7 TIPS FOR DEVELOPING A HEALTHY MORNING ROUTINE
Harness the power of journaling to improve your yoga practice and your overall well being.
Mindful Balance Retreats is heading to New Zealand. Stay tuned for more updates! In the meantime, enjoy learning about the many meanings of the fantastically beautiful koru.
Selecting your flights doesn’t have to feel like alchemy. These best practices can steer you toward the most efficient and least expensive route to adventure.
A retreat is the perfect opportunity to catch up on some reading. Add one of these to your suitcase and experience the magic of curling up with a good book.
Signing up for one of the Mindful Balance Retreats offerings could be your ticket to relaxation. You get the plane tickets, and we set you up with great teachers, beautiful lodging, and healthy food. The specific amenities vary for each destination, but we take a lot of the uncertainty and stress out of travel
One of the many retreats we love at Mindful Balance Retreats is our retreat to Bali. Bali, an island in the Indonesian archipelago, is sometimes referred to as the Island of the Gods. The island comes by the moniker honestly. The stunning landscape and deep spirituality of its people set it apart. It's a go-to destination for people trying to satisfy their wanderlust and need for self-reflection.
Go to Bali to heal your body and soul
Our retreat in Bali focuses on healing and restoration. Every day begins with a series of mindfulness practices and opportunities for self-reflection. If you've been having trouble carving out the time to take care of yourself, this trip is an incredible opportunity to jumpstart healthy habits. Take some time to practice asana, meditate, or journal before you set out on the day's adventures.
Every afternoon, we have a restorative yoga practice with aromatherapy and healing touch. Our Bali retreat also includes a massage to give you the maximum healing benefit of all these practices. Feel your stress melt away as you tend to your body and mind.
The lush volcanic landscape provides plenty of healthy foods to nurture your physical body. We start off every day on the right foot with a nourishing organic breakfast. An on-site restaurant offers organic fare, and you'll have the chance to do a 1-day juice cleanse if you wish.
Take in the sights
Bali is known for its natural beauty and affordability compared to other island destinations. During our retreat, we stay at the stunning Desa Seni eco-village, where you'll have access to on-site-yoga (of course!), a saltwater pool, a sun deck, and a spa. The antique wooden houses of Desa Seni are arranged in the style of a traditional Indonesian village.
We are staying in an incredible place, but you'll also have the chance to visit sacred Balinese temples and well as wander around the streets of Ubud, where food, shopping and monkeys are abundant.
Be contemplative
Most of us struggle to find the time for introspection every day. There's so much noise competing for our attention. For this reason, we devote one day of our retreat to silence. In Bali, you can create the space that you need to work toward your wellness goals. Dedicated time to practice the niyama, svadhyaya (self-reflection), is an opportunity you're rarely afforded in class, but on this retreat, it's a major focus.
Come home refreshed
Taking time away from your regular routine can put you on a path to healing. You'll not only feel better, but there's a good chance that you'll be more productive after doing some inner work on the Island of the Gods. When you return from Bali, you'll carry the fruits of deep and introspective practice into your life.
Can you see yourself retreating to Bali this year....Join us.... or Lead it?
Going on a retreat can be a great place to develop a meditation habit. Carving out a portion of your day to practice can seem more feasible in a retreat-setting. After you've set a foundation for your practice, it will be easier to access when you are at home. If you're specifically looking to learn more about meditation, find a retreat that places some emphasis on the practice
Mindful Balance Retreats is excited to announce that we will donate 10% of each retreat's profit to one organization of choice. So far for the upcoming year we have chosen to help support the Chanda Plan Foundation, Live + Breathe, and The Barrio Planta Project. By supporting their efforts, we hope that we can help to fill a need and put some love and light into the world.
"The wisdom is in the trees, not the glass windows" ~Jack Johnson
At Mindful Balance Retreats, connecting people with incredible experiences is our mission. When you lead a retreat with us, we take the guesswork out of planning. You'll get a website where you can advertise your retreat and we offer support throughout the retreat-planning process. Plus, we're always happy to answer your questions!
Save $200 for the Ojai Valley, CA Retreat April 13-17, 2018. Join Erika and Dragan for 4 days of Body and Soul Integration. Discount valid until Feb 13th sign up today!
Make 2018 the year you lead an adventure of your own! Sign up to lead a retreat by midnight PST on January 31, 2018 to receive a special bonus.
Whether you want to spend your time relaxing in a hammock, meditating, ziplining through the jungle, surfing, or exploring town, Santa Teresa is sure not to disappoint. Hiking waterfalls, enjoying a sunset, and gazing at the stars are a few of the ways that you can spend your days.
As a holistic nutritionist, I stock my travel first aid kit with natural remedies. I find that using essential oils is more effective than over-the-counter medication in most cases, and they don’t have nearly as many side effects. Nature can give us everything we need to take care of our bodies and minds.
How you fuel yourself influences the way that you feel. The way that you eat impacts your energy level, inflammation in the body, and gut health. Since many diseases originate in the colon, being thoughtful about what and how you eat can improve your long-term health and quality of life.
Yoga can be an excellent tool for teaching people to reconnect with their minds and bodies. Classes and retreats remind us how it feels to be in the present moment. Meditation invites us to explore bare attention. The practice reminds us how to focus and resist the constant mental chatter and static that causes stress and inhibits creativity
“When I think of the word retreat, I think of cultivating an opportunity to drop further into myself for exploration and contemplation, as well as an opportunity to connect with like minded souls.” Erika Lee
Take a peak at all the amazing destinations on the agenda for Mindful Balance Retreats
This November 13-19 2017, I am leading a retreat back to this WILD place. I will teach 2 yoga classes per day, one gentle/therapeutic and one vinyasa so all levels are welcome. Treat yourself to 3 healthy meals a day prepared by the local chef using fresh ingredients. Dinners are 3 course meals which often include fresh baked homemade bread. You can chose to have a romantic private dining experience or family style dining. The lodging is tucked away in along the tropical garden paths, all have top quality mattresses, linens, lights, fans, private bathrooms and hot water. The patios and balconies are set up with rockers and hammocks for your relaxing pleasure. The optional activities for the week include: yoga (included), spa treatments, waterfall hike, Corcovado National Forest guided tour (included), surfing, horseback riding, sport fishing, and zip-lining. For all the details visit the Matapalo Retreat, sign up before July 13th and save $100!
I grab my yoga mat and head over to the ocean-view yoga deck, the path through the jungle is led by the electric blue wings of the Blue Morpho butterfly, that seems to know exactly where I am going. Did that just happen? My practice is therapeutic and nourishing to my body and mind that's adjusting to this new environment, I'm patient with myself and enjoy the process. After I've allowed for ample time in stillness, I thank my lucky stars, as well as my teachers, family, friends, lovers and Mother Earth for making this dream of a life a reality.
A meditative walk back to the lodge is met with a family of Spider Monkeys, swinging gracefully through the trees. over to the poolside restaurant where breakfast is served. A plate of fresh papaya, watermelon and pineapple awaits while the chef prepares the main course. I enjoy my leisurely breakfast and stroll over to the pool for a dip.
Since I haven't quite seen my lush surroundings I opt for an exploratory hike up the local stream, their is no one else around so my partner and I have the jungle to ourselves. Well not exactly, with all 4 native species of monkeys, tapirs, pumas, frogs, lizards, sloths, macaws and so many more animals of the Osa Rainforest, you're never alone. This abundance of life is what makes this place so special, the National Geographic has coined the Osa Peninsula "the most biologically intense place on earth". So among our friends, we take a dip in the waterfall, find a seat carved into sandstone to rest in as the cool water washes over us, Heavenly!
In the afternoon, after a healthy filling lunch served by super friendly staff, we grab our boards to play in the bay of Pan Dulce. Oh what sweet water is it, the perfect temperature and uncrowded. I'm happy just being in the water, while my partner is catching wave after wave and having a blast! Time to paddle in and nestle in by the pool with an afternoon cocktail.
Avocado Margarita please! I know sounds weird, but it's amazing and it's frozen and I am happy. Phew.... what a full day, as I lay under the sun and sip my drink a pair of Scarlet Macaws fly above me and squawk, reminding me that I am in a truly spectacular place. Already, I am thinking of when can I return. Well the time is near, and I am so excited to go back and bring friends and family, it's just too incredible to not share!
This November 13-19 2017, I am leading a retreat back to this WILD place. I will teach 2 yoga classes per day, one gentle/therapeutic and one vinyasa so all levels are welcome. Treat yourself to 3 healthy meals a day prepared by the local chef using fresh ingredients. Dinners are 3 course meals which often include fresh baked homemade bread. You can chose to have a romantic private dining experience or family style dining. The lodging is tucked away in along the tropical garden paths, all have top quality mattresses, linens, lights, fans, private bathrooms and hot water. The patios and balconies are set up with rockers and hammocks for your relaxing pleasure. The optional activities for the week include: yoga (included), spa treatments, waterfall hike, Corcovado National Forest guided tour (included), surfing, horseback riding, sport fishing, and zip-lining. For all the details visit the Matapalo Retreat, sign up before July 13th and save $100!