Our Retreat

Our first Yogic Diet retreat was recently held in the lush and surprisingly breezy, cool mountains of Bali, Indonesia. Our group of 14 met at dinner and then wrapped ourselves in sarongs to prepare for a blessing from a Balinese Hindu priest. Every aspect of life is ritualistically blessed in Bali and each of us, carrying our own intentions for positive change, were ready to receive. We sat on the ground on this full moon night and held incense sticks while the aged priest chanted. When he finished, we sipped three spoons of holy water from our palms to bring the blessing within. The retreat had begun auspiciously.

This auspiciousness continued as each conversation seemed blessed. Each sharing from the teachers Monique and Tomasz, from Richard our Australian Bali mountain man, and from the participants about yoga, diet, health, life, relationships, challenges, and more entered our bodies, minds, and spirits. Each yoga session took us deeper into our strong bodies and higher into our big hearts. Each coaching session was a peeling back of layers as we unwrapped the golden nugget that we really do create our own realities and all it takes is a new thought to create a new reality. Each trek through the jungle or rice paddy encouraged us to remember that abundance in nature really is our birthright if we can just be in harmony with her and strive to take better care of her.

And oh my gosh, the food! Most people on the retreat had never taken a break from caffeine, alcohol, meat, processed food, white flour, and sugar like that. Some were worried about how they would handle such a detox. But the yummy, colorful, delicious, Balinese vegetable laden dishes kept appearing to satisfy our appetites and the ginger-lime-honey teas and fruits kept appearing to quench our thirsts. The food was amazing and especially cooked for us with love. And even though I eat a similar diet at home...I feel a longing for the food we had at the retreat. It was good and it somehow fed the soul.

So, the retreat was a great success! People who wanted to lose weight did (from 2-8 lbs). People who wanted to feel happier did and seemed to feel more hope for their futures. People who wanted to have fun and do yoga did! Tomasz rocked it as always and twice a day! And each time one of the yogis walked up the steps to the open air yoga room to surrender to the ritual of practice...he/she was a hero.

Namaste,
Monique

A Quiet Mind

Recently, a friend of mine starting meditating and she loves it. She says she looks forward to her meditation time every day. I understand her enthusiasm!

One time I was at a yoga retreat where we engaged in many kinds of yoga practices. As you may know, most yoga practices and exercises are ultimately aimed at quieting our minds so that we can meditate. Well, we did lots of yoga and I had an interesting experience.

As the chattering voices around me became silent, due to us all being engaged in yoga practice, I could hear my own chattering mind more clearly. Several things came up in my mind that I recognized that I wanted to work on. So this was a good thing as I was able to pray and meditate on these items and then kind of let them go.

Then, my mind became more silent. This felt so good, peaceful, and refreshing. One yoga sutra says that when the space between our thoughts expands, the bliss inside of us grows. I could definitely feel that.

However, what happened next was the most touching experience. I found that as my own mind/voice became quiet, I could hear an Inner voice more clearly. That voice said to go here and do that. That voice was in the flow. It was a deeper, more intuitive voice. That voice was inside me and I could hear it clearly since I was quiet.

My mind is not nearly as quiet in my regular life as it is on retreat. However, just remembering that experience draws me back to my meditation mat and yoga practices again and again. Just a few moments of touching that silence space in meditation still infuses my day with sweetness and reminds me that I have access to that Inner voice.

May you create the time and space for your spiritual practices and attain all the benefits of a quieted, trusting, peaceful mind.