Yesterday I went to an all day yoga retreat at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The retreat was held in a complex they call The Farm at the Arb. There's a picturesque red barn, a few small fields with crops, and a building with educational exhibits about pollinators (with bee hives behind the building that you can observe safely through the windows).
There were four time slots with classes, each with three different classes to choose from. All of the ones I ended up selecting were quite low key with lots of stretching down on the mat, and just a little bit of standing flow. Three classes probably provided the same amount of exercise I would normally get in one class, lol. My first class was called Wise Warrior Flow. It was on a beautiful overlook with a view of prairie and woods. There was a gravel area in the front (which people were avoiding until it was the only space remaining) but I snagged a spot that was in some cushy grass. Which was still very wet with the morning dew!
The teacher asked if we wanted music. I spoke up and said I was enjoying the crickets and birds, and everyone else agreed. She did some readings about what it means to be a warrior (both the good and the bad), and then we did an easy class. The sensations are so different, being outside. The sun was behind us and at one point when I went into a downward facing dog pose I could feel it the warmth of it radiating on my butt. 😃
It was such a perfect weather day. I thought it might be a bit chilly in the morning, but with the sun and a little bit of movement I soon peeled down my sleeveless tank. Every time it seemed like it was just on the edge of getting a little too warm, a thin layer of clouds would cover the sun or a nice cooling breeze would move through. So pleasant!
Toward the end of the class we were lying on our backs with our legs up in the air. I looked up and saw a hawk circling around above us. I have to think it was thinking, "Silly humans, what are they doing down there?"
The next class was billed as Gentle Yoga and was on a big lawn behind the barn. The teacher had us focus on monitoring our feelings about the practice. I.e. were we enjoying what was happening, was it uncomfortable, was the pose feeling like we had to hold it too long, etc. I tend to be pretty straightforward and not very introspective about my yoga practice. So my main feeling was "I wish he'd shut up about the feelings". I think he might have offered that as a possibility at one point, so it's not like he was lacking in humor.
We had a lunch break, I strolled around a bit and took a few pictures of the last of the summer flowers.
After lunch it was back to the Prairie Overlook for Yin and Moving Meditation, then the final class of the day was a "sound bath". As the presenters were setting up, I noticed one of them was wearing a pyramid on his head. I hope it was ironically. 😜 He did take it off shortly after I snuck the picture.
Here's everyone waiting on the lawn for it to begin. Can I say again, a perfect fall day!
The presenters talked a little too long for my tastes and it was quite woo-woo. "The sound waves will clear toxins from your lympatic system so be sure to drink lots of water afterward". But finally they were quiet. One stayed in front playing the crystal bowls while the other wandered around among us playing different things like a gong, bells, and something that sounded like ocean waves (maybe a brush inside of a bowl?). It was a very interesting effect, as her sounds got louder and softer depending on whether she was across the lawn or right next to me. If you haven't ever experienced crystal bowls, here's what they sound like:
Woo-woo stuff aside, the resonant sounds from the bowls do impart a bit of a trance-like state for me. No particular blinding insights, no earthquakes (for that see this post: The Earth Moved ), but I did feel very pleasantly woozy afterward and like I really needed a doughnut! 😂 (so much for clearing toxins).
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What a nice read Smarty. Sounds like the perfect day for it too ! Ive done the sound baths a couple of times....not combined with yoga though, it was more of a mindfulness session to connect with inner chakras. Very much enjoyed it !!
I’ve had some other good experiences with it, too. I was happy to see that it was going to be an option
Clearly the doughnut craving was your body's way of saying it needed to replace the toxins!
Great descriptions of what a retreat is really like, (woo-woo and all, lol. ) I want to know more about the pyramid hat though.
I did wonder if it was one of their arsenal of musical things (like a triangle, but dimensional?). I guess I’ll never know if he was wearing it to be funny, or to gather his energies for the session haha!
Where were the goats? Saw a yoga class where goats were on people backs. lol
Those goat yoga classes do look pretty fun...not a feature last weekend however!
I've never done yoga outdoors, or even with any other people at all. It's always been a very private thing for me.
I can understand that. There are a lot of regulars in the classes that I take at the gym, and I like feeling like I'm part of a community.
@smartasswoman I think yoga worked better for me being solitary. No distractions and no external direction. It helped me stay focussed.
I keep thinking I should book some kind of retreat like this. I know I could do it at a local studio, but I love the idea of it being a bit of a "getaway" and the scenery is lovely. Thanks for sharing. LOL about the donut craving.
The Arboretum is across the metro area from me - about a 40 minute drive - so it felt like just enough of a getaway without having to get up insanely early to be there by 9 am. 😊
Looks and sounds idyllic. 👍
It took me a while to comment because I was listening to the video.
Nice pics... 🤗
Funny thing - I looked at that video and thought it was nine minutes not nine hours (obviously I didn't listen to the whole thing). I hope your chakras are all straightened out now!
@smartasswoman
I played it in the background while I vacuumed the house, cooked a chicken 🐔 and took a nap.
I wrote lyrics to the first three minutes. 😶
Free donuts at the end of the class sounds like the best part!!! (kinda kidding, I know I could benefit from yoga but....) I'm a volunteer-for-the-donuts from way back, when I was a pre-teen we all volunteered to be "villagers" in the Passion Play that came to our town every winter. We'd all get free donuts afterwards!
Haha, they actually didn't have free donuts, for some reason I was just craving one! As I mentioned to Pony that was kind of ridiculous because they did have very delicious scones on the snack table all day and I did indulge more than once.
How very interesting!! I've thought about some sort of retreat to get my zen back but something always gets in the way!! I'm with you on the woo-woo part. I'm more of a doer. C'mon y'all, let's actually do the poses rather than flap our gums about them! Hahahaha. I once used to take this yoga class. It was straight basic yoga which made me feel amazing followed by some meditation exercises where you just lie on the floor and listen to the instructor. The meditation was definitely "woo-woo" but I felt 10 foot tall and bullet proof when it was over and very calm. NOTHING would irritate me for a couple days after that. My office should have a yogi give a lunch time class. I know my day would certainly even out and I wouldn't run the risk of being a news story! Just kidding of course but don't think for a second that things would run smoother if some people just weren't there! Haha!
I feel really fortunate that I've found a couple of instructors at my health club who aren't super "woo-woo". Maybe it has to do with the health club setting where they realize that most of the clients are probably there for physical reasons rather than spiritual.
The instructors there do talk, but it's in a more practical realm of not comparing yourself to the other students, working at the level you're at, being grateful for your body, etc.
I think a yoga or meditation class in the workplace would be great. 😊
The day sounds wonderful. They really should have provided doughnuts. There are healthy versions.
Hugs!!
It's actually kind of ridiculous that I had a doughnut craving, because they served some really delicious scones and I had two! 🤭 One for breakfast when I arrived and one at lunch.
Sounds like an awesome day blessed with good weather. 😁
We were blessed indeed. And then beautiful weather again on Sunday and another fun outdoor event. It's this time of year (and spring) when it's really nice to be in Minnesota. 😊
Sounds like fun. Only way to make it better would have been to do it while nekkid (weather conditions permitting of course). I did attend a nekkid yoga class when I was in Denver in 2012, but that was in December so it was indoors. 😂
Not really my thing, as you know! I know I should not be concerned about my body being no longer taut and firm, but I still much prefer the way it looks with a little bit of spandex to hold the thighs in. 😉
Looks like a great outdoor setting for yoga 🧘♀️.
Fall 🍁hasn’t officially begun here yet but the number of daylight hours is rapidly diminishing. Sunrise today was 7:00 a.m. and sunset will be 7:25 p.m.
Looking at that guy, somehow reminds me of the ‘cone of silence’.
Yes, of course it's a couple days until fall officially begins. It definitely feels like it here, now that our temps have dropped into 50's-60's. And some of the trees are changing early (we're usually more toward the first couple weeks of October). I imagine our drought has something to do with that.