Photo Journey of the Women's Retreat on Nantucket

This past Labor Day, I had an intention of many years come to fruition...

leading a Women's Yoga Retreat on Nantucket!  My colleague and friend, Carolyn Little, joined me as a teacher for this offering and we are so very grateful and blessed to have led, experienced, and moved through an amazing long weekend together on the island.  

The view from our cottage kitchen.
At Wade Cottages, which happens to be where I got married!

Our coffee table puja with native wildflowers picked for each participant.
 Plus, labradorite, rose quartz, amethyst, and citrine.
And Ambrosia Chocolate truffles! 

It was so special to practice with such connection to the earth and all of the elements around us.  

First practice on the bluff!  A lovely day!

Carolyn giving some nice energetic assist during savasana.  

Just over the bluff rests the sea.

Carolyn leading our first evening yin practice.

More vinyasa on Saturday

Nice forward folding and internal reflection

During the yin practice I led Saturday night.

Light

The stairs to the sea from the bluff

Nantucket sunsets are beyond special

Chickens at Faraway Farm

At Faraway Farm for a Sunday picnic

Some of the gals picking apples from the ripening tree at the Farm

The thoughtful and beautiful buffet table for our Farm picnic.
Thank You so very much Lindsey, Caleb,  and Claudia! 

A most delightful setting.

Some sheep on the Farm.

Homemade challah bread and quiche.  All ingredients were local and/or from the farm!

Delicious.  

Enjoying the afternoon

Love this place.  Dear friends.  

Claudia made our dessert!
Sauteed spiced apples with cookies and creme fraiche!
We were so lucky.  

In memory of dear Watson, a most loving and wonderful dog.  

We cooked dinner together every night!
So fun to learn new things, have health-filled discussion, and enjoy.

Dinner by candlelight

On our last morning, Carolyn and I led practice together!
It was sunny and playful.  

Awesome dancer's!

Go Nell!

Inversion play

Goldenrod gave us uplifting energy and spirit.  

Our main crew

So many thanks and so much love to this very special island that won my heart ever since my dear husband brought me to it almost 5 years ago.  It's been a blessing to have had so many life transitions at this place and for its energy to be lifting me and guiding me forward with each year.
Special, special love to Susanne & Jennie from Wade Cottages, Faraway Farm, Ambrosia Chocolate & Spices, the town of 'Sconset for hosting us,  Carolyn for sharing in my joy of the experience, all of the beautiful participants, all of the local drop-in students for taking part, my generous and gracious in-laws the Falk's, and the entire island yoga community for good energy!

Summer into Fall Playlist

Olafur Arnalds:  For Now I am Winter (Nils Frahm remix)
Sigur Ros:  Rembihnutur
James Blake:  I am Sold
Olafur Arnalds & Arnor Dan: Old Skin
Sigur Ros: Yfirbord
The National:  Fireproof
James Blake:  Retrograde
Sigur Ros:  Stormur
The National:  Sea of Love
James Blake:  Overgrown
Sigur Ros:  Hrafntinna
Olafur Arnalds:  Only the Winds
The National:  Humiliation
Sigur Ros:  Ekki mukk
Sigur Ros:  Var
Julianna Barwick:  One Half


~You are breathing patiently; it is a beautiful sound.
It is your life, which is so close to my own that I would not know where to drop the knife of separation.  
And what does this have to do with love, except everything?~

Excerpt from Mary Oliver's poem, Oxygen

The Pici Swivel- a yoga pose transition

So about 4-5 years ago I came up with this here little transition from the hip-opener cow's face pose into standing wide-legged forward fold.  I coined it the Pici swivel (after my now maiden name).  ;)

Try it out.  It's a restoring combo of poses, from 2 of my all-time favorites!  Your hips and hamstrings will be happy.





*Side note: Not so much a transition for those with bad knees or ankles.  Always pay attention to your body in your practice.

The Summer Latest

 August began with my little family and I taking our first visit together to the beautiful land of Vermont!  We spent a couple of days with a bunch of other talented and wonderful yogis checking out
Stowe Mountain Ranch.  What a lovely town, and time we had!  Gerry Scott is the "Stowe Cowboy" and he was tons of fun with our introduction to Yoga with Horses.  A truly unique and interesting experience to connect in a new way in your practice with complete awareness/facing fears straight up while on a 1,000 pound animal!  Here are some outtakes from that adventure.
Anyone interested in coming on a retreat up there with me in the future?  :)

Trying out Half Pigeon on the horse, named Cherie!

My boys on our hike

One of my faces, parsvottanasana 

3-legged down dog

The BEST supta virasana

End of August Schedule info:

Thursday 8/22:
I'm subbing the 7:00am flow at Bow Street Yoga, then teaching my usual Beginner's Flow there at night- 7:30pm

Saturday, 8/24: Small group private Yoga for Mamas class/hang out at my place-10:00am
Then, I'm subbing the 5:00pm slow flow at Bow Street that evening!

Feeling JOYful and taking in the end of Summer in our garden

Monday, 8/26: I'm teaching my last small group private Prenatal class for the month- 7:00pm at my place

Tuesday, 8/27: My usual 9:30am flow at Bow Street.

**Then, I'm off to Nantucket to co-lead the Women's Retreat with Carolyn Little!

My subs will then be:

Wednesday, 8/28: Bethania Bacigalupe will teach both of my classes at Karma Yoga Studio-Harvard- 6:00pm and 7:30pm

Thursday, 8/29: Sub TBD -7:30 Beginner's Flow at Bow Street

Tuesday, 9/3: Rob Phillips will teach my 9:30am class at Bow Street


If you don't receive my monthly newsletter and would like to keep in touch, go to my website and add your email!

*There are still 1-2 spots for the taking on the Women's Nantucket Yoga Retreat over Labor Day weekend.  Message me ASAP if you're interested in snagging one.

**In September I'm adding 2 new lunchtime class slots at Majestic Yoga in Cambridge!

**Plus, my semi-private group Retreat to ICELAND in early October is almost slotted up (there's only room for 6-7 people).  If you're curious about taking on some of my all-time favorite places there, deposits are DUE 8/26!  This will be my 5th trip to the magical land...my Spirit home.  I'd love to have some friends along for the ride.  There are a couple of options and price ranges for the trip.  Check my website or message me for details. (jpyogini@gmail.com)

Cheers everyone and enjoy the next few weeks left of Summer! xox

Post-Natal Yoga Tips and Poses

Hey again mamas of all shapes and sizes!  Whether you're a new, new mama or it's your 2nd or 3rd baby...or even if you're a year postpartum, I wanted to offer up some insight to your yoga practice during this time.  
The best thing you can do for yourself and your baby= take it slow.  It's a time to rebalance your energy flow in the body and spirit, and stay focused on remaining as patient and relaxed as you can in your yoga practice.  Since, let's face it, this might be challenging during the rest of your day/week/month when not on the mat, and while sleep-deprived/navigating a whole new lifestyle and transition!  Plus, how we are on our mats will eventually translate off the mat, too, right?! ;)  

As I conveyed in the previous postpartum post about body image, it's very easy to get sucked into our culture's notions about how new mothers "should" and can look/act/feel/be.  Blecchhh.  Don't get me wrong, I WANT you to feel as beautiful and special and as strong as ever.  But, on your OWN terms and in your own time.  This, for most of us, requires taking it SLOW in our yoga practice and in any form of exercise after giving birth.  
Your body needs time to heal and process.  And your spirit needs even more time.  

I'm thankful that I journaled and took notes about my yoga practice that first year.  Now I can share with you all!  And I look forward to hopefully going through it all once again sometime.  

**Remember, you are ALL unique in the natural make-up of your body and also in the kind of birth you had.  Take it all in as what it is supposed to be.  Release the need to compare and use your yoga practice to breathe with attention to what YOU need and how YOU feel when practicing.  Let go of how you look.  Tune into how you feel, and LOVE yourself for this amazing being you just brought into the world!
***Also remember that your postpartum yoga practice will have a lot to do with how long you practiced before pregnancy and how your body naturally is while in yoga practice.  Don't expect to jump into doing vinyasa classes if you didn't do them before.  Work up to your goals and savor the stillness in your practice, as your life is probably all yang energy-go-go.  

The first 3-4 months after birth:

This is a time for Restorative and Yin practices more so than Vinyasa or Power yoga.  Embrace it and nourish your body spending spurts of your day in gentle forward folds and hip openers, down dogs, legs up the wall, reclining twists, standing balance poses, and eventually some slow/modified sun salutations.  I avoided warriors or other poses that stretched the groin until after about the first 6 weeks.  This was because I had a vaginal birth to a 9 lb boy!  And those poses just didn't feel right for awhile.  This could be different for you, of course.  After about the first 2-3 weeks, I could do many of the most basic asanas, but I stuck to a mostly seated practice, breathing, and gentle hatha until about 3 months PP.  
*Use props!  They will be your friend and will feel great.  
*Avoid deep backbends, deep groin stretches and intense inversions.  I was able to do a shoulder stand at 2 months pp, but didn't even attempt headstand or wheel until after the 4 month mark.  That was just me.  
*Seek out classes that are Yin, Gentle, or Restorative in the title.  
*You are getting a hang of SO much in these first few months, so only do what you have energy for.  

4-8 months or so:

You're probably starting to feel more like yourself.  Physically stronger, a little more used to your new lifestyle routine as a busy mama, and better at pacing yourself.  Now is the time to begin taking slow flow or all levels vinyasa classes with mindful attention.  Try adding in gentle backbends (will be great to focus now on locust and cobra-type stuff, as well as bridge), more twists, core work, standing warrior lunges and sequences, and an overall more fluid and consistent practice.  
I remember at this point beginning to love plank pose again, twisting triangle, eagle, wide-legged forward fold, half moon, and all hip openers.  Slowly but surely you will build your strength, whether it looks like it from the outside yet or not.  

8 months and beyond:

Continue to be gentle and loving with yourself!  Notice all of the physical changes taking place, especially if you are still breastfeeding.  By one year PP, you are relieved to have made it so far and it's truly time to amp up the self-care.  Book in the yoga classes for yourself each week, and maybe even schedule a little retreat getaway or spa weekend.  Isn't the saying something like, "A happy mama is a happy home?" Something like that.  It's true.  
Anyway, as long as you've been practicing with some regularity and you're paying close attention to your limits and progress with helpful teachers and intuition, then now would be a time to start practicing longer holds, even more core work poses (and trying some more inversions or arm balances if they are part of your practice), and simply exploring yourself through yoga in new and exciting ways in your new and exciting body!  

I can say that now over 2 years PP, I feel stronger than ever and able to do poses I couldn't even do before having Isak!  It's astonishing to me in ways.  That said, hanumanasana (splits) seems farther away than ever before.  Haha.  You win and you lose some.  The point is to keep trying, keep going, keep growing and whatever cycle you are at currently is where you need to be.  

*I highly recommend often to mamas to find an online yoga class website that suits your needs, since sometimes making it out to classes can be challenging with childcare and family schedules.  I love Yogaglo since my fave teachers are on there and there are SO many classes to choose from, including some postnatal ones!

Happy to provide more insight and tips as needed.  Message me or comment with your own experience.  Love to you all! 

Summer Solstice Playlist

1.  For Now I Am Winter (Nils Frahm mix): Olafur Arnalds
2.  Rembihnutur: Sigur Ros
3.  I am Sold: James Blake
4.  Old Skin: Olafur Arnalds & Arnor Dan
5.  Yfirbord: Sigur Ros
6.  Fireproof: The National
7.  Retrograde: James Blake
8.  Stormur: Sigur Ros
9.  Sea of Love: The National
10. Overgrown: James Blake
11. Hrafntinna: Sigur Ros
12. Only the Winds: Olafur Arnalds
13. Humiliation: The National
14. Vardeldur: Sigur Ros
15. Ekki mukk: Sigur Ros
16. Var: Sigur Ros

Loving this mix!  SO good for a powerful flow class.  Or to cook/dine/hang out to.  Check out these tunes, friends.  

Photo Story of my Unwind and Uplift Retreat @ Xinalani in Mexico

Hammock (and favorite post-lunch relax spot) in my palapa

My palapa: so fitting to all I've been pondering as of late

So soothing and lovely are these suites/palapas

First savasana in the Jungle studio, where we practiced every morning

My husband was on board the first 4 days of the retreat and took some beach asana shots.  Here I am attempting Flying Pigeon on some rocks!

The main group.  LOVE these people.  We also had between 2-5 others join in for practice throughout the week.  

Dancer's pose near the tidal pool

Post-dinner beach stroll with the gals.  

Excursion to the Quimixto waterfall

The mules we rode to get to the waterfall.

Angelfish!  

Our dining area.  Such a gorgeous setting to share meals.  And they were so delicious and special all week!  Wish I took some photos of the food.  ;)

When I was really missing Isak, I would channel Ganesha.

Selfie in the Greenhouse studio.  We practiced Yin or Restorative every evening in here.  

Our evening practice was always so special and lovely way to end the day before dinner.  

Favorite spot to read and relax near the water.  

Leslie getting Tripod headstand for the first time!  

Some of the meditation trail leading to the studios.

Diana getting Tripod, too!  So proud.  

The heavenly massage room.  

On the last night, we had dinner on the beach patio!

Rockin their dancer's poses!

Caitie getting into Wheel!  Love it.  

Leaving on the panga (boat) to the airport.  View of Xinalani from afar.  Such an incredible experience!