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The First Core Desire Yoga Weekend

Hi, hi. Hope it’s been a great Monday.

I announced a month or so ago that I’ve partnered with my friend Dorie to create Core Desire Yoga. We are offering weekend workshops that combine Danielle LaPorte’s The Desire Map with yoga. You can read all about it on our website.

I’m still on a high from our first Core Desire Yoga weekend. As we were planning for the weekend and watching registrations and sign ups, I had this strong sense that we would end up with exactly the right group that was supposed to be together at that time. And wow, I couldn’t have imagined a better group for our first weekend intensive.

CDY alter 2

We started on Friday night at 6 p.m. I led a grounding practice and then we did intros and talked about how the weekend would flow. We asked each participant to bring something to contribute to build an alter that would make the room a sacred space and serve as a celebration of everyone in attendance. It was a really special bonding time to hear about each person’s alter item. We broke on Friday night excited for the remainder of the weekend and feeling so much love.

CDY Backbends

We started at 8 a.m. on Saturday and I led a heart opening practice with a big focus on back bends, partner work and drop backs.

CDY workbook

The remainder of the morning and early afternoon was spent doing really hard work guided by Dorie with The Desire Map workbook. After breaking for lunch we came back and actually started working on Core Desired Feelings on their own and then in small groups. We ended the day with a deep stretch class focused on hip openers that I led.

CDY inversion practice

We met back on Sunday morning and kicked things off with an inversion and arm balance focused class. I wanted to get the everyone out of their head and feeling brave, strong and fearless. We did a lot of handstand prep work. It was really fun.

The rest of Sunday consisted of group discussion, guidance on how to move forward after the weekend to keep the momentum going, guided meditation, Core Desired Feeling ceremony and breaking down the alter.

CDY ceremondy

It was a beautiful weekend of tough personal work, vulnerability, openness, connection and support. One participant shared with Dorie and me that she came into the weekend “hoping to grow some balls” (haha) and said she told her husband after Saturday that she felt like she “grew wings instead.”

Jen and Dorie

It was such an honor to lead this workshop alongside Dorie. She is seriously so much more than a friend to me. She is a sister. We are so energized, full of love and ready to keep refining our workshop to make it better and better. It’s such a perfect combination of two things we love so much…yoga and personal growth. We are in planning stages for a fall retreat in the North Carolina mountains.

Grateful for passion realized.

 

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