A crafty, holiday retreat

There’s been a lot of changes, losses and eye-opening realizations in my life in the last six months. Many have allowed me to create a new path for myself and make positive changes but like many of us who face a lot of grief and unsettling at once, something inside me was saying it was time to have a little escape, some time away to recharge and ground myself again. It felt like the right time for another Yoga Attic retreat.

Last spring, I took part in an amazing day at the Manotick-based yoga studio that is located in a beautiful, country home. The founder of Yoga Attic, Tina, describes the space as “a social escape”. She couldn’t have said it better. The wellness retreats she organizes include two yoga classes, an amazing homemade lunch worthy of culinary awards, some time to connect with others through meaningful conversation, a bit of down time, a walk in the woods, a little something extra/a special theme (I’ll get to this in a moment) and an inspiring closing meditation. The first time I took part in a retreat with her, our little something extra was a talk and a cooking class with a local nutritionist and chef. Since I would definitely consider myself a foodie and health conscious, this was quite the treat. This time however, it was a completely different theme: a crafty, holiday retreat featuring a do-it-yourself crafting session with local crafter Cynthia Jacques who guided us on making our own modern holiday wreath.

We started our day with some introductions, meeting everyone who had come out for the day, sharing their stories and their goals, while sipping homemade Christmas tea (featuring, among others, black and red peppercorns, ginger, and black tea leaves) and a morning snack of sweet and savory apple donuts (not the kind you’re imagining, but rather apples sliced like a “O” shape, one sweet with nut butter, shaved coconut flakes, and fresh berries, while the other one savory with cream cheese, fresh chives, dill and basil and slivered almonds).

We then headed out for a walk in a forest behind Tina’s property, with a pair of scissors in hand, looking for things to include on our Christmas wreath. Cynthia had already picked up some branches of pine from a local tree farm and evergreen (the red Christmas berries). In the forest, we found blueberries, spruce, pinecones, pieces of shaved bark that had fallen from one of the trees, and much more. We returned and put out supplies aside for now, getting ready for an amazing yoga practice in the attic.

For those of you who have never been, let me describe what the yoga attic space is like because it is absolutely calming. It is an actual attic, but spacious enough to fit twelve women comfortably. There is a big open, glass window with a door that looks out onto the balcony, which in the summer has a patio set and beautiful flowers on the coffee table. This time of year, we see sparking gold Christmas lights hanging from the trees as we meditate (at the end of the day, as dark settled, this was quite a sight). There’s beautiful pillows everywhere, candles, a little sink with unique and beautiful mugs hanging from little hooks on the wall and a wide tea selection. There’s a pretty sign on the wall that says “Choose happy”. There are three large hanging light fixtures (sort of like black lanterns) hanging from the ceiling. It is a space that instantly makes you feel calm and grounded.

Tina’s yoga practices are unforgettable. She approaches yoga as an art, every practice so different and where movement is used as a form of meditation and healing. She encourages you at the beginning of the day – at the first practice – to chose a word for your practice. What do you hope to get from today? What are you aiming for? It’s hard to pick just one: mine were personal commitment and inner peace.

At the end of the yoga practice, we were given journals and encouraged to take some time to write. Many of the women ended up retreating to the living room afterwards where wooden coasters were set up with paint for those wanting to get creative.

We then enjoyed a vegetarian lunch inspired by the season: fresh quinoa salad, roasted Brussel sprouts and beets, a warm tomato salad, pears roasted in the oven with a bit of Boursin cheese in the middle with a pecan on top (and many more things). If that wasn’t enough, Tina had made a Bundt cake with lemon olive oil and fresh rosemary, served with blackberries and raspberries. It was absolutely devine.

Following lunch, we got to work on creating our wreathes. Ribbons and Christmas ornament cookies were set out on our tables to use – if we felt inspired to - along with the things we found in nature. Strong forest-green twine helped to wrap everything around the brass hoop that Cynthia picked up for each of us. With Christmas music lightly playing in the background, working on our wreath and talking about the holidays and what they meant to us, what we hoped for this holiday season – it definitely got us into the holiday spirit.

To close off our day, we headed back up to the attic where Tina led us through a very gentle restorative yoga practice followed by a meditation. She always says things that really get me and that I walk away with, reflecting on for weeks. This time, while we were deep into the last meditation, she talked about accomplishments and how we often define what it means to be successful. And then she talked about self-care and our health and asked an interesting question: Have you ever considered that if you really commit to it you could make your dreams happen and change your experience to have more moments of happiness and feeling real? What if your biggest accomplishment in life becomes how you show up for yourself and your health? It gives us something to all ponder on.