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Hello there Blog fans and followers!
I am grateful to share some of the highlights of my recent trip to Puerto Rico with you. Intended as a vacation, I also did a little business while I was there, and visited Casa Grande Mountain Retreat. This beautiful, small retreat center is high in the quiet mountains of Puerto Rico. I was able to enjoy my own private yoga practice in their temple in the morning. The sounds of the coqui frogs and birds sang me through sun salutations and the gentle tropical breezes brought me into focus. It’s a beautiful space in which to grow and practice, and the accommodations were simple and comfortable. (Also, the food was great!) I also have my eye on Costa Rica as a potential retreat location for sometime in the future. If you have interest in traveling with me on a Yoga and health trip – please do let me know! A survey will be available for you at the open house on Thursday, May 17…to help me continue to research and make this trip possible for all of us. 
The weather here in Wisconsin had me prepared for plenty of sun time and heat – but that was only true of about half our trip. My sun gladly accepted the cool rainy days as a break from the beach, and we did plenty of hiking and exploring around the islands, both Puerto Rico proper and the smaller island just to the east called Vieques. One challenge was to find vegetarian fare in PR – meat is everywhere and dairy is popular. Ordering a coffee, they will serve it up with frothy milk and sugar unless you ask otherwise – and even rice and beans have meat and meat fats in them for flavor. I accepted this and was grateful for the days I could find a great salad and more simple clean food – we even bought groceries and ate our own meals for about a third of the time as a break from the carnivorous and more spendy options of eating out. All in all, food was glorious…especially our dinner at El Quenepo on Vieques. WOW. I would go back there in a heartbeat and enjoy their seafood another time – and the espresso chocolate martini I had for desert.
I loved speaking Spanish, and certainly could stand to practice even more. I came home thinking in Spanish, as some of you probably noticed during your lessons…they were a touch bilingual. 
I am happy to be home, and ready to begin teaching again. And practicing at home with my brand new mat! I bought a bright purple Manduka travel mat at REI before our trip – haven’t gotten myself a new mat for home practice in say….6 or 7 years? It was time. My practice will keep me grounded and satisfied as I continue to prepare for Movement Arts Day in June and the Womens Business Conference in April. That reminds me….I have a presentation to get ready!
See you soon,
Cheri
http://tvnz.co.nz/close-up/rural-canterbury-s-yogi-in-demand-video-4807648
Enjoy this fantastic interview with one of my teachers – Donna Farhi of Canterbury, New Zealand. I have been deeply influenced by her teachings and have been so grateful to get to know her as an assistant when she’s come to the US to tour. She is committed to her practice and teaching in a way that inspires me to continue to grow.
Namaste,
Cheri
My first week is done. Exhale. Good. I have thoroughly enjoyed this week of training, and by golly – my cat is happy I’m home.
Here are a few highlights:
Meeting my co-yogis. Another stellar group of people getting together to study the human body and a rich diversity of backgrounds and experience levels. I am looking forward to embracing these new relationships.
Meditation every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Enough said. It will continue with my home practice.
Eating at The Naked Elm for lunches – amazing local, organic spot in Blue Mounds. They even catered lunch for us during the week when they are usually closed. Best coffee. Ever. (and the brownie on the way home wasn’t shabby either)
Studying the chakras and the subtler energy system of the body. I have noticed it helpful already in a conversation I had yesterday and in a lesson this morning. Exciting!
Seeing how Scott puts together the material – anatomy and physiology, energy and the chakras, yoga asana, meditation, teaching methods. He is laid back and approachable, and I can see how he stays true to his goal of making such complex work and deep embodiment available to us all. Especially in some of his teaching methods – keep it simple and send people home with stuff they can do for themselves. Perfect.
Running on Friday afternoon, when class was let out early due to “blizzard like conditions”. Of course, I took advantage of the extra time in my day to do as I pleased and the nearly ghost-town atmosphere in order to run for an hour of hills north of Blue Mounds and back again…I especially enjoyed running down the middle of the road. I never wiped out, although I came close, and continued to focus on my fundamentals, slick snowy roads and all. Full exhale. Palate relaxed. Grounded. When I got back, I went to the quiet studio myself for an hour of Restorative yoga, checked in with my emails, and enjoyed my last night at Joyful Path Meditation Center, two blocks away from where we meet for class.
More to come, as I integrate this material and offer some new programs with you this summer. Thanks for supporting my continued student-self and for coming back for more lessons each week. You allow me to do my work and I appreciate seeing you all practice and embody who you are designed to be.
Namaste,
Cheri
Joyce Sobotta shared this clear description of the lymphatic system and I thought I’d share it. (Thanks Joyce!)
Another great way to move the lymph around the body and keep it healthy is to breathe deeply with all movements and exercises – out for a run? Dancing? Doing yoga? Check in with your breath and allow you diaphragm to draw a deeper inhale, then fully relax the ribs and chest to exhale completely. Also, inversions like Shoulderstand can move lymph by allowing gravity to play a different role on our bodies. If you want to learn safe ways to practice Shoulderstand, comment below and we’ll get you set up with a face to face lesson or class to help you grow a personal yoga practice. Cheers!
Here’s some wisdom from Joyce Sobotta, Aromatherapy Nature’s Way.
The purpose of Lady Lymph poster is to bring awareness of what the lymphatic system is and how it works in the body to filter toxins. Being in a busy world can cause us to over-look the fact that our bodies need our loving care daily. Many women at some time have experienced congestion and tenderness in their breasts. Some women have had breast trauma from mammograms, needle aspirations, cosmetic changes, surgery, and intense emotional fear of what might happen.
Learning to use a loving lymphatic self massage will create an awareness to nurture and protect our breast and maintain a healthy immune system.
The lymphatic system supports every system in the body. We have twice as much lymph fluid in our body as blood. It is a vast network made up of tiny vessels, nodes and spleen. Much of the vascular fluid, waste and all of the live infection is picked up by tiny lymph vessels.
Lymph nodes are filters strung along the lymph vessels like pearls. The lymph system’s primary function is to isolate infection and debris and transport it through these filtration points, the lymph nodes. One crucial function of lymph tissue is generating and storing white blood cells that fight infection.
Think of the lymph like a river; a healthy river runs clear. If lymph fluid is blocked (due to illness, surgery, toxic overload or lack of activity) lymph fluid backs up. If one node is blocked it may take a detour, but with extreme blockage it can cause swelling, joint pain, nausea, fatigue, cold and flu infections, headaches, cramping, arthritis, fibromyalgia, mental fuzziness, GI issues, depression, skin breakouts and lymphedema.
The spleen is like a big lymph node, except it filters blood and destroys worn out red blood cells. It is designed to bring lymphocytes in contact with the blood to ward off infections.
Because lymph fluid moves slowly without its own pump, inactivity can seriously restrict its flow. Muscle contraction as in the diaphragm with deep breathing, and manual manipulation as in massage is the primary means for our lymph to circulate and drain from the body.
Men, you have lymph too! Let’s all enjoy our Sunday and get moving and flowing.
Cheri
