Namaste

Starting my New Years resolutions for 2013 I decided to get started on finding an ashram to visit, I have been wanting to do a yoga retreat. Who would have known there's one in Virginia?? Yogaville is an ashram created by Guru Savinanda 25-30 years ago in the Blue Ridge Mountains right by the James River, incredibly beautiful and I can just imagine it in the the brighter seasons instead of January!

I decided to do a weekend stay. There are some residents who live nearby and run the ashram, others come in and go staying for days, weeks, or months. I started out my stay with a hatha yoga class, which is different from my practice of vinyasa, but will certainty be exploring it now! Hatha is more holistically focused, with vinyasa I focus on the postures and breathing throughout the quick pace and the preiod of deep relaxation at the end. Hatha has periods of work with periods of more meditation type rests between followed by pranyama or breathing practices. I also took a joint free class that was quite gentle, going throughout the body working and stretching each joint. Needless to say, my body feels incredible! 2 yoga sessions a day, meditation in the mornings, and good lectures. 3 vegan meals a day which were all incredible, they have great cooks!

The experience was really wonderful.. Being able to meet new people with similar interests and insights to share with me was motivating, in addition to the lectures on karma yoga and yogin living. Having that amount of time to spend with this positive energy and to focus on my values and how to bring them to the forefront of everything I do was just what I needed. I work on my practice at home and I read great works that help to solidify my perspectives but having others to share these views and interchange with is wonderful. With my best friend gone that I usually do this with I need my outlet! Most of those I met are from the northern virginia/DC area, from India, Mexico, Trinidad, and South Korea, really incredible! I did not feel like I was just 2 hours away, that's for sure.