Sat, May 21, 2-4pm – Bandhas – Activating Your Inner Power
Beyond the physical body lies what the yogis call pranamaya kosha (Energy Body). Once purified of toxins through asana and right diet, the yogi begins to seek balance on the energetic level. This is done by cleansing the nadis (energy channels) and guiding the flow of energy within the body. To bring about harmony and coherence on this level we work with yogic breathing (pranayama) and energy locks (bandhas). In this class we’ll explore this level of our being and begin accessing great reservoirs of untapped light and energy within.
Sun, May 22, 1-3pm – Arm Balances & Inversions
The activation of bandhas will bring about a stronger awareness of balance and strength in yoga practice. In this class we will utilize the principles cultivated in Saturday’s bandha workshop to experience the many benefits of inversions and arm balances. We will lay the foundations for poses such as headstand, handstand, forearm balance, crane pose and many others. We will also study the art of flow and how our work transitions in and out of these more advanced poses.
Students are recommended to have at least 6 months of experience and no serious injuries or concerns.
February 25 – March 3 LIFE IS SHORT. COME TO BALI.
Join yogi Michele Fife at the beautiful Soulshine Retreat Center in Ubud, Bali! From the moment you step off the plane let the warmth and rich culture of this tropical eden embrace you.
Enjoy all of the comforts of home and let the stress melt away in this jungle paradise. From daily Yoga classes to the delicious authentic Balinese cuisine this is your escape into the extraordinary. Every day a new adventure awaits — riding elephants, visiting the Sacred Monkey Temple, or white-water rafting! Or perhaps spend a relaxing day sunning by the pool and enjoying one of the many local Balinese spa treatments.
Each day will begin with a wonderful wakeup Yoga Vinyasa on our studio overlooking rice patties and the jungle, followed by a local Balinese breakfast served to you by the pool. And then the day is yours to enjoy at your leisure. A Yoga Master Class will be led on three of the evenings, designed to inspire and challenge you. Space is limited and life is short, so don’t miss out on this trip of a lifetime.
Photos from our previous Bali retreat:
Costs:
TERRACE VILLA : 10 spaces
$1250 per person – Double occupancy
LOTUS VILLA : 14 spaces
$1050 per person – Double occupancy
Sat Feb 25: Arrive in Bali! Welcome drink and group dinner followed by a restorative yoga class Sun thru Fri: Vinyasa Yoga 7am-8:30am, 10am breakfast buffet, then enjoy these days on the island! Sun, Tues, and Thurs: Master Classes 6pm-7:45pm Sat Mar 3: 7am Yoga, Group Luncheon Buffet, Farewell Paradise!
Complete schedule and updates will be given to you at the welcome dinner ~ please stay open to the flow, as the schedule may shift
Register with your $500 deposit now to reserve your space!
Contact Michele Fife for any questions you may have!
A new study out of The University of Kansas shows that yoga decreases episodes of cardiac arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat whose symptoms can include chest pains, dizziness, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath.
with Chicago yoga teacher Remi Gonzalez Saturday, April 9, 1-3 p.m.
Learn the basics of Forrest Yoga, and start to heal your body, relationships and life with a stronger connection to your body and spirit.
Find your Breath.
Feel your Strength.
Live your Integrity.
Nourish your Spirit.
These are the four pillars of Forrest Yoga. Take them with you off the mat, and they can transform your life. Forrest Yoga honors ancient yoga practices, and addresses the physical and emotional challenges unique to life today. Injuries, relationships, work and life transitions can be healed with the connection to your body and spirit that Forrest Yoga creates.
Learn the basics of Forrest Yoga and apply them immediately during a 90-minute class. Afterward, we’ll address your questions and discuss how to continue your journey.
Expand your awareness of the rhythm of life as you embrace a… 24-Hour Reset with Michele Fife And Marro Spehar
Pierce Cedar Creek Institute . 701 West Cloverdale Road . Hastings . MI 49058
YOGA . HIKING . DRUMMING . VEGETARIAN MEALS
Exhale at PCC with Michele and Marro for a 24-Hour Reset designed to calm the mind, open the body and relax the spirit.
Arrive at Pierce Cedar Creek in the mid afternoon and let the journey begin as you drop your bags in your room and allow yourself to unwind at the 661 acre nature facility. We’ll begin the guided activities at 5:00 PM. Marro will lead an afternoon Yoga (Sadhana) before sitting down for dinner at 6:30 PM. Saturday evening finds us exploring our innate relationship to rhythm. We will be led in an experiential drumming workshop – weather permitting, around a fire pit at 7:30. After finding our rhythm, unwind with a restorative Pranayama and Yoga Nidra session with Michele and Marro, 9:30pm.
Sunday morning brings an inspiring Yoga session with Michele at 8am before enjoying breakfast observed in Loving Silence at 9:15AM. Sunday morning is yours to explore the forests, fields and wetlands. Our closing lunch will be at 1pm.
June 4 & 5
Cost: $180 single, $160 double
Includes:
Overnight Accommodations
3-Vegetarian Meals
2-Yoga Classes
Drum Circle
Participation is limited. Register now!
*cancelled reservations subject to $50 cancellation fee.
March 26/27
Emotional and spiritual transformation evolve within a place of safety & security. We spark this transformation by fulfilling our moral obligation to provide our students and ourselves with a physically safe practice.
Optimal alignment enables us to create simple modifications for individual physical conditions, thereby providing the security needed to change and heal. This will be an interactive, hands-on workshop from which you will glean practical information to support your teaching and/or enrich your personal time on the mat.
Accessible Modifications and Adjustments March 26, 1:30pm – 6:30pm
Exploring the postural template: applying and adapting it to your body as well as seeing it and guiding others to do the same. With this awareness, exploring pose modifications for oneself and others keeping body type, injuries and sensitivities in mind. The use of props and best adjustment techniques will be reviewed.
The Ethics of Yoga March 27, 1pm – 4pm
A discussion of ethics as it applies to the seat of the yoga teacher with interactive group work and practical applications.
This class is for you if you want:
*Rapid, lasting weight loss
*Elimination or marked decrease of cellulite
*Firming and tightening of the facial skin
*Increased circulation to create a healthy glow
*An awesome increase in energy throughout the day
*Reduction of wrinkles and under-eye circles
Workshop is half juicy nutrition and lifestyle detox tips; half yoga practice awesomeness. Wear something comfy. Start living the life you’ve always imagined for yourself. Space is limited. Register now to save your place.
Saturday, March 19 · 5:00pm – 7:00pm
We have done it before, we can do it again!
Yogis near and far,
108 is considered a sacred number in Hinduism and Yoga. Traditionally, malas, or garlands of prayer beads, come as a string of 108 beads. Mathematicians of Vedic culture viewed 108 as a number of the wholeness of existence. 108 also connects the Sun, Moon, and Earth: The average distance of the Sun and the Moon to Earth is 108 times their respective diameters. According to yogic tradition, there are 108 pithas, or sacred sites, throughout India. And there are also 108 Upanishads and 108 marma points, or sacred places of the body.
And one can enjoy a Yoga mala of 108 Sun Salutations as an offering to Peace and Unity.
Join Michele on Saturday to celebrate the vernal equinox with 108 sun salutations!
In a study that will appear in the January 30 issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, a team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers report the results of their study, the first to document meditation-produced changes over time in the brain’s grey matter.
“Although the practice of meditation is associated with a sense of peacefulness and physical relaxation, practitioners have long claimed that meditation also provides cognitive and psychological benefits that persist throughout the day,” says Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the study’s senior author. “This study demonstrates that changes in brain structure may underlie some of these reported improvements and that people are not just feeling better because they are spending time relaxing.”
