One day in October, my mentor and sister-friend who I worked with in NYC, Randee, called me to see if I wanted to join her on a 5 day yoga retreat in Todos Santos the first week of January 2022. I had been dealing with some health issues for a couple months plus had just attended ACL, my best friend’s wedding, handled the PR for Ranch Rider’s Migas Fest, and hosted my immediate and LA family at my house in Austin all in October. So, yeah, uh, my mind was rocked and when Randee called, I said yes immediately without seeing the price because I knew my body needed some rest and digest time! Over the holidays, I had some personal breakthroughs on things I had been working on all year professionally and personally, so once it was a few days before Todos Santos, I was really ready to fly! That being said, in mid-flight, I finally thought wait, what am I about to do and who else is going to be in this group? It was lovely heading there without any expectations but a view of the Pachamama Hotel pool that I saw on their website and Instagram.
As soon as I arrived at Pacahamama, the cute boutique hotel that has three ocean view suites and 12 adobe tepees, I saw the gorgeous bright blue pool surrounded by banana hammocks, cacti, and the sun setting over the ocean. It was a magical first sight to see, and then I met the whole group that I’d be spending the next 5 nights with where we would unwind our bodies through yoga and breath work twice a day, lounge at the pool, eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together followed by evening tea chats, and in between all of our elective massages, of course. The group consisted of 9 students (all residing in LA, NYC, and then 1 in DC and me from Austin) and 2 yoga teachers, Rebecca (who recently moved to Portugal) and Lindsey (LA). Lentil stuffed peppers was our first warm meal, and then we were on our way to our morning wake up call for our first yoga practice in a gorgeous yoga shala surrounded by all the live vegetation, tepees, singing birds, and sandy ground. I’ve always wanted to do a yoga retreat but didn’t know how the schedule would work and what kind of yoga intensity it would be. Our schedule gave us SO much free time with practice at 8:30 a.m. and 5 pm., breakfast at 10 a.m., lunch at 2 p.m., and dinner at 7 p.m. It felt very free, spacious and allowed us our own personal time plus enough time to connect, lounge, and enjoy the beautiful property and beach.