Love Supreme Yoga Retreat - Nov 2013

I think I'm addicted to yoga retreats. I'm convinced that the secret to being able to live a busy, complicated life is to balance it with yoga, healthy eating, and meditation -- all of which are included in a yoga retreat. So I signed up to attend my third yoga retreat of the year with Love Supreme Yoga.

This retreat was held in the woods just a mile or so from Charles Town, WV at the Blue Mountain Retreat Center. It began with an awesome Dharma yoga class taught by Alicia. Then we had a scrumptious healthy dinner of grilled tofu with broccoli and walnuts, sweet potatoes, and red cabbage slaw.

On Saturday, I woke up early for an 8 a.m. meditation guided by Michelle. This was so cleansing. I had some cereal with hemp milk for breakfast, then headed into an awesome class with Steve, master of all funky poses and upcoming author of Deep Thoughts by Steve Abate.

Then, there was the option to go hiking or to work in a workshop setting working on any pose you chose. I decided to stay for the workshop and work on a number of poses. The advice they provided was very helpful.

Next, was a huge lunch/early dinner of summer squash, chickpea salad, and roasted potatoes.

After that, we had a very thoughtful discussion about yoga. We all shared how we discovered yoga and it was interesting to find that some people came to yoga through trauma while others just wanted to get into shape, but all with the same results -- discovering that yoga is so much more than just the asana (poses). We talked about the ego and its influence on yogis. It was a great discussion.

For the final practice of the night, they set up a light show that made it seem like stars were all around us as we practiced in the dark with Michelle. This was such a unique experience and everyone really enjoyed the class.

Sunday morning began again with an extended meditation session followed by breakfast.

Then, the final yoga practice of the weekend was led by Alicia who showed us no mercy. It was the sweaty flow that I needed to end the weekend right.

For lunch, we feasted on cucumber and tomato salad, avocados, carrot salad, pasta primavera, lentil soup, and gluten-free brownies. All the food was vegan all weekend long and was awesome.

By the end, I met a ton of like-minded people trying to live each day with mindfulness. I made some lasting friendships and improved my yoga and meditation practice at the same time. All in a weekend's work, as they say, at the yoga retreat. When can I sign up for the next one? 

To learn more about their retreats, click here.