Let Go & Flow 2021 Fall Yoga Retreat Recap
October 22-24, 2021 marked our third annual fall retreat at Eagle Bluff ELC in Lanesboro, MN. (we just aren’t counting that pandemic, gap-year where we cancelled everything when we say *annual*.... Can we all just agree that that’s acceptable?)
We LOVE southeast MN bluff country in the fall. Wowwweee we had the best fall colors show we’ve ever had in Lanesboro this time around.
This retreat and group was largely very content, relaxed, and go-with-the-flow. We had the excitement of the option of the high ropes course at Eagle Bluff, but other than that all activities, classes, and workshops were quite chill. We loved it!
Book Club
Emotional Agility Book Club Concepts
We thoroughly enjoyed our time together. We interweaved concepts from the book Emotional Agility by Susan David over our weekend. We led an optional book club on Saturday morning and also threaded concepts from the book into our open/closing circles and yoga classes.
Identifying Emotions
One theme from the book club we’d love for you to continue practicing is identifying your emotions. We encourage kiddos to “use their words” and we as adults need to do the same! This link to a feelings wheel can be helpful in labeling and identifying emotions. When someone asks us how we are feeling, we can work to say how we are really feeling vs. “I am fine.” For example, we discussed how it may be more helpful to say something like, “I’m feeling exhausted after a long day of work and a bit overwhelmed about making dinner, cleaning the kitchen, and getting the kids ready for school tomorrow.” That way we are identifying the source of our stress or unease. This can make things a bit easier in our relationships instead of hoping our loved ones will intuit or guess how we are feeling and anticipate all our needs.
Identifying Values
Another concept that David emphasizes is establishing one’s values. This helps us make decisions, establish and maintain boundaries, and live life more purposefully. A short daily writing practice that David invites (and we love!) is to jot down:
“What did I do today (or yesterday) that was ACTUALLY worth my time?”
Try this question out in your journal for the next few days and see where it leads you!
Tiny Tweaks Principle
Lastly, although there were a LOT of tools and concepts that we love from the book, one of our final takeaways was implementing the “Tiny Tweaks Principle”. Sustainable change is not possible when we drastically upend our lives. Instead, focusing on tiny manageable tweaks can lead to lasting change. Some ideas our retreaters were going to implement included:
Write a sentence a day in my journal
Walk to work once-a-week
Create music everyday (even if it’s just a scale)
Drink a glass of water before coffee
5 minutes of morning meditation before coffee
We loved Susan David’s book Emotional Agility and we highly recommend the read!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU so much to those who helped us make this weekend a success.
The staff at Eagle Bluff ELC were incredible to work with as always when it came to planning and executing a fun fall getaway. We felt very cared for.
Thank you Jessica Baumhofer and Amal Karim!
Our assistants and teachers, Amal Karim and Jessica Baumhofer - thank you for helping retreaters feel so comfortable and welcome! Thank you for helping us prep, run, and clean-up. Your thoughtfulness from connected conversations with others to lovingly planned yoga classes was so appreciated!
Thank you McCayla Thoe of Selcouth Artistry!
Your painting workshop on Saturday evening + campfire leadership skills were so fun and empowering.
Thank you Marisa Capezzuto of Loon Lake Portraits for your beautiful captures over the weekend!!
Thank you retreaters!
Whether you joined us for the first time, or you’re a returning Boreal Bliss Alumn, we appreciate you SO VERY MUCH! We love spending time with you at these gatherings. This is what we like to do...and to have your amazing company and personalities along for the ride is such a treat, a joy, a privilege.
Mark your calendars for next year!
We are returning to Eagle Bluff in Lanesboro the weekend of October 21-23, 2022!
