Couples retreats in PA are places where you can connect soulfully, romantically and holistically with your beloved. Some of the spiritual centers where I would love to do a couples retreat in PA are at the Himalayan Institute since there are so many incredible spiritual programs there. I went to Kripalu in Wetern MA a few years ago and it was such a pivotal experience for me. I was looking for places like Kripalu in PA.
A yoga teacher that I know well had gone there after she was recovering from a painful divorce and that is where she embraced yoga to heal her heart, body and soul. She was going through some pretty painful and raw feelings and that is where she was able to feel and give birth to a new life that did not include her ex husband.
I always loved the idea of going to Bedford Springs in Pennsylvania for a couples retreat in PA since it has hot mineral springs there. I am such a sucker for hot mineral springs. I have a lot of aches, pains and body tightness and when I go into a hot mineral spring that is when I feel completely renewed by all the nourishing minerals that are in the water. I remember the first time I went to a hot springs was in California, it was called Orr springs and I was there with my sweetie. There were flowers and trees everywhere and there was lots of space for us to just enjoy nature and enjoy each other. My jewelry turned a different color after soaking in the water for a while since the minerals turn metal into a different color.
We did a staring meditation when were were in the springs on our retreat. We just tuned into each other on a very deep level at this place.
Also in Pennsylvania, we went to Temenos in West Chester, PA. Temenos means “sacred space” in ancient Greek and it is a place that is very near and very dear to our hearts. We have had some of our own romantic retreats there with other couples. It is quite rustic inside of the old farmhouse there. It’s so rustic that we end up killing a few bugs when we are in the retreat house. I always pray that a bug will not crawl up on anyone when we are doing our staring meditation since that would be so disruptive. We also do a lot of yoga for couples together because we believe that the couple that sweats together stay together.
This feeling of being one entity is what leads to bonding and that makes the physical act of love a natural extension from this energetic bonding that occurs in romantic couples classes. You start to drop into almost a trance and you get so attuned to your partner that you almost feel at one with the ether of the universe at this point.
It ends up being a very bonding and buoyant time and we all cuddle and nuzzle together by the fire when we are done. I think the bonding that happens within the group also had a role in making for a memorable time as well as the bonding and the staring meditation that happens with the couple.
What have been some of your favorite retreat places? What kinds of activities do you like? Do you have to get spa treatments? Does it have to be someplace exotic and tropical? Does it have to have yoga and also meditation? Do all the activities have to be with your significant other?
Do you need to connect with others that are also on the retreat or do you just want to be focused on yourself and your partner? Write your answers on our Facebook page.
Poses Romantic Couples are ways that couples can connect through couples yoga and couples meditation. The aspirations of many who practice yoga is to unite your finite self or limited-self within the bounds of your conscious mind with the Infinite Self where you feel at one with the ether of the universe. There’s no better way to enhance that journey than to practice yoga with your beloved or yoga for couples. It can be quite a deep emotional and very vulnerable experience so I don’t recommend doing this with someone you are just casually dating or planning to break up with.
ABC News, recently covered how yoga enhances Intimacy and your sex life on ABC Nightline and their Health blog. Watch this video below from ABC Nightline (30 second commercials plays first)
Sexuality and spirituality are not mutually exclusive. The ancient yogis understood that a worshipful attitude towards your partner created a chemical change in your brain that allowed for the experience of bliss in meditation or yoga. ABC News mentioned two yoga products “The science of yoga” by William Broad and a three part DVD set “Better sex through Yoga” by Jacquie Noelle.
Most yoga classes are very internally focused and you come, lay down your mat and almost avoid eye contact with the people around you and even the teacher. Most students never get to know the people next to them and are content to be completely immersed in their inner world during a yoga class.
Yoga does hold a myriad of benefits in terms of improved stamina, vigor, flexibility, relief from aches and pain, fatigue that can get in the way of intimacy. When your body is free from pain, stiffness, tension, tightness and your are more freed up energetically, then there is more space in your head, heart and body for intimacy.
In poses romantic couples classes and meditations, there is an emphasis on being present to your partner’s presence, breath, intention, movement and to be accepting of any limitations and levels of flexibility. Some poses that you can do are sitting back to back and just becoming present to the rise and fall of your breath and your partner’s breath. Then you try to synchronize your breathing pattern with your partner’s breathing pattern.
Another exercise to try is to monitor your own heart beat and then start to notice your partner’s heartbeat. See if you can synchronize your heartbeat with the heartbeat of your partner. Exercises like these encourage partners to be sensitive and in tune with their significant other’s rhythms and they start to function and exist as one entity instead of two separate entities.
Men are often astounded how doing simple exercises like this can lead to profound insights they can have about themselves, their partner and their relationships. In doing this type of work, it is critical to set up an environment where people feel safe and protected since men are not as accustomed to being vulnerable, especially in a public setting. Having soft music, low lighting, making sure there are no disruptions such as people coming into the room or cell phones going off is paramount.
This feeling of oneness is what leads to bonding and intimacy which makes the physical act of love a natural extension from this kinesthetic bonding that occurs in poses romantic couples classes and meditation exercises. You start to drop into almost a trance and you get so attuned to your partner that you almost feel at one with the ether of the universe at this point. Being in these kinds of alterered or alpha states can bring people into deep levels of consciousness and people start to go on a deep inner journey getting them in contact with their deep inner wisdom.
What Couples Yoga Looks like with Synergy by Jasmine (below)
Yoga was originally a system that was just designed to help you achieve self-actualization that was developed in India thousands of years ago. It was really just a seated meditation practice and the poses were designed later to help people feel more comfortable to be in the seated meditation poses longer. It was originally just men that taught and did yoga.
When yoga started to become popular in the west it ended up evolving into a hip, popular exercise system that made you feel so tranquil and compassionate and oh, by the way, your abs now look like Taylor Lautner. There are so many different kinds of yoga and it ranges from restorative poses where you can fall asleep in them because they are so passive and you are using a bunch of props like blocks, bolsters and blankets to have your body release tightness and tension to the uber-intense Bikram where you feel like you are being punished for killing people in your past life by being locked in a 104 degree room with a bunch of stinky people while you all contort your bodies into unfathomable shapes.
Depending on what kind of yoga you do, you can lose weight with your yoga loss weight practice. You will probably end up doing a bunch of sun salutations which consist of classic poses designed to heat your core up, make you limber and get your heart pumped up. Some of the poses in English are called, up-dog, down dog, warrior with variations such as Warrior 1, 2, and 3. Also there is chaturanga, which is a like a push-up and then you lower your chaturanga, which is basically a lowered push up and then later you will probably end up doing poses like side angle, lunge and it’s cousin high lunge and triangle. Most vinyasa and even hatha yoga classes consist of a a series of sun salutations where you just do these poses for about 30 minutes and then the last part of your class you might venture into some poses that are new for you. If my knees were not so cranky these days I would probably be going to other teacher’s classes or just doing more of these at home. Unfortunately, knees don’t like lunges and squats and there tend to be a lot of these in most yoga loss weight classes.
If you want to do yoga weight loss system at home, I recommend buying a few power yoga DVDs and also buying Charry Morris’ Yoga for Weight Loss book. She actually has a free guide that explains how yoga helps you lose weight by altering your metabolism and changing your perspective on food ( and your life in general) This is not a quick fix or take a few pills and just magically lose weight. It will require commitment, dedication, accountability and your attention and perserverance for you to really lose weight with yoga.
What weight loss programs have worked or didn’t work well for you?
In Yoga, cat position and cow position are some of the poses I do almost every class for beginners. It is a very easy pose to do and almost everyone can do this pose no matter what is going on with their body. In the video below I show how to do the pose. It simply involves rounding and arching your spine. I also like to include a version where your hips go back to your heels so it feels like an easy vinyasa flow for beginners. It is such a great and gentle way to warm up your spine and bring space and elongation to a stiff spine. It helps to relieve tightness in the low back. I usually offer a modification for those with sensitive knees. I have sensitive knees so I always want to have knee cushioning beneath my knees so I usually say to put some padding in the form of a folded up blanket beneath the knees or if you don’t have blanket you can also fold up your yoga mat a few times and get some cushioning that way.
I usually have students do this yoga cat position and cow flow for a few minutes. You will start to feel your body gently warm up and feel your heart race go up a bit. I usually encourage students to do this with their eyes closed for two reasons. The first reason is that you can have a deeper inner journey and just focus on what is going on deep inside of yourself and think about what your intention for your practice, health and life is. The second reason, which I don’t say out loud is that you have students that are kneeling on their hands and knees and their butt is in the air right in front of another student. I don’t want students to be looking at someone else’s butt during their yoga class and no one wants to feel self-conscious during their yoga cat position and cow flow sequence so if they know that other students have their eyes closed then they can be more focused on themselves and not worrying about what the other students are thinking of how their body looks.
I have been teaching these in my classes at the yoga studio and love seeing the look of relief and delight on my students faces when they are able to manage their own health through these moves. My prenatal students especially love cat and cow position since low back pain is such a common pregnancy discomfort.
What poses, moves or stretches do you like to do for low back pain? Write your answers in the comments or on our Facebook page.
Stiff Neck? Massage Self instead of a Spa Dessert Yoga Poses
So do you have a painful, tight and stiff neck? Massage self instead of going to a spa and paying hard earned cash. I used to get tons of free massages when I worked at Spafinder.com a few years ago. I am very picky about my massage and more often then not when I got my massage my neck did not feel any better. They usually just concentrated on my back the entire time. I’ve been to countless chiropractors, acupuncturists, physical therapists, holistic doctors, yoga classes, alternative and VERY alternative healers. I would be so embarrassed to admin to anyone how much I have spent over the past 6 years in the hopes that my neck pain would go away.
I have had a stiff neck for years. One of my chiropractors in Philadelphia gave me this tip to help my neck and shoulder pain ( neck and shoulder pain seem to go together…. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who had neck pain but didn’t have shoulder pain.)
I don’t ever travel without my tennis balls and a sock for my stiff neck so I can massage my self. I do have to allow a long time to do this since I start at the bottom of my shoulder blades and I lie on the tennis balls a few minutes and then after five minutes I move up to the next vertebrae. I keep going until I get to my occipital ridge….the ridge at the base of my skull and then when I get to that spot I often fall asleep. A great move if you have insomnia.
I recommend doing this tennis balls self massage on the floor and not on a bed. The pressure from the floor will drive the tennis balls deeper into those tight areas and really release that stiffness and pain. It does feel like restorative yoga which is one of my favorite kinds of yoga but requires a lot of props…. you won’t get Taylor Lautner abs from doing this gentle yoga practice but it is a treat and feels like a dessert yoga pose….I usually call it the dessert of yoga… so delicious and will send you to a deep place of tranquility and bliss.
Here is my video for how to do this neck and shoulder massage at home. Turn off your phone, tell no one to bug you for 20 minutes when you are doing this. My husband knows not to ask me anything when I am on my tennis balls…. I become so relaxed that I am incoherent.
I also have gotten so much relief with Jill Miller’s yoga flavored physical therapy moves in her Yoga Tune Up series. So I decided to order her DVD for upper body pain. This DVD is divided into 5 segments specifically for pain in different parts of your body such as your neck, shoulders, hands, wrists and back. The segments range from 5-10 minutes so they are very easy to fit into your day. I found that my pain and tightness had gone down mucho mucho. I have been teaching many of these in my classes and love seeing the look of relief and delight on my students faces when they are able to manage their own health through these moves.
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The ancient yogis understood that a worshipful attitude towards your partner created a chemical change in your brain that allowed for the experience of bliss in meditatio
In Yoga, cat position and cow position are some of the poses I do almost every class for beginners. It is a very easy pose to do and almost everyone can do this pose no matter what is going on with their body. In the video below I show how to do the pose. It simply involves rounding and arching your spine. I also like to include a version where your hips go back to your heels so it feels like an easy vinyasa flow for beginners. It is such a great and gentle way to warm up your spine and bring space and elongation to a stiff spine. It helps to relieve tightness in the low back. I usually offer a modification for those with sensitive knees. I have sensitive knees so I always want to have knee cushioning beneath my knees so I usually say to put some padding in the form of a folded up blanket beneath the knees or if you don’t have blanket you can also fold up your yoga mat a few times and get some cushioning that way.
