Fires, Flannels, Fun! Yoga Retreat Recap
We just finished up our second, and last winter retreat of 2020 at Deep Portage Learning Center in Hackensack, MN. This February retreat marks our 4th year of yoga retreats, and number 17 under our belts. What a ride!
Joella, Bryana, and Stacy held down the fort at this retreat. Amanda was at home with her sweet newborn, Oslo. Read more about his arrival just a few days before the retreat here: Baby Imes has Arrived!
Loon Lake Portraits
We love the February retreat at Deep Portage. It is always perfect timing for when you are losing your sh*&%!, because...winter. You remember to slow down and appreciate winter: the quiet, the crisp white snow, and the cool air. You appreciate every ounce of sunshine, and relish in outside playtime with snowshoes/cross country skis and cozy hats and winter gear. Fires, whether inside, or outside, are mesmerizing and therapeutic.
Every retreat brings a unique vibe. The energy, and flow of each retreat is dictated by the energy of those in the room! We share space over the weekend, breath, move together, laugh, eat together, get out of our comfort zones, connect, and create community.
We love to share our personal takeaways from the retreat. Everyone has their own unique experience over the weekend- and so do we! So here we go….
Stacy’s Takeaways
Loon Lake Portraits
Stacy here holla!!!! This retreat is and has always been one of my favorites. By February I always have such cabin fever. I'm ready to get away from my day-to-day and home responsibilities.
The very first two retreats I went to, I had a lot of realizations of how I wanted to live my life. Yes, I know, so deep….
I mean, it didn't happen right away, but it was like “duh Stace if you keep doing shitty things, the cycle is probably going to continue”.
I always struggled with spirituality and finding my true self in this world, but I have really connected with yoga. I feel like yoga saved my life, saved my relationship with myself, and also with other people.
Anywho…. I feel Im getting off topic here! Flannel Fires and fun was just that. I went into the weekend to wear a different flannel every day, enjoy lots of fires, and we boy did I have FUN! One of my favorite memories was being one of the last three at the fire Saturday night with 2 out of the 3 guys that were there. See, I grew up with mostly men in my family; 4 brothers, so I really connect with the guys sometimes. There we are in our flannels, I’m in Carhartt bibs just bro-ing it up by the fire….. SO FUN!! We talked about so much. High school, and the dumb stuff we did. We talked about our families, things we enjoy, and it was just an all around feel-good moment. I felt like I was hanging with my brothers.
My other favorite part of the retreat is that my sister-in-law Savannah came with me. She and I have known each other most of our lives, so it never surprised me that she would end up in my family somehow. I never knew she would grow into being one of my best friends. I was so excited I was finally able to get her to come to one of these amazing retreats. I predicated that there would be times that she would have to step out of her comfort zone and be cursing me. However, the best part was on our way home she said “ it really is empowering being around a bunch of women”, and like minded people. Just typing that made me cry.
That's how I felt at my first retreat and I got to share it with one of my most favorite people in the world, my one and only sister! How special is that?
Another take away is I taught my second class at a retreat. and wow what a feeling that is! Full of anxiety, excitement and basically all the feels. I am a new yoga teacher, so I am still finding my voice and what my jam is, but I for-see a lot of “Stacy growth” and big changes in the next couple years. What an exciting journey! It all started with going to a retreat four years ago and being a weird oil lady.
Joella’s Takeaways
This retreat was a tad different than most for me. I arrived this weekend feeling extremely content. Sporting my red flannel to accommodate the theme, my energy was high and I was so excited to see all of my friends and to meet new ones! I’ve been going through some huge life changes over the past year or so, and upon entering this weekend I felt more alive than I have in a really long time. These retreats always offer me the opportunity to step back and to appreciate everything that is going on in my life; the good and the ugly.
It is always such a treat to be able to spend the weekend with Bryana and Stacy. We work so hard on organizing these retreats from our respective homes and live such busy lives outside of these retreats, which means typically these retreats are the only times we get to see each other in person, and get to enjoy each other's company. Once they both arrived, I knew we were all in for a fun weekend. How lucky we are to call this work!
Our opening circle brought laughter and a sense of calm as we introduced ourselves and listened to everyone else introduce themselves. It is so neat to see where everyone is from. Individuals come from all over the world to be a part of these magical weekends, and we feel humbled that these retreats spark your interest and encourage you to treat yo’self.
I enjoy teaching the opening class and helping people release any nerves they might have for the weekend. It can be a tad overwhelming if this is your first yoga retreat, especially if you are coming solo, but everything seems to fall into place after our first class together. It’s also a nice way for me to ease myself into the weekend. I love when we all connect our breaths and we can feel the tension slowly leaving our body, allowing us to fully participate in the weekend ahead. As always, I ended the class with the sound bowls. There is something about these bowls that bring comfort and ease to the energy in the room solidifying that we are, indeed exactly where we are supposed to be. Everyone has the look of complete relaxation on their face after we conclude our session and most yogis talk about how wonderful their experience with the bowls are. I enjoy hearing your feedback after class, thank you for sharing!
With the title, Fire, Flannels, and Fun, we wanted to assure the schedule had enough free room on it so we could all experience some fun during the weekend without ‘shoulding’ all over ourselves. Sometimes, with a busy retreat schedule, even though everything is always optional, it’s easy to let the ego get in the way and overwork ourselves by feeling like we have to do everything that is on the itinerary. With the openness of this schedule, it was easier for me to sit back and relax at the end of the night, allowing me to take it all in, and of course, spend some extra time with my friends.
Saturday, I taught an invigorating class focused on balancing postures and core work. It’s always fun to explore challenging postures just to see exactly what our bodies are capable of. We really never know until we try. By this time of the day, most of us have already gone on a few hikes, cross country skied, enjoyed some rock climbing, and many other fun activities, so our bodies are usually already beginning to feel the effects of the fun weekend, which makes this 4 pm class even more of a challenge. It’s so lovely seeing everyone honoring their body and resting in child’s pose or savasana when needed. After all, yoga is more than just moving through a series of postures, and we are big advocates for showing up to a class even if you choose to rest in savasana the entire time. Amanda can tell you all about this the next time you see her. ;)
It is an honor to be a part of these weekends with all of you! I look forward to these weekends throughout the year, nothing makes me more excited. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a part of them. We wouldn’t be here without you!
Bryana’s Takeaways
This retreat was actually really hard for me. I missed my 5 month-old baby before I even left home on Friday. I wasn’t prepared to spend another two nights away from him, after having done so at our first winter retreat just a couple weeks prior. Joella and Stacy helped me through, as did our friends Barb and Savannah. I’m very grateful for that.
Upon arrival, I had a recent article I read in the back of my mind, you can read it here: Psychologists Explain Why Moms Need To Vacation Without Kids. This article was shared on social media by a fellow Boreal Bliss Omie, and mama. The message of course rings true from this mama whose passion is to appreciate this one wild and precious life, and create space for others to do the same. While I spend a lot of time and precious moments with my babe, I also know it’s important to appreciate, and live my life without him right next to me on occasion.
As soon as I sat down in the opening circle, I cracked my journal and wrote my negative thoughts. Then, I wrote what I was grateful for. It is SUCH A PRIVILEGE to do this work. To be in the presence of such a mind-blowingly amazing community of yogis. As soon as I saw my gratitude written in my journal, and embraced the excited energy of the yogis around me - I immediately felt an ease takeover.
Of course, my favorite part of the retreat was that my husband and mother-in-law came out to the venue on Saturday and brought my favorite little dude with. Can’t help it… love him the most!!
Teaching yoga is a true passion. Being a mom is something I never would have dreamed I’d love so much. Balancing both can be difficult, and also very rewarding.
We want to give a shout out to our Omie Serena for guiding yogis through a Macrame workshop!
On Saturday Serena taught a handful of yogi’s how to tie knots into ropes to make beautiful plant decorations! We were unable to attend as we were doing other yoga related things, but we heard it was a lovely workshop! Check out the photos below to see the action! Thank you, Serena, for taking time to share your hobby with others!
We want to give a HUGE THANK YOU to our Omie and photographer for the weekend, Hosanna! Thank you for capturing our magical weekend.
Give Hosanna a follow on Instagram at @nshore_co and visit her website at northshorephotoco.com !!
We yoga’d, we fired, we flanneled, we had fun.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! Omies we are so honored that you chose to spend a weekend with us in the north woods!!
