yoga retreat vancouver bc

Flowing With Life’s Transitions: Yoga and Deep Breathing Techniques for the Vagus Nerve

Flowing With Life’s Transitions: Yoga and Deep Breathing Techniques for the Vagus Nerve

Why Meeting Change With Body and Breath Works: Vagus Nerve and Stress Adaptation

On Bowen Island, November signals a true turning. The last leaves release to the forest floor, the daylight continues to shorten, and the stillness of winter edges closer. This seasonal threshold mirrors the changes we face in our personal lives: some invited, others resisted. Neuroscience suggests that how we frame transitions strongly shapes our stress response, or another way of putting it, those who approach change with curiosity rather than fear are more likely to adapt well. 

Plant Medicine | Trees of the Pacific Northwest

Plant Medicine | Trees of the Pacific Northwest

Here at Nectar Yoga Retreat on Bowen, in the beautiful Pacific Northwest of Canada, we are blessed with an abundance of different flora and fauna, each lending its unique properties to our environments. Guests staying with us through our Nectar Experience Packages or attending our day / evening events or overnight spiritual retreats often share how the presence of trees during their Bowen Island getaway makes a lasting impression on their wellness within.

As part of the living yoga practice and our commitment to being stewards of the land, part of our practice of Svadhyaya, the Yama translating to self-study, is learning the wisdom of the trees. 

Nectar Yoga Explores Burdock Benefits, Recipes, and the Spirituality of the Plant

Read below to learn more about Burdock, including:

  • What Burdock looks like

  • How to forage for Burdock

  • The versatility of Burdock and why it's often recommended by herbalists

  • A profile of what burdock root tastes like

  • Various methods for preparing Burdock at home, including five nourishing (and delicious) recipes, including a Burdock Root tea recipe and how to make kinpira gobo (braised Burdock Root).

  • and more

As a new year approaches, we’re often encouraged to set resolutions, to do more, improve more, and become more. But in the tradition of yoga, transformation begins not through striving, but through devotion. 🧘🏻‍♂️ Our 40-Day Sadhana invi
This season, we’re leaning into useful, beautiful goods, the lotion you reach for after a hot shower, a candle that warms the room, the small rituals that make winter feel soft around the edges. 🕯️ Each Nectar Goods piece is designed to bring
“I’ve enjoyed the Nectar experience 3 times. Two summer stays and one magical snowswept winter wonderland. The perspective, gratitude, and peace I experienced at Nectar has stayed close to me even when I ventured back into my daily life.&
The Super Full Cold Moon in Gemini rises tonight, bringing with it heightened energy and a focus on connection, curiosity, and communication. 🌕 As the year nears its close, this moon invites reflection on the stories we’ve told, the conversat
In December, the forests on Bowen go quiet and at Nectar, we explore resilience as both a capacity and a practice. It begins in the body—through breath, interoception, and the ability to return to steady ground after stress. With yoga, breathwo
While Nectar's physical space is closed for the month of January, our practice continues wherever you are. The 40-Day Sadhana is an invitation to stay connected through daily movement, meditation, and mindful ritual. A rhythm to begin the year with