The distance between who you are supposed to be and who you’ve become is the amount of disease, suffering, and depression you manifest in your life to compel you to close this gap-Siri Atma S. Khalsa, M.D.

“As a physician, I’ve found that in the course of treating illness, it often comes down to the core issue of being oneself. We do not have to do anything to be ourselves; all we have to do is stop trying to be someone else. The secret is, don’t discover yourself, don’t transform yourself and don’t recreate yourself. Nurture yourself and see what you become.” Siri Atma S. Khalsa, M.D.

When we think of love, we tend to think of the flow of love from another to ourselves but love is really a vibration that emanates from your own heart out to others. Love for another exits regardless of whether that other person does something for you or not.

There has to be an openness in the heart that allows love to flow between individuals, there has to be an openness and trust to love life.

Love is not about what you get from others rather it is about what you are willing to give.

If you give out your very best in every circumstance, you will love life. If every action is measured based on what you will receive back, that isn’t love, that is a transaction, some sort of deal you make with the universe and with others.

Do you stop loving your child when they’re having a bad day that affects your mood? Likely not, because you know you are forever bound to that innocent being. Yet, when it comes to others, we give our love and we take it away.

If someone is not loving towards you, it might be because of your actions towards them, or it might just be they are in a difficult space currently. When someone is experiencing their own difficulties, they may not be as upbeat or as generous as you would like them to be. That is not the time to withdraw your love. I certainly don’t advocate putting yourself in abusive situations so sometimes loving someone, means sending them loving kindness in your thoughts, from a safe distance.

Continue to send out your loving thoughts and make every action one of grace and kindness.

Love will then flow back to you.

It’s not about what you get; it’s about what you’re willing to give.

“Put your head underwater and keep it there for a while.

You’ll soon realize that you’re 100% committed to breathing.

Notice that you don’t make excuses not to breathe. Notice that you don’t worry about motivating yourself to breathe. Notice that you don’t need to justify your desire to breathe.

You just breathe.

Commitment is action.

No excuses. No debate. No lengthy analysis. No whining about how hard it is. No worrying about what others might think. No cowardly delays.

Just go.”
-Steve Pavlina

Boarding a flight last weekend, a fellow passenger, looked at the mat I was carrying and commented, “I see you’ve brought your essentials.” It made me stop and reflect that my yoga mat, which represents my yoga practice, is a life essential. You’ll often hear me say, “yoga is my life line.” Yoga gives me the deepest appreciation for life and all that it holds, whether the lessons are prickly or joyful. Years ago, if I was having an “off” day, my kids would ask me, “mom did you go to yoga today?” It’s impossible to hide that I react differently to stress after I’ve practiced. If I can’t find the time to do yoga for myself, shouldn’t I at the very least find the time to do it for the people I love.

¹re·treat

noun \ri-ˈtrēt\

Definition of RETREAT

1) : an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable

2): a place of privacy or safety : refuge

3) : a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director

I’ve blended the definition above to come up with this definition:

RETREAT: The act of withdrawing from what is difficult to a place of refuge for self-study.

Traditionally, we have always had periods of work activity followed by periods of rest for reflection and self-renewal. Today, however, it is rare to spend even one full day a week disconnected from all aspects of our work obligations. Be honest, when was the last time you spent a full day logged off the internet.

IT TAKES COURAGE:

Maybe it’s time to stop being busy just being busy.

It takes courage to stop everything, step back and choose to examine how you are moving through the world. Are the choices you make day to day, consistent with a lifestyle that promotes health and well-being on all levels, mind, body, and spirit?

Here is what a yoga retreat can do for you:

• Give you a full week of a twice daily practice of yoga and meditation.
• Daily practice will help you cultivate the desire, willpower, and tools to help you maintain a practice when you return home.
• Nourish your body with healthy meals.
• Encourage rest and relaxation. In between classes, there is time to just be. Do you even remember what that feels like?
• Create lasting friendships. Yoga retreats are a great place to meet like-minded individuals.
• Explore a new culture
• Reconnect with nature

When you’re ready to stop all your “busyness,” we’ll guide you through a transformational journey that will connect you to nature, community, and your true self.

Let the natural detoxification process of yoga practiced in majestic natural settings begin.

See you at the beach, the jungle, the forest, and on the mat.

Costa Rica, Galiano Island, Kithira Island Greece, http://www.semperviva.com/retreats/

I woke up this morning at the cottage and was desperate to get outside. I’m not a fan of cold, grey weather but
I layered on all my wool sweaters and headed outside with my yoga mat and my bare feet. Each time I came up from my sun salutes and looked out at the bay, I was awestruck by the depth of my view. I had spent so many hours looking into flat screens from laptops to iphones to ipads that I was losing depth in my vision and quite possibly depth in my life. I was stunned at how impactful it was to look out and see not just what was right in front of me but layer upon layer of rich, natural beauty. One tree standing in front of another; behind the trees, the bay; at the end of the bay another island and then more trees and more. Not just a flat image, not just a flat life!

There is a depth of experience and feeling that the virtual world will never give us. An “I love you” posted online is nothing compared to how that feels when you are looking into the eyes of a loved one. An email from a friend is beautiful but we can’t hear the subtleties in their voice. Interactions become as flat as the screen despite all the smiley faces, and exclamation marks. If a friend tells you “I’m ok” online, you leave it at that. If you hear that friend’s voice you’ll know by their tone whether they really are ok or not. Instead of sending out thousands of messages to your virtual friends, maybe it’s time to meet up for that cup of coffee.  Make more time for your friends, make more time for life!

“Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.” (unknown)

It’s been exactly two weeks since we said goodbye to the 3rd of our 4 groups we’re hosting on the Greek Islands this summer. It’s taken me a lot of self-council to accept not being “productive” 24/7. Maybe it’s just tough for me to accept that the world will go on (and quite happily) without me being involved in every post, email, meeting and phone conference.

There is a lot of deprogramming that goes on every year when we arrive in Greece. I usually spend the first week, hearing imaginary rings from my iphone. The internet service here is very poor which makes my gadgets pretty much obsolete. Admittedly, I find it hard to “unplug.”

WOW! Talk about an opportunity to be fully present. I have to be fully present; there is nowhere else to be. It took me 25 hours one day to log onto the internet. What an opportunity to really BE HERE NOW! It is exceptional training!

It’s like a “technological detox.” Highly recommended!

Unplugging whether voluntary or forced as in my case, leaves me far more time to: be present for my family, spend time picking fresh food from the gardens, soak up the sunshine, and swim in the bluest of seas. Also, anything that is really important gets addressed. The things that turn me into a human “doing” get left behind.

Technology detoxs programs are available year round through our Semperviva Retreats! Check it out at www.semperviva.com and www.yogaretreatgreece.com

The winds over the past few days have been fierce, which is fairly typical of the Greek Islands. There is such a cathartic feeling to being whipped around by the wind. It truly feels like all your worries are being carried away from you. The wind is a powerful reminder of how little we can control. We can exhaust ourselves willing the wind to stop, yet nothing will change.

We can direct effort towards what our heart desires but the outcome of our desires is out of our hands. It is our responsibility to continue to act with the purest of intentions and what will happen will happen. Sometimes we have as little control over our lives as we do to stop the wind. We just have to trust that if we act with love and kindness, good things will come.

Don’t exhaust yourself with worry and angst. Put your best into everything, be as kind as you can be in every interaction, and release your desire to control the outcome. You can’t stop the wind, and you can’t force things in life to be exactly as you want them. There are greater things at play and you could be blocking the flow of better things to come.