As things are speeding up more and more and this evolutionary shift of collective consciousness continues to do it’s work, I am finding it is becoming increasingly important for us, maybe more than ever before, to take care of ourselves, nurture our bodies, minds, hearts and souls so as to move through all these changes, both individually and universally, with as much grace as possible.
I have also found that with the increase of technology consistently on the rise, and with maybe no end, it is becoming more and more essential that remind ourselves of one of the most crucial and biggest connections we have and that is our connection to nature.
It is bigger than we realize and with all that our lives are inundated with, easy to forget.
When we align with nature….when we align with what is natural, we align with our truest self. We align with the Divine part of ourselves…our souls, our hearts.
As much as I appreciate the conveniences of the technology world, nothing comes close in comparison to the magnitude of positive support and my appreciation and gratitude to the natural world.
My intention for this retreat was to be a reminder of our inherent connection to nature, to celebrate and nurture that connection, thereby, nurturing ourselves. To offer a day where we merged the healing powers of yoga with live music in the venue of nature…. Big Basin, California, one of the most majestic and beautiful places in the US.
And the addition of the live music came from a very particular instrument called the Hang. Hang means “hand” in Swiss/German. It is made by hand and is played by hand and offers the most beautiful and ethereal sounds to the ears and heart and was the perfect assist to our experience. It coaxed us gently and sweetly into letting go of all the layers, all the days and weeks and months of the past and landed us safely in the present moment.
We connected to our bodies with care and precision by beginning our day with a heart-opening Anusara-Inspired yoga practice with the theme of connecting to our natural state. Then a break for lunch outside in nature with a healthy array of natural and organic home prepared food, and then a walk/hike through the hills and mountains of Big Basin.
The morning yoga class and our hike were accompanied by Matt Venuti, our hang player from San Francisco. During our hike we would stop at sacred power spots, sit and meditate in silence as well as to the music of the hang.
We were blessed to have Matt offer a hang vibrational healing to each one of us. We would lay down on the earth, with the Hang placed on our bellies and he would play whatever song came through that was inspired by each person’s energy.
It was amazing the hear the beauty and diversity and each person’s song!
Everyone felt so nurtured and restored after such an amazing day. Nature abounds with magic and it is exemplified with such powerful heart intention.
We returned back to the Yoga Shala after our hike, to seal the day with an afternoon 2 hour restorative yoga class which was also accompanied by Matt and the poetry of Mary Oliver.
My biggest heart-felt gratitude to all who came, your presence was a gift and added so much to our experience.
Big blessings of light to our first Mother, our Mother Earth, for her unconditional love and abundance!
Saprema, (with divine love)
Daniella~
Tags: anusara-inspired yoga, big basin, hang, healing, music, nature, restorative yoga, yoga, yoga retreat, yoga with live music
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