It’s always disappointing when plans don’t, well, go as planned.  Earlier this year, I stumbled upon the most perfect venue for a yoga retreat — a gorgeous, multi-building, historic and charming waterfront property in Melbourne, Florida. The venue can sleep upwards of 20 people, so I decided to dream big and started planning a women’s yoga retreat there this November. I started marketing the event in June, feeling hopeful that “early bird” pricing might help encourage ladies to sign up right away. I had a lot of fun putting together promotional materials, and I’m thankful for my wonderful Kula Yoga family who helped me spread the word about the recharge retreat . I cheerfully announced the event before every class I taught. My dear friend Cindy even helped me design and create a shirt to promote the retreat. The past few months have allowed me the opportunity to find and walk that weird balance of self-promotion within the yoga world.  I’m trying today to walk another weird ba...

When I opened my copy of Melody Beattie’s Journey to the Heart today, my bookmark just so happened to fall on the passage entitled Weather the Storm. I laughed aloud thinking about how fitting this was to share during vinyin tonight at Kula. I haven’t been living in Florida for all that long, so this is my first hurricane experience here in Cocoa. We had a few hurricanes back in Texas, most notably Harvey in 2017.  With Hurricane Ian approaching, the energy of anticipation on Florida’s space coast is absolutely palpable.  I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to practice alongside my students this evening. Following the lead of Beattie’s meditation, I found it fitting to draw the focus for tonight’s class towards more grounding postures, tapping into the root ( muladhara ) chakra, as well as twists. Throughout class, we utilized 2 blocks and a strap, which provided additional support and security along our journey. The pinnacle of the “vinyasa” portion included tree pose, b...