Watching the sunset during our first yoga practice at our home & studio in Baja, Mexico.
"If not here, where?"
As eighteen souls shuttled themselves across the border and arrived at Casa Mil Flores in Baja Mexico, I watched as layers of labels were stripped away as if to say, "if not here, where?" No longer were they nurses, teachers, parents, or wives, but instead humans searching for inner peace and purpose. When the spirit inside is no longer attached to the ego, and titles like fashion designer, attorney, software engineer, wood worker or entrepreneur are swept aside, there's an opportunity to fill that empty space with light.
Kenna and I searched for the perfect place to create space where we could practice yoga by the sea with the opportunity to ride the waves throughout our three-day retreat, just an hour away from Mexico's Wine Country in the Guadalupe Valley. Once we booked our place on AirBnB, we told our students who told their friends and we sold-out in two weeks!
This is our second co-led yoga retreat.
Last spring we journeyed into the desert and spent a weekend in Yucca Valley with ten yogis, three of which followed us here. I'm convinced Kenna and I were sisters in another life; she was the first person I met in Encinitas and when I moved to town, she moved to Italy with her husband! Her classes became mine, her students practiced with me, and when she returned our students inspired us to work together.
It wasn't hard to find a group of yogis who love surfing and wine!
Our trip to the Valle was organized by Jesse, recommended to us by our host.
L.A. Cetto is a brand we quickly recognized from home, our group enjoyed buying cases and cases straight from the source!
Sol de Medianoche had delicious spreads and cheese plates to pair with our tastings, along with handmade gifts like dream catchers.
Our excursion ended at Finca Altozano, an open concept restaurant in the heart of the Valle with a wide array of options at a reasonable price!
On Saturday morning I led a surf-inspired yoga sequence created by my teacher Eoin Finn, founder of Blissology Yoga. We synchronized our breath with the pounding waves, soared like pelicans and rode our yoga mats like we were getting barreled on surfboards.
The rest of the day was spent leisurely hanging by the pool, walking along the beach, getting bodywork from our in-house massage therapist Grace Peterson and enjoying kombucha from our Kombucha Culture pony keg!
As the sun set that evening, Kenna led us through a lovely Yin Yoga practice. I watched the clouds change every color of the rainbow, moving through the atmosphere like octopus tentacles swirling in the sky, until day tuned into night. Something, I realized, I hadn't done in awhile.
My favorite part of the entire weekend was something we never planned for:
an ecstatic dance party under the full moon on Saturday night.
Letting go of "looking good" for the sake of feeling fully expressed, we got real.
Real weird.
(no photos, sorry)
Chef Carolina and her assistant prepared all of our meals, recommended to us by the host of Casa Mil Flores, Enrique. She made authentic Mexican food like chicken tortilla soup, entomatadas, fish tacos and ceviche!
We left as the full moon set over the ocean on Sunday morning, feeling lighter and more open, living our dream life as if to say,