Dear Friends,
Our Stinson Beach Day Retreat Recap
Thank you to all the dancers who said YES to spending a day together at Stinson Beach on Saturday. It has been on my heart, and it has been requested many times, for me to do a shorter, closer and more accessible retreat for dancers who can't travel internationally because it's just too far, too long and too expensive.
I am so grateful that we found a perfect solution.
First and foremost, this event would not have even been possible without the generosity and kindness of Karen Wright. Karen is one of our monthly in-person members who LIVES IN THE CITY and drives to Stop Drop and Dance class in Terra Linda every week.
Yes, she wins the "longest commute" award.
Karen only started dancing with us a year ago, and her family also recently bought their Stinson Beach vacation home a year ago.
Karen approached me with the idea of a day retreat at her home, and my first answer was, "Thank you but, no, I can't add more to my plate." After planning the Dance-a-thon earlier this year, and then our Bali retreat, I was quite burnt out and not ready to plan something new.
Karen gently continued to plant the seed several times more, and then she encouraged me to visit her home and just "take a look." We set a date, and I drove out there.
Like all of you who came over the weekend, I was instantly BLOWN AWAY.
Karen's home has a spacious, bright and inviting layout, with plenty of couches and sitting areas, and her backyard literally opens to a huge, unpopulated oceanfront section of Stinson Beach. At that moment, I could visualize the retreat. The small groups gathered in and out of her home, my speakers laid out on the beach, and all of us looking out into the ocean while dancing. I was sold.
Karen's home was BETTER than any hotel or resort. Besides the obvious factors of an intimate, private space, plus exclusive views, a day event like this at a hotel or resort (especially in the United States) would easily cost me thousands just for the space, plus thousands for food and drink minimums. It's frankly impossible (and trust me, I've gone down the rabbit hole of searching for places).
Thank you, Karen (and her husband Trevor), for opening your home and creating such a wonderful opportunity for our community to gather, to grow and to GLOW.
The Pre-Retreat
We began the morning with Karen setting up all the delicious appetizers and snacks while I set up all the activities for the day. We found out we both used to be elementary school teachers so we were very compatible planning partners!
People started to arrive around 9:30am and we invited them in from the rain to take their shoes off, get cozy and enjoy some tea or coffee. Thank you to Lisa Butcher, who was our point of contact for all the dancers that wanted to carpool together from the free Larkspur Ferry parking lot to Stinson Beach. Carpool groups were a great way to start building connections and forming relationships, even before the retreat officially began!
Small Groups and Vision Boards
Since it was raining at the start of our day, we were unable to go outside as I had planned. Instead, we made it work sitting inside of Karen's living room and kitchen to do our guided meditation and journaling activity. Then we broke off into small groups, and had to be creative by putting groups in each of the bedrooms. It turned out to be such a warm and cozy environment for rich conversations.
Around noon time, we gathered together as a whole group again and worked on the vision board crafting. Everyone mingled as they cut magazines, glued pictures and words, and helped themselves to a taco bar lunch.
Core Work and Dancing
The rain stopped and it turned out to be a perfectly warm, cloudy day with the ocean color glistening like flowing silver.
For our final part of the retreat, we were able to get our feet in the sand and get a little sweaty! We started with some bodyweight core work on our mats and towels, and then moved into a Stop Drop and Dance class facing the incredible ocean.
Tanya Burdick came up to dance for the song, "Big Energy," and in the middle of the song, the group started yelling, "WHALE!" We got to watch the whale emerge several times, and Tanya said:
"I put a whale on my vision board."
Wow. Just wow.
And then after dancing, Tanya, Eliza Desch, Pam Flores and Sunny St. Germain braved the ocean for a cold plunge.
A Heart of Gratitude
We closed our retreat in a circle, holding hands and making intentional eye contact with one another before heading back to the house to sing Happy Birthday to our Scorpio gals in attendance, Bonnie Kirkpatrick, Karen Dohemann and Lisa Butcher. Thank you to Leslie Dinham for generously baking a chocolate cake with blue frosting and an orange carrot cake to match our ocean and Fall theme.
What took Karen and I around 5 hours in total to set up (I came the night before!) only took ONE hour to clean up, thanks to so many people, especially my beach equipment crew Seran Kim, Neha Nissen, Karen Shelton and Terri Feinberg (who flew in from Oregon)! Thank you also to Shel Saxon and Eliza Desch for saving the day with extra long extension cords!
I slept really well Saturday night with relief that the rain came and left as it did, with gratitude for Karen and all the dancers that showed up, and with a reminder of what I shared in last week's newsletter:
Let Go and Let God.
There is always a plan greater than our own if we let go of control and learn to ride the waves.
Are you ready to dress up this week?
TOMORROW, Tuesday, October 28th
9:30am-10:45am @UUMarin Stop Drop and Dance
Happy Scorpio Birthdays Allyson Josephs, Bonnie Kirkpatrick, Jessica Kissane & Lisa Butcher!
Theme: Wear your Astrology sign or colors!
Thursday, October 30th
9:30am-10:45am @UUMarin Stop Drop and Dance
Happy Halloween Class!
Theme: Wear your costume or orange and black!
Thursday, November 6th
CLASS IS CANCELLED
I have to attend a high school tour with my daughter who is looking at schools for next year!
Thursday, November 27th
9:30am-10:45am @UUMarin Stop Drop and Dance
Happy Thanksgiving Annual Friends and Family Class!
Theme: Come as you are!
Saturday, November 29th
CLASS IS CANCELLED
I'll be enjoying the Thanksgiving weekend in the South Bay with my family!
Saturday, December 6th
LOCATION TBD
Help! UUMarin is having an event on this day and we are homeless. Please reach out if you know of a place around 2000 sq ft, has parking, allows loud music, has good wifi, and doesn't cost hundreds of dollars. Thank you!
All Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday Stop Drop and Dance classes are on Zoom or at @UUMarin (240 Channing Way, San Rafael), and starting in November, all Wednesday Strength & Stretch classes are ONLY on Zoom (no more in-person Wednesdays).
"Dance with the waves.
Move with the sea.
Let the rhythm of the water,
Set your soul free."
- Christy Ann Martine
Love,
Grace
