Peace.

When I tell people I am headed to a Yoga Retreat they usually give me a wide-eyed look, then ask, “Where?”  Often they assume it is in California or New York, or maybe even Colorado, but no, I tell them “Up north, here in Michigan.”  Their eyes grow even more wide and they say again, “But, where at?”  Some of these individuals are even trained yoga instructors, in Michgan, mind you, so I tell them, “Song of the Morning, in Vanderbilt. It’s right past Gaylord.”  Then I get a nod of recognition, and a bunch of questions regarding the retreat, so here it is.  Song of the Morning is one of the places I will travel for the rest of my life.  There is something very tranquil and magical about this beautiful, 70s-built retreat.  Now it may be the spiritual aspect of the facility, which does house a lodge for meditating and Sunday service, it may be the fact that it is nestled up in the woods, so deep in fact that there is no noise from nearby I-75 and elk roam the property, it may be the beautiful people that are so generous and connected, or it may be that my husband had me in mind when booking our first retreat a year ago, but whatever it is, this place is something I cannot wait to share with my children on August 19-21.  We are headed back for another weekend retreat, but this time it is for the program, Jump for Joy.  It is Kids Weekend at Song of the Morning for children ages 5-12. We are also taking our niece who fell in love with Paddleboard Yoga just a few weeks ago.  She cannot wait to do it “for real.”  During the program there is an opportunity for parents to join the kids, enjoy the peace of the ranch, or even take advantage of a few programs ongoing for their age such as hiking, yoga, and a societal deprogramming class to learn to undo what the media provides as accurate messages to our children. It should be an interesting weekend, and I am sure my kids will fall in love with Song of the Morning like PQ and I have! http://www.songofthemorning.org/