Today is my birthday. I only mention that because I’m feeling a bit nostalgic, understandably so. When I look back over the years of my life, especially the last 10 to 15 years, I can point out a few things that have really shaped who I am today. When I lost my job, actually 5 years ago tomorrow and found that it was the perfect time to build my own business– that was one. When I went on my first yoga retreat in 2002, that was 2. There were many more over the years but suffice it to say, my first yoga retreat was a pivotal event that shaped me for years to come.
Truth be told, my first yoga retreat was a teacher training. This means it was a LOT of work, up all night, grinding through information and personal exploration. This created a number of shifts for me and it helped me realize that my true passion was teaching yoga. When I decided a few months ago to host my own yoga retreat, I wanted it to have some of the elements of what I experienced but also wanted to give people lots of time on their own to relax in whatever way they felt best suited them. So, I created a blend of both teaching, learning and relaxing time and this formed the basis for my yoga retreat in May in Tulum, Mexico.
One of my students recently asked me after class, “Do you need to be good at yoga to come on your yoga retreat?” I thought this was a very good question and I was really glad she asked. It’s often questions like these that can stop people from signing up for a retreat. It’s understandable that people might think this. One only need to look at social media at images of people practicing yoga on the beach and think, “You have to look like that and do that really complicated pose in order to go on a retreat!” Well, I’m here to tell you that my retreat will be nothing like that.
Yes, we will be on the beach. It’s the highest priority I had for setting up this event. I wanted my guests to be able to practice yoga and just steps away, dive into the ocean. There is nothing more healing than that. In terms of the yoga, my approach has always been to focus on the essentials of the practice; hence the name of my brand, Bare Bones Yoga. I focus on alignment and anatomy and I find that through these steady, stable components, people are more able to dive deeper into themselves to find out more about what they’re made of. It could be facing a fear, finding your feet, finally feeling like you can relax or anything else that brings a deep sense of connection. You don’t have to stand on your head or twist into a pretzel shape to find those things out.
My approach will be the same on the retreat as it is in my classes. If you don’t live locally and can’t make it to my classes, check out my You Tube videos. You’ll get a sense of my Bare Bones Yoga style, my love of anatomy and my attention to detail. Our practices will be twice daily, morning and before dinner. The first will be focused on an anatomical theme and the second pre-dinner class will be focused on restorative yoga.
I assure you that in my almost 14 years of practice, I have no idea what “good at yoga” means. I have seen the newest students take my breath away with their focus and the most experienced students demonstrate a high degree of distractibility on the mat. What you bring to the mat is a slice of your personality and what the poses will do is shine a light on it all. You’ll have a chance to see yourself in a new light and in our retreat, I’ll be there to answer your questions and support your growth.
So, to answer your question, “No, you don’t have to be good at yoga to come on my retreat, but what is “good” anyway?” Honestly, you are practicing your yoga perfectly, right now, as you are in this moment. And that makes for the perfect foundation to grow.
If you have any questions, please email me at karen@barebonesyoga.com.
Namaste.