Our first full day of the Harmony with the Elements Yoga Retreat was all about the element of water! Keep reading to learn about how we applied the theme of water to a beautiful day of beach yoga, adventuring at Playa Grande beach, and more!
Becoming a Morning Person?
So guess who woke up at 7:30am DR time?! (Which felt like 6:30am my time?)
MEEEE! *said like Elle Woods in Legally Blond*
One of the things I was most worried about leading into the retreat was missing out on morning activities because of my night owl-ness (and slightly dysfunctional sleep routine). To the point I even talked about it with Liz and Lauren when we did our retreat prep call.
They assured me I could sleep in, but I just didn’t want to miss any of the key activities.
I wanted to fully experience as much of the retreat as possible.
So as I mentioned on yesterday’s retreat post, I pushed myself to be disciplined and go to bed early. And this helped me successfully wake up in time for a quick coffee break so I could make the morning yoga session.
Morning Coffee
The coffee bar at the villa was so cute!
I love how there are little variations in everyday things like coffee when you travel.
I remember being on a big oat milk kick when I went to Thailand, but the non-dairy milk of choice there was actually soy milk. So I got soy lattes in Thailand, and they were delicious!
The villa coffee bar did have oat milk in addition to a couple other local milk options.
But my favorite feature was the fresh honey and my choice – coconut sugar.
I’d tried coconut sugar in my coffee before and didn’t like it. But for some reason, when I had it at the yoga retreat, it just hit so perfectly. I LOVED it!
I might even keep having coconut sugar in my coffee back home in Charlotte.
Either way, coffee with a view like this is a real treat to wake up to!
After a quick break to enjoy my coffee, it was time to change and get ready for my first session of the day – yoga on the beach with one of my favorite yoga instructors in the world!
Yoga on the Beach (8 am)
I mean can you believe this set up? Is this real life?!
Our morning yoga session was set up on a grassy area next to the beach. We took a gorgeous set of rocky steps down to the beach level and made our way to the mats.
Lauren started out with a brief share about the element of water. I loved how in tune the theme of the day was already starting.
The sound of the ocean while we moved through our yoga session was so magical. And doing Lauren’s classes is always a treat!
I already felt so grateful to be there. Just moving my body. Hearing the ocean. Looking up and seeing a brilliant blue sky and green palm leaves swaying with the ocean breeze.
Feeling strong.
Feeling happy.
And feeling so grateful.
Breakfast Day 1 (9 am)
For breakfast I opted for a pancake with some nutella, some freshly baked bread with butter, ham with peppers, and lots of fresh fruit.
Plus another cup of coffee, since I wasn’t sure if there would be coffee available later.
Opening Ceremony (10 am)
Our next activity was our opening ceremony.
As we gathered, we each placed our chosen piece on our retreat altar. Note: We’d been asked to bring something special for the altar before the retreat.
I brought my labradorite crystal and another crystal friend.
I meant to bring only the labradorite, but every time I kept looking for it as I packed and prepped for the retreat, this other little fellow kept popping up.
So I brought it too. It seemed meant to be!
The opening ceremony was a chance for each of us to share why we were there.
For me, I brought my labradorite crystal to represent my desire to better reconnect to my creativity.
To keep a long story short, I’ve been feeling for a long time like my head is just too cluttered to think straight. Not just from everything I analyzed in my 2024 year in review. But from collective years of upheaval, whether it was my work trauma, burnout, or divorce.
I’ve been wanting to be a full time entrepreneur for awhile now. But it’s felt like no matter how hard I try, it doesn’t seem to work.
There have been many valid reasons over the years.
But in recent months, I just feel like I’m trying to force solutions instead of flowing with ease.
I’ve been out of alignment. And there hasn’t been space in my head for the Universe to send me any downloads. Or in a more practical sense of things, I’ve been too busy trying too many things to really tune in and connect to my intuition and let the answers flow naturally.
On top of that, my creativity felt smothered and so distant from me.
And I was here to just. make. the spinning. stop.
To make space.
Space in my head. Space in my life.
The space to receive downloads. The space to think clearly.
Just space.
For clarity. And creativity.
And also…joy.
Because there’s more to life than working.
Processing Time
I talked about things I hadn’t talked about in awhile. It felt good to get it out. But it also brought up a lot for me.
Luckily we had a break before our lunch time outing.
So I took my newly gifted journal to the beach behind the villa to write things out and process my thoughts. And to double down on my intentions.
I re-affirmed that I wanted to release the “gunk” from myself – mind, body, and spirit. And I used some affirmations to call forth the energy I wanted instead.
It felt very healing and powerful.
I could feel myself connecting again and knew I was exactly where I needed to be.
Playa Grande Outing + Lunch on the Beach
Our first retreat activity was perfectly aligned to the theme of water. We headed out to Playa Grande to enjoy an afternoon of fun in the gorgeous Dominican Republic sun.
We were guided down a winding pathway to the beach, passing some fun local vendors with clothes, shells, and (my fave!) larimar crystals. More on that in a bit.
Just as we stepped onto the sand, there was our lunch table, plus a line up of lounge chairs and towels.
And just ahead, beautiful turquoise water!
We were even able to order drinks right on the beach. I went with a virgin piña colada in a glass. Though I could have had it in a pineapple!
As I look at these photos, it’s funny to me how different they look from real life. Everything was so vibrant and pretty in real life. I mean, the photos are great, but in real like it’s a literal paradise!
A group of us went straight for the water. We put our things down and made our way to the ocean. There was a step down in the sand. The flow of the beach into the water wasn’t as gradual of an incline like Carolina beaches.
I liked it. It reminded me that we “weren’t in Kansas any more”.
The waves were quite strong. The water was a bit cool. But warm once you got all the way in.
The turquoise water and clear visibility was so fun to experience.
It felt like heaven!
I made my way back up towards the beach and got knocked down by a cute little wave. They were so powerful! Lol!
After drying off in the chairs and chatting with the girls for a short bit, lunch was ready!
It was so fun to eat right there on the beach, and everything was so tasty.
Kim, Amber, and I headed back up the pathway to explore the vendors. We all found some cool larimar pieces. I got a pendant necklace, two rings, and a larimar crystal. They looked just like the ocean!
As our afternoon was rounding out, I got a lovely massage on the beach. It was the perfect way to end our beautiful beach adventure.
Dinner Day 1 (+ A Birthday Celebration)
We had free time in the late afternoon before dinner. Some of the girls hit up the hot tub. And then I took a full shower to wash my hair and get ready for dinner.
I went casual clothes-wise, but I added in my new larimar jewelry, which felt so special.
Dinner had some of my fave items from the villa’s many wonderful buffet meals. There was this amazing, cheesy mashed potato dish. And then the shrimp was just so flippin good!!
And for even more special-ness, we got to celebrate Wendy’s birthday!! Happy birthday, Wendy!
The staff treated us to gluten free cake with some fresh fruit pieces. It might have been a banana cake. But for sure it was delish!
Beach Bonfire
Lastly, we had a little bonfire QT. Our official fire day was planned for Thursday. But an extra bonfire on the beach is pretty awesome! I’ll take it!
Since I’d brought up some things I really wanted to release at the opening ceremony earlier, I decided to write some of those things down to really double-down on my release intentions.
And then burn them!
My roomie, Pamela, had a great idea to skewer the paper with a palm frond so I could get it into the flames more safely. So good!
So grateful already for my wonderful roommate!
Evening Snack Time
On the way back to my room, I noticed some snacks out and decided to partake. The plantain / cassava chips (or whatever they were) were SO GOOD!
So I noshed on those for awhile before heading up to the villa for the night.
And I even managed to fall asleep at 11am! Let’s go, sleep goals!
Read More about the Harmony with the Elements Yoga Retreat
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Thanks for stopping by and checking out my blog post about Water Day: Beach Yoga + Playa Grande (Harmony with the Elements Yoga Retreat Day 1)!
I love this! Takes me right back to that beautiful place – you have such a storytelling gift!