An Ashtanga Yoga and Meditation Retreat in New Hampshire!!!

Hello, everyone!

This is to officially announce the yoga and meditation retreat happening this summer in New Hampshire. Rich and David are both excited to be offering this event, and we look forward to the retreat as a time to devote all of our attention for a few days to spiritual practice. This will be an opportunity to unplug from technology, to set aside all of your cares and responsibilities, to turn inward, to take good care of yourself physically and emotionally, and to relax within the retreat environment. The event is guaranteed to be both nourishing and fun, and we would love to see you there!

Here are the details:

When:
The retreat will begin on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 9.
The retreat will end with lunch on Sunday, August 13.

Where:
Bethel Farm Yoga and Living Arts Center in Hillsborough, NH: https://bethelfarm.org/
Rich knows this place well and says it will be a wonderful place to be on retreat. In addition to the beautiful grounds and excellent facilities that we will get to enjoy, Bethel Farm will provide us with delicious food, much of which will come from their own organic gardens!

What:
This will be a yoga and meditation retreat, with emphasis both on the Ashtanga Yoga practice that Rich offers, and the Zen meditation practice that David facilitates. We’ll start off each morning with yoga, and then move from there into a day of meditation, introspection, and quiet reflection, with plenty of time to go for walks, enjoy a cup of tea, nap, or whatever else would take best care of you.

The retreat will operate within an intentional practice environment. The experience will happen in silence, with the exception of the group discussions, one-on-ones, and yoga. Rich and David will ask you to avoid speaking with other retreatants, and to avoid making eye contact with others. When you arrive we will ask for you to turn in your cell phone, laptop, any books you have with you, and so on, so that there will be nothing to tempt you towards distraction over the course of the retreat. You will not be permitted to leave the retreat once you arrive. The function of these structures is to create an environment that is conducive to awareness and an inward focus. This may sound like a challenging environment to spend time within, and it certainly can be, but generally once a person gets used to it they find the environment to be deeply nourishing and safe, and they feel grateful for the opportunity to let go and relax into themselves.

In terms of structure, we will follow a daily schedule together that will include:

• Mysore style Ashtanga yoga with Rich each morning
• Two to four half-hour meditation periods a day (there are choices you’ll be able to make with this)
• Two group discussions per day
• One on one conversations with David for those who would enjoy that
• Three delicious vegetarian meals
• Time to walk, rest, and just be

About Rich Ray:
Rich is a yogi of the highest accomplishment. He’s been practicing yoga in a dedicated way for many years now, and he makes his living teaching yoga to others. He travels regularly to India to study with the masters there. Rich will be bringing a level of expertise and experience to the retreat that cannot be matched. Rich is also a former monk, a deeply wise being, and an all around great guy. Here is his website for more information: www.ashtangaportlandme.com.

About David McKay:
David entered a Zen Buddhist monastery at the age of twenty-nine and spent the next eighteen years training there in silence. Over time he became a skilled facilitator and counselor, offering retreats and workshops at the monastery and across the country. David left the monastery in the fall of 2014 to further explore life and practice back in the world. He currently lives in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where he supports awareness practice in the form of meditation groups, workshops, classes, retreats, and one-on-one spiritual counseling.

Cost:
We will be covering the physical costs of the retreat as a community. We will ask for $650 from each person up front to partially cover these costs (food, lodging, transportation. and a few odds and ends). Note that $650 per person does not actually cover the costs of food and lodging. The actual cost will be more like $800. We are pricing the retreat under cost in order to make it so that as many people as possible may attend. At the end of the retreat we will ask for donations, and if you can afford to offer a donation we would be most grateful. Donations will first go to making up the difference between the $650 people have given and the actual costs of the retreat. Once the costs have been covered, whatever remains will go to Rich and David, and will be used to support the two of us as we each do the work that we are each called to offer to the world.

If $650 is more than you can afford, then let us know and we’ll work something out. We’ll arrange for scholarships to be available to those who need them. If you would like to make a donation to support someone who would like to attend but cannot afford the cost, we would all be most grateful. In that case please add a note to your donation indicating that it’s for retreat scholarships.

In order to register, please go to www.theoneopendoor.org, scroll to the bottom of the homepage, and use the donation button there to make a non-refundable donation of $250. We are making this donation non-refundable in order to assist people in keeping their commitment to the retreat. As you may know from your own experience, often once that commitment has been made the resistance begins. If you have a bit of skin in the game that may be just enough to help you get past the resistance. We will refund the deposit if there is an emergency or some unavoidable reason that you won’t be able to attend. After you make your donation please send David an email ([email protected]) to let him know that you are making the donation in order to reserve a spot in the retreat, and let him know which retreat you’re signing up for. Once we receive your retreat donation we will put you on the list.

If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to email David at [email protected], or Rich at [email protected].

We hope once you will consider this opportunity to deepen your yoga and meditation practice, and to share your practice within community. Feel free to forward this message to anyone you know who you think may be interested in attending. Thank you, everyone, for your practice, and for being who you are. Perhaps we will see you this summer on retreat!!!!

In peace,
Rich and David