Two Wings

Happy Monday. I got back from my most recent retreat (my eighth) almost a week ago and I am still feeling the beautiful effects. It was truly all I could have asked for! 

On this retreat I shared the story of how my first retreat came to be. I was teaching at a yoga studio in NY and another teacher at the studio had just come back from a retreat. Two of the students that attended that retreat arrived on their mats to my Wednesday class a few days later and after class I chatted with them and asked how the retreat was. They shared the positives and a couple areas they felt could be improved and then one of them paused and said; “You would be good at leading retreats.” 

Up until that moment I had never thought about leading retreats. With two small children I could barely get myself to class to teach. However it was like a door to my soul opened with those few words and something out of my body was driving me because 48 hours later I had planned and booked my first retreat. Then the rollercoaster of emotions came; my inner critic was loud and relentless and knew exactly what to say to me to create maximum doubt. I had moments of elation when folks signed up and then when one had to cancel it was a deep low moment. The night before I couldn’t sleep and when we drove into the retreat center I felt like I could finally take my first deep breath in weeks. That retreat was incredibly special. The group bonded and supported each other and I came back feeling incredibly full of joy and grateful to the universe for guiding me and for those brave students who came with me.

Planning each retreat since has brought some of the same emotions; although as I have learned to become aware and then soften my inner critic over the years, the feelings have been less intense. It is truly amazing what we can tap into when we learn how to quiet those forces. We then can see, hear and harness the power of good inside us. 

The workshops I taught on this most recent retreat centered around the idea that we have an internal scale inside us; Joy is on one side of the scale and Sorrow is on the other and we each have the power to tip our mindset scale towards Joy. How we do this starts with noticing the thought loops in the mind and realizing when the inner critic is taking over. Then we need to add compassion and acceptance. It is like two wings of the bird; One wing is Awareness and the other wing is Compassion. We need them BOTH to FLY! 

One thing that doesn’t change no matter how many retreats I lead is the immense gratitude I have for the students that choose to join me. I love learning from all of you as you learn from me. It is always a powerful experience to bring people together in this way and the ripple effects of those connections are often apparent long after the trip. Thank you to all of you who have allowed me to continue my own work and share it with you along the way. I will be taking a few months before I plan my next retreat but you will be the first to know once I do. 

Here is the link to my latest Substack article that posted this morning. Thank you for your support in that venture as well!! 
https://allisonwaguespack.substack.com/p/lisas-lessons?r=rti04