afternoon flow class, led by Amanda, we decided to head to town for a nice dinner.  I remembered a fun Mexican restaurant, The Blue Cayote, that had outdoor seating with lots of misters all around to keep it a bit cooled down.  Even at 9pm, the temperature was in the mid to upper 90's.  We had great food and really wonderful conversation - all of us really getting to know one another and chatting about our expectations, dreams and hopes - for the weekend and for our lives.

We went back to the room after dinner and I guided us through a nice meditation and restorative yoga practice.  Some tea and chocolate topped our night, then off to bed.

Saturday morning we started early.  As early as we could so that we could practice outdoors by the pool before it was too hot.  I had an ambitious 2-hour practice prepared for us, which initially included a nice seated pranayama session.  Unfortunately, it wasn't the heat that was getting to us...it was the bugs!  Thousands of tiny little black gnats were there to tickle, torture and totally distract us from sitting quietly.  I watched the yogi's make a very valiant attempt to sit still, but spent the time swatting and swiping at the unpleasant invaders.  I quickly realized we needed to move and really focus on our asana outside.  We all agreed to stay outside for as long as we could take it.  And take it we did.  Practice was amazing!  We worked into a peak pose of Svarga Dvidasana (Bird of Paradise).  We used palm trees that were next to the pool as a wall to work into this pose.  I wish I had a picture!  It was wonderful and the yogi's were so dedicated.

We went inside for a hearty breakfast and then sat around the dining table and talked for hours about yoga philosophy.   Jason, Amanda's husband and our token male, arrived just in time to join us for this discussion. Our conversation had a theme, which was classical and tantric yoga, but our conversation carried us into so many directions.  Everyone actively participated and brought their own experiences, education and individual perspectives to the mix.  It was enlightening!

Our midday consisted of poolside lounging (it's hard to lounge out of the water when temp's are at 110+), short naps, and a trip to the local health food store to buy dinner that we would save for later.  We moved and did things together as a group.  We truly enjoyed each others company and none of us really needed "alone" time, because we preferred our group kula (community).

Late afternoon was a deep and dynamic flow practice, led by Amanda.  We did this one indoors and really enjoyed the power of movement & breath within the heat-filled day.  This was our first siting of our mascot, the preying mantis.  He was so powerful and cool, we were all fascinated by him...and I do honestly he think he was equally fascinated by us and our strange shapes we made!

We showered and sat down for a well deserved dinner, and then broke a little from our large group.  Cassie called her hubbie and read a bit, while Sheryl and Jason engaged in deep political/philosophical conversation and Amanda and I decided to take a walk*.

    *A little side story about our walk.  It was dusk when we headed out, so there was still some light.  We walked and talked for quite a ways, but I am familiar with Palm Springs and our route seemed simple enough.  About 25 minutes into the walk, we realized we were hot (it was still over 100) and we should head back.  It was now dark...desert dark.  We walked and walked and walked on what seemed like the right road.  We didn't find the place.  Neither of us brought our cell phones.  I had like 3 ounces of water left in my bottle.  Amanda told me she has a history of getting lost.  It was funny, but also kind of scary at the same time.  We talked about TV shows that tend to feature stories like ours, "Two women, lost in the desert".  We stayed as calm as we could and continued to wander, eventually making our way back - hot & tired but very safe and incredibly grateful!!!

We wound down our fantastic day with a nice restorative practice and skipped the tea so we could sleep.  Soundly.

Sunday morning practice was split between Amanda and I.  She did about an hour of flow by the pool and it was hotter than the previous morning, so we were each about ready to pass out.  I took us back inside, cleared the living room wall, and we worked on inversions.  There is nothing quite like going upside down to really complete the circle of a yoga weekend!

Our last breakfast together was wonderful and we talked about the important things in life - reality TV.  In many ways, this was our philosophy conversation.  After our wonderful group chat, we all decided to head in separate directions - Cassie and Sheryl were headed to town for lunch and then back to LA.  Amanda, Jason & I decided to venture into town and do a little shopping.  Before we left, we created two moments that will be with each of us, hopefully, for a long time.

The first moment had to do with the Emperor from Star Wars.  On Friday, we found this tiny little action figure, less than 1 inch tall, underneath one of the couches.  When we were putting furniture back on Sunday, we decided to put him somewhere tucked away so he could watch over our space until we return for our next retreat.  (See him in the picture?  Look closely at the last picture)

The second moment happened when we took our group photo.  We were all so filled with joy and love and laughter.  For some wonderfully inexplicable reason, Sheryl lifted her left arm straight out to the side as the picture was taken.  None of us, including Sheryl, know why she did it.  But it's awesome and we LOVE it!

What a beautiful experience.  We all shared this wonderful weekend of relaxation, deepening of asana, and the practice of yoga.

I can't wait to do it again.  This time, we'll go when it's cooler out so we can enjoy the fireplace and the jacuzzi.

Love & Fond Memories - Amanda, Jason, Sheryl & Cassie

Jason, Amanda, Jenn, Cassie, Sheryl, Sheryl's Arm

Jenn making Kale shakes for the crew after Saturday practice.  Yum!

Welcome gifts for the yogis - which included a small box that they could write a word and place inside for the retreat intention.

One of the two rooms.  It was a perfect place for a retreat!

Our beautiful preying mantis, who looked after us the entire weekend.

Hard at work on a Saturday afternoon.  This moment stands out in my mind as truly amazing yoga!

The Emperor awaits our return!

Thanks & Gratitude to A Place in the Sun Inn

The JADE APPLE blogging is BACK!!! Let's start with food!

Okay, okay...let's try this blogging thing again!

So many wonderful things happen here at the studio, and we are constantly learning and expanding through this life of yoga - it would be great to share it with all of our lovely community.

There has been much talk lately about diet.  A restricted, healthy diet is certainly an integral part of yoga.  Of course, each one of us has our own belief systems and dietary limitations.  Following some of the principles of Ayurveda can be beneficial for a diet.

(AYURVEDA = Ayurveda is a wholistic system of medicine from India that uses a constitutional model. Its aim is to provide guidance regarding food and lifestyle so that healthy people can stay healthy and folks with health challenges can improve their health.)

That said, it is up to each of us to find the right diet system that works best for us.  Obviously whole foods, non-processed foods and such are the way to go for us all.

I recently came across this article and wanted to share it with you:

"TOP 10 GMO Foods To Avoid"  http://www.nationofchange.org/top-10-gmo-foods-avoid-1343568178

It's worth a look through.

For me, I've been wrestling with a wonderful diagnosis and need for treatment for my new friend....ARTHRITIS.   It is a common notion that diet can have huge impact on arthritis, regardless of what type of arthritis you have.   My research has lead me in many directions, but all directions seem to lead back to one core idea - healthy eating can greatly reduce inflammation and symptoms of arthritis.  Okay, cool!  So now I just need to put down the potato chips and pick up the kale...I can do that!

Please share your experiences of dieting and eating for better health with us.  :)

The Path of Love: Oh What a Weekend!!!

This blog has been many days in the making now, because it has taken some time for me to process our very special yoga intensive weekend we had here at the end of February. I also spent some time talking to the fellow yogis who joined me for all or part of Christina Sell's PATH OF LOVE: A Weekend Yoga Intensive, finding out how their experience was so that I can share it with everybody.

The overall consensus was AMAZING!

Christina Sell, master yoga teacher, author, all-around great human, came in from Texas to guest teach here at the studio for a full weekend. It was 10 hours of yoga all together, which started on Friday night and went through Sunday evening.

On Friday night, the 2 hour workshop focused on pranayama, meditation and hips. From the moment the students arrived, there was the most beautiful energy in the studio. It was a packed house (the entire weekend was pretty much 'sold out', which meant there was about 4 inches between each mat and the entire studio was filled). I was struck by the wide range of yoga practitioners in the room; from advanced yoga teachers, to folks who are new to yoga and a few people with current injuries sprinkled in. I of course was wondering how Christina was going to handle this wide range of levels and I hoped it wouldn't be too tough for some or too easy for others. I must say, it was just right! We all felt completely included, capable and most of all...tremendously inspired.

Saturday was just as wonderful. We all spent an afternoon being guided through a sequence of poses that were so filled with bliss, enlightenment and shri! Oh and of course, lots of laughter! Christina always brings humor and levity to her classes, making for a fun ride through challenging yoga.

A few of us went to dinner on Saturday night and were all bragging about our profoundly open hips and groins!

On Sunday came a 3-hour practice. One of our most beloved students who regularly attends the Jade Apple would have been too hot for words - because we got the studio up to a very steamy temperature during this yoga class. A practice is a special time when the teacher roles out her mat & takes the class, alongside the students. It is a very special time to feel the respect and love for the teacher and it is also time to WOW out at the teachers rockin' practice!

After that class, many of us were in a blissful state of exhaustion. I know several yogis had to run from the class to get to various Oscar parties. A few of us enjoyed snacks on the patio out back (see the pic above, our post-practice faces are funny!). Then, perhaps my favorite part of the weekend, Christina sat down with us for a casual and amazing chat. She talked about her book, actually about both of her books. We got to hear about body image and how yoga works to enhance and heal bad body image. She was so open and so honest, which is one of the things I respect most about this woman. Her courage, her insight and of course her humor are completely inspiring.

All of the teachers who attended the workshop have been teaching classes since then from an incredible place of love, service and deep gratitude. In was such an expansive weekend for us all. The students have been practicing with new levels of appreciation and deeper awareness. And I have been profoundly inspired by the incredible energy that is still buzzing about in the studio from that transforming experience!

Sorry you missed it?

I hope to invite Christina to come back and visit us again. She felt so right here, doing yoga. That's what happens here. We come and do yoga. And it's great!

A side note about SUN CAFE : We were all addicted to Kale Shakes from Sun Cafe throughout the weekend! Oh Kale Shakes, where would we be without you?