Not having your phone what-so-ever or in any capacity for 2 days except for checking once or twice for emergency reasons, and then turning it back off completely is phenomenal! While a little bit stressful, overall absolutely phenomenal. It is amazing to just totally disconnect. When is the last time you have done that?
Another fun fact! It is amazing how long your battery will last when you’re not on your phone every 15 seconds/10 million times a day! So, the other thing I learned is that if you just have your phone for emergencies and you’re not on it 24/7 the iPhone battery lasts at least 2 days. 😊
You can meet so many amazing people! So many amazing women from so many different walks of life. The stay at home mom, the yoga instructor, the architect, the doctor, the yoga studio owner, the musician, the talk show host, different business owners, etc. Just so many different amazing cool people to meet.
It was really, really, really sweet! We had a schedule to wake up about 7, yes, I will say that again, that is 7 am, on purpose I know right! So, she woke us up at 7 am by playing the gong or by playing her flute, it was a super beautiful melody to wake up to in any or either instance. She was a blessing!
The next thing: I definitely have confirmation that I have OCD, which the first step is admitting you have a problem, right, and then working on it. So, the way my OCD came up that would be… Well there …. Ok fine.
If I’m being honest, are several LOL…
- 1.) Apparently, even though people will be barefoot for yoga they don’t necessarily care about cutting, manicuring, and or painting their toenails. Those three things which drive me crazy, I know it’s ridiculous, don’t make fun of me! I’m weird! it’s cool, I know. So, I must be the only one crazy obsessed with that! Like if I’m not painting my toenails, or they are super chipped or something, I am not exposing my freaky little toes! Hahahahaha
- 2.) The next thing that had a big effect on my OCD…. very interesting…. very fun…. very cool … and well obviously I have an issue! Which I know that I have an issue considering even my pajamas at night have to match. OCD much?!?! Yep! My OCD kicked in when almost no one’s outfits matched. How liberating that it didn’t bother anyone. It was cold and we had to wear layers. Everyone was just free-spirited, free flowing, wore whatever was comfortable to them regardless if it matched in any way, or not. That is awesome! And for that, I admire those people, and I will work on myself to not be too ridiculous with my forms of OCD.
- 3.) So imagine you have these 3 buckets out with soapy water in them, and you put your silverware in the first bucket. Then the second bucket is where you pre-scrubbed your plates, and the third bucket is where you rinsed it, OMG I am cringing now as I am thinking about it. That was such like UGH! When I wash dishes at home! I do not fill the sink with water because the water gets so dirty and gross. I don’t want my hands in it. It’s like swishing your hands around in vomit pretty much. But here I had to put my hands in dirty water with all kinds of left-over food, not so much fun but again me being weird and ridiculous, and it was very do-able, even though it was disgusting to me and no one else of course. #Don’tJudge
And the fun continues, News to me: apparently, I am very much a coffee snob! I said it, I said it out loud, I have admitted it and it is the first step! I am a coffee snob. Shout out to Nespresso and shout out to Nescafé because I just cannot deal with coffee besides those two! To me, it is literally just like flavored water and I just don’t understand it. The joy in drinking coffee that is so fulfilling to your heart. Thick, warm, strong is my preference!
Then the next thing that I learned about, “Seva”What does that mean? Well, I learned what it means, working meditation. So, on this retreat everyone cleaned up behind themselves. We made our beds, vacuuming our floors, we cleaned the toilets, we cleaned the shower, everybody pitched in! We picked up after the meals, we wiped the tables off, picked up the placemats. So that was neat. We pre-washed all of our dishes that way the person washing the dishes did not have a big gunky mess to deal with. I like this because it made me think. As we clean and wash and do our daily chores at home and take care of our families, we should view it as a mindful, working meditation. It is a blessing, an honor, a gift to serve those we love! I think sometimes we take that for granted. Perception is everything. Right?
I also learned about my first yoga retreat. 3 hours of yoga practice is a little much for me. I love yoga! Love it, love it, love it. I have been practicing for almost 20 years and I absolutely love it! An hour and a half yoga class, no big deal, love it, wonderful, invigorating, peaceful, calming, energizing, such a combination of so many wonderful things. This retreat there were 2 or 3 sessions of 3 hours at a time. My mind is too busy for that I just can’t do that, it was too much. I am super happy with an hour and a half to two hours.
I was very proud of myself for my meditations, which I have also been practicing for about 20 years. More so, in the last 10. It used to be near impossible to meditate for nearly 5 minutes, and I realized on this retreat that I can meditate for 45 minutes without a problem, like the blink of an eye, it’s crazy how fast it goes when you build up that kind of tolerance. I Love It!
So, I learned during my yoga retreat, I need to work on my OCD. I also really enjoyed the retreat and I will absolutely be doing more!!!! Have you been on a yoga retreat? I would love to hear about it! Leave a comment below or message me.