The Practice of Compassionate Abiding

In my personal practice, I have been working with Compassionate Abiding lately--trying to stay present and in contact with difficult emotions such as grief, worry, anxiety, shame, and fear. It has proven a challenging, but wholly worthwhile practice, so I wanted to share it.

A Heads-Up

The practice of Compassionate Abiding is not for everyone right now. Consider your current capacity and circumstances before engaging in the practice. It is overwhelming simply to be living in a time of a global pandemic, a toxic national environment due to increased outward acts of racism and the denial of years of injustice and oppression, and the stress of the upcoming elections! The lived experiences of some individuals will create even more trauma than others as a result. So we must enter with care and compassion into exploration of difficult emotions. If you feel safe exploring your difficult emotions, start with just a few minutes at a time of these practices. We must build these skills gradually, overtime. If it doesn’t feel safe or skillful to work with difficult emotions in your meditation practice right now, I suggest trying Metta meditation. Metta meditation is a complementary practice to Compassionate Abiding.  It helps us grow our compassion for others and ourselves, that compassion, then is what helps us have the capacity to stay present with difficult emotions over time. 

ABOUT COMPASSIONATE ABIDING

Compassionate Abiding was first introduced to me by one of my teachers Pema Chödrön in her books, specifically in Taking the Leap. I was reminded of it again recently this September when I participated in a 3-day retreat with Tim Olmsted through The Omega Institute. Just like everything in mindfulness: the actual process is easy to understand logically, but difficult to do. The point is to directly contact your difficult emotions, feel them in your body, breath, and being, and get to know them. Overtime we increase our window of tolerance for staying and investigating difficult emotions. That’s how we can truly create change in our lives. 

THE PRACTICE

In a comfortable seat or any position that feels right to you, start to notice your breath for a minute or two. If you are in a safe space and feel comfortable doing so, close your eyes.  

• Breathe in: inviting in your difficult emotion(s) in and making space for it to be there, without needing for it to be any different that it is or wishing it would go away. 

• Breath out: whatever helps you to be with that difficult emotion, whatever will bring you ease around the emotion. 

You can stay with one emotion/circumstance you are confronting in your life, or let it be a more general exercise of your most common difficult emotions. You don’t have to contact them all at first, and definitely not all in one sitting no matter what you chose. 

So the practice may look like: 

• Inhale fear and uncertainty, Exhale hope and trust 

• Inhale fear, Exhale trust … 

Internally you aren’t just contacting the emotion; you are making a bigger and bigger space for it. You breathe it in deeply, as Pema says, it is as if your heart is just getting bigger and bigger in order to hold the difficulty. 

SIDE COACHING & NOTES

We use our breath to keep us moving in this practice. Let your inhales and exhales change as you see fit. Open mouth, through the nose, long, loud it doesn’t matter – let it happen. You have permission to make it your own: do it standing, lying down, or as you are taking a walk. Pema herself talks about doing this practice in nature while walking slowly because it supports her efforts. Where might you feel the most supported while engaging in this practice?  

Don’t worry if it does not come naturally to you. Staying present with hard feelings and thoughts is not a skill that we use a lot in our everyday lives. (Typically we distract ourselves away from the present to push away the unpleasant thoughts.) 

AND SO...

Compassionate Abiding and similar practices that invite us to get to know our difficult emotions not only support us in getting to know ourselves better and seeing our different patters of reactivity, but also seeing our connection with others. We’re able to better recognize our “sameness” and shared humanity: that everyone has fear and worry, and that we’re all in the same boat and just trying to stay afloat. 

For a little more about Compassionate Abiding, check out this podcast featuring Pema: : https://resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/pema-chodron-compassionate-abiding/ 

——————

Photo by lucas clarysse on Unsplash

Moving toward Unconditional Metta

The concentration practice of metta (the Palí word for “loving-kindness”) meditation is becoming more popular in the west, especially thanks to Sharon Salzberg, one of my teachers and the first teacher to teach me metta meditation in person. You silently repeat 3 or 4 phrases, whatever resonates with your deepest intention, over and over again consciously directing your well-wishes to certain beings. Metta meditation usually starts by directing loving-kindness wishes to ourselves, then to a benefactor or dear friend, then to somebody neutral in our life, then somebody that we have difficulty with (has hurt us or harmed us in some way), and eventually to all beings everywhere. 

We direct loving-kindness wishes by repeating a set of phrases.

A common set of phrases is:
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be free from suffering and the causes of suffering.
May I live with ease. 
(say each phrase silently or quietly to yourself, once you’ve said all four, start from the first again; there’s no rush to get through the phrases, it’s about the intention behind them)

The set of phrases that I commonly use is: 
May I be happy
May I be healthy
May I be free from fear 
(say each phrase silently or quietly to yourself, once you’ve said all three, start from the first again; there’s no rush to get through the phrases, it’s about the intention behind them)

You are welcome to replace “happiness” with any word or intention that resonates with that person. 

Many people connect quickly to sending loving-kindness out to loved ones or friends, but have a resistance in sending metta to those that have hurt or harmed them in some way. Don’t worry, that resistance is very normal. It is challenging. We learn a lot about ourselves when we pay attention to things that are difficult for us. 

So why is it so difficult? What are we believing about that person or about ourselves? Are we believing that they are different than us? 

On a personal level we tend to get identified with our thoughts and beliefs about the person who caused us harm. We label them “bad” and put ourselves above their actions creating a separate self. This, as we know, is the ego. We are not able to separate out “bad” people from “good” ones. This is a false binary: good | bad.  We don’t exist in absolutes. We are all the same stardust and molecules, have the same wants and needs, and possess the same potential for manifesting goodness (or badness).  So the separation of some people into “bad” is just an illusion we create to explain how they could have harmed or hurt us in some way. In a bigger sense, acknowledging this illusion teaches us how to love unconditionally, or love that isn’t dependent on anything. Unconditional love isn’t based on having our affection returned, people treating us a certain way, or having our desires met. It is limitless. 

I would like to also note that in the last step of the metta meditation, when we send metta wishes to all beings everywhere, we are sending loving-kindness to EVERY single being in the multi-verse, which includes any person we might consider “bad.” These beings are still included in our metta wishes and we are working on those wishes not being conditional. We must remember everyone is deserving of loving-kindness. 

Sending metta to every being doesn’t mean that we condone violence, for example. It means that people are more than their worst mistake and that our metta for them is not based on human actions or behaviors but in their, and every human being’s, same potential for manifesting essential goodness. 

By practicing sending loving-kindness to difficult people we are exercising our heart, training it to live in the field beyond “wrong-doing and right-doing.” Metta is not dependent on anything. Metta is unconditional.

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’
doesn’t make any sense.

--Rumi 

Remembering to Pause

Hello Dear Souls,

I hope this email update finds you well and at ease.

I am filled with gratitude for the past six weeks of my life and excited for the next 12, after which I’ll begin a new chapter of my life.

If you haven’t already heard my husband, Justin, and I will be moving to Florida in November. We will miss DC and our friends and family in this area, but we’re looking forward to a slower pace and life by the ocean.

To prepare for the move, I gave up my regularly scheduled classes in early June. This also allowed me to focus on the Conscious Yoga Academy 200-hour yoga teacher training that I co-lead with Elias Ananiadis and Vicky Woods on the Greek island of Karpathos late June into mid July. The training went amazingly well and that group of special people and I will be connected for the rest of our lives. Each of the 10 lovely souls has a unique gift to offer this earth and I am excited to see what the future holds for them.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures from acro and partner yoga fun day.

After three and a half weeks on Karpathos, Justin and I embarked on a European honeymoon. We traveled to Athens and immersed ourselves in ancient Greece at the Acropolis and around the Plaka. Then we went to Paris for a week of EVERYTHING!: exploring cathedrals, museums, the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and, of course, eating so much cheese!

Through all of this wonderful travel and adventure I continued to remind myself to pause and breath in each special moment. Moving from one thing to the next, we humans tend to always be in planning mode instead enjoying what we are currently doing. For example: one afternoon while Justin and I were at one of the most beautiful beaches in the Greek Islands, we started talking about what we were going to do in Paris!! After a moment, I laughed and looked at him and said “let’s be here first.” He smiled back, kissed me, and jumped in for a swim.

It is the nature of the mind to pull us away from the present moment, to tell us stories in attempts to make sense of the world around us and further to make us the most important part of the story. We meditate and practice yoga to help us remember our true self, our essential perfect state that we already exists in. That realization can only happen in present. 

 It’s been challenging for me to stay in the present moment. Recently I’ve struggled to remember I’m much more than my to-do list. That is why I’m excited to be offering a weekend to pause with you this September. I have designed a lovely weekend retreat at Casa Om Potomac. For two and a half days, we’ll be able to enjoy yoga, meditation, the beautiful outdoors, excellent food, and a pool. “Rest & Renew”: the title is 100% true for everyone. If you want to join me and the other folks coming September 20-22, you can! There’s a pre-registration form on my website, or you can reach out me with any questions or concerns. This will be my last large offering in the DC area for some time. I hope you’ll take some time for yourself and join me in a long pause.

I have a few other events in the works and a million stories from the past 6-weeks I want to tell, but since I am currently writing this newsletter from the most serene porch overlooking a lake in Rhode Island, I’m going to go be, and pay attention to the mother duck leading her young across the lake. I’m going to go sit in gratitude and remember: I am perfect just the way I am, even as things to do pile up and change constantly around me.

 I hope you will join me for the fall retreat and for a class. I will be subbing throughout the next few months at all my favorite places, Past Tense, Vida, Fuse, and Yoga Heights. On the calendar now: Lunch Flow at Past Tense on Friday, August 16 at noon and Intermediate Flow at Yoga Heights on Georgia Ave on Saturday, August 24 at 10:15am.

 Questions or thoughts? Something you would like to connect about before I move? I would love to hear from you. Please reach out.

 Many blessings and much love,

Liz

All about the feet!

Dear Souls!

I have been thinking a lot about feet this week, particularly my feet and all the little things they do and don’t do. Turns out having extremely hypermobile ankles doesn’t help you develop good foot proprioception (the ability to sense stimuli arising within the body regarding position, motion, and equilibrium). It also doesn’t allow for awareness in the ankle either. I didn’t realize all the little movement patterns I had picked along the years in order to compensate for not knowing where my ankle and foot are in space. I either hang out on the inside (medial) part of the foot or the outer (lateral) side of the foot when walking upstairs, doing squats, or even doing yoga asana! What is especially interesting for me is that I do not have an overall preference, it depends on the task I am trying to do.

Are you aware of your foot and ankle patterns? When standing, in mountain pose: do you roll out at your ankle and lift the inner arch up (called supination), roll out and have a hard time grounding down on your lateral edge (called pronation), or have a neutral ankle position which allows for finding the entire ball of your foot rooted to the earth with (ideally) even pressure throughout? Does it always tend to be only one of the above options?

You might be curious  why this matters. There’s lots of reasons, knee and hip health being high on the list, but the reason I want to touch on here is: accessing your inner and outer thighs and legs muscles in yoga asana. Being able to press the ball of the big toe and the ball of the little toe down at the same time while in standing poses helps to activate those medial and lateral leg muscles that are essential for hip stability... which is essential  for every standing pose. That is why yoga teachers cue to “ground down through the 3 [or 4] corners of your feet.” This cue is meant to encourage you to not only have a stable, well grounded foot, but to find and engage the muscles of your side body and help you to internally feel the muscle chains energetically feeding into one another. Engaging these side body lines of energy and the front and back body, ultimately to finding 360 degrees of muscle engagement and support. (Side note: If you heard the cue in my class it was the 3 corners of the feet since the heel bone is round-ish and is only one point.)  

So what have I been working on? Amazingly it is the strengthening of the intrinsic muscles of the foot (the ones that originate (start) and insert (stop) in the foot ) that allow for greater control of the ball of the foot and help you access your extrinsic muscles of the foot and the lines of energies we were just discussing. (Extrinsic muscles are muscles that originate in the foot but insert above the ankle.)

One of the best ways I know to strengthen the little intrinsic muscles in the feet is by trying to dome the whole foot off the floor without actually using any of the leg muscles that would lift the foot off the floor. Don’t worry you will not be able to actually lift the foot. Another way is to lift a hand towel off the floor with your toes. Keep lifting it up and the dropping it and then pick it up again. After about 5-10 reps, if I am really gripping that towel the little toe side of my foot cramps so hard!    

Next time you take to your mat, experiment with different pressures throughout the ball of the foot and test out if you can feel the activation of the sides of the legs . What do you notice? Which way feels most secure and active in your body? Remember, to have fun with the inquiry and that we have a yoga practice not a yoga perfect!

Hope to see you in class soon! ☺

Summer Adventures & Where to Find Me

Hello Dear Souls!

I hope this newsletter update finds you smiling. I wanted to drop you a quick line to recap a whirlwhind summer and let you know where to find me this fall.

In April and May I completed the first module of my 300 hour Yoga Teacher Training. It was challenging and refreshing, and I met some of the smartest, most inventive women from all over the world. It was so inspiring to learn from and share space with movement professionals who care deeply about biomechanics and how it applies to yoga asana. Jules Mitchell, the head of the training and one of my most influential teachers, taught us everything from how to use restorative poses to inform how students might modify active asanas, to diving deep in scholarly articles about the major joints in the body. We practiced somatics and learned the value of Feldenkrais movements with guest teacher Todd Hargrove, and I was particularly fascinated by the in-depth lectures and engaging discussions on pain science. I will be completing the second module over 16 days in October and I can't wait!

At the end of May I left for Greece. My first international yoga, mindfulness, and Pilates retreat, Unplug and Unwind, was a wonderful experience. I got the opportunity to connect with 14 unique souls and a part of every one of them will always be with me. We visited ancient towns, explored deep blue lagoons, and took leisurely hikes along one of the most breathtakingly beautiful coasts I have ever seen. There was no wifi anywhere on the retreat property, and we relished every minute of it! Even though I taught 18 classes, an inversion workshop, and 15 privates in six days, I left full of love, energy, and gratitude. The small and attentive staff of Kathy’s Island Retreat was the icing on the cake! The handmade, organic, fresh food and peaceful environment they created allowed me to really drop in and focus. Take a look at some of my pictures from the treat. None of them have filters! A piece of heaven on earth. I will be returning to Kathy’s Island Retreat and Karpathos in the future so don’t worry, you haven’t missed out!

After Karpathos, I traveled to Athens, Chania Crete, Santorini, and Londonto round out my adventurous summer. Then I started my regular teaching schedule in July and am thrilled to be back in D.C., at home, and sleeping in my own bed! Since I have been back things haven’t calmed down though - I got engaged to the love of my life and the kindest man I have ever met, added a regular Friday morning 6:30am class at Past Tense Yoga Studio, added three reformer classes at Fuse Pilates on 14th, and just completed the tower/trapeze module of my comprehensive Balanced Body Pilates training this past weekend! Whew!

I swore I would get this letter out before August came. Ooof...it is August 20th, but I am here and breathing and sometimes that is all we can do. I have had to remind myself that compassion starts with me and that I do everything I can. 

Stress normally has negative connotation, but in my opinion it shouldn’t. Good things create stress too! So I invite you to pause, take deep breaths, and remember that everything you seek is already within you. The only constant is change!

Hope to see you in class soon.

Love, light, and deep breaths,
Liz

In Pursuit of Knowledge

Hello Dear Souls,

I hope this email finds you well!

This week I'm preparing to depart my for next adventure, a 300-hour yoga teacher training in biomechanics with Jules Mitchell. I've been planning and preparing for months, and still sometimes it feels overwhelming. I was feeling the stress in the middle of packing and had to leave to go teach my last private for three weeks, when an Abigail Adams quote came to mind:

“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence."

I stopped, took a deep breath, then repeated it one more time before walking out the door to meet my client.

When we make time in our busy lives to learn something new or deepen our knowledge in a field we are passionate about, we are investing in ourselves. We are telling ourselves that we matter and that our ideas matter. We are practicing self-compassion.

The reason why I chose this particular training program is because Jules Mitchell is one of the best when it comes to approaching yoga with a scientific lens. I've always been fascinated by the human body, and I've been yearning to learn to what actually happens inside our bodies as we move through poses and perform exercises.

The term for this field of study is biomechanics, and it's all about analyzing how and why living bodies move in the way that they do. Biomechanics incorporates the laws of physics with the working principles of engineering, and in doing so, tries to describe the forces that act on the body. It takes into account not only the structure of bones, tendons, ligaments, muscles, and the movement they can produce, but also the mechanics of internal bodily functions like blood circulation and renal function. It also attempts to explain or predict the way an outside force will effect the body, which is something that is of great interest to me as a movement teacher.

One of the best examples of this comes from a question that Jules posed to me: why do most yoga teachers instruct students not to put their knee past their ankle in Warrior I? For more than 14 years I thought it was because it was harmful to the knee. I was taught in classes and trainings that it was harmful, but I never questioned why or how it was harmful. But is it true? The real answer is: it depends on each individual human body, but in general, no. 

Think about what happens when you climb up or go down stairs. Your knee goes way past your ankle, correct? The average person climbs stairs more frequently than they practice Warrior I, but have you ever heard a warning about how you should climb stairs? I haven’t.

That query from Jules made me realize that I needed to get clearer on why I teach certain things. I still teach ankle in line with the knee in Warrior I because I am honoring the tradition of the pose, not because my students might harm themselves if they aren’t in alignment.

I still have a lot of questions and a desire to know more. I'll be digging deep into science and asana over the next few weeks and I can't wait to come back and share what I've learned!

I'll be teaching yoga and Pilates sessions May 18th - May 30th at Yoga Heights Georgia Avenue, Yoga Heights Takoma Park and Past Tense Yoga Studio, then I'm off to lead my Greece Retreat in June! If I don’t see you in class next month please email me to stay in touch. I'll be back in July and look forward to practicing with you when I return. 

Love, light, deep breaths, and gratitude,
Liz

Be humble.
Be teachable.
Always keep learning.

SUPPORT WOMEN IN OUR COMMUNITY

As many of you know, I am very involved with N Street Village, a women’s empowerment community and homeless shelter. I wanted to let you know that through the month of May, new members will receive one free month at VIDA Fitness with any donation of $50 or more to N Street Village. This is a wonderful way to support our community because your gift of $50 can provide up to 40 nutritious meals for women in need. For existing VIDA members, donate $100 or more and receive a $100 gift certificate to VIDA. Everyone wins!

GET DETAILS + DONATE

Greece Retreat FAQ

If warmth and abundance are what you're seeking, I'd love for you to join me in sunny Greece this summer. I put together a Greece Retreat FAQ in case you're considering booking one of the last spots. Scroll to learn more, and send me a message if there are any additional questions I can answer for you!

GREECE RETREAT FAQ

What is included in the price of the trip?
The price of the retreat is $1400 per person for double occupancy. To make things simple and stress-free, it covers everything except airfare and drinks. That includes:
• Full accommodations
• Two all-levels yoga or Pilates classes a day plus a daily morning or sunset meditation
• Three delicious farm-to-table meals per day
• Two excursions
• Transfers to and from the airport
• Transportation to and from all excursion destinations

What are the rooms like?
All guest room include:
• Private bathrooms
• Balconies with an ocean view
• Refrigerator
• Air-conditioner or room fans

How should I book my flights?
Athens (ATH) is the nearest international airport to Karpathos. I recommend that you book the international and domestic legs of your trip separately because in my experience it was much cheaper. 

International Flights
Round trip tickets to/from Athens are currently around $900. Please be sure to allow at least two hours between your international flight landing time and your domestic flight departure to/from Athens.

Domestic Flights
These are the domestic flights I recommend for the retreat:

Athens to Karpathos on June 3rd
• Sky Express flight GQ 040 (depart 12:20pm / arrive 1:30pm)
• Sky Express flight GQ 044 (depart 8:00pm / arrive 9:10pm)
• Olympic Air Flight OA 002 (depart 5:55pm / arrive 7pm)*
*This is currently the cheapest flight option at 53 Euros/$65

Karpathos to Athens on June 9th
• Sky Express flight GQ 041 (depart 2:20pm / arrive 3:30pm)
• Olympic Air Flight OA 005 (depart 6:30am / arrive 7:35am)*
*This is currently the cheapest flight option at 32 Euros/$40

Note: Your transfers are included in the price of the retreat no matter which flight option you choose!

Will there be free time?
Yes! Downtime is highly encouraged and there is no wifi at the retreat center so you can fully unplug and unwind. Do not feel obligated to attend all three classes per day and you should feel free to socialize as much or as little as you like. Honor how you feel and be open to what each day and moment brings.

How long is the walk to the beach?
The retreat center is situated on a hillside about a 5-minute walk from the beach. The views are spectacular and the stroll down to the beach is beautiful and peaceful.

What are the excursions?
We have planned one excursion to the ancient and famous mountain village Olympos, including dinner at a local village restaurant. The other excursion will be to the beach.

Can I drink the water in Karpathos?
No. We will purchase bottled water to drink on our way to the retreat center.

What will the food be like?
Three farm-to-table Mediterranean meals are included in the price of the retreat. Your breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be prepared fresh and served with tons of delicious local fruits and veggies. There will be no red meat or pork available, but there will be plenty of fish and some chicken (depending on availability). The retreat center can accommodate any and all dietary restrictions with advance notice.

Do you offer payment plans?
I have made every effort to make this retreat affordable and accessible to all students. Payment must be made in full before the retreat, but if you would like to attend and need an individualized payment schedule, please email me and I will do my best to make this retreat a reality for you!

Want to know something else? Get in touch! I'm happy to answer any questions you have. 

Ready to book? Email me!

Are Your Own Expectations Holding You Back?

Hello wonderful beings,

I hope this email finds you well.

The weather in D.C. has been tough this week. It doesn’t feel like spring is really here even though the Gregorian calendar says it is. I planned to write to you about growth and renewal, but when I sat to get my thoughts out on paper I didn't feel inspired by the beautiful rebirth that usually comes with the changing of seasons. At first I got frustrated, then I realized that I was facing resistance because what I was trying to write about something that just didn't resonate with me in the moment. I was wishing for sunshine and warmth while watching inches of snow pile up outside my window. 

So, I sat, took a deep breath, and listened to my heart. It unveiled an important and timeless topic: attachment.

We make life harder when we resist reality. In this instance, I was attached to what I had expected to write about and what I had hoped the weather would be. I was creating my own suffering by attaching to an idea that could (quite literally!) change with the weather. Sometimes we get so caught up in how we expect something or someone to be that we can’t be present and see the beauty in what is actually occurring. I didn’t want snow to be falling or the temperature to be 29 degrees, but that was the reality and it was actually breathtakingly beautiful when I stopped and paid full attention.

My wish for you today is that you can have the space and clarity to examine your expectations and chose your reactions to reality carefully. As one of my teachers, Sharon Salzberg, says: “we are not trying to change our thoughts, we are trying to change or relationship to them."

Wishing you a wonderful spring. Remember: you are the sky. Everything else is just the weather.

Love, light, and deep breaths,
Liz

P.S. If this winter weather has you feeling a little stiff, come move, strengthen & stretch with me this weekend! I’ll be at Yoga Heights this Sunday!

Hamstrings – Stretch & Strengthen
Yoga Heights Georgia Avenue
Sunday, March 25th / 1:30 - 3 p.m. / $20
REGISTER

Open Your Heart with this 5-Minute Mantra

Good morning dear souls and happy Valentine’s Day!

Valentine’s Day can spark a wide range of emotions for different people. Some love the holiday, some feel it was created by Hallmark as a clever marketing campaign, and still others dislike the day because it reminds them of past lovers.

Personally, I feel that any holiday that focuses on love is a good thing. The world needs more love. Not just romantic love, but the love that connects us all.

Today I invite you to pause, breathe, and remember that you are all that you seek. You are enough, and you and everyone you encounter are pure love.

If you are feeling disconnected from this truth, try a short metta meditation. It’s one of the things I do when I want to feel a deep and sincere human connection because it reminds me that we are all one. Metta is the Pali word (the language of the Buddha) for loving-kindness. The full metta meditation and instructions for practice will be the topic of an upcoming newsletter, but for now, you can try this short form of the practice on your own at home.

To begin, find a quiet place and sit with an upright, open hearted, relaxed posture. Then, take a few moments to just feel your breath, the in and the out, with no expectations or judgment. If thoughts arise, notice them, then choose to gently come back to the present moment and the sensations arising from your breath.

After you feel settled, the next step is to send well wishes to yourself for about two minutes. In the second half of the meditation, you send well wishes to all beings everywhere. The whole meditation takes just five to ten minutes from start to finish, and it's a wonderful way to reaffirm the knowledge that we are love.

A classic example of metta phrases that you can repeat silently are:

May I be happy.
May I be at peace.
May I live with ease.
May I be free from suffering.

Then,

May all beings be happy.
May all beings be at peace.
May all beings live with ease.
May all beings be free from suffering.

To finish, take a few more deep breaths, and then when you’re ready, open your eyes.

At first these phrases may seem forced or fake, but as long as your intention is true, there’s no need to worry! I practiced with the traditional phrases for some time before realizing that I preferred to repeat something different. For years now, I have been using these phrases instead: “May I be happy, May I be healthy, May I be free from fear.” These are the sayings that resonate with me, but you should feel free to experiment with phrases that feel most natural to you. Remember: you don’t need to get hung up on the words - it is your intentions that matter most.

Much love, light, and breath,
Liz

P.S. If you're looking for a way to show yourself some love this week, I'd love for you to join me for a class! Click over to my website to find my full yoga and Pilates studio schedules.

Join me in Greece!

Are you ready to take that retreat you've been dreaming of for years?

If you've been craving the time and space to find a deeper connection to your mind, body, and soul then it's time to unplug from your daily routine and plug into your inner bliss in one of the most beautiful destinations on Earth.

I've planned a once in a lifetime experience in the Aegean Sea on the Greek Island of Karpathos and I want you to join me!

I designed this retreat to help you fully relax and rejuvenate and I've handled every detail so you can truly unwind and find your flow. Mornings will start with meditation, followed by an hour of yoga or Pilates and a fresh island breakfast to fill your belly. During the day, you'll have plenty of free time to fill with the activities that bring you joy -- take a hike, read a book or journal in a hammock, go for a swim, or take a nap while you listen to the sound of waves crashing on the beach. We'll wind down the day with a chance to move or meditate before we settle in for another farm-to-table meal and an opportunity to enjoy the company of new friends in a community of likeminded individuals.

If a mind-body-soul reboot sounds like just the thing you need, read on. I've covered all the important details below and I'm ready to answer any questions you have about whether this retreat is right for you. If you want to chat more, just drop me a line and let's find a way to make this special retreat a reality for you this year!

GREECE RETREAT
THE DETAILS

WHAT'S INCLUDED

To make things simple and stress-free, the price of the retreat covers everything except airfare and drinks. That includes:

• Full accommodations (more on that below!) as well as transfers to and from the airport and transportation to and from all excursion destinations
• 2 all-levels yoga or Pilates classes a day, taught by yours truly with props provided by the retreat center
• A daily morning or sunset meditation
• 3 delicious farm-to-table meals per day
• 2 excursions (one to the mountains and one to a beach!)

DESTINATION & ACCOMODATIONS

Karpathos is in the Aegean Sea, south east of mainland Greece. It is the second largest island in the Greek Dodecanese group in the south east Mediterranean and is situated between Rhodes and Crete. Karpathos is a mountainous island known for its hiking trails, complete with deep valleys and beautiful mountain tops offering panoramic views all around.

Kathy’s Island Retreat is located in Adia, on the west coast of Karpathos, nestled at the foot of a mountain reaching down to the beautiful Aegean Sea. It's a stunning property surrounded by pine trees and Bougainvillea with magnificent views of the coastline.

All the guest rooms at our retreat center include:
• Balconies with an ocean view
• Private bathrooms
• Refrigerator
• Air conditioner or fans

RETREAT PRICING

Double Occupancy
• $1400 per person
•  $400 deposit to hold spot
• Final payment due by April 2, 2018

Single Occupancy
• $1650 per person
• $500 deposit to hold spot
• Final payment due by April 2, 2018

I have made every effort to make this retreat accessible to all of my students, so if you would like to attend but need a different payment schedule, please email me! I will make every effort to find a way to make this happen for you.

Are you ready to plan your summer getaway? Get in touch today!