A soft breeze in the late summer air, rays of sunlight peaking through the surrounding oak trees, and a community of smiling, open-hearted yogis created the perfect setting for our first-ever EverydayYoga.com yoga retreat: Malibu Gathering. Yogis traveled from near and far to join together at Calamigos Ranch, a beautiful resort hidden within the Santa Monica mountains along the Malibu coastline north of Los Angeles. There, we celebrated our love for yoga and how it can help build community no matter where we live or practice.

Throughout a rejuvenating one and a half days, bonds were made and new friendships began. Here is a look back at all of the yoga classes, workshops, fashion, food, and music that were enjoyed at Everyday Yoga's Malibu Gathering.

Yoga Classes
The four yoga classes at Malibu Gathering were eclectic, inspiring, and oh so fun!

Legendary, LA-based yoga instructor, Vinnie Marino, kicked things off (and kicked our butts) with an energetic vinyasa flow that was set to classic 70's and 80's rock tunes. He got our energy flowing, bodies sweating, and faces smiling – setting a vibrant and joyful tone for the rest of the day.

When it was time to slow things down a bit, internationally acclaimed, Boulder, CO-based yoga instructor, Amy Ippoliti, unified everyone with a lighthearted, yet deeply inspiring and renewing restorative flow. Her wisdom, loving nature, and engaging sense of humor brought everyone into a long-lasting state of peace.

The last day of our retreat began with an inspiring yoga flow led by celebrated international yoga instructor, Andrea Marcum. As if yoga isn't already the perfect way to start the day, Andrea's class took place on top of a vineyard that overlooked the retreat and its surrounding mountains and rolling green hills. It's safe to say everyone had a great day after her class.

Workshops
In addition getting our sweat on, we exercised our minds in two informative workshops.

Ayurveda wellness counselor and yoga instructor, Vivica Schwartz, shared her wealth of knowledge about Ayurveda and essential oils. She taught us how to understand our doshas and explained how Ayurveda and essential oils can be used to deepen our yoga practices and enhance our overall wellbeing.

Yoga Instructor, Amy Ippoliti, brought everyone together for an intimate, heartfelt, enlightening discussion about the importance of self-care and collective empowerment. She explained the necessity of surrounding ourselves by the right people – those who are supportive and inspire us to rise and thrive. We were also reminded about the times before smart phones, when true face-to-face connection was the norm, and how important it is to remember to make that a priority in our lives.

Product Trends
A Everyday Yoga retreat wouldn't be complete without a look at product trends and what's going on in the world of yoga fashion! Puja Seth of EverydayYoga.com, gave us the scoop on what's hot and what we can expect to be trending in coming seasons. Our Everyday Yoga product experts also gave us some awesome gift ideas – perfect for the holiday season that's quickly approaching. 

Pool Play Time, Food & Music
If yoga teaches us one thing, it's that balance is key for a happy, healthy life. After a day full of yoga classes and workshops, downtime at the end of the day was as warmly welcomed as savasana at the end of a 90-minute heated vinyasa class. Yogis splish-splashed in the pool with Fred the floating flamingo and then everyone met for dinner at the pizza bar. We enjoyed four different styles of wood-fired pizza and delicious beverages while acoustic guitarist and singer, Kinney, played fun and soothing tunes into the night.

The Community
A yoga retreat isn't anything without attendees and it was our gathering's specific collection of diverse individuals who made it such a unique, fun, love-filled experience.

 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to join us at our first-ever Everyday Yoga retreat. We can't wait until next time!