Paros Musings Pt 3
I just woke up after the deepest sleep I’ve had here over the last two weeks, and as usual, the dogs are barking in a call and response manner, the roosters are crowing (don’t get excited, they do it all day, every day…even a broken clock accurately tells the time twice a day), and the birds are chirping. But instead of just taking it all in, the thought, “It’s the last day” came hurdling through my mind, and with it the onslaught of emotions.
A Moment To Reflect
With the intention of NOT making this post too lengthy, I feel that it would be irresponsible of me to not take a moment to acknowledge this past year and how pivotal it has been for my journey. I have the tendency of constantly focusing on the present moment and my future plans and projects, and so I felt like today, the last day of 2015, would be a great time to look back.
Yoga City Break in Berlin, Germany AND Yoga Retreat in Bali, Indonesia
As you all know by now, I put a lot of planning and effort into organizing the City Breaks and Retreats that I give annually, and so it won’t come as a surprise to any of you to find out that 2014’s journeys are already planned! I figured I’d give you all as much time to plan and budget as possible, and so here we go!
Yoga Retreat on the Greek Island of Paros
I have always tended to work in 5-year chunks of time. From buying and selling property to carving out my niche in yoga, I have typically allowed myself a full 5 years to execute what I needed to, knowing that through hard work, dedication, and respecting the process, I would find myself exactly where I needed to be. Without trying too hard to see the end in the beginning, I have learned that the 5-year allowance always brings me to where I can continue to move forward, even if it’s not where I would have envisioned myself.
Ritually Rich
I’m writing this post lying in bed in my hotel room in Istanbul. I’m up later than I have been on any other night, as our retreat here has come to an end and most of the students have left on their return journeys home. As is typically the case, I’ve been very reflective as this experience winds down, and despite staying here for another few days, my reality in Istanbul as I have become accustomed to it is changing. The community we created over the past week was a very special one, insular and bonding, what with the coming together of and unifying like-minded people, as these retreats always end up doing. We ended up practicing yoga, obviously, and we did more sightseeing and touring than I previously thought possible in 7 days, but what proved to me most refreshing about this voyage to Turkey was the immediate connection we all felt to its people.
Yoga City Break Announcement
For those of you who wanted to join us on our jaunt to Croatia but for whatever reason didn’t, don’t fret. As I depart for this retreat, I’m happy to announce that I have ANOTHER retreat already planned for 2013. You ready? You sitting down? Here we go:
The Need to Retreat
When I made the decision to pursue a career in yoga, my motivation was to attempt to create a career for myself that would allow me to pursue what I was passionate about: yoga (obviously), helping people live the greatest lives possible, and travel. The first two goals have proven to be inextricably linked and most accessible in my daily routine, but the travel part is something that involves much more planning and foresight, especially when organizing a yoga retreat. I have made it my mission to lead at least one retreat per year, a mission that was galvanized by last year’s incredible journey to Santorini, Greece. I brought people there because I had been there before and had been almost knocked senseless by the majestic beauty and surreal landscape of the island. Before that retreat was over, I was already working on possible destinations for future yoga vacations, and I decided that every retreat I held from that moment on would take place somewhere in the world where participants could count on beautiful, peaceful surroundings, and preferably in areas of the globe that would be once-in-a-lifetime destinations. So for 2012, I chose somewhere I had never planned on visiting, but had heard was second to none in terms of natural wonders and flawless beaches: Croatia.