Yoga + Writing Retreat Returns!

“You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.”

—from “Wild Geese” by  Mary Oliver

Yoga and Writing Retreat

Loving Yourself 101    a day of nurturing

By now, we’ve all been slapped with self-help jargon touting the importance of learning to “love yourself,” but what does that really mean? Often times we are lead to think self-love is something hard earned, (I will love myself when/if I…lose weight, run a marathon, volunteer every day, get a “good” job, find the perfect person, etc), or something we must convince ourselves of in clichéd affirmations to our terrified reflection in the mirror (“You are a vision of beauty. I am a sacred feminine goddess. You embody wisdom and magic of the universe. I am one with the divine”, etc). Nothing against mantras, but if they are vague or inauthentic, we are merely confusing ourselves! No wonder it’s not working!  (How about cut to the chase: I LOVE MY VARICOSE VEINS!)

Most of the time we are so used to doubting, neglecting, criticizing, scaring, denying ourselves, etc, that we don’t even realize we are doing it; for many of us, beating ourselves up is a habit we picked up in order to survive and/or fit in.  And while we are well aware that society/media, etc, capitalizes on this insecurity by bombarding us with messages laden with fear, (protect yourself with insurance of every kind, love yourself with stuff, prettiness, money, get a facial, etc), sadly we are all susceptible to turning against ourselves in favor of popular opinion or old habits where we learned to do whatever we could to get love, even if meant not loving ourselves.  The good news is that we are already “loving ourselves” all the time—even in ways we are unaware, natural organic ways that remind us that self-love is a healthier, though underemphasized (and under sensationalized), means of survival. As Mary Oliver reminds us, we only have to let our soft animal body to love what it loves.”  Sometimes we have to find our soft animal body in order to remember what it loves.

In this integrative workshop we will discuss and practice what it means to truly nurture and love ourselves in ways that feel authentic, loving, and honest by bringing personal meaning to a crucial adage—love thyself—and why we need it now more than ever.

Our Day Together

Restorative/Gentle Yoga (no experience required)

Hands-on Healing (Thai Yoga Bodywork, Reiki)

Writing/Sharing

Writing/creating fresh, new, personal MANTRAS (physical and written)

Laughter Yoga

Nourishing Lunch

Saturday February 18, 2012     10am-4pm Sunnyside South Minneapolis Beach Studio  $99   Registerrox@writingwithrox.com 

612-703-4321   All Welcome!

Cori Levin, RYT (Registered Yoga Teacher) comes to us live and direct from sunny Sayulita surftown, Mexico where she taught and lived yoga on the shores of the Pacific Ocean for one year with her family. “Come do nothing” her latest mantra, embodies her philosophy as a teacher and mother: break the rules, challenge yourself by changing your pace, feel totally supported by doing nothing by giving yourself permission to do nothing…and love yourself for it. 

Rox Sadovsky recently added a few more letters to her credential salad as a CLYL (Certified Laughter Yoga Leader) yet she still hasn’t gotten the hang of her multiplication tables. Lately she and her 4 year-old Jude have been chanting  “skidleeeaye! skildleeeeeoh!”  to relieve tension and find calm in shared giggles. “Trust spontaneity”, and “I am a ninja” and “look around right here and now at all the gifts,” are three of her favorite personal mantras. Learning to love herself, flaws and all, continues to challenge and surprise her everyday.