{Holy} Retreat-ing

Last weekend I spent two days on the shores of Lake Michigan on a Holy Yoga retreat.

Um hmmm. I know.

I discovered Holy Yoga about a year ago because a woman at our church started offering a (free!) class once a week. We were just getting into our workout challenge and figured it would be a nice way to add some variety and community into our exercise routine. We wound up with a little more than we bargained for.

Holy Yoga is basically a Christian form of yoga. In a nutshell, it includes a lot of the beautiful parts of traditional yoga without any of the new age-ish elements...I like to call it "Jesus Yoga" (for more on what Holy Yoga is about, go here). I love the connection that Holy Yoga makes between what's going on in my physical self and what's going on in my spiritual self.

I received an email from the Holy Yoga instructor about a month ago about a retreat in March, and I instantly had this sense like this is something I would really like to do. I hadn't been practicing yoga lately because our weekly schedule and pace of life doesn't currently allow for it, but I jumped on board quickly and said yes. For the next couple of weeks I wondered what on earth I had gotten myself into.

In the end, it ended up being a really sacred, restorative, beautiful weekend. There were no expectations, nothing was forced, everything flowed together seamlessly. (Kind of like a really great yoga practice. Crazy.) I met some amazing women who left a deep impression on me. We ate, conversed, laughed, listened, sat still, and spent a lot of quality time on our mats.

I think I will always look back on this weekend as a marker...a milestone...an in between place on my way to some place else.

{My Retreat Reflections}

AKA [Almost] Everything I needed to know about life I learned on a Holy Yoga retreat.

1. Slow down.
2. When God nudges you, listen.
3. We all carry a story.
4. Women are beautiful, beautiful creatures.
5. A friendship isn't really cemented until you've shared a pull-out couch.
6. Deep, sometimes silent, soul-shaking laughter is where it's at.
7. We must root down to rise up.
8. Yes is more fun than no.
9. Gluten-free communion crackers are really, really crunchy, i.e. LOUD (Plan your crunching wisely!)
10. God wants your heart above your head.
11. We can learn from each other when we take the time to listen.
12. Yes, you can make an amazing cake out of black beans (of all things!)
13. Two are better than one.
14. Don't forget to breathe.

And lastly, this poem was shared on the retreat and it spoke deeply to my heart. I hope it speaks to yours as well.

Life is Calling 

A small investment in one step 

Produces rich results 

Beyond what you can dream 

So shelve the hideaways 

The high performance 

The hardeners 

The penetrating grey 

And take on a whole new beautiful 

Turn ordinary works into 

An extraordinary existence 

Everything you need to turn 

Slate blue into summer straw 

Is here 

Welcome to safety - and adventure 

On a path that suits your 

Specific needs 

In a way you can’t imagine 

Life is calling 

To one step 

No preparation 

Just a leap of Faith 

So be transformed by the falling 

Start as who you think you are 

And find joyous, dancing water. 

-Kelly Moore