yoga retreat vancouver bc

June is Gemini & Cancer Season

Gemini's domain is the shoulders, arms, hands, and lungs. May introduced that territory and the practices that open it. June begins there and moves down into the chest, the ribs, and the breath's deeper capacity. Three-Part Breath, which this month introduces, reaches further into the body than box breathing does, expanding the lower belly, the ribcage, and the upper chest in sequence. It is the breath of Cancer's water element: receptive, layered, touching the baseline of the self.

In the Western astrological tradition, Cancer is ruled by the Moon, which governs cycles, tides, and the rhythms of the body that are not entirely under conscious control. The practices this month work with that quality. Where May's practices asked for steadiness and physical form, June's ask for surrender to sensation. The chest opens not because you push it open but because the breath makes room.

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