My dear students, readers, friends, and loved ones:
If you’re on my email list, you know that I’m at a transition point.
The summary is: Starting this winter, I’m turning more energy toward writing, and spending a little bit less energy on teaching. I have about four books that I’ve started writing in the last five years, and I’d really like to finish at least one of them before I turn 40 (which is in two years). I’ve also been feeling curious about shifting my work away from teaching “yoga” and toward teaching about embodiment, writing, and relationships. Taking time to write about this potential shift has been clarifying for me, and I’m excited to keep writing about it. (And, you can read more than a summary about all this in last Friday’s post, which is also my first post on Substack!)
But before I plunge head first into writing mode, I wanted to share one more yoga-related thing here, on this yoga-related blog:
I have a retreat planned for Feb 24-Mar 2, 2024 in Mexico, and I’m very, very excited about it. This will be my fourth time leading a retreat in Yelapa, and each time I’ve gone, it’s been magical. Allow me to set the scene...
We travel by plane, taxi, then boat, and arrive at a small beach in the sweet town of Yelapa. We are met on the docks by our hosts and their donkeys, who carry our bags through a jungle trail and across a gentle river. 15 minutes later, we arrive at our retreat center: an open-air compound with thatched-roof huts, a communal hang-out spot, private outdoor showers, and a yoga space that looks up at the tree canopy and stars. After we unpack, we gather to officially embark on our week together: a week of yoga & meditation, journaling & reading, eating & exploring, resting & beach-ing.
The most magical thing about these retreats, however, has been the presence and connection that they cultivate. Without the daily grind, the constant distractions, the house projects, the work projects, the Instagram feed, the students and I have been able to feel more present, more connected, more alive. It is partially the space, and partially the yoga practice, but I think it is mostly the community. If the retreat ran a campaign, its tagline would be: Yelapa: Come for the Yoga; Stay for the Friendship.
And now here’s the part that I feel a bit sheepish about sharing: Despite bringing 20+ students in 2018, 2019, and 2020, so far this year, I have just 6 people signed up; I need at least 6 more people to join us in order to break even/ not lose thousands of dollars.
I share this with you, not to guilt trip or pressure you into signing up. I share this only because I want to be transparent: No matter how much I love this work, no matter how good I am at organizing and teaching, I cannot do this work alone.
The last three times I took a retreat to Yelapa, I had a co-teacher, and a studio that organized the whole thing. This time, it’s just me: just me organizing, just me teaching, and just me advertising. And while I am confident in my ability to organize and plan and teach a retreat “solo,” I am learning that I need my people to help spread the word - because I have spread myself too thin.
So, here’s the deal:
If you have been on retreat with me before (any retreat: Yelapa, Nicaragua, Buckhorn Springs, any of my YTT retreats...) you get to come for 30% off. Just enter the code REUNIONTOUR at checkout. (And, for context, 30% off saves you between $756 and $882, depending on what rooming accommodations you choose - not too shabby!)*
If you haven’t retreated with me, but you sign up with a friend or loved one, you can both get 25% off the price by entering the code FORAFRIEND at checkout (which again, for context, saves between $630 and $690 per person).*
Thanks to an extremely generous anonymous donor, I have a few partial scholarships available, each for up to $1000. So if you want to come, but finances are an issue, please simply email me with the subject “Mexico Scholarship” and we can work together to figure it out.
I am so grateful for all of you who have been on this yoga journey with me. Whether you’ve taken my classes, come on retreats, taken my teacher trainings, or simply read my emails and posts, I could not have done it without you. Running a tiny business by myself can be a lonely road, but the moments of connection and times of togetherness make all the behind-the-scenes work worth it.
So thank you. Thank you for being here, for bringing your friends to class, and your loved ones on retreats; thank you for being part of my teacher trainings, and for sharing your love of yoga and embodiment with the world. I hope I get to share this Yelapa retreat with you, and if not, I trust that we’ll find a way to stay connected. In the meantime, I am excited for my work to keep evolving, and for us all to keep evolving, together.
Love,
Abby
*Note: These codes are only set up for the “Pay in full” option. If you want to take advantage of either discount, but need a payment plan, simply pay the full deposit, then email me with the subject “Mexico payment plan” and the relevant discount code to request a payment plan. Also, both these codes are set to expire on January 1!
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