My First Yoga Retreat
“I don’t know myself.” I can remember the first time my little sister said that. Such a bizarre statement. She couldn’t have been more than four years old at the time. My mother and I looked at each in utter confusion. What did she mean? Ultimately, we shrugged it off.
Reflecting on that decades-old moment, I totally get it. When you’re young, 4-5 years old, you’re still learning how to express your emotions. Perhaps my little sister was just struggling to communicate her frustration. Now I understand. It’s that same feeling of dissatisfaction that sparked my burning desire to take a yoga retreat. Somehow in the hustle and bustle of life, I had forgotten me. I needed to reconnect…with myself. It was time to hit the reset button.
Breathe. That was the first word from our yoga instructor as she began our session. It was my first yoga retreat. I was both nervous and excited.
I had always wanted to take a retreat…and even more so after a friend of mine said his wife really enjoyed hers. Still, in looking for yoga retreats, there are so many options…from the location of the retreat, the length of the retreat…to the style of yoga you want to practice and the type of cuisine you prefer.
It wasn’t easy, but after weeks of searching I decided on the Palm Springs Yoga Retreat with Stella Valente. The description was perfect: Four yoga classes (one partner yoga workshop) and two meditation sessions. I asked a fellow yogi to join me on the journey.
Los Angeles
We arrived in sunny California Thursday morning for the four-day retreat. The plan was to have a day trip in LA, then make the two-hour drive up to Palm Springs for the retreat.
Los Angeles is such a vibrant city. Everywhere you turn there is something truly fascinating to see. I love being around all that culture.
We hit the ground running. The plane landed shortly after 11 o’clock Thursday morning at Los Angeles International Airport. We had our luggage and rental vehicle by 1pm. I’m told…by LA standards… that’s super-fast.
First stop: Food!
An old girlfriend of mine, who’s been living in LA for years, recommended the most perfect spot called Eveleigh.
The menu was vegetarian-friendly, and the drive to the restaurant took us down scenic Sunset Blvd. Several times I had the urge to shout “Charge it!” like Wilma and Betty in the Flintstones. So many of my favorite boutiques!
Traffic in LA is a nightmare! It literally takes an hour to drive 15 miles. So after lunch we had a simple plan: watch the sunset on Hermosa Beach, have dinner on Santa Monica Pier, then check in to our West Hollywood hotel.
Hermosa Beach is a captivating coastal town. It’s filled with the plushest shops, restaurants, and the most gorgeous people I’ve seen. I mean really good-looking people…and of course an amazing beach.
The sunset was breathtaking. It was as if I was standing at the edge of an endless aqua cliff with a front row seat to the sun kissing the water’s edge.
As I looked upon the day coming to a close, I tried to imagine what lies ahead. I wanted to do something special to celebrate my birthday. Here I was getting ready to embark on what would truly be a transformative experience. Only I had no idea at the time.
The drive from Hermosa Beach to Santa Monica Pier didn’t take as long as I thought, about 50 minutes. It was a scenic route along the southern California coastline. Talk about the perfect cruise. I was behind the wheel. In true race car driver form, I hugged every inch of the road as it twisted and turned down the strip.
Santa Monica Pier
By the time we made it to Santa Monica, I was more than ready for dinner. I love guacamole. I prefer to make my own. In my opinion nothing tops it. But if you are looking for some good gauc, delicious tacos, and great conversation with a jazzy vibe…then I must recommend Blue Plate Taco which sits off the iconic Santa Monica Pier. Dinner was just as amazing as the view.
We headed back to our hotel in West Hollywood for the night. In the morning, we would make our trek to Palm Springs to begin our yoga retreat.
I was growing increasingly anxious. What is it going to be like? Will I like the other students? What about the yoga teacher?
So many questions…
The Tourists
Friday morning came soon. That morning before driving to Palm Springs, we decided to be tourists. The Hollywood Sign is a landmark and American cultural icon in Los Angeles. Getting to it isn’t easy. It’s perched on top of the Santa Monica Mountains.
On the way there, we got a little turned around and ended up taking a tour of Griffith Park…6.5 square miles of protected wilderness! It was so surreal standing atop, overlooking the crowded streets of LA below while being surrounded by natural chaparral-covered terrain. I was forced to take pause. Be present.
Detour to Palm Springs
In our haste to beat the brutal rush-hour traffic in LA, we ended up with a few extra hours to spare before check-in. So we took a detour to the Coachella Valley Preserve to see the hidden palms. It’s about 15 miles or so from where the Coachella Music and Arts Festival is held every year.
I have never seen anything more unusual in my life. You’re in a desert…nothing but dry baked sand, lizards, snakes, and scorching heat for miles. Then after three miles into the hike, you come upon an oasis. Lush palm trees as tall as the eye can see, crowded around this body of water. It’s called the Thousand Palm Oasis.
Everything is silent with the slight exception of the songbird and precocious white-tailed jackrabbits hopping amid the jungle-like desert brush. What a wondrous place.
This would be the third time I was brought to a halt. Compelled to take in every detail and fully experience what I was doing and seeing, I was totally living in the moment.
Yoga
We arrived to Palm Springs around 3:30 Friday afternoon. Check-in was underway. The first yoga class would start in less than three hours at 6 o’clock.
We stayed at the Twist Palm Springs, a chic apartment rental in an Uptown design district. We had a two-bedroom, two-bath unit with a balcony, full-sized kitchen, and living room. The balcony, by the way, opened to a picturesque view of Mt. San Jacinto. I was more than pleased.
The mats were laid out in a courtyard that opened to the mountains. As we settled into our mats, we were asked to answer the following question: what’s one thing you want to give away, and what’s one thing you want to receive?
My answer came to me immediately: I want to release any anger in my heart. I would love to have more calmness in my soul.
We each wrote our answers on a sheet a paper, folded them up, and placed them into a box in the middle of the courtyard. We did not read our answers aloud.
We sat in deep thought…thinking about what we penned. Then Stella, our yoga instructor, reminded us to be aware of what brought us to this space and to allow ourselves to be grateful for the time.
Breathe. Take a long, deep breath. Let it fill your lungs. Now hold. Set your intention, and as you exhale be mindful of why you are here.
Inhale. I know that I am breathing in. Exhale. I know that I am breathing out.
The first class was an introductory session. It gave Stella an opportunity to see the levels of each student in the retreat. There were so many different people on the journey. A mother and daughter, a couple and the mother of the girlfriend, a pilates teacher, a realtor, a college student/coast guard enrollee, a retiree/widow, and an aspiring yoga teacher…to name a few.
Total strangers united by one common love. Yoga.
We practiced for an hour. Overall the yoga sessions were filled with traditional twists and poses. It basically followed the ashtanga flow. Then it was time to roll up our mats to get cleaned up for the welcome dinner.
Being a journalist, I felt like a kid in a candy store. I was surrounded by people…and each with such a different story. It was comforting listening to them, hearing their stories about who they are and why they felt the need to come to this retreat.
Meditation and the Mountain
Beauty, mindfulness, and tranquility…
Saturday morning started with meditation. Meditation was new for me. I read my bible app before bed every night. It’s my devotional time. But meditation is different. Shutting off the mind isn’t easy for me. So prior to the session I read the following scripture: Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. (Timothy 4:15)
It was a guided meditation. Stella talked us through the journey. We were asked to clear our thoughts and simply focus on our breathing. Oh, man…Is that so much easier said than done.
It took great discipline and effort, but within five minutes I was able to quiet my mind. One minute I was fidgeting with my thoughts, then the next minute I felt like I had been transported to a higher plane. As I sat with my eyes wide shut, I could vividly see this huge wheat field. It was an amazing brown, rich in color but warm like cinnamon.
The wheat rustled in the wind as I stood there looking, contemplating.
I felt the presence of someone. She allowed me to see her profile. She was wearing a blue and white panel-striped robe. Her face was round, and her black hair was braided down her back.
I wanted so badly to understand who she was and to see her full face. That’s when she smiled at me. Instantly I felt an abundance of love, acceptance, and equanimity.
After meditation we had time for a quick excursion to the Tahquitz Canyon Falls.
Nature’s beauty.
It was a short, six-mile, roundtrip hike to the beautiful falls deep inside the mountains. Standing on top of the world, several yogis in the retreat seized the moment and went into their favorite yoga pose.
After the hike, we cleaned up for another yoga practice, but this one was different. Partner poses!!! We were spilt into pairs to alternate poses with our partners. This was another new experience for me.
In one pose, you’re back-to-back with your partner and stretching each limb to the limit while balancing against each other.
One pose that I call the superman pose, takes more strength and trust than you’d believe. You are suspended in the air while your partner is bearing your weight on their back, with their feet placed firmly in the fold of your pelvis, your hands are intertwined and arms straight as you lay still in the air.
The fun pose was when we took our feet and placed them against each other, then pressed our legs into a straight V. Some legs were straighter than others. There was such laughter as some in the group, myself included, struggled to get their legs straight.
The most relaxing pose was when you laid on your partner’s back as they went into cat/cow positions—providing the most freeing massage. I-Was-So-Relaxed.
Saying Goodbye
That Sunday morning was marked with another meditation session and one final yoga class. Instead of being nervous about meditation, this time I was wildly excited. I wondered if I’d see my mystery woman again. It didn’t take nearly as long to silence that tiny voice in the back of my mind. I found stillness rather quickly. Once again I was encased in a tall buttery brown wheat field, only, this time, no woman. Just eagles flying above and total silence. No rustling of the wheat, no blowing wind…not even a sound from the eagles. I found it striking. When I opened my eyes, I had a sense of clarity.
The flight back was early, so we missed the last yoga session. Everyone said their goodbyes. I began to feel sad…but totally grateful for the final group dinner we had the night before. We swapped our yoga clothes for finer duds and hit the town’s upscale restaurant. We looked good and felt good. We were all connected.
It was the perfect ending to the most perfect retreat.
It’s been roughly a month since my yoga retreat. But if I am real still, lower my stress, and open my spirit to the universe, I am instantly transported back to that serene environment, surrounded by laughter.
I know myself. I learned about controlling my breath, staying in control of my frustrations so it doesn’t rob me of my peace. That’s the true essence of yoga. Not only connecting with yourself but with your environment as well. As one yogi once said, “When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.”
I hope you find your balance. Namaste.
