I’ve invited Christine from @bluecrushyoga to write about her journey and share how retreats have built her up over the years into the powerful healer she has become. Christine and I are co-hosting a very special weekend, PURE RADIANCE – The Retreat, and this is her story:)
MY COMING TO YOGA
As I sit here writing this guest post, it is the first day of fall. We have had the most intense rain I have ever seen at my house, and I sit inside with a lot of hot tea and chaga, and musings of the sun and moon (the ‘ha’ and ‘tha’ of yoga), male and female, and the dualities this new season brings. We head from light to dark, to drawing inward, and to harvesting the seeds we have been planting throughout the year. I promise I will talk about the retreat, but there’s some intro to get through first so that you get to know me and why I want to provide space for you at the Pure Radiance retreat.
I came to yoga many many years ago but it wasn’t until a retreat in 2015 that I really decided to immerse myself in to a full practice. I was in a car accident in January of 2014 and was in constant daily pain, which left both my body and mind functioning at a fraction of what I have been used to my entire life as a competitive athlete. On that retreat we did 4 hours of yoga per day, two hours in the morning and 2 hours in the afternoon. Although there were many, many tears and wondering how I was going to be able to “get through” it, I also found it was the first time I could sit without pain in over a year, even if it was only for a short period of time. This was the start of a new journey for me where yoga would become a huge part of my life. At that retreat I also met two women who would become soul sisters to me, and with whom I would travel to meet at many Wanderlust Festivals for more hours of yoga and connection, and continue to do so.
HOW I BECAME A HEALTH COACH AND CULINARY NUTRITION EXPERT
Also during this time I had been involved in the food world. I have always been a cook, my mom had me making caesar salad with her when I was as young as I can remember, standing on a stepstool so I was tall enough to reach the counter. She would take me to her catering jobs, which must have seated in my soul as when I was in my early 20’s I catered the cookies for a women’s yoga retreat in Paradise Valley (Squamish). Wow how I am realizing this has come full circle! During my healing journey I started taking many online food courses to help keep my brain engaged and to keep me “doing”. I had signed up to do my training as a holistic nutritionist but my mom ended up being diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer and I found I was not able to take the time to concentrate on a 2 year program, plus I found the style of learning very difficult with my post-concussion issues as it was too hard to retain the information. I was able to find something that did work though, and took my health coaching certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. Near the end of that course I signed up for the Academy of Culinary Nutrition and graduated with honors with a Culinary Nutrition Expert certification. As my journey was not yet done, and yoga was so much now an integral part of my life, I decided to sign up for a yoga teacher training program because I was hoping it would accelerate the rest of my healing. Oh how that was just the beginning.
YTT IN COSTA RICA
I went to Costa Rica for a month and immersed myself in a 30 day yoga and business training program. I thought I was going for just that, but it ended up being so much more. At the training I met an incredible group of women who I experienced incredible journeys with and who I am blessed to call my soul sisters.
Now I gave you all the preamble of what I did and who I am to really come down to this.
Because of yoga, I met and made amazing connections with women I otherwise never would have met (well, in this lifetime at least). We shared stories, we shared journeys, we shared tears – and not only for ourselves but for each other. I feel like I have always been the strong one, the mama bear of the group and have always been used to holding space for people, but at that training I fell hard and I fell fast and I was the quickest to what some would say was “break down”, but really I broke through.
HOLDING SPACE
I wanted to be able to provide a space for other women to experience that, because I find in general that we do not have that available to us in everyday life. How many times do people ask you “how are you?”, and you just say “fine” because you don’t want to get in to it, or because you know the person asking the question is just being polite and doesn’t necessarily want to know?
PURE RADIANCE – THE RETREAT
In this retreat we are providing you that space to let us know how you are. How you feel. I became a yoga teacher because I found I loved being able to provide that non-judgemental space in a world of judgement, which is one of my biggest fears. Yet every week I show up in vulnerability for my students so that maybe they will also show up for themselves. I am not the most flexible person even for a yoga teacher, but that is also okay. I let go of self-judgement so that you can have your own experience and see that you do not need to be perfect to practice anything, you just need to show up. Rebecca and I came together to produce this retreat because we truly feel we want you to have the space and tools to feel your absolute authentic self.
So every day I sit and think about what I would want to feel if I was at a retreat. I reached out to sponsors who would provide incredibly special gifts, I researched certain things I thought would be magical, and I carefully crafted the menu so that it would be grounding and nourishing but also comforting and flavorful. I wanted you to feel the love of what was being put in, not only to the programming Rebecca and I have scheduled with the movement classes, the meditations, the yoga sessions and the circling (the surprises as well), but also the food. My friend Kayla is one of those soul sisters I was talking about, and she was carefully chosen to help out with the cooking at the retreat because I know she will provide the care and love that I am putting in, and that Rebecca is putting in, all to make your experience and your weekend something truly special.
When you retreat, you immerse yourself in the energy of the space and you are taken away from your daily routine. Because of this, you allow yourself the opportunity for expansion and awareness because you actually give yourself the room to do that. Let us be your guides and provide you the space you need.
We really hope you choose to spend your weekend with us. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to either Rebecca or myself (@bluecrushyoga or christine@bluecrushyoga.com) and we will happily answer any questions you have for us. I look forward to seeing you.
PURE RADIANCE – THE RETREAT
Squamish BC, November 2-4
A weekend of connection, powerful movement, plant-based food, yoga, meditation, nature and time for yourself:)
TO SIGN UP AND RESERVE YOUR SPOT CLICK HERE.
Much love and blessings,
Christine