This is not a yoga retreat
Some see “yoga retreat” and think of super-bendy bodies doing poses for hours each day in some remote locale. That was never my intention, which is why the word “yoga” is not in the title of my Portugal offering. So what exactly are we talking about here?
This is a RENEW-your-senses retreat, a RELAX-your-body retreat, a RETREAT-from-busyness retreat.
Yes, there will yoga offered by yours truly on most mornings – in a gorgeous 16th-century chapel, no less. I invite you to come, even just to rest on a mat or a chair. But if you skip and sleep in, that’s ok too!
Don’t get me wrong, I am into yoga. I have been practicing and teaching it for almost 20 years now. But I have never been super-bendy, even when I was younger. When I started yoga teacher training, one of my friends asked, “How are you going to teach it if you can’t even do the poses?”
I never intended to teach….
I wanted to learn about yoga to heal myself. In my early thirties, I suffered a major injury that resulted in all-over body trauma. I had to leave my office job and focus on recovery. I found that path through Music – Art – Yoga, which is why it’s the byline for my website and professional persona.
What a wonderful journey I’ve been on these past couple of decades! I wouldn’t give it up for anything. It led me to a life of creating music, expressing my true self, and stirring new passions. A big part of that was becoming a teacher and later a yoga therapist.
What people have wrong about yoga
It’s not about acrobatics. It doesn’t matter how flexible you are or aren’t. It’s about moving your body in the ways it wants to move. According to yoga philosophy, the goal of yoga is to “clear the static of the mind.” When your system is in balance, the static-clearing is easier to do. So I help people get there, even stiff bodies like me! The yoga that I teach is meant to be gentle and all-inclusive. FOR EVERY BODY.
So what’s the deal with the retreat?
Through my life experience and training, I am skilled at making people feel better. This is always my goal, whether it be a performance, class, private session or retreat.
What’s making me feel better lately is sharing the beauty and flavor of southern Portugal (aka the Algarve). So this retreat might fall under the umbrella of “wellness tourism.” I’d rather call it just plain fun. We move a little, we eat a little, we walk a little, and smile – a lot. We have new experiences in the awe-inspiring Algarve. Then we wake up the next morning and do it all again.
A nice routine for a week, don’t you think?