A yoga retreat is not just a good idea, it actually has scientifically proven health benefits. While the health benefits of a regular yoga practice are well-known, the data on the benefits of taking a vacation are fairly new.

Let’s take a look:

- A recent study done by the Mind Body Center at the University of Pittsburgh shows that the benefits of engaging in multiple activities on vacation are lower blood pressure, lower stress hormones and smaller waists.

- Well-being research conducted by scientists in the Framingham Heart Study found “More than 12,000 men who were at risk of heart disease were followed over nine years to see if there were ways to improve their longevity. Among the questions they were asked annually was about vacations…The more frequent the vacations, the longer the men lived.” (Quoted on NPR)

- Francine Lederer, a clinical psychologist in Los Angeles was recently quoted in Insidescience.org, “The impact that taking a vacation has on one’s mental health is profound…Most people have better life perspective and are more motivated to achieve their goals after a vacation, even if it is a 24-hour time-out.”

- The Harvard Businss Review reported that taking a vacation increases productivity at work.

- An NBC report suggests that liberal vacation schedules for workers result in better focus on the job.

It’s not much of a leap to assume that the benefits of taking a Yoga Vacation are greater than the sum of the parts. Check out our June Yoga Retreats with John McConnell or Andrea O’Connor and our September Yoga Retreats with Martha Whitney or Janet Carscadden. You can find a little paradise right here in Vermont.

When I developed the “Strong on the Inside” class series and workshop, I wanted to bring together the core information that I had learned from various disciplines. This class brings clarity to core work from yoga (the bandahs), Physical Therapy, and Gyrotonic. And it feels great. Come check it out! No yoga experience necessary! Fit athletes, experienced yoginis, and those less conditioned or recovering from injury benefit from this unique work.

Thursdays, 4:30-5:30pm
6 weeks for $99
starting May 10th
Register Here

Take the opportunity to make your summer better at two Feldenkrais Workshops:

May 5 – Sitting for Strain-free Meditation
June 2 – Growing Taller – Find Your New Height

In these workshops, you’ll learn to understand how your body is organized. You’ll find that even small movements can have a big impact.

The Feldenkrais Method® is a somatic system that improves movement, reduces pain, and promotes general well-being. Uwe Mester Mester, Burlington Feldenkrais practitioner, can attest to the efficacy of the method. It helped him recover from lower back surgery; and he has been teaching Feldenkrais in the Burlington Area ever since.

Inspired by martial arts, child development, bio-mechanics, the Alexander technique, brain research, psychology, and Eastern health practices, Method founder, Moshé Feldenkrais (1904-1984), created a system that teaches students an integrated, free, and easy way to move. His method uses slow, careful, focused motions to bring the body into alignment and out of pain.

While some Vermonters might think that Feldenkrais is something that happens to your father’s Chrysler in the middle of pothole season, you know otherwise.

In the past, I’ve had community garden plots where bushels of roma canning tomatoes, culinary herbs, funky striped beets, and spicy mesclun were among my favorite crops.Will do that again some day! As a renting intervale farmer, I raised and sold many types of medicinal herbs one year.  I’m into rock and our tiny city yard has three rock walls, a stone patio and stone walkway. Each year I tear something apart and rebuild it, much to Bill’s distress (What? It was fine the way it was!!!) This year the walkway is up for a facelift.  ~ Andrea

Join Andrea O’Connor for a weekend retreat in Starksboro, Vermont from June 8 – 10th, 2012 – Branch Out! Yoga for Gardeners

In our yoga practice, through asana and pranyama (postures and breathing exercises), we learn to see ourselves more fully. When we move mindfully, our actions provide a pathway for self-discovery. We learn about our body’s strengths, but we also learn more about who we are and how we are in the world.

June 8 – 10

Branch Out! Yoga for Gardening with Andrea O’Connor

Cultivate Your Yoga Glow with John McConnell

September 14 – 16

Yoga and Nature: Connecting with your Inner and Outer Landscape with Martha Whitney

JUNE 8 – 10

Grow Your Yoga – Yoga for Gardeners with Andrea O’Connor

Shine Out – Cultivate Your Yoga Glow with John McConnell

SEPTEMBER 14 – 16

Yoga and Stone Building in Your Garden with Charlie MacMartin and Janet Carscadden

Yoga and Nature Retreat – Connect with your Inner and Outer Landscape with Martha Whitney

Breath deeply through your whole body, while keeping just a small fraction of the weight in your head. Spread the majority of your body weight throughout the limbs, and also breathe into the space between the discs, ribs, and muscles. Visualize white, all the colors in the world conjuring into one massive bright white light. Another color that helps to stimulate the Crown Chakra is violet. After a few breaths, unwind gently back to Hero’s pose and rest in Child’s. Ah, sweet relief.