Travel

Paradise in the City! Half-Day Yoga Retreat at the Cloisters

RAIN DATE – RETREAT HAS BEEN MOVED TO 10/20 DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER!

There’s a bit of paradise right in New York City! Join me on Friday, October 20th for a mini-escape from everyday life at The Met Cloisters/Fort Tryon Park. This mini-retreat will include:

  • Walking meditation
  • Out-door yoga class
  • Home-made vegan picnic lunch
  • Guided tour of The Met Cloisters by medieval historian Lauren Mancia

Additional Details:

Date: Friday, October 20th, 2023 (This is the rain date)

Time: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm (this is an estimated end time)

Location: Fort Tryon Park/The Met Cloisters

Cost: $100.

You will need to bring your own yoga mat, and props if you want them – the Museum has a bag check.

How to get there: A Train to 190th St, Buses: M4, M98, M100, Bx7, or car (limited parking)
Spots are limited! Last sign up by Friday 10/13.

About Lauren Mancia:

In addition to being an avid yogi,Lauren Mancia is a professor of history and a scholar of the Western European Middle Ages, with specialties in medieval Christianity, the history of emotions, and medieval monasticism. She looks at what medieval Europeans left behind—art, writings, artifacts, institutions, etc. —in order to understand how they experienced their religion, and, thereby, how they understood themselves. In her research, Mancia focuses on the devotional culture of medieval monasteries in the 11th and 12th centuries.

She has published on her scholarly interests both in peer-reviewed academic journals and in publications for wider, more general audiences. She has recently contributed to a forthcoming volume on the use and misuse of the Middle Ages in the contemporary political landscape. She is also a regular lecturer at The Met Cloisters.

Fort Tryon Park: https://www.forttryonparktrust.org/visit-and-park-map/

The Met Cloisters: https://www.metmuseum.org/visit/plan-your-visit/met-cloisters

Categories: jivamukti, Travel, Workshops, Yoga, Yoga Class Schedule, yoga retreat | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Zoom Yoga 5/6-5/11 & the Greenbelt of Staten Island

I’ve been trying to use my free time wisely – exploring nature right here in NYC and I’m in awe of what surrounds us.

Did you know there are 2800 acres of natural woodlands and creeks right in Staten Island (with the exception of Moses Mountain – which is man made, but still very cool!)? I have lived in NY my whole life and had no clue this was here! It’s called the Greenbelt, and it’s amazing! I felt like I was upstate yet was only 15 minutes from my apartment in Brooklyn! So crazy, and my new favorite spot! Before now SI was mostly just a way for me to get to the mainland US, and to occasionally attend a Passover Seder or SI Yankee game. Who knew!!

I imagine that this, along with the marshlands I’ve been exploring, is what most of NYC looked like before it was built up. It’s filled with wildlife – just yesterday I met a raccoon, chipmunks, squirrels (of course), turtles, a red bellied woodpecker, bluejays, gray catbirds, great egrets, and canadian geese. Oh, and chickens (!), but I think they belonged to someone. There are deer also, but I did not have the pleasure of seeing one. I can’t wait to get back!

Zoom teaching schedule and some photos from my outdoor (socially distanced and face masked responsibly) adventures.

See you on the Zoom mat!

Categories: jivamukti, Travel, Yoga, Yoga Class Schedule | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jivamukti in Paradise: Retreat to Roatan, Honduras

The next Jivamukti in Paradise retreat will be in Roatan, Honduras, January 11 -18, 2020. 

A $500 non-refundable deposit is required to secure your spot.

aprildechagas@gmail.com for registration or questions

Pricing:
Single $2400
Double $2100

What this includes (a lot!)

  • 2 yoga classes/day and meditation with April
  • 7 nights lodging 
  • Welcome cocktail party 
  • 3 Vegetarian Meals/Day
  • Non-Alcoholic Beverages 
  • Round-trip airport transfer in Roatan
  • A/C option in all rooms
  • WiFi
  • Daily Maid Service
  • Full Access to all of Retreat Center (see link below)
  • Unlimited Sea Kayaking
  • 1 Snorkle Trip (some of the best snorkeling/diving in the world)
  • Las Sirenas sunset Cruise
  • Hike to Picacho Peak

Not included:

  • Airfare
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Staff tips
  • Additional excursions/spa treatments

ROOMS AVAILABLE (11 Rooms Total):

• There are 4 single rooms (or Double if you are sharing a bed)
• 4 more rooms that can be single (1 bed) or double (2 beds)
• 3 rooms with two beds each


Additional info:

• Retreat Location- Paya Bay Resort https://www.payabay.com (I recommend looking on a computer rather than phone – easier to navigate)
• Airport – fly to Roatan (RTB)
• Travel time from airport to retreat center – 1 Hour
• Closest Towns – 15 & 30 minutes away

Categories: jivamukti, retreat, Travel, Uncategorized, Vegan, Yoga | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

#MythMonday : Parvati

Hey guys! This is a special #mythmonday video shot from my retreat location in La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, the largest coastal mountain range in the world! I’ll be telling the story of Pārvatī, but while I was here in Colombia I did some research on local indigenous mythology and found a description of a myhtological figure named La Madre Monte, Mother Mountain:

Madre monte (Mother Mountain) is a stout, elegant woman who wears moss and leaves and a green hat that conceals her face.  She lives in dense jungle and supposedly bathes in rivers, causing flooding and heavy storms. Madre monte haunts those who steal others people’s land and casts plagues on cattle owners who usurp fields or ignore boundaries. She also dislikes unfaithful spouses, vagabonds and general mischief-makers and punishes them by placing insurmountable obstacles in their path when they walk through the jungle. They eventually fall asleep with exhaustion and do not wake for hours.

I found many of her attributes similar to those of yogic mythology, like Pārvatī, or her son Gaṇeśa. Check out the #mythmonday video below.

Pārvatī was born into royalty; her father Himavat was king of the Himalaya, who was also sometimes referred to as King Parvat. Pārvatī was named after her father, and her name translates to ‘Daughter of the Mountains’. She is the goddess of fertility (everything comes from the mountain, or Earth), love, devotion, but also of strength and power – just like a mountain!⁣

The alignment of tāḍāsana (mountain seat) exists within every single other āsana we come into during class. All the āsanas have the same physical alignment, they are just shaped different. Similarly, everything on this planet, living and inanimate, are made of the same elements, we are just shaped different.⁣

The mountain, or let’s say Earth, is also the connection between all of the other forms we come into. We come into the form of humans – warriors and sages and saints, of animals – dogs, monkeys, birds, frogs, fish, insects. We come into the form of flowers and trees. We come into the form of tools – compasses, plows, boats. The mountain (Earth) is the common factor. Everything on this planet, even what we think of as inanimate objects, comes from this earth.⁣
The practices of yoga – physical, spiritual and philosophical – teach us how to relate and connect to everyone and everything around us in a meaningful and supportive way.

Categories: jivamukti, myth monday, Sanskrit, Travel, Yoga | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Memorial Day Weekend Yoga Retreat

I have the great privilege and humbling honor to lead this year’s annual Jivamukti Yoga Memorial Day Retreat at Ananda Ashram, located in Monroe, NY, May 24th – 27th 2019.

We will spend the weekend exploring asana and meditation, while diving deeper into spiritual teachings that can support our health, happiness, and sanity. Best of all, we will be doing it together in a beautiful place. This retreat is not only a gift to yourself, but to everyone you know, and to all beings.

Each day we will rise together for meditation and asana class, then meet again in the afternoons for further exploration through asana, study and song. We will enjoy delicious vegan meals prepared for us with love. There will also be opportunities to study Sanskrit with the amazingly gifted teacher Bharati, and to participate in the ashram’s acclaimed evening programs.

It is often impossible to move forward in a new way without first taking a step back. The retreat is an opportunity to get in touch with our Jivamukti lineage, part of which came through Ananda Ashram founder Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati. By unplugging from daily life, you have the opportunity to steep in your practice, and to suspend unhelpful cyclic thinking.

Semi-private accommodations
$595, pre-register before May 1st
$625 after May 1st

Dorm Room accommodations
$535, pre-register before May 1st
$565 after May 1st

Daily Commuter Rate
$135

Registration: events@jivamuktiyoga.com

Ananda Ashram in Monroe, New York, is a Yoga retreat and spiritual-educational center just over one hour from New York City, founded in 1964 by Shri Brahmananda Sarasvati (then Ramamurti S. Mishra, M.D.) as the country center of the Yoga Society of New York, Inc.

Located in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, the Ashram provides a serene, natural environment with woods and meadows surrounding a lake. Accommodations are simple and meals are vegetarian.

Retreat Schedule:

FRI May 24
4 pm onwards Check-in: Main house office
5:30 – 6:30pm Dinner
7:30-10 pm Ananda Ashram Evening Program

SAT May 25
8am – 9am Light Breakfast (coffee, tea, toast)
9am Morning Meditation and Fire Ceremony
9:45-10:45 Scripture Studies with Bharati
11:00-12:30 Jivamukti Yoga Asana Class w/ April
12:30-1:30pm Lunch
1:30-3pm Break

2:30-3:00 pm optional walking meditation in woods w/April
3pm – 5pm Jivamukti Yoga w/ April
5:30-630 Dinner
7:30pm-8:30 pm Ashram Meditation Program
8:30 pm North Indian Vocal Concert with Deepak Kumar & Naren Budhakar

SUN May 26
8am – 9am  Light Breakfast
9am Meditation and Fire Ceremony
9:45-10:45 Scripture Studies with Bharati
11:00-12:30 Jivamukti Yoga Asana Class w/ April
12:30-1:30pm Lunch
1:30-3:15pm Break
3:155:15pm Jivamukti Yoga Asana Class w/ April PLUS live music with Lisa Apatini (Nandini)
5:30-6:30pm Dinner
7:30pm-8:30 pm Ashram Meditation Program
8:00 pm Kirtan/Concert with Krishna Devi

MON May 27
8-9am Light Breakfast
9am Morning Meditation and Fire Ceremony
9:45-10:45 Scripture Studies with Bharati
11 – 12:30 Jivamukti Yoga Asana Class w/ April
12:30-1:30pm Lunch
1:30-3:00 pm Checkout

Categories: jivamukti, retreat, Sanskrit, Travel, Vegan, Workshops, Yoga | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Teaching in Oz

“No one can love who has not a heart, and so I am resolved to ask Oz to give me one.” – The Tin Man, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum

I always find my heart while teaching and it’s bursting to teach in Australia! Teaching dates coming up:

December 12th & 13th, Melbourne, Australia The Yoga Corner

December 14th, Sydney, Australia Dance Flow Yoga

December 15th, Surry Hills, Australia, PSOAS PSATURDAY WORKSHOP, Co-teaching with Caterina Quilla at Hiscoes MUST PRE-REGISTER AT WWW.QUILLAYOGA.COM

December 17th, Waterloo, Australia, Quilla Yoga


Categories: jivamukti, Travel, Workshops, Yoga, Yoga Class Schedule | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Jivamukti in Paradise: Retreat to Colombia

Jivamukti Yoga in Paradise: Retreat to Colombia with April Dechagas
March 31st – April 6th 2019
Relax, kick back and find inner peace while discovering a new paradise on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, South America. Spend days exploring the jungles, rivers, waterfalls and beaches of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta while enjoying daily yoga and meditation with April in our gorgeous ocean front Yoga Shala.

Your retreat package includes:
  • 6 nights accommodations
  • 3 vegetarian meals/day
  • 2 yoga classes/ meditation each day with April
  • Mendihuaca Jungle Hike to natural pool and waterfall
  • Unlimited water, coffee, tea
  • Unlimited use of beaches/pools/retreat grounds

Not included:

  • Flights to Cartagena and airport transfer to Gitana del Mar (airport transfer will be arranged.)
  • Staff tips at end of trip
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Additional excursions and spa treatments
Pricing: 
Registration after December 1st (A 50% non-refundable deposit required, paid in full by February 28th):
Single Bungalow $2400 (SOLD OUT)
Double Bungalow $1750 (SOLD OUT)
Triple Bungalow $1550 (SOLD OUT)
Glamping Tent $1650(Single) $1450 (Double)
Room Description:

Our Eco-Chic Bungalows are the ideal place to relax. Each bungalow is designed with a very distinct architectural feature that the indigenous from the area have been utilizing for hundreds of years…. the palm roof.  Not only are these structures made from sustainably and locally harvested palm fronds, the vaulted ceiling design keeps the rooms cooler and more fresh than any other available, man-made material.

Let the soothing sounds of the ocean lull you to sleep after a full day on the beach and exploring the area. Our simple, clean and comfortable rooms are equipped with full private bathrooms, outdoor showers*, fans*, down pillows and plush sheets and towels.

Glamping Tents – large luxury semi-permanent tents (20m2 / 215 sqft). They have their own wood deck front porch and are set apart and more private than the bungalows. They have shared bathrooms.

Other activities available, but not included in cost of retreat:
  • Kayaking/Stand Up Paddleboarding
  • Hiking
  • Waterfalls & Natural Jungle Pools
  • River Tubing
  • Horseback riding
  • Private Scuba Diving Excursions
  • Bathing in one of the many rivers that flow from the Sierra Nevada to the Sea
  • Spa Services

Parque Nacional Tayrona- Located just 10 minutes away, this park is one of the jewels of Colombia covering 58 square miles of land and 6 different beachfront bays. Kogis and Arhuaco people still live within the park and visitors can visit the ancient village of Pueblito while hiking around. There are over 180 species of mammals and over 300 species of birds living in the park, some of which can only be found in this area.

Postcard Front

Categories: jivamukti, retreat, Travel, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Europe, I’ll Be There Soon!

So excited to be headed to Europe in a few weeks! Upcoming classes in Switzerland and Germany:

Bern, Switzerland, Daya Yoga

Friday July 20th, 5:30 p.m. Open

Saturday July 21st, 10:30 a.m. Medium

Basel, Switzerland, The Looking Glass Yoga

Sunday July 22nd, 10:30 a.m. Open

Monday July 23rd, 6:15 p.m. Medium

Tuesday July 24th, 10:00 a.m. Open

Berlin, Germany, Peace Yoga – Jivamukti Yoga School

Wednesday July 25th, 4:30 p.m. Open

 

Categories: jivamukti, Travel, Yoga, Yoga Class Schedule | Leave a comment

World Traveling Yogi

#itsbeenawhile has been my hashtag of choice a lot recently. Whether in regards to friends I haven’t seen in a while, working on a jigsaw puzzle, or in this case, writing a new blog post!

The past 6 months have been busy, busy, busy! Mostly filled with planning new and exciting things for 2018. Over the next year I will be traveling quite a bit; teaching yoga, checking out potential retreat destinations, and of course some vacation time! Don’t worry New Yorker’s! I’m still based here and teaching my full schedule!

Check out my global happenings below. Open to everyone! See you somewhere across the globe! Reach out for more info, or click the links below.

January 20th: Manahawkin, NJ, Hot or Not Yoga, Yoga Anatomy Course

February 3rd: Manahawkin, NJ, Hot or Not Yoga, Beginner Sanskrit

February 4th: Manahawkin, NJ, Hot or Not Yoga, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

March 3rd: Manahawkin, NJ, Hot or Not Yoga, Pranayama and Vedic Mantras

March 31 – April 7th: Ambergris Caye, Belize, Yoga Retreat 

April 7th – April 11th: Lake Atitlan, Guatemala – potential future retreat location!

April 12 – 14th: Puebla Mexico, Jivamukti Yoga Puebla, Open Classes and Workshops

July 20 – 21st: Bern, Switzerland, Daya Yoga, In the works!

July 21st – 22nd: Basel, Switzerland, The Looking Glass Yoga, In the works!

July 22 – August 1st (Teaching Dates TBD): Berlin, Germany

August 2018: Rockaway, NY, Beach-asana!

December 2018 (Dates TBD): Sydney, Australia

World Travels

 

Categories: Anatomy, Sanskrit, Travel, Workshops, Yoga, Yoga Class Schedule, Yoga Sutras | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

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