Category: Yoga

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THE POWER OF A ONE DAY YOGA RETREAT

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In the hustle and bustle of our daily lives, it’s easy to forget to take a moment for ourselves. We are constantly juggling work, family, and countless responsibilities, often neglecting our well-being.

The truth is, we all need a break, a chance to recharge and refocus, regardless of our age.

That’s where a one-day yoga retreat comes into play. It’s the perfect opportunity to step away from the chaos and immerse yourself in a day of self-care, mindfulness, and rejuvenation.

How a one day yoga retreat can help

Reconnect with yourself

Life’s demands can pull us in various directions, leaving us feeling disconnected from our inner selves. A one-day yoga retreat offers a valuable opportunity to reconnect with your mind, body, and spirit.

Through a series of yoga sessions, meditation, and mindful practices, you can rediscover balance within you.

Release stress and tension

Stress is a constant companion in today’s fast-paced world. A yoga retreat provides a serene environment where you can leave the worries of everyday life behind. The practice of yoga and meditation helps release built-up tension, promoting relaxation and mental clarity.

Enhance physical well-being

Yoga is a powerful tool for improving physical health. During your one-day retreat, you’ll engage in yoga poses that can increase flexibility, strength, and balance. These practices benefit people of all ages by promoting overall well-being and helping to maintain a healthy body.

Nourish your mind

Mental well-being is just as important as physical health. Through guided meditation and mindfulness exercises, a yoga retreat allows you to nourish your mind. It helps reduce anxiety, improve focus, and cultivate a positive outlook on life.

Connect with like-minded people

One of the beautiful aspects of a one-day yoga retreat is the opportunity to connect with other people who share a passion for health and well-being. It’s a supportive environment where you can make new friends and share experiences.

Take a day for yourself

In our busy lives, we often put the needs of others before our own. A one-day yoga retreat is a way to prioritize self-care. By dedicating a day to yourself, you send a powerful message that your well-being matters.

Vino & Vinyasa – more than class and sip!

While we may not always acknowledge it, we all need a break to rejuvenate and reconnect with our inner selves. A one-day yoga retreat provides the perfect opportunity to do just that, without the need for a lengthy commitment. It’s a day dedicated to self-care, stress relief, physical well-being, and personal growth, and it’s something everyone can benefit from, regardless of age.

Vino & Vinyasa is that “push pause” button on your crazy life. 2 yoga classes for all abilities, a full wine flight tasting, delicious charcuterie, connection with community, sound bath experience, and your own yogi swag bag!

So, take the plunge and give yourself the gift of a one-day yoga retreat. Your body, mind, and spirit will thank you.

P.S. Let’s be besties!! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and join the LAYLO Shala to get the latest news and insider goodies 😍

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NO HEADSTANDS, PLEASE!

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I promise I am not opposed to headstands. BUT, hear me out on this. As a yoga teacher, I don’t practice headstands. Or legs behind the head pose. Or scorpion pose. Any posture that requires advanced flexibility is not for me and I don’t teach them in my classes or on my retreats.

And that’s okay.

No. Really.

I believe yoga is for everyone.

That means each person can take it where they want to go. You may wish to continuously increase your flexibility and mobility. You may want to practice in advanced movement. I am happy to refer any of my students who are interested in those things to the right teachers for them.

There are so many facets to yoga, and so many ways you can approach it.

There is a lot of controversy around this philosophy. Many yoga teachers are yoga purists who feel that the practice is part of an overall spiritual journey. They aren’t too happy about yoga being a physical practice for some people. Or a social and community bonding experience. Or basically anything other than a full spiritual experience.

If your approach focuses on the physicality of advanced movement – go for it! Conversely, if you are seeking a spiritual path and yoga is part of that; awesome! If you aren’t quite sure what your approach is, find out by taking this quick quiz.

I want to participate in and create a different experience.

For me, yoga is about enhancing your life. Yes, creating the flexibility and mobility needed to continue to do things you want to do in your everyday life. Headstands, not so much a part of daily life.

I love the physicality of yoga! The strength I feel when I practice, the challenge of movement. In addition, I am really drawn to the mind/body connection it creates.

Look, if you read the series My Journey to Yoga Retreat Specialist, you also know that my entire career has been in the fitness industry. So it is natural for me to find focus in the physical action of yoga.

Fitness, for me, also created a strong mind/body connection. A hard ride in a cycle class really let me blow off some steam! The intricate movements and high cardio output of a good old-fashioned step class helped me appreciate how my body moves through space. And boxing? Please – talk about building a feeling of mental and physical strength!

Yoga takes that mind/body connection to the next level.

Literally.

Fitness is the broad strokes: blowing off steam, building spatial awareness, and increasing mental strength.

Yoga gets down to the cellular level. Connecting your brain to your breath so you can self-regulate your nervous system. Speeding up the messages from your foot to your brain so you can maintain balance. Finding awareness of your thoughts and learning to allow them to pass on by.

This is the juicy stuff people!

Focus on making your life better.

Just to reiterate, I think advanced poses are pretty cool. Many would argue that those postures really do enhance your life – greater control, overcoming your body’s objections, and some pretty impressive flexibility/mobility. I don’t doubt it.

My personal mission, though, is to meet people where they are.

My tribe are people in the midst of juggling kids, careers, aging parents, and their own aging bodies. The crowd that resonates with my style wants to slow down, master, and enjoy each posture. They want to leave their practice feeling calmer, stronger, and accomplished.

Life is pretty crazy for a lot of us. Our schedules are packed, our laptops are always on, and we have instant knowledge, connectivity, and comparison in our purses, buzzing for attention all day long.

Personally, I don’t want to add legs behind my head to my to do list.

Calm, peace, and improved sleep and mental health mean more to me.

Studies show that participants who practiced yoga three times a week for eight weeks reported significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and neurotic symptoms, as well as mood improvements at the end of each class.

Yes, please!

Stepping into an advanced class might be a turn-off.

Part of meeting people where they are, for me, is making classes accessible. If you have never taken a yoga class before, you will be able to get through mine! I teach every class as if there is a brand-new participant in the room. I teach to them.

Those that have been practicing for a while, are able to hone their skills and dig in a little deeper with each practice.

If you have mastered advanced movement? You can still benefit from reviewing some of the more basic postures AND you will have the opportunity to level up to where you are at with a pose at any time.

I’m not everybody’s cup of tea, but I am somebody’s double martini!

Every yoga teacher has their own style, approach, and focus. That is what makes it so incredible!

It is important that you: A) understand what YOUR approach is so you know what kind of teacher will resonate with you B) aren’t afraid to hunt around for the right fit and C) realize that your approach may broaden and/or change over time.

It’s all good!

P.S. Let’s be besties!! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and join the LAYLO Shala to get the latest news and insider goodies 😍

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MY JOURNEY TO YOGA RETREAT SPECIALIST PART 4: I’VE ARRIVED!

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Here we are – Yoga Retreat Specialist!

It has been a long journey from Hairdresser to Retreat Specialist. Honestly, I wouldn’t trade any of it. Life is a journey, and a big part of it is discovering what YOUR why is and how you can best support that.

I discovered early on, as a hairdresser, that my why involved helping people feel good in their own skin. How they looked, how they felt about themselves, and how those things influenced their confidence. As a hairdresser, it was about having a great hair day every day. When I became a Fitness Instructor, it was/is about feeling strong and being able to do the things you wanted to do in life, without your fitness holding you back.

As my executive career wound down, it felt natural to turn to yoga as the next evolution of my life and career. It feels like a true merging of that external and internal world, with a healthy dose of mental and emotional connection thrown into the mix.

Retreats vs. Studio

After a lot of thought – and a number of business plans later – I decided to focus my efforts on providing yoga and wellness retreats.

Studio

While I love the idea of opening a studio, there were too many cons on my pros/cons list.

  • If the pandemic response taught me anything, it’s that your physical location could be shut down at any time. While some landlords worked with their tenants, others did not. I saw more than a few friends and colleagues lose their life’s work (and savings!) and have no real recompense for it.
  • A studio for me would need to be multi-purpose. I would want several different studios under one roof and that means $$$! A tremendous amount of funding and business partnerships would need to take place. At this point in life, I wanted to do things my way, and not answer to anyone else apart from my clients and members
  • Part of my vision for the future involves travel! I want to see as much of the world as I can before I leave it. That is more challenging when you are anchored in one spot by a physical space

Retreat Specialist

On the other hand, running retreats and being a yoga & wellness retreat specialist, did not have the same issues.

  • Retreats can go where the open zones are! No closures other than travel restrictions. Since you are not running a retreat every weekend, the business impact would be far less should something like the pandemic occur again
  • Retreats can each be focused on my areas of passion:
    • serving interested and newer yogis, to give them a great start in their practice
    • supporting people dealing with stress, anxiety, and/or trauma
    • finding space in our lives to disconnect from our ever-present devices and screens
    • creating community in our increasingly isolated world
  • Adventure through Yoga!! Retreats allow us to experience the joys of travel. We get to immerse ourselves in our surroundings in a deep, mindful way. Combining adventure and wellness – what could be better?

Let the adventures begin!

I hope you have enjoyed this peek into my life and career. It has not been a straight line and certainly has not been without some major obstacles and setbacks.

Every step of the way, I have learned some valuable lessons. I have been refined, sometimes by fire, in my understanding of what makes me tick.

Understanding myself has led me to know how important it is to me to serve others. I’ve learned so many important business lessons along the way.

And I know that this is the path I want to continue on. Retirement is not the end; it is the beginning!! I still have lessons to learn, things to discover, and, I am sure, more refinements to make. Retreat Specialist is just the start.

But I know I am on the right path for me.

Want to come along for the ride?

P.S. Let’s be besties!! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and join the LAYLO Shala to get the latest news and insider goodies 😍

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MY JOURNEY TO YOGA RETREAT SPECIALIST PART 3: YOGA

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Let the yoga begin!

Or not. My path to becoming a yoga teacher was not exactly paved with cushy yoga mats!

Fitness took me pretty far in life. If you read part 2 of my story, you know it got me through being a somewhat lost stay-at-home mom, through a rough divorce, and on to a real career in an industry I loved.

As my career progressed and led me to management roles in my company, it also brought me to becoming a yoga teacher. Sort of.

Yoga had begun to expand out of the studio environment and into mainstream big-box gyms, with increasing popularity. It was my job to decide what to put on all my gym schedules and I felt like it was important to really know what each class was about. The best way to explain something to someone else is to have done it yourself!

So I took classes.

Lots of them. I took classes with well-known very popular teachers. I took classes at my gym, at other gyms, at studios, and at industry conferences.

And I really hated it!

I felt like the classes went too fast. There was not much time to get into and out of each asana and then we were on to the next one.

I found it challenging because I didn’t know what the asanas were, especially since many of the teachers used the Sanskrit names for the poses and I had no idea what they were talking about.

There was also very little instruction on proper form and execution, allowing for some really atrocious postures. In my case, as a chronic migraine sufferer, this lack of information led to me coming away with a migraine almost every time I took a class!

I had given up on ever really enjoying yoga.

I’d basically written it off as one of those forms of movement that were just not for me.

Eventually, one of my colleagues and longtime friends in fitness invited me to come to her class. Doris Thews and I shared a lot of similarities in both our personal and professional lives. What I knew about Doris is that her background in teaching mirrored my own. If anyone could make yoga make sense to me, it would be her. What did I have to lose?

What I learned changed my mind about yoga forever.

The approach that Doris took in teaching the class was different than what I had experienced so far. She acknowledged that she wasn’t the most flexible person in the world, but that yoga didn’t care. She noted that some people may be more or less flexible than her and that was okay; each of us should work to our own ability.

As we dove into the class, Doris took time to explain how to move into, hold, and transition out of each asana. Suddenly I didn’t feel like my shoulders were up in my ears during every down dog! Her simple explanation of how to perform the movement (in English!) made all the difference in whether I got a migraine or not.

Having the right teacher makes all the difference.

After that experience, I began to get the yoga fever. Practicing yoga in a way that made sense to me made all the difference.

As a matter of fact, the whole reason I created the What Kind of Yogi Are YOU quiz was to help other people take a shortcut to finding that right fit. It’s not about what style of yoga might like. It’s all about finding a teacher with an approach to yoga that matches your vibe.

My next step was to learn more about it. I read up on it. I took more classes. Eventually, I decided to become a certified yoga teacher.

I even used it in coaching people to work through stress, anxiety, and trauma. One of the principles of yoga is service. If you want to know where you can best serve people, you look at your own wounds. Well, I had quite a background in divorce, parental alienation, and religious trauma. Yoga has helped me and helped me to support others in working through these issues.

Now we are up to speed!

Well, almost.

In the fourth and final part of this series, I will share how I went from a successful fitness executive to a yoga retreat specialist.

See you in part 4!

P.S. Let’s be besties!! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and join the LAYLO Shala to get the latest news and insider goodies 😍

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MY JOURNEY TO YOGA RETREAT SPECIALIST PART 2: FITNESS

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Fitness: the final frontier?

Starting a career in fitness was a scary step but one of the best moves I ever made. It doesn’t seem like it should be all that scary, but if you read the first part of my story, it makes sense. After all, fitness was probably a given in the post-Armageddon world I was raised to believe was right around the corner. Teaching people fitness would possibly be deemed as a waste of time.

In addition, I had two young kids at home and a (now ex) husband who was uncomfortable with me creating something that I loved, something that had the potential for me to no longer need him. However, I have yet to meet another person as determined (read: stubborn) as me. Getting into the fitness industry became my light at the end of the tunnel and I was going for it!

Narcissists don’t like it when you have anything outside of the world they want you to live in.

Nor do extremely controlling religions.

My ex would pick epic arguments with me about my neglect of the family each time I would leave for the twice-weekly 3-hour classes I was taking to learn to teach fitness.

My classes fell on the same night as 2 of the 3 weekly religious gatherings that we typically attended. There was a considerable amount of talk about how I was falling away and becoming unduly influenced by worldly ways and greed.

I ignored it.

Fitness allowed me to help people make the deeper change I was longing for as a hairdresser.

Once I got through the mayhem of 3 months of training to be an instructor, things started to get good. Great, actually. While it was nerve-wracking initially to step into the role of group fitness instructor, I quickly got over it and really loved to see the changes in my students!

I saw people lose weight, grow stronger, have fun doing even while doing something hard, and gain self-confidence. This was the satisfaction I was looking for! My students were actually living better, more fulfilling lives now that they could participate in activities that previously felt too hard. Even playing with their kids or grandkids was a struggle for some. They felt better in their own skin – ready to try new things and grow as people.

This is the secret that fitness instructors don’t talk about.

While they are empowering their students, they are being empowered as well.

The same thing happened to me! All the things I was seeing in my students, I began to experience myself.

I tend to be somewhat driven in the things I am passionate about and fitness was no exception. My devotion to fitness began to open doors for me. Management opportunities began to come my way. My kids were older now – why not explore these possible game-changing chances at a better life?

Then – the brick walls.

My ex. My religion.

This was too much independence for comfort apparently. My ex stepped up his paranoia, following me to and from the gym, checking up on me constantly, making wild accusations, and looping in the Elders – and our 13-year-old daughter – to all the things he thought or at least implied – that I was doing.

None of it was true. The more elaborate his schemes became and supportive of his lies the religion was, I knew it was time to leave both.

It was a much harder choice than the usual “it’s time to go” decision. It meant my family, who do not believe in divorce, would no longer speak to me. The community that I not only grew up in but also kept me separate from others, would no longer be there for me. And worst of all, my daughter had bought into it all.

Leaving meant leaving all of it behind.

Fitness helped me do it all.

I found a full-time job through people I knew from the gym, built up enough savings to file for divorce, and moved forward.

It was a dangerous time. My ex was threatening my life. My former friends now spied on me regularly and reported every move I made back to the Elders and my ex.

Eventually, divorce decree in hand, I moved. 800 miles away. No job, $900 bucks in the bank, 12-year-old son in tow.

The first thing I did? Get some classes to teach! I found a temporary job, and got settled into life in California.

I quickly moved into a management role with the company I was teaching group fitness classes for and just like that, at the age of 40, my full-time fitness career began!

Enter yoga.

It was the beginning of the 2000s and yoga was just starting to make its way into the gym on a regular basis. It was my first real exposure to the practice I now make my full time career.

And I hated it! Tune in to part 3 to find out why – and how it eventually changed my life.

P.S. Let’s be besties!! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and join the LAYLO Shala to get the latest news and insider goodies 😍

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MY JOURNEY TO YOGA RETREAT SPECIALIST

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AKA HOW DID I GET HERE?

I never imagined my life journey would bring me here!

Of all the things I dreamed of being as a kid, being a yoga retreat specialist never entered my mind.

In fact, having a real “career” never entered my mind beyond a daydream fantasy. You see, I grew up in a very religious family, one that truly believed that the world would end at any moment.

Anyyyyy minute now.

So the idea of going to college, of investing in your future in any real way, was really not allowed. I wanted to go college. I had the grades to go. But going would mean my family and my community would turn their backs on me and I would have to seriously rethink what I was continuously told was the “truth”.

So I had to come up with another way that I could earn a living, preferably something that would always be useful, even post-Armageddon. And just to make the journey more eventful, I was the type of person that wanted to actually enjoy my job and feel like I was doing something useful.

The thing that kept coming back to me as a teenager, was how great I felt when I was having a good hair day. I felt more confident, more like me, and I just felt good being in my own skin. That’s actually quite a feat for a teenager!

And so I became…a hairdresser

I mean, the training was relatively quick, and even post-apocalyptic people would want nice hair, right? It seemed perfect. It was the 80’s to boot, a glorious hair decade!

And for a while it was great. The thing is, no matter how amazing a cut I gave, how tight the perm, or even how accomplished my clients were at styling their hair at home, it didn’t last. Hair grows out. That “feeling great in your own skin” feeling was temporary at best.

The impermanence of what I was trying to accomplish in my chosen profession really got to me. Well, that and the laws that allowed smoking indoors. I somehow always had the chain smoker client that wanted a perm, cut, nails, facial – the works – so I was sitting in that toxic haze of smoke, chemicals, and humid air all day. Every day.

Additionally, the best time for clients was nights and weekends. As a newly married 19-year old, (yup, you read that right -19) I would have preferred to spend that time at home with my husband (at least at first. More on that in part 2).

I eventually grew to feel that this was no longer the right job for me. I loved it – but I wanted more. I wanted to help people on a deeper level.

It was time to take my journey in a new direction

But to what? My (now ex) husband wanted me to apply to work at a grocery store or be retail clerk. He didn’t like the idea of me actually enjoying what I did or understand my desire to do something that felt like I was impacting people on a personal level. He just wanted me to make money. I felt pretty stuck.

Stay tuned for part 2 to hear about the next part of my journey.

P.S. Let’s be besties!! Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, and join the LAYLO Shala to get the latest news and insider goodies 😍