Sacred Seasons
December 15 - December 19, 2023
Yogini Rebecca Bruce, E-RYT and Osel Dan Grippo, Ph.D.
Contact:
About the Retreat
A meditation and yoga well-being retreat
Relax, reflect, renew…
Too often the holidays become a time of frenzy and stress, and the beauty of the sacred season is lost. As the hemisphere nears its winter solstice, a reflexive period of shorter days and longer nights, cultures around the world celebrate ancient and new spiritual traditions. We invite you to come away for a moment and celebrate this sacred season with us!
COME AWAY FOR A MOMENT AT THIS SPECIAL TIME OF YEAR.
GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO FULLY EXPERIENCE THE MEANING OF THE SEASON
TAKE A MOMENT … TO RELAX
SLOW DOWN, GENTLY STRETCH AND OPEN YOUR HEART, MIND, AND BODY TO THE WONDERS AROUND YOU AND WITHIN YOU
TAKE A MOMENT … TO REFLECT
CONTEMPLATE YOUR LIFE, YOUR PRIORITIES, THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN PLAY AT THIS SPECIAL MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE
TAKE A MOMENT … TO RENEW
REFRESH YOUR DEEPEST PRIORITIES AND COMMITMENTS – TO SELF, TO LOVED ONES, TO COMMUNITIES AND SERVICE, TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH
THROUGH THE TIME-HONORED PRACTICES OF YOGA AND MEDITATION, REBECCA AND DAN WILL GUIDE YOU ON THE PATH OF SERENITY AND WELL BEING.
OUR RETREAT SCHEDULE INCLUDES MORNING MOVEMENT AND STRETCH,;TWO COMPLETE YOGA CLASSES EACH FULL DAY; SITTING, WALKING, GUIDED, AND SILENT MEDITATION, BUDDHIST DHARMA LESSONS, AND SIMPLE CEREMONIES TO OPEN AND CLOSE EACH DAY.
WE BUILD IN AMPLE TIME FOR REST, PERSONAL REFLECTION JOURNALING, BEACH WALKS AND POOL TIME. TIME TO RENEW AND TO EXPERIENCE COMMUNITY, CONNECTION, AND SUPPORT.
DAN AND REBECCA OFFER THEIR YEARS OF TRAINING AND PRACTICE IN BUDDHISM AND YOGA AS THEY GUIDE THIS SPECIAL JOURNEY OF SELF DISCOVERY AND SELF RENEWAL.
REGISTRATION WITH THE ORGANIZERS OF THIS RETREAT IS AVAILABLE AT YOGASPACEVALLARTA.COM UNDER THE RETREATS TAB, FOR A COST OF $150 USD. PLEASE REGISTER WITH THE ORGANIZERS FIRST AND THEN RESERVE YOUR ACCOMMODATIONS HERE WITH MAR DE JADE.
Schedule
(Subject to change)
FRIDAY DEC 15
2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Arrive to Mar de Jade / Check In / Room Assignment
5:00 Gentle Welcome Yoga Stretch (Becca)
5:45 Orientation to Retreat (Dan and Becca)
6:30 Supper
8:00 Evening Practice
SATURDAY DEC 16 – MONDAY DEC 18
6:30 am Morning Wake Up
7:00 Morning Yoga Stretch (Becca)
7:30 Morning Meditations (Dan)
8:30 Breakfast / Personal Time
10:00 Theme and Meditations (Dan)
12:15 pm Gentle Hatha Yoga Class (Becca)
1:30 Lunch // Journaling and Free Time
4:30 Listening and Sharing / Meditations (Dan)
6:00 Evening Yoga Stretch (Becca)
6:30 Supper / Personal Time
8:00 Evening Practice (Dan and Becca)
TUESDAY DEC 19
6:30 am Morning Wake Up
7:00 Gentle Morning Stretch (Becca)
7:30 Morning Meditations (Dan)
8:30 Breakfast / Pack
10:00 Closing Circle (Dan and Becca)
11:30 Departures
The practice of Noble Silence will be practiced
from Saturday 8:30 pm until Tuesday 8:30 am
What to Expect On This Retreat
On this retreat, we envision spending the first day cultivating Calm Collectedness via Samatha practices that Relax the Mind.
Day Two will be a day of Reflection and Insight by way of Vipassana practices. Our final full day will be dedicated to Renewal, as we generate Spiritual Energy and Loving Kindness via Vajrayana practices.
About the Teachers
Meet Becca and learn of her gentle approach to Yoga
Yogini Rebecca Bruce, E-YRT, is a certified and experienced Yoga Teacher, registered with the Yoga Alliance. She trained with Anna Laurita of davannayoga in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, whose three pillars are Hatha, Raja and Bhakti. Becca also holds certificates in Restorative Yoga with advanced practices, Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra.
She embraces her practices and learning with a focus on mature practitioners, with certificates in; Senior Yoga, Integrative Yoga for Seniors Professional Training with Carol Krucoff and Kimberly Carson, and Chair Yoga for Seniors. She is also a qualified Brain Longevity Specialist with the Alzheimers Research and Prevention Foundation.
Becca along with her Buddhist Teacher and friend, Ösel Dan Grippo work together to teach in-person and online classes with a purpose to pass on the wonderful health and wellbeing benefits of Meditation, Yoga & Mindful Movement in the beautiful town of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Their website is yogaspacevallarta.com and they offer classes online and in-person at the International Friendship Club; a Puerto Vallarta charity they support.
Yogini Becca looks forward to helping you to relax and unwind in the beautiful natural surroundings of Mar de Jade, where the mountains meet the ocean and the setting is everything to soothe the soul and cultivate the energy of peace and tranquility; it’s just heavenly.
Her yoga classes are grounded in Ahimsa (love and compassion) with an emphasis on starting just where you are , dropping any judgements and listening to your body. Classes are based on Gentle Hatha Yoga asanas (poses), pranayama (breathing practices), and mindful movement sequences that are totally inclusive and that are thoughtfully created with a view that anyone can do Yoga. She offers guidance and options that suit ‘every body’.
And the great thing about attending a retreat at Mar de Jade is not only the amazing Shala Yoga spaces that overlook the ocean but we also get to use lots of props, blocks, blankets, chairs and bolsters!! Bliss!
Meet Dan and learn of his gentle approach to Meditation
Osel Dan has studied and practiced Buddhism since 2003. He first took Buddhist precepts in 2008 with the Triratna community at the Centro Budista de la Ciudad de Mexico, under the guidance of one of his principle teachers, Kavindu. Dan has practiced in the Soto Zen tradition with Anka Rick Spencer and on retreats led by Zoketsu Norman Fischer. Dan has also practiced Tibetan Buddhism, studying on retreat with Lama Tsultrim Allione and ordaining as a Ngagpa in the Nyimgma Tibetan tradition with Nima Janet Taylor, student of Lama Surya Das. He was given the ordination name name Ösel (Luminosity).
Alongside his lifelong study of Eastern spirituality, and exposure and classes in movement practices such as Yoga, Kenpo Karate, and Tai Chi, Ösel Dan has extensive background and training in Western Spirituality, notably as a religion editor and writer for 45 years, a certified spiritual director, and a pastoral minister and hospital chaplain.
He holds a Master’s Degree in Religious Education (Fordham University) and Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Latin American History (University of Kansas).
Along with his Yoga teacher and friend, Yogini Rebecca Bruce, Dan teaches with the aspiration to share the profound wisdom of Buddhism and other spiritual traditions and the health and well-being benefits of Meditation. Dan and Becca’s website is yogaspacevallarta.com and they offer classes online and in-person at the International Friendship Club, a Puerto Vallarta charity they support.
Dan believes in taking a welcoming and gentle approach to Buddhist meditation. He specializes in guided meditations that encourage open, non-judgmental awareness. Receptivity is central to the practice. Dan presumes no previous background, experience, or spiritual beliefs—just a willingness to be with whatever arises in the present moment, with receptivity and acceptance. Things just as they are. “Nothing to Grasp, Nothing to Push Away, Nothing to Pursue – Only Here, Only Now, Only This.”