"Just Be" Finding stillness in the moment

Few things in life exceed your expectations (or so they say). As my retreat booked up, I saw the various areas that the people were traveling from to come to The Alkalize with Andrea retreat. There was a couple from Beverly Hills, a gentleman that goes from Dubai to CA, Redlands etc. and I must say, I was a little nervous. That ugly little voice in my head was saying "are you equipped to handle this? Will the group all mesh well together?"

What a fabulous group they have turned out to be! They have by far exceeded my expectations! Amongst the group, there was a woman sharing her struggle openly about an eating disorder in the past. There was another woman searching for a cure for her MS, a gentleman looking to become truly healthy and a young girl who has several food allergies. All of them are unique in their own way and all of them are eager to learn from me while healing their bodies in this magical place with magical water!

We join for yoga on the lawn in the mornings, after sipping some fresh pressed green juice. Throughout the day the group receives various body treatments, massages, facials, salt scrubs and other healing modalities. This is my downtime before greeting everyone for class. I generally try to work on the book I'm writing or return emails during this four hours of free time; however, something has shifted in me in a big way. Yesterday I indulged in a good book while soaking up the sunshine. Today I took a cat nap and meditated. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

One thing I know and am looking forward to is the unknown in what is to come or "Just Being." Being in a place of such centeredness, I don't feel the need to be running around getting things done or creating this or that. I'm just being still...in the moment...enjoying life. There is beauty in simplicity. There is beauty in enjoying life and yes, there is beauty in relaxing...especially within the mind.

I feel like a lucky girl to be able to come to this special place once a month and serve others from a place of love, joy and pure gratitude by teaching others how to cleanse their bodies and relax their minds. I feel even more elevated by the space that life has brought me to so that I am able to enjoy this time so very much.
There are no tips in this post, only a bit of advice....
When you find yourself struggling with anxiety to get this or that done. Try to find stillness in the moment and just be!
Enjoy these photos of our lovely guests enjoying themselves at this beautiful oasis that all encompasses the healing of ones spirit.

“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, where everything is measured according to the results and we get caught up in being more and more active to generate results. In the East -- especially in India -- I find that people are more content to just be, to just sit around under a banyan tree for half a day chatting to each other. We Westerners would probably call that wasting time. But there is value to it. Being with someone, listening wihtout a clock and without anticipation of results, teaches us about love. The success of love is in the loving -- it is not in the result of loving. ”
― Mother Teresa, A Simple Path: Mother Teresa