Tag: Adventure

Vida Luna 2018: Community

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The concept of Vida Luna Women’s Wellness retreat was conceived in January 2017 with longtime friend and Transpersonal Development Coach, Nikki Hartley.  We wanted to provide an affordable long weekend to help women refresh their minds, renew their spirits, and heal their bodies. To recharge.

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Vida Luna was born.

This past weekend, 10 women carved time into their busy schedules to their make their way from four different states to Lake Ouachita for our second Vida Luna Retreat. It was an honor and privilege to welcome back so many familiar faces, to witness the joyful reunions, and to see arms outstretched to the first-timers. By the end of our first meal together, it felt like a group of old friends catching up at a weekend getaway.

Throughout the weekend we practiced morning yoga overlooking the lake, and guided meditations lit by candles and the stars. We turned inwards; cultivating mindfulness through daily journal prompts and the use of oracle cards. There were delicious family-style vegan and vegetarian meals, quartz crystal hunting, dancing on boats, flamingo floats, teary-eyed hugs, and endless laughter.

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Being surrounded by other women open to listening and sharing their own experiences creates the sacred space and support we need to allow ourselves to lean into one another’s shoulders, and inspire each other’s awakenings. Because working through your own shit alongside another human working on their own shit reminds us that we aren’t alone in our pain and fear. That on some level we’re all the same. Connected. One.

Everyone who signs up for a wellness retreat is searching for something – even if they don’t know what it is they’re seeking. I’m not sure if anyone found what they were looking for last weekend, but I believe they all left having found a sense of belonging.

Community.

Someone responded to one of my posts on Instagram asking if it was a retreat or just a girl’s weekend.

The answer: BOTH.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Jai Siddhatma: Victorious Are Liberated Souls

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Two weeks ago, I sat alone with a glass of wine desperately trying to decompress from another week filled with dance classes, yoga classes, students of all ages demanding my undivided attention, rushing from one space to the next, and found myself googling “silent retreats.” I stumbled upon Siddhayatan Spiritual Retreat. After browsing through their offerings, I noticed that for a small additional fee I could bring Mr. Darcy and within minutes I had impulsively reserved my space for the following week.

Monday morning the pup and I set off for the ashram in East Texas. The day was bright, brisk, and beautiful. Mr. Darcy napped for the majority of the drive while I sang along to all of my favorite 70s jams.

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Upon arrival, I was greeted by one of the nuns who went over my options along with the general rules and guidelines. Since puppy was with me, we were staying off the main property. The space was simple, modest, and bare, but clean and more than enough room for the two of us.

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The area surrounding us was enclosed with a special gate designed to keep the coyotes out, so Mr. Darcy was free to run wild and play fetch. We did a fair amount of wandering outside the gate before I had to head back to the main property for mantra with the Master and other retreaters.

My knowledge of mantra is limited, but I was familiar with several from my 300hr training. For the first few I opted to listen, but by the second page I readily joined in. The energy you feel when reciting mantra with a group is almost tangible. It reverberates and pulses throughout your body – you’re almost humming with energy like a plucked guitar string.

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It was fun to meet people from all over the world who had found their way to this place. Some had been there for over a month, others had arrived within the past few days. One of the men asked why I was there. He said that everyone who came to Siddhayatan was searching for something. He also told me that while someone had successfully done a 38 day water fast, but the longest anyone had gone without talking was 8 days.

The silence wasn’t so bad. While a little lonely being separated from the group on the other side of the property, I was able to chant in the mornings and spend time with others during meals. There is something both peaceful and liberating to be able to absorb all of the activity and conversation happening around you without the expectation or obligation to participate.

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I hadn’t realized how much I’ve been needing to slow down. I spent countless hours wandering through fields with Mr. Darcy, and the rest of my time reading, writing, and sleeping. I was able to identify my fear behind some of the issues I’ve been dealing with, and have felt a pretty big internal shift since naming them out loud. The next time you have an opportunity to do something out of the ordinary, I encourage you to book it before you have time to change your mind. It could change your life!

xx/m

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Smoke on the water after morning mantra on the walk to breakfast.

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Beautiful flowers I was able to capture on the Spring Equinox.

Texas sunsets make my heart flutter. This was my view between mantra and dinner Monday night.

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That time we howled at the moon

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Exactly a month ago, I packed my car with shorts, a swimsuit, 8 meals for 12 adults, and a long-lost friend from my early 20s to co-lead a wellness retreat in the tiny town of Mt. Ida, Arkansas.

Nestled in the Ozarks overlooking Lake Ouachita, Nikki (of Mind Body Mana) and I lead ten beautiful souls through a 3-night wellness retreat focused on helping women take a break from the daily grind to reconnect with their feminine energy.

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Life gets fucking intense. It can get so overwhelmingly busy that you lose track of tasks, goals, dreams, friends, and which day of the week it is. I get it. Nikki gets it. We live it. We get that other people are living it too. And we understand that many of us have jobs, kids, families, and other obligations that don’t allow us to drop $1k+ and take off for a week to do the self-caring.

But all this stuff? This life stuff?

That’s exactly why we need to take time for ourselves.

To take care of others, you have to take care of yourself first.

So Nikki and I set out with a mission: Design an affordable long weekend to help women refresh their minds, renew their spirits, and heal their bodies. Recharge. We knew it didn’t need to be fancy (and quickly discovered that keeping the price point low actually forbid that), but it did need to be a comfortable and beautiful place that would allow connection with self, each other, and Mother Nature. (Also, room for all of the yoga mats.)

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After scouting several extravagantly priced locations that were exceptionally difficult to get to in Colorado, we opted for the exact spot on Lake Ouachita that my family has been visiting since the 1970s.

Lake Ouachita Shores is charmingly rustic, economical, and a short walk to the marina where we rented a beautiful, brand new party barge large enough for 15 adults and equipped with Bluetooth and badass speakers.

The natural beauty here is exquisite. We began each day saluting the sun on their two-level gazebo over looking the lake. (Confession: I occasionally paused practice to point out deer, ravishingly red cardinals, and adorable striped chipmunks. #sorrynotsorry).

We scoured the shoreline for quartz as Lake Ouachita features one of the largest crystal veins in the world. (Fun fact: Mt. Ida has been dubbed “Quartz Capital of the World.”)

We ate meals together, meditated together, worked with essential oils, wrote, laughed, sang, and even cried together. Our group encompassed women spanning more than 3 decades decades. We brought many different ideas and insights to the table, but we each gave, received, and practiced kindness, compassion, acceptance, and love, love, love, love, love. We honored our divine potential and created space for new opportunities and infinite possibilities.

And, yeah.

We howled at the moon. We did a lot of cool girl cult stuff. I’d share with you here, but that shit is sacred. If you want to find out for yourself, you’ll have to come next time.

xx/m

A very special thanks to the following who contributed to gift bags to greet our ladies of the lake. I am so happy I had the opportunity to share products I use and love from companies I support and have a personal connection with.

 

Left my heart in San Francisco… Again.

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I made my first trip to San Francisco in August of 2012. Mark Twain was right when he said, “The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.” Since then, I’ve lost half a dozen close friends to this beautiful and eclectic city, made a dozen more trips, and have finally (almost) learned how to pack for my visits.

I got six entire days in the city this time around, and it was almost enough time to touch base and see everyone/thing that I’d hoped to! Highlights from my week include a quick stop at the modern ruins of Sutro Baths, a chartered sail around the San Francisco Bay, rainy day wandering to the SFMOMA complete with my first experience kava root at Kava Lounge, and getting to assist my dear friend, Travis, with the launch of Basik Candle Co.

Hoping to head back this summer. Until then, thanks for all of the everything! SF, you make my heart flutter a little faster with every single visit. xx

 

Copal Retreat: Paradise

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The Mayan Riviera is one of my favorite places on earth, and in my opinion, one of the most beautiful. Last month I lead my first yoga retreat at Casa Copal in Paamul, Mexico which is located along a curved stretch of shimmering Caribbean waters in a small bay south of Playa del Carmen. Each day we practiced yoga on the rooftop terrace with the ocean + sunrise/sunset as our background, biked to white-sanded beaches with turquoise waters, snorkeled, paddle boarded, jumped off of cliffs into cool, clear cenotes, relaxed in hammocks, ate healthy and organic meals prepared by a certified Cordon Bleu Chef, and explored the off-shore coral reef.

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The beautiful Casa Copal. www.copalretreats.com

Yep. Seriously. It really was that magical.

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Photo of Welcoming Ceremony by Charlie Roberts

Our first evening began with a welcoming ceremony featuring Mexican cuencos, which are brass bowls in a similar to the ones Tibetan Buddhists use. These bowls use their acute sound-waves to cleanse one spiritually and physically. The leader also used this time to bless us before beginning a week of yoga and good health.

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Photo of sunrise practice by Charlie Roberts

Each morning, we saluted the sun with an energizing vinyasa flow yoga practice (Chef Shawn, by far the most popular person at the entire retreat always had coffee ready at 6:45am sharp).

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Jardin del Eden Cenote

 

 

There were a several group outings including a trip to the cenotes, which are sinkholes resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock and exposes the groundwater beneath. The water is cool, deep, clean and very clear which made it perfect for snorkeling… also for jumping off the cliffs.

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Photo of Monique, Katherine, Connie + Kim at Mayan Ruins by Travis Troyer

Another day was spent wandering around the Mayan Ruins in Tulum. The city flourished between the 13th-15th centuries, and faded only 70 years after the Spanish army started conquering modern-day Mexico.

Next was a fantastic lunch at Le Zebra Hotel in Tulum. Their ceviche (both seafood + vegan options) were fresh, light and exactly what we were looking for before hitting the beach outside the hotel.

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Other outings included salsa lessons and dancing, and an evening out in Playa del Carmen. Most days remained free so that people could adventure and explore this beach jungle paradise however they chose. Yogis booked massages overlooking the ocean, fished on the reef (Chef Shawn made delicious tacos with the fish Charlie caught!), biked to the private beach, went paddle boarding, snorkeled, or just lounged on the rooftop terrace or the main floor balcony.

Giant thanks to Janet for her support, sharing her beautiful home with us, and for making this retreat possible. Monster hugs and good vibes to all the yogis who were able to come share this experience with me!

If you’re interested in participating in a yoga retreat in the Mayan Riviera, or another location please get in touch by emailing me at hello@meganbettis.com! There are loads of plans in the works!

 

 

Rainy Day

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Yesterday it was drizzly, sleepy, and grey outside. So many days, I find that my mood correlates with the weather. I can’t help it! If the sun is out and birds are singing, I find myself doing a mazurka down the sidewalk. If the wind is sharp and air is crisp, I’m active and bright to match. But if the weather is gloomy… I’m melancholy too.

I’ve gotten into the habit of looking at happy photos and reading through journals when I’m feeling glum. Yesterday brought me back to Greece. Corfu to be exact. Because as we like to say, “Every day on Corfu is the best day of your life.” I stumbled upon the following photo. It was taken on a rainy, gloomy day. Theoretically, it could have been spent indoors reading and writing, lamenting the fact that we weren’t at the beach. But the universe had something else in store for us.

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My third or fourth night in Greece, we met another American at our friend’s bar, Robin’s Nest. He was cycling across Greece, but had blown out a tire in an accident and was stuck until he could rent a car and find a bike shop that could fix it. Since he had the car for the entire day, we made plans with him to go exploring.

Exploring. What does that even mean? Well, in Greece it means being mercilessly dragged out of bed by your cousin and piling 5 people deep in a crazy, bright green Fiat.

We set out with no specific destination, and only a vague idea of which village to head towards. We saw gypsy camps, and drove through narrow, winding roads. Olive trees were scattered about with nets underneath to collect the olives (they don’t pick them). Eventually we stumbled upon an old, one-room church and decided this was a good place for an adventure to begin. There were two Greek men sitting outside of the church, and while they didn’t have a key to show us inside, they were able to tell us how to get to the seashore.

So three Americans, a chick from Zimbabwe, and a gay Hungarian took off in Toms and flip flops (my cousin was the only one in real shoes) down an old path. Eventually it narrowed and became slightly more rocky, and we faced one of the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen. I’m really not sure I’ve seen anything more beautiful. The water was the most amazing shades of blue and green, massive waves crashing into the side of a mountain.

I probably took 400 photos that day. A day that could have been lazy, boring and miserable ending up becoming one of the most beautiful days I can remember. I got to thinking about how that concept can be applied to various areas of life. There are times that we encounter less than desirable people and circumstances. But life is just a journey, right? We are in charge of how we react to different experiences. We can either give negativity power over our lives, or allow it to evolve into something wonderful and beautiful.

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