Friday, November 25 – Sunday, November 27, 2016
Led by Carolyn Bluemle
Limited to 14 participants.
Come, take refuge. Enter the healing power of monastic rhythm each day and integrate body and spirit. Align body and breath through yoga postures in prayer; sit in guided and silent meditation; chant the psalms with the monks; and sing Taizé chants in the beautiful chapel.
Advent is a time of God’s presence in the darkness of Mary’s womb with a promise of light and love. Yoga can help us enter our bodies to find gentle awareness of God’s presence in our hearts: God who seeks to be born again and again out of our struggles and out of our tender longing for balance and joy for everyone. Pondering Mary’s assent and hope expressed in the Magnificat, we will explore the healing power of the breath which unites our deepest selves and God and the world. Together we will co-create our own variations of a yoga sequence to Amy Grant’s simple and beautiful song, Breath of Heaven.
Please bring a symbol of your intention for the retreat to place on a prayer table in the practice room. Yoga props are provided. Previous experience with yoga is not required but is recommended because familiarity with some of the postures makes it easier to enter the practice as prayer. All postures can be modified for any body.
Carolyn Bluemle has taught yoga since 1989 and is Iyengar certified. She has led numerous retreats at Holy Cross and workshops in the Sacred Circles program at the Washington National Cathedral. She holds a Masters in ancient Greek philosophy from UC Berkeley and has enjoyed many years as a dancer. Through the healing practices of yoga, meditation, and Taizé chant she has renewed her Christian faith. Her teaching, precise and enthusiastic, with humor and compassion, reflects her deep experience of yoga as prayer. www.cmagicisafoot.com
Cost: $260; deposit: $80