Yoga Retreats
Yoga and Healthy Diet - Finding Balance
January 28 - February 4, 2012
with Jessica Blanchard
About the Retreat
The Finding Balance with Yoga and Healthy Diet retreat is designed to help you find vibrant health using yoga and a balanced approach to nutrition. During this retreat you will learn simple and practical ways to incorporate yoga and a healthy diet into the demands of modern life. You will learn a dietary approach that is grounded in modern scientific research and can be adapted to the individual from the legacy of Ayurveda. The retreat emphasizes how yoga can help you to find the deep inner strength and mental clarity necessary to make lifelong changes.
The retreat includes afternoon sessions which will cover the following topics:
- Simple yet sound nutritional principles
- Pertinent diet topics - raw vs. cooked, detoxing, fasting, juicing, gluten free or not, is dairy that bad?
- A practical approach to a healthy diet
- Cooking demonstrations
- A simple starter kit of healthy yet delicious recipes
- Benefits of a consistent yoga practice
- Basic theory and explanation of yoga practices- breathwork, cleanses, postures
- How to build a lasting yoga practice
- Yoga and diet - how they influence one another
About the Teacher
Jessica Blanchard
Jessica is passionate about teaching people how to use the tools of yoga - postures (asana), breathing (pranayama) and diet (ayurveda) to bring a happier, healthier and more balanced state of mind and body. She is a long time student of Sri O.P. Tiwari, who has given her his blessing to pass on the knowledge as he humbly imparts. She has also studied the Ashtanga Vinyasa system of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, and was given his blessing to teach this system in 2005. Jessica left a high-stress corporate job in France in 2004 to dedicate herself fully to the yogic path. She was aided along the way by Paul Dallaghan, both by his words and watching his example of full dedication to yoga. Jessica lived and taught full time at Samahita Yoga Thailand from 2004-2007.
While living in France, Jessica began to study Ayurveda with Atreya Smith, Europe's foremost authority on Ayurveda. Since 2003 she has been a dedicated student of Ayurveda and fully committed to Atreya's approach, which adapts Ayurveda to its optimal use in the West. She began practicing Ayurveda in 2006, and travels in Europe, USA and Asia to pass on this wisdom. Jessica returned to her home in New Orleans, USA in 2007 to pass on the yogic teachings to a populace which had been deeply wounded by hurricane Katrina. Since then she has become owner of Balance Yoga & Wellness, a center which offers Yoga, Ayurveda and other healing modalities. Jessica continues her studies in health, and is in the process of becoming a Registered Dietitian. She sees the future in integration of the deep wisdom and knowledge from Yoga and Ayurveda with the scientific research and findings of the West.
For more information see her full bio or Balance Yoga & Wellness
Daily sessions of asana and pranayama will be taught by Jessica.
Ayurveda sessions will be taught by Atreya.
The Daily Schedule
The program begins at 5pm on the first day of the retreat with a group welcome and departure is at 12pm on the last day.
The schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the teacher.
| 7 am | Opening, Pranayama (Breathwork) and Meditation |
| 8 am | Asana, a mix of detailed guided practice with the opportunity to develop and grow a personal practice based on the Ashtanga lineage |
| 10 am - 1 pm | Brunch buffet |
| 4 - 6 pm | Interactive discussion and Q&A and cooking demonstration |
| 6 - 8 pm | Complimentary herbal steam room available |
| 6 - 8 pm | Dinner buffet |
| 8 pm | Optional evening program or quiet time |
Based on request and availability, you are welcome to arrive early or extend your stay, our Residential and Wellness Programs details are on http://www.yoga-thailand.com/yoga-holidays.html
