My First Retreat

I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet simple things of life which are the real ones after all.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

As much as I enjoy teaching yoga, the 1 hour time frame often seems a bit rushed to me. There’s this beautiful stillness at the end of class as people slowly open their eyes and smile. This is the sweet spot for me, the look of peace on people’s faces. All too soon there’s the busyness of rolling up mats and gathering belongings before my friends head out the door. It has left me longing for more time together, which is where the idea of a yoga retreat started.

What if “someday” I hosted a retreat? There would be time for daily yoga, meditation, prayer and journaling. Time for people to be still enough to connect with God, each other and themselves. This was all just a very vague idea in my head until a friend that I hadn’t connected with in a while came to one of my classes. As I was walking her to her car I remembered that she owned a lake house about an hour away that she rented out as an Airbnb. I asked how many people could stay there and how much it cost. She said she would send me the link so I could check it out. This happened on a Tuesday night.

On Wednesday morning she sent me the link. A few minutes later I was looking at the calendar and considering dates then booking a weekend 2 months out. I texted 6 of my friends who all quickly said yes. By Thursday morning my head was spinning with ideas.

My plan was to make food ahead of time; baked goods that could be frozen, soups that could be easily reheated, as well as fruit, carrots, celery and hummus for snacking. I soon sent out a group text with the address of the house, a schedule for the weekend as well as a list of the food I’d be bringing. We could check in on Friday at 3, dinner would be at 6 then yoga, meditation, prayer and journaling at 8.

The next morning there would be fruit, muffins, pumpkin bread, teas and coffee set out for guests to enjoy at their leisure. Yoga would be at 10, no alarm clocks needed. The weather was warm enough for some to sit out on the dock and others to enjoy breakfast on the deck. It was lovely to have time for both conversation and stillness.

After the morning session we drove 5 miles to a small town for lunch. This was the only meal that I didn’t provide, thinking it might be nice to explore the area. There was a charming main street where we wandered in and out of shops, sometimes taking a break on a bench to sit in the sunshine. We also took some photos to capture the happy moments.

When we returned to the house there was time for rest and reading; one of my friends chose to nap in the hammock. I was thankful that the only meal prep necessary was to heat soup and slice bread. We sat around the table savoring a simple meal and the luxury of time to share stories about our day in town and the different things we had seen.

Yoga started that night at 8, just 30 minutes of slow, gentle movement. It was a relaxing practice to wind down the day and prepare us for more meditation, prayer and journaling. I had made the journals from copy paper and calligraphy markers. I wanted people to have a place to not only write down their answers to my journaling prompts, but also to have a place for noting gratitude, happy memories and random thoughts. From there we went down to the fire pit for conversation and star gazing. The moon was almost full and the light was beautiful. A friend and I even saw a shooting star.

Sunday morning would be our last session before packing up to go home. The sun was streaming through the windows, leaves were gently carried on a breeze before falling to the ground, and here were 6 women before me who blessed my life with their friendship. My heart was so full. This had been such a special time for all of us.

Basking in sunlight
Bodies and souls in motion
Hearts overflowing

There was no need to plan anything 6 months out, book flights or bring a passport. It was a short drive to a beautiful place, simple food prepared ahead of time, a gathering of friends, gentle movement, time to pray and ponder. It was a soul nourishing time that started with the simple idea of “someday.”