February Workshops at The Mountain Club on Loon Mountain Resort

February Workshops
at The Viaggio Spa and Wellness Center
in The Mountain Club on Loon
on Loon Mountain Resort
with Denise Porter Kemp
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Yoga Playshops for Kids
Sunday, February 17
•9:30am – 10:00am 7-11 years $10
•10:30am – 11:00am – 3-6 years, Mommy or Daddy & Me $10
•3:30pm – 4:15pm – 11-15 years $15

We will utilize yoga postures, movement, dance and storytelling to engage our minds and bodies through the art of conscious play. These age groups are guidelines not boundaries, inquire if you have questions. In all cases we will explore yoga teachings through postures and movement translated to the maturity level of the group.
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Yoga Refresh Mini-Retreat
Wednesday, February 20
9:30am-12:30pm
$45, member price $35

A half day of retreat of flowing postural yoga, breathwork practices to relax and energize, seated meditation techniques and guided yoga nidra/conscious-rest meditation catered to the specifics of the group. Combine with a half day on the mountain, exploring the forests surrounding the resort or pampering yourself with the many amenities and services available at the Viaggio Spa for a full day retreat experience, just the way you like it.
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Yoga and Snowshoe Meditation Hike
Saturday, February 23
9:30am-1:30pm
$60 bring your own snowshoes, $75 with snowshoe rental, member price $50 or $65 with snowshoes

Yoga inside the warm sanctuary of The Mountain Club before and after as well as outside during a snowshoe meditation hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.
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Ongoing:
•Mondays 5:30-7:00 Meditative Flow yoga class
•Private individual and group yoga and Thai yoga sessions available by request

For more information visit the event pages or message me. To register contact The Viaggio Spa at spa@mtnclub.com or 800-229-7829.

mural and photo credit ~ Christopher Oktavec of Okto Ink
with editing and support by Taniya Toomey

Snowsports Specific Yoga Retreats

Mindful dynamic vinyasa yoga and core awakening postures inside at The Mountain Club on Loon before a half day on the mountain at Loon Mountain Resort followed by indoor targeted stretching and decompression to reduce soreness and as a sort of savasana for the day. In the past we have incorporated partner, acro and Thai yoga into both sides of this, which we can do again as interest allows.
You are welcome to ride the mountain with me where we can utilize snowsports as a movement meditation in itself AND practice postures right in our boots or equipment that release tension, build strength and increase effortless balance, and/or take some time to ski or ride on your own as much as you like.
Everything is optional 🙂
I know its cold. Come play outside, it makes winter more fun ❤

Yoga and Snowsports as Movement Meditation Retreats

Yoga and Snowsports as Movement Meditation Retreats 2015

January 11, February 8 and March 15  9am – 5:30pm
The Mountain Club on Loon and Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln, NH
for more information 603-568-5977 or deniseporterkemp@gmail.com
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Buy tickets for Yoga and Snowsports as Movement Meditation
Physical yoga is a mindfulness movement meditation, helping develop the capacity to recall effortless presence at will. On these one-day retreats we will utilize yoga both as a physical tune-up for snowsports and as a way to recognize the potential of mindfulness meditation in all our activities. Physical yoga is one way of experiencing the teachings of yoga, so that we can bring these teachings into the rest of our lives.
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We will begin with a morning pre-snowsports specific yoga practice to bring mobility to the joints and warm the muscles, activate effortless core strength and find our center of gravity and balance. By becoming present in the body, we also become aware with the body.
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After lunch, we head onto the mountain for a half day of snowsports, utilizing the physical practice of skiing or riding in the same way we could utilize the physical yoga practice – to intentionally and sometimes even methodically bring awareness into what we are doing while we are doing it. Once we have trained our mind and body to be focused and conscious, we can let go of some of the active effort, riding the mountain by responding to gravity and the contours of the land.
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I also have many possibilities for yoga in boots and right in skis and snowboards which I am happy to share with anyone interested, although no one is required to practice the yoga on snow! You are also welcome to ski or ride on your own at any time.
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After the lifts close, we return to the sanctuary of The Mountain Club to decompress with apres-ski specific yoga, holding longer postures to release tension and prepare the body for the next day with less soreness and fatigue.
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I will not be teaching snowsports per-se, participants need to be able to comfortably ski or ride blue runs. On each run I will offer subtle cues as focus points, and we can share our own tricks and methods with each other. You are welcome to ski with the group, and at any point, take some time on your own. I will share the way I utilize the practice of yoga to enhance my snowsports experience, to assist you in finding a practice that supports your own.
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There are three separate retreats ~ January 11, February 8 and March 15 ~ come to one or as many as time and interest allows. Space is limited and you need to pre-register to hold your spot.
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$100 each retreat, includes half-day lift ticket
$75 each, with your own lift ticket
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posts about snowsports and yoga…
Basic Snow Yoga
Sun Salutation On a Snowboard
Sun Salutation in Skis
One Foot Strapped in Snowboard Yoga
Dynamic Lunge Sequence for Before Snowsports
Meditative Hip Opening Apres-ski Video
…poems and other writings about snowsports…

Finding Flow: The Path of the Sahaja

with Denise Porter Kemp

Saturday, November 15
10 am-5 pm
The Mountain Club on Loon
Lincoln, New Hampshire
$80

The sahaja is the embodiment of spontaneity,
one who fine tunes the instrument of the body and mind to go beyond habit and compulsion and be fully present to the subtleties of each moment, consciously and effortlessly responding appropriately to each unique circumstance as it arises.

In this workshop we will experiment with physical yoga, breath work, dance and meditation practices, observing and experiencing the nuances of our own body, mind and behavioral tendencies to cultivate awareness both of and with our whole beings. Noticing as this mindful presence slows compulsive thought, impulse and emotion so that we can connect with stillness even in the movement, the silence ever-present behind the sound, the spaciousness within the matter, with turiya – pure raw awareness, underlying all other states of consciousness, accessible all the time.

Tuning our bodies and minds as a musician trains on an instrument to effortlessly and precisely let the music flow through, both allowing ourselves to be played by the “music” and staying conscious and making choice in the flow.

   Practicing this together so that we may recall this quality of fluid presence
in everything that we do.

We will practice in the sanctuary of The Mountain Club on Loon overlooking Loon Mountain and as weather and interest permits outside along the rivers and in the forests of the White Mountains. 

For more information and to register go to http://findingflow.bpt.me/
or contact me at
deniseporterkemp@gmail.com

~body geometry accessing aware consciousness~

deniseporterkemp.com
603 568 5977

catalyst

For me, snowboarding is physical yoga practice, asana ~ moving meditation, becoming comfortable and articulate in my body and in relation with the physical world. As I ride I gradually tune in to the subtleties of my movement, awakening presence in my entire body. I don’t have to try so much anymore, it just starts to happen. The movement becomes efficient, somewhat effortless. Grounded in my body, I become aware not only of my body, but with my body ~ my movement responding to the contours of the mountain, the crisp scent of the air and the temperature on my skin, the sounds of my board against the texture of the snow and the wind all around me. Everything becomes more vibrant. There’s nowhere to go and nothing else to do but to be right here, completely open to the moment. It refreshes me, brings me back to center.
I used to get pretty sad at the end of the season, as I thought I depended on this activity to do all this for me. Without it I would feel flat, empty, dull…or so I feared. Through time I realize that these activities that have the potential to revitalize us and bring us spontaneously into the moment remind us that this is possible. We don’t have to become attached to the catalyst, there are many ways to do it. Breathe in, feel yourself in your entire body. Hear the sounds. Right now.
I will miss you, my beloved mountain, my mermaid~tail serpentine snow dance. Another season has come and is passing and I have again learned so much from you.
Until the next time we meet dear friend, the love I tap into when I’m with you lives inside of me.
(yeah, yeah I know kinda sappy. And I mean it  🙂 )
❤

Vernal Equinox Yoga and Snowshoe Meditation Retreat in the White Mountains

Spring in the White Mountains

The word yoga has the same root as yoke, meaning the yoking together of polar opposites as two sides of the same thing. Holding both extremes and the continuum between, balanced at the center.

The vernal, or spring, equinox, balanced precisely between the Winter and Summer Solstices, is typically the turning point weather wise as we begin to experience the effects of the shifting, as daylight becomes equal to nighttime and the still and silent winter woods are being balanced by the warmth and awakening of spring melt.

Come experience the extremes simultaneously on this pinnacle day, balanced right at the center. The winter woodlands opening up with a celebration of the sounds and signs of spring.

http://deniseporterkemp.com/events–snowshoe.html

Yoga and Snowsports as Movement Meditation

Join me for snowsports specific yoga before and after a half-day of skiing or riding at Loon Mountain Resort, where we will play with utilizing the physical practice of snowsports as a mindfulness meditation, just like a yoga practice.

February 9, March 9 or April 6 2014
The Mountain Club on Loon
Lincoln, New Hampshire

http://deniseporterkemp.com/events–snowsports.html

Yoga Awareness Meditation Retreat in The White Mountains

~ flow yoga as experiential metaphor to bring meditative awareness into the rest of our lives ~

In this one day retreat we will experiment with yoga postures and breath as awareness meditation, cultivating an increased ability to sustain presence and center ourselves at will. Developing this skill consciously together in practice will help us recall this quality of awareness when we most want to, or need to, be present in the rest of our lives.
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Starting with a short hike and meditation along the Pemigewasset River, we will then retreat to the sanctuary of The Mountain Club on Loon to integrate our meditative awareness into an indoor yoga asana practice. After lunch we will ride the gondola to the summit of Loon to practice in the forests of the White Mountains.
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This class is accessible to students of all levels. Simple postures will be offered for newer students to hold and develop awareness, while more experienced practitioners will be guided into more complex postures to refine their skill and attention once the simpler postures become easy. We will experiment to find our own unique expression of the potential of each pose.
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Bring clothing for yoga and a mat, layers appropriate for the weather outside, a towel and swimwear, and footwear suitable for light hiking. In case of inclement weather, we will utilize The Mountain Club as much as necessary and go outside as weather allows. Lunch is available at area restaurants, including The Mountain Club, or you are welcome to pack your own.
Please arrive well fed, enough to sustain you until lunch time.
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Make it a weekend retreat with spa services and discount room rates through The Mountain Club,
or with private instruction or a Thai yoga session with Denise.
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Denise practices in nature as much as possible, accessing a playfulness and deep awareness that she brings to her classes. In addition to teaching at the Mountain Club on Loon, she is the seasonal yoga instructor for the Loon Mountain Snowsports School and The Saint Anselm Cross Country Running Team. She leads yoga and meditation at The Plymouth House, a residential retreat center for drug and alcohol recovery, which has helped develop her teachings into a practical life skill that helps free us from dependence and confusion, awakening our potential through awareness and centering. She also brings yoga to festivals and events throughout New England and along the east coast. Her style derives from many traditions of movement and meditation and adapts to fit the specifics of her clientele. Denise is also available for personal and group private yoga classes and Thai yoga sessions.

Saturday August 10, 2013
9am – 5pm
The Mountain Club on Loon
Lincoln, New Hampshire
$80 – includes lift ticket

For more information or to register call 603 568 5977
or visit http://awarenessretreat813.brownpapertickets.com

deniseporterkemp.com