I recently had the pleasure of hosting a weekend Yoga & Meditation Retreat on the shores of Lake Michigan for some fellow yoga teachers, long-time students and some of their family members. Our yoga practices consisted of flowing morning Vinyasa on the deck to wake and warm us up, and mellow late-afternoon Yin yoga and meditation sessions taking in the gorgeous views of the lake. Following our practices, yogis enjoyed all their meals al fresco (brunches of veggie frittatas and blueberry pancakes, and dinners of Thai curry, grilled veggies over polenta, corn on the cob, salad and grilled peaches with greek yogurt and pistachios for dessert). How awesome that most of the ingredients for these meals came from the Ann Arbor and Traverse City Farmer’s Markets, as well as some roadside stands in both locations! Once it was dark enough each evening we headed down to the beach for a bonfire under the shooting stars, constellations and the Milky Way (with the requisite s’mores, of course).
During free time people enjoyed activities like biking Sleeping Bear Trail, hiking the sand dunes, flying kites on the beach, and walking around downtown Glen Arbor–with an ice cream cone in hand. ;)
It was a wonderful weekend to slow down, spend some time doing yoga and meditating, appreciating good fun, good company and, most of all, the natural beauty of our Great Lakes State. If you are in need of some time to slow down and would be interested in attending a retreat, our annual Fall Retreat in Big Rapids, MI is coming up soon September 26-28!
Click on the pictures below for a slightly bigger version.
