Join us for the Annual Yiwen Yoga Retreat set in the beautiful backdrop of Oregon, less than 40 minutes from the city of Portland!  (Pre-requisite: Greater than 1.5 years of consistent yoga practice unless you studied with Yiwen in the last five years or requested for an exception by Yiwen.) The theme of this year’s retreat is on tapping into the subtleties of the breath and learning how to access energetic resources and lines in the human body based on ancient traditions from India and China. Students will learn to trace major energy meridians per TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) in their own body, as well as using yoga postures to open each of these channels. This is a retreat to rejuvenate the body by opening up more switches to a healthy life. We will work hard yet still enjoy lots of quiet and rest time. Yiwen has taught yoga to thousands of students over decades. She believes that in order to effectively rise beyond human tendencies to move beyond the bounds of familiar patterns, a total retreat immersion is often necessary under the clear guidance of an experienced teacher. 

 Highlights

• Immerse in the beautiful scenery of the Pacific-Northwest
• Explore greater depths of your yoga practice with carefully guided  classes
• Expand knowledge of the breath from a physiological and energetic perspective and put into practice
• Learn about the major meridian (energy) lines in the body and how to  access each with yoga
• Commune with like-minded yogis

1) Breath And Practice

“The importance of breathing need hardly be stressed. It provides the oxygen for the metabolic processes; literally it supports the fires of life. But breath as “pneuma” is also the spirit or soul. We live in an ocean of air like fish in a body of water. By our breathing we are attuned to our atmosphere. If we inhibit our breathing we isolate ourselves from the medium in which we exist. In all Oriental and mystic philosophies, the breath holds the secret to the highest bliss. That is why breathing is the dominant factor in the practice of Yoga.”

― Alexander Lowen, The Voice of the Body Yes, noses are for breathing! And, yes, the breath is the most important aspect of yoga!

Yet, while breathing is autonomous, the practice of the breath is not. While the notion of breathing is simple, the practice of the breath has complexities. Questions we will explore are 1) how to best implement nostril breathing in practice? 2) what are the effects of the breath on the biosphere of the body?

2) Energy Meridians  

“In every culture and in every medical tradition before ours, healing was accomplished by moving energy.” – Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Biochemist and Nobel Prize Winner” Regardless of science and tradition, it is well established that we are animated by energy that courses throughout the body down to the cellular level. We are electromagnetic beings greatly affected by electric fields. To achieve optimal health, the body needs balance from the gross to the subtle. Yogis big on asana practice learn how to firmly establish balance of the skeletal-muscular body starting with  gross motor units into subtle ones. Hence, the path to optimizing functional movement, strength and flexibility. Inevitably, experienced yogis realize there is so much more to the mastery of yoga than acrobatic stunts. This realization inspires the study of yoga as it relates to energy pathways (meridians). This is necessary study for the evolution of consciousness. At this retreat, you will gain a functional understanding of these meridians and learn how to access each via yoga for better health.

Be Ready. Be Present. Be Curious. Be Receptive.

• WEDNESDAY (9/25)
  3:30-5:45 pm Arrival
  6:30 pm Dinner
  8:00-9:00 pm Welcome Talk + Yoga Nidra
• 
  THURSDAY - SATURDAY (9/26 - 9/28)
  5:30 - 7:45 am Morning Practice
  8:00 - 9:00 am Breakfast
  9:00 - Noon Free time
  Noon -1:00 pm Lunch
  2:30 -5:30 PM Curriculum Time
  6:00 pm Dinner
  8:00 pm Meditation/Yoga Nidra
• 
  
• SUNDAY (9/29)
  8:00 - 9:00 am Breakfast
  10:00 am - noon Yoga Practice
  12:30 Lunch
  

 Only half an hour from Portland, this year's annual retreat is at a sanctuary in the Pacific-Northwest set on 50 acres of forest and meadow with a year-round running creek, hiking trails and sauna. Our practice space is designed according to the proportions of sacred geometry. These proportions are found throughout all of nature, from the tree to the human body, to the solar system. Using these natural proportions has resulted in a space that both opens the individual and sustains the energy of a group in a remarkable way.

There are many comfortable, elegant accommodation types to choose from, whether shared, double or single. There's even an option for camping!

Our dining experience will be splendid as our meals will be prepared by an executive chef who graduated from L’Academie de cuisine in Washington D.C. and has more than twenty years of diverse experience in the industry culminating in top positions in French influenced fine dining establishments. With several culinary tours to Bangkok, Saigon, Paris and Nice, our chef has a strong command of SE Asian cuisine and understands the merit of healthy ingredients to enhance our retreat experience.

Before August 1, 2019 = Full refund minus $40 processing fee 

Before September 1, 2019 = Full refund minus 25% 

September 1 - 15 = 50% refund 

No refunds on cancellations after September 15, 2019