Strengthening Bonds: Building Healthy Communities Through Yoga Practices

Strengthening Bonds: Building Healthy Communities Through Yoga Practices

Autumn here is a season of reciprocity. The forests shed their leaves to enrich the soil, salmon return to nourish rivers and birds, and people lean on one another as the days contract. These cycles remind us that connection is not just comfort; it is survival. Neuroscience research shows that belonging reduces stress responses and strengthens resilience. In yoga, this translates to practices that open the heart, invite deep honesty and vulnerability, and help us meet others with more steadiness.

This month, we invite you to explore a few intentional practices that support both inner and outer bonds. Set this Nectar playlist as the soundtrack that holds you as you step into these practices for connection…

Practices for Building Consistency In Your Life

Practices for Building Consistency In Your Life

September as the Season of Steadiness

September often feels like another kind of new year. “September is the other January,” author best known for her books on happiness and habits, Gretchen Rubin reminds us, an invitation to lean into new rhythms, renewed routines, and re-rooted beginnings. The days are still touched by late-summer warmth, yet the rhythm of autumn begins to call us into routine again. Calendars start to fill with structured commitments, school routines return for some. We find ourselves longing for a sense of steadiness that can carry us through the months ahead.

At Nectar, we see September as an invitation to build practices that last, not just for this month, but for the seasons to come. Consistency in practice does not mean rigidity or perfection. It is about showing up often enough that the benefits of yoga, meditation, and breathwork become woven into the fabric of daily life.

The Freedom in Letting Go: Yoga Poses to Release Physical and Mental Stress

The Freedom in Letting Go: Yoga Poses to Release Physical and Mental Stress

Practices for Shedding Stress

Letting go doesn’t always happen in one gesture; it’s often a layering off. These selected postures are slow, grounding, and supportive of the body’s natural capacity to unwind. They offer release within our muscles, but also in the deeper beliefs and patterns we hold when we’re trying to keep up.

Breathwork for Self Regulating: Breathing To Attend To and Reset Your Nervous System

Kapalabhati (Skull Shining Breath)

A Breathing Technique For Energy and FocusThis invigorating breath practice clears the mind and stimulates the body through rhythmic, forceful exhalations. Kapalabhati is traditionally seen as a kriya (specific sets of practices to clear and unlock energy channels or chakras in the body), but its mental effects are equally profound.

How to Practise:

  • Sit upright and place your hands on your lower belly.

  • Inhale gently.

  • Exhale sharply through the nose while actively pumping the abdomen. Inhalations are passive.

  • Begin with 30 repetitions, then pause and breathe naturally. Complete up to 3 rounds.

Why This Breath Technique Helps:Research shows that Kapalabhati improves cerebral oxygenation and stimulates areas of the brain associated with attention and decision-making. One study published in International Journal of Yoga found Kapalabhati increases alpha and beta brain wave activity, suggesting both a relaxed and alert state.

Nourishing Your Calm: Techniques to Relax and Center Yourself

Nourishing Your Calm: Techniques to Relax and Center Yourself

Welcome to the Nectar Yoga Retreat blog, where we explore movement, seasonal living, and wellness practices to nourish your mind, body, and spirit. Tucked into the forests of Bowen Island, a lush and peaceful gem for vacations in British Columbia, Canada, Nectar Yoga Retreat offers 2-night stays and curated yoga, meditation, and other forms of spiritual retreats designed for rest, reflection, nature connection, and well-being. Featured in Condé Nast Traveler and The New York Times, Nectar is a leading destination for spiritual experiences and meditation retreats in BC, grounded in presence and intentional living. We are honoured to host leading yoga instructors and spiritual facilitators, including Carolyn Budgell, Tina Pashumati James, Bryony Wright of Slow Burn Wellness, and Mimi Young of Ceremonie.

Summer’s Soft Beginning

This month, we invite you to return to centre through gentle, grounding practices. By tending to your inner calm, you’ll build resilience that allows you to enjoy summer’s fullness without being overwhelmed by it. These practices don’t require hours of effort or elaborate setups; just a willingness to pause and breathe.

Practising Wonder: A Return to Playful Presence

Practising Wonder: A Return to Playful Presence

Welcome to the Nectar Yoga Retreat blog, where we explore movement, seasonal living, and wellness practices to nourish your mind, body, and spirit. Tucked into the forests of Bowen Island, a lush and peaceful gem for vacations in British Columbia Canada, Nectar Yoga Retreat offers 2-night stays and curated yoga, meditation, and other forms of spiritual retreats designed for rest, reflection, nature connection, and wellness. Featured in Condé Nast Traveler and The New York Times, Nectar is a leading destination for meditation retreats and spiritual experiences grounded in presence and intentional living.

May invites a different kind of blossoming, one marked by wonder, spontaneity, and rediscovery. It’s a month for softening our gaze, loosening our grip, and seeing the world again as if for the first time. This relates both directly and indirectly to happiness.

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Expanding Your Limits: Neuroscience, Yoga and Breathwork for Building Your Capacity

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Expanding Your Limits: Neuroscience, Yoga and Breathwork for Building Your Capacity

Examining our inner judgments, there are 9 types of bias as shared by educator and author Clay Drinko, is not only opportunities for developing more self-awareness, but is also a way to identify where edges are in the first place. 

Yoga and Breathwork Practices for Growing Capacity

These practices are designed to help you connect with your edge while fostering a sense of joy and renewal.

Wild Thing (Camatkarasana)
This heart-opening pose embodies freedom and vitality. As you flow into Wild Thing, you’ll feel a playful release, inviting both physical and emotional renewal.

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Cultivating Your Inner Landscape: Practices for Enhanced Self-Awareness

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Cultivating Your Inner Landscape: Practices for Enhanced Self-Awareness

why self-awareness matters

Psychologists Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund have formulated this definition of self awareness, "Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don't align with your internal standards. If you're highly self-aware, you can objectively evaluate yourself, manage your emotions, align your behavior with your values, and understand correctly how others perceive you."

At Nectar, each retreat and event is designed to create space for reflection, movement, and rest, moments that carry you forward with steadiness and clarity. 🍂 Swipe through to explore upcoming offerings this month, from weekend retreats to immersi
We often hear guests say that what nourishes them most isn’t only the yoga or the meals, but the sense of belonging they feel when gathering together. When people come to breathe, move, and rest, something shifts, bonds deepen, hearts soften, a
As September comes to a close, we reflect on the rhythms we’ve begun to establish this month. Consistency doesn’t ask for perfection; it asks for presence. Even the smallest practices, repeated often, create a steady thread between each d
Our breath is a constant companion, yet so often overlooked. When we finally pay attention, we can discover its power to calm and regulate the nervous system. 🫁 This February, join @CarolynAnneBudgie at Nectar Yoga for a 35-hour YA Certified CE imm
"Nectar was a therapeutic and wonderful experience from start to finish. I felt so taken care of by all of the friendly and thoughtful staff the entire time. Every little detail was thought of! Peaceful music played in my room and in the main lo
The New Moon in Virgo arrives today, offering a clear invitation to realign with intention. At Nectar, we honour the new moon as a reset point, an opportunity to pause, reflect, and choose practices that support growth. 🌑 Virgo’s influence em