downward dog days

Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. ~ Unknown

Hey peeps! How y'all been? I know it's been a week since my last post but I've been joie de vivre'ing again (it's kinda my favourite thing to do). I find it très difficile to sit at the computer when it's lovely out and there are so many fun things to do. And last weekend was SO fun: I visited this amazing place with a friend I haven't seen in years (we re-connected through Facebook) and then later the boyfriend and I attended a friend's surprise birthday par-tay (how much fun are those!). On Sunday, we hosted Mama's Day brunch at our house and later that same day, we had a bbq for friends who are new parents (they left the babe at home so it was parents night out). I just love weekends that include family, friends and good food!

Now, moving along to the yoga portion of this post...

As predicted, my mama and I had an amazing time at our yoga retreat weekend. It was two days filled with heaps of love, laughter, yoga (over 8 hours!) and good food. I'm lookin' at you turkey sliders and watermelon feta salad. My ladyfriend, Jenn sure knows how to put on a wonderful retreat including a goody bag filled with a CD of our retreat music, a Saturday movie night (Yoga Woman) and an organic wine and cheese welcome mixer.  The lady is detail-oriented. In a really fantastic way.

Jenn is also a fantastic teacher (her instruction has a lovely lyrical quality to it 'cause she's a writer). Her poetic eloquence takes you on a meditative journey.

Here she is is making this bad boy pose look easy (trust me, it's not).


Check me out holding the crow pose long enough for a picture to be taken. I think I surprised myself.





A deer stopped to take in our evening yin yoga class. Such a magical moment. She made another appearance the next day during our reiki session. The super moon shot was taken by a fellow yogi who stayed up later than the rest of us sleepyheads.





Bonding with my mama was priceless. And splendid.



The food was spectacular! Pictured: vegan cream cheese cupcakes, pear and brie flatbread laced with basil, honeyed orange salad and fennel, spinach and mascarpone tart. Nom nom nom!



Here's our entire group. Happy, relaxed and blissed out on yoga love.



Jenn's retreat gave us time to catch our breath, recharge, restore and remember. Suffice to say, I left with confidence in my ability, a stronger body, new friends and some lovely memories.

I'm already looking forward to the next one in November. Maybe I'll see you there.

Happy Thursday, friends! The long weekend is almost here. Hooray!

Dajana (: