Retreat – Summer Camp For Grown-ups

Sleep-away summer camp is one of the best experiences a kid can have. It is a place where a kid can just BE – free from video games and cell phones, shopping malls and cable TV. There are all kinds of activities to keep a kid busy – swimming, horseback riding, sailing, arts and crafts. A kid can go camping, hiking, canoeing. And there is just enough healthy, balanced, yummy food to keep up with a summer camp kid’s appetite. All that activity requires a lot of nourishment!
A kid learns a little independence and self-reliance at sleep-way summer camp. Separated from family, friends, the usual trappings of life at home, away from the watchful eye of mom and dad, she gets to explore who SHE is, outside of the dynamic of her home life (while still under adult supervision). Sleep-away summer camp can transform a kid for life in so many positive ways.
As adults, very few of us have the luxury of taking an entire summer to be away from our every-day environment, to rediscover ourselves and make lifelong transformations. We have jobs, families, obligations, not to mention the cost. But, we get in ruts. We may develop habitual tendencies that are unhealthy for us. It could be unhealthy eating habits, not exercising enough or doing exercise that does not really benefit our bodies. Sometimes we need to step outside our every-day world, really get away from it, to make changes in ourselves, our perceptions, our habits.
During the Living Long and Healthy workshop July 18-20, at the beautiful Omega Retreat Center in Rhinebeck, NY, you will have three days away from outside influences to immerse yourself in healthy eating and exercise. Mimi Kirk will teach you how to let go of your addiction to unhealthy food by preparing dishes that will satisfy and delight your tastebuds. I will guide you through basic yoga poses that will help you to strengthen your body and relieve pain in your back, neck, shoulders, hips and knees.
Then, in August, Andrew and I will host our annual summer camp retreat “Raising Your Vibration” in one of the world’s yoga meccas – and our hometown, Encinitas, California. For 5 days, you will immerse yourself in hours of transformative yoga practice, the camaraderie of others who share your need to be outside of their daily lives, dinner with me and Andrew in our home and in restaurants around Encinitas, all surrounded by the most beautiful coastline in California.
Am I promising that you’re going to leave Rhinebeck, NY a devout vegan? Or that 5 days in Encinitas will turn you into a yogi? Not necessarily, profound change takes time and commitment to become permanent. However, a few days away from the rigors of your life will give your body, mind and soul the break it needs to separate you from your routine, and might crack you open just enough to allow the seed of change to grow.

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About Desiree

Desiree travels the world full time sharing her compassion and her joy with others interested in the transformational power of yoga. Together with Michelle Marchildon, she has written “Fearless After Fifty: How To Thrive with Grace, Grit and Yoga.” She has produced a DVD series entitled “Yoga to the Rescue” and is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal, having also appeared on its cover.