Mexico Retreat Highlights Part 1

Full Nature Immersion

Living downtown San Francisco has its advantages, but greenery is definitely not one of them. Growing up in the small beach town of Santa Cruz, CA surrounded by redwoods, the sea breeze, and lots of sun, I crave nature! My first night falling asleep to the tumbling waves and waking to birds chirping under a cozy quilt was paradise.
Daily beach romps and our scheduled jungle hike doused the group in bliss. Whether it was drifting like seaweed in the ocean, rustling through thick forest, or watching the butterflies migrate South, nature brought us back to the present moment. 24/7 immersion renewed my deep connection to the planet. Love it!

How to implement today: download wave or bird sound tracks to meditate or fall asleep to, go outside for a walk-about, walk bare foot on the earth, swim in any body of water, look up at the sky. Soothe your mind and spirit through nature.

Yoga/Pilates Practice Every Day

Our retreat daily schedule included an 8am and 5pm hour long class of either pilates or yoga. Clients had the opportunity to take both techniques in one day! Pilates principles enhanced our yoga practice while yoga’s conscious clarity brought pilates mat to a new level. Most of our clients, including Tyler, hadn’t had much experience with Pilates so I rocked their core big time!

Consistency is one of the most difficult parts of creating your most epic self. On and off the mat, showing up is the battle. Offering a set schedule of classes gave our clients the opportunity to commit and grow. I am the type that takes full advantage of such a situation! Especially when it’s all included. I hopped into one or two classes per day along with teaching our retreat classes. Connecting to our bodies everyday through conscious, mindful movement fulfills and grounds the soul. Seeing smiling, centered and more conscious clients after class is my biggest reward.
How to implement today: Pick one activity to do consistently this week. Whether it’s walking everyday, eating fruit instead of candy as a snack, building perfect posture with breath exercises for 5 mins, or scheduling fun workouts into your week. Pick one thing and work on the consistency discipline. Then you can easily build on that foundation.

Super Nutrition

Present Moment Retreat Center’s 5 star organic restaurant catered to our every need. As a raw food/vegan at this point I had my fill of scrumptious juices and smoothies, deeply satisfying salads with homemade dressings, and loads of veggies! The fish lovers were in for a surprise with the perfectly grilled yellow fin dishes. Sushi, homemade pizza’s, and of course authentic Mexican dishes like fajitas and chicken mole rounded out the menu. The guacamole and salsa killed it!
I jumped into the week with a goal to cleanse and solidify my eating patterns. I happily got into a flow of eating when I was hungry versus letting my schedule dictate when I eat breakfast!

How to implement today: Chose to fuel your body with the best you can at the next meal. Even if it’s only for the next meal, chose to eat nutrient dense whole foods over processed junk. It starts with one meal, one snack, one step. Eat when you are hungry, not thirsty, bored, stressed, depressed or for reward. Eating is incredibly tied to emotion. The more aware you are of why you are eating the better. Only then can you start to make change. Change blossoms from awareness and choice. Try one of my favorite filling breakfast smoothies.

Simple Living

While backpacking and teaching throughout Australia I got used to living out of two backpacks. I consciously choose to have very little material stuff even now that I am more settled. The lighter the better for mind, body, soul and planet! Especially when traveling. I laughed at how shocked people were with my minimal load. With 90 degree humid heat I lived in my bikini. True simple living. When a bikini, sandals, sunblock, water, movement, nourishing food, and good people = your life, it’s hard not to be happy.

How to implement today: carry less in your purse or backpack, donate something, eat and buy only what you need. Just take a day at a time. Moment by moment, meal by meal. Every moment is a chance to chose a different path.

The Unknown:

One of the most challenging and equally exhilarating aspects of life is the unknown. Offering my first retreat was scary as hell. I had never organized such a wonderful event, but you have to learn by doing. Putting it out into the universe is the first step and then doing the leg work to make it come to fruition. I learned a lot about my abilities and how I will do things differently next time. Growing like a weed through experience is my forte!

Beyond the week retreat, my second week in Mexico was 7 days of unknown. Tyler and I had no plan as we bussed out of Troncones and ended up having the time of our lives in Puerto Escondido. Fear holds us back from taking risk, going with the flow and ultimately having fun! Letting go of control in certain aspects is sometimes the hardest thing. The universe has your back.
How to implement today: change your routine in some way. Walk a different path to work, create a new meal, meet a new person, spend an hour doing what you love. Mix it up and see what unravels. Sync up with the universe and watch it unfold.