Bristol, NY

I went away on Yoga retreat for a few days over Memorial Day weekend; was blessed to be able to take in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate NY. The retreat was hosted in a building that was originally designed to be a hunting cabin, and has now been converted to yoga retreat space. People who own homes in this area generally have many acres of land and if they don’t happen to be right on a lake, rather than digging and installing a pool, they will dig and dig and very easily create a fresh water pond. Which was the case at this sight. This creates a perfect setting for nighttime music of frog and toad calls. This particular retreat drew a small crowd of women, mostly from Colorado. It was very interesting for me to observe their impressions of this most gorgeous area between Central and Western New York State. We truly were extraordinarily lucky to have unseasonably warm and sunny weather (whatever is seasonable anymore?!). The women from Colorado were drinking in, not only the warmth, but also the humidity in the air. It is not what the air feels and smells like in Colorado. To me, this is what late spring and summer just is; to these women, this was a delicious treat. Of course, I had nothing to do with their total enjoyment of the lush green, the gorgeous pond, the singing spring birds, toads, and frogs, the sunny, warm, and humid weather; but somehow all of this felt a little more like mine, and I felt special. No doubt my feeling special came not only from their new found appreciation of what is close to home and familiar to me, but also came from Jeanie Manchester’s yoga classes, Douglas Brooks’ inspiring talks each afternoon, and Vishali’s welcome setting. Many thanks to our talented teachers and to the Goddesses from the West (and East too)! See you at our next gathering!

Blessings, Donna