Trust the Connection: 2021 Yoga Anytime LIVE Online Yoga Retreat

Yoga Anytime gathered with some of our favorite teachers for our first LIVE online 20-day yoga retreat. All practices were recorded and are now available as a course. This article will introduce you to the retreat, and answer some questions you may have. Join today!

Why LIVE?

Practicing together LIVE is the closest we can come to the indescribable magic of actually being together in real fleshy life. Sure, we love our highly produced videos, and we appreciate that you have too over the years. We appreciate the security of knowing that the audio is clear, the lighting is just right, and do-overs are just a "Cut!" away. But what’s the real fun in that? The opportunity to be genuinely surprised is a rare gift.

What is Trust

We generally find out if our yoga practice is working when circumstances are more challenging. If we only trust when everything is going smoothly, then we have flabby, weak trust muscles. And the truth is, with live production, we can’t always trust that the internet connection will be robust, the audio will be clear, and that the webcam will correctly focus. So, we have to trust in something bigger and larger than is in our small control.

Trust, or as the yogis put it, shraddha, is not a blind faith. Trust is based on our real recorded experiences that Life is on our side. Everything might not always go the way we want it to, but with the perspective of time, we can usually see that events are unfolding in wondrous ways that we could never have imagined. In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Sutra 1.23, the first suggestion on how we might quiet the fluctuations of the mind is to surrender, release some of the grip, or trust in the Ultimate (Ishvara Pranidhana).

But the next step is not to lie around and wait for the Cosmic Goo to come deliver fresh peeled grapes. The next step is to step up, maybe even stand up, maybe even fight, and show up whole heartedly for the next indicated action.

Trust the connection

Trust is active, dynamic, and responsive. How can we be willing to do what is required without attachments to the results. How can we accept where we find ourselves, resist the temptation of collapse, and show up with an open curious mind, generous heart, and rolled up sleeves.

Our New Year’s Retreat, Trust the Connection, is an invitation to drop into our bodies, experience relief, feel safe, tap into joy, and discover a new courage that only the experience of Trust provides.

So who’s teaching?

We are totally in love with the line up of teachers for our New Year’s Retreat. This curated collective is hand-selected because of who they are and how they help us to feel.

Wade Gotwals’ Monday class will be a creative, bright Vinyasa flow. You might know him from his live show this summer, Joyful Flow, his Sweetheart Challenge, the 60 Minute Yoga Flows show, or the 45 Minute Yoga Flows show.

Arturo Peal’s Tuesday class is sure to soothe our nervous systems, connect us with our subtle energies, and allow us to feel safe and held. You might recognize Arturo from his brand new show Rest Deeply, The Happy Back Show, or Anatomy for Yogis.

Alana Mitnick’s Wednesday practice will drop us in deep with a mindful flow and meditation. One of Yoga Anytime’s most beloved teachers, some of her shows include Good Morning Yoga, Slow Flow and Meditation, Gentle Yoga, and Start Yoga.

Suniti Dernosevek’s Thursday session will be spacious, explorative, fluid, and meditative. Her Yoga and the Somatic Experience Course set a new bar for what’s possible through online teaching.

And we finish each week with Miles Borrero on Fridays. His devotional, Bhakti-infused Vinyasa flow will align your heart with all that is. Check out the Heart Softening practice he shared in Season 4 of The Yoga Show with Kira and Friends.

It’s a collaboration

All of the teachers will be attending each other’s classes and riffing off what is happening so that we are in a truly collaborative event with each other. We want this retreat to be alive and responsive to what is Real. Therefore, everything that was just said above about each teacher’s class might change. Hahaha.

A little more about the retreat:

• How Do I Attend?

  You can sign up for the Retreat here. Our first class is Monday, January 4th, 2021 at 10:00am California time. When you sign up, you will receive an email with a direct link, but if you can’t find it, just show up here.

• Do I Need to Be a Member to Attend?

  Yes, you need to have an active subscription with Yoga Anytime to attend the Live Retreat. You can also attend if you are on your free trial.

• What will each class be like?

  Each instructor will be teaching from their home or local studio. We will go live at around 9:55am California time each day to land in the teaching space and connect with participants as they show up. Practice will start on time at 10:00am and last for one hour.

• Will I be able to connect with the teacher and others taking the live class?

  Yes! We have a new online feature that allows you to chat with your teacher for the day as well as others in class with you. If you wish to sign in anonymously, you will have that option as well.

• What if I can’t make all the classes?

  Each class will be recorded and up on the site the next day within 24 hours here.

• Will I get credit for attending?

  Yes, we will record your attendance, and you will receive recognition for completing the retreat.

Connect in with any other questions you might have. We are so looking forward to being together.