“When I signed up, I figured I’d have a pretty good time. But I was astonished by how truly wonderful it turned out to be. And the impact that it had on me, physically, mentally and spiritually. Thanks to Wendy’s and Joanna’s gentle guidance, loving care and slightly wicked senses of humour – I not only had the best vacation I could imagine, but I was able to really relax, gain some much needed perspective, rediscover my love of yoga and the outdoors and overcome some hurdles which turned out to be more mental than physical.

Then there’s Greg’s awesome meals. Yummy.

In short, A Quest for Balance completely rocks! Once you experience it, you’ll kick yourself for not doing it sooner.”
~ Lisa Denvir, Toronto

Is Balance a really tangible and consistent thing? or is what we are searching for the ways in which we can flow and shape shift around moving in and out of balance?

If you think about it even when we walk we are in perfect balance for only a moment and then out the next. Perhaps our Quest for Balance is about recognizing those things which take us off balance, or the actions that tip us toward burn out. What if our quest for balance could begin with recognizing the things in our life that are out of balance? , perhaps relationships with ourselves and others, our connection to our bodies and it’s habits and patterns, our connection to the natural world we live in.. seeing these things without judgment and as a catalyst for growth.

Once we are able to see clearly we can begin to cultivate and draw in what we need to create an authentic sense of balance and equilibrium.

The last Quest for Balance Yoga and Sea kayak retreat I facilitated taught me alot about the balance in my relationships. How essential it is for us to cultivate healthy and sacred connections with those people in our lives that we love. I learned how powerful the connection between siblings can be and how the strong and silent presence of our sibling can help us reach our own sense of internal balance.
I realized that the age and time that separates a mother and daughter gets alot smaller as we grow and to nurture our soul connection to our mothers is worth every moment of cultivated effort.

The group of girl friends on our retreat taught me about the sheer joy of friendship and support, how our friends can catch us when we fall off balance or support us when we push ourselves toward an edge.

Most importantly I realized how important it is when we can recognize that our relationship to our self is becoming foggy or distant, that we have been giving away more to others than we are giving to our self. How brave to step out of our everyday commitments and responsibility to simply feed ourselves back to a balance state.

Our shared and collective morning yoga practice on the dock restored my own understanding of balance. When we share special and sacred moments with others we feel our connection to the larger picture. We move into a resonation that is quiet yet crisp and alert, waking up our sleepy senses, this is space where we can hear our hearts and souls speak instead of the chatter of our minds.

When we take the steps to disconnect ourselves from the fast pace stream of every day life, the intuition of balance becomes strong. Have you ever had moments when you are in the perfect place? where you can feel fresh breeze on your skin, where you can feel it move through your soul, where the sound of lapping water calms your whole system, or where the rhythm of silence has resonated deep within you. These moments where you feel so connected to everything around you and within you, that even the choices you make feel clear and instinctive.

I am now understanding that balance is something ever changing and evolving, there is balance between effort and surrender, activity and rest, sun and moon, we are always searching for the way to be within ourselves and the world in a balanced way.. I am looking forward to what lessons and joys will come this weekend as I Quest for Balance with a new group of people, as we learn to ride the waves and currents of life I am hopeful that our times spent in balance will be greater than our times off balance..

With Love.
Wendy.

–
Wendy Martin
Algonquin Yoga Goddess
Northern Edge Algonquin
YogaAtTheEdge@gmail.com

Join us July 1 at 7 pm as we host a live online event with the World Drum and Mandaza, teaching about Peace.

Learn more about the World Drum:
http://www.NorthernEdgeAlgonquin.com/world-drum.html

Join us LIve:
http://www.NorthernEdgeAlgonquin.com/live-video.html

Greetings fellow Yogis and Yoginis I hope this finds you all well and shifting into a brilliant and promising summer. There seems to be a real and impactful current of change moving through things lately, the Emergence of such a quick spring seemed to catapult change within me and many of those around me.

Wendy Martin
Algonquin Yoga Goddess
Northern Edge Algonquin
YogaAtTheEdge@gmail.com

We invite you to join us this season for an exhilarating and rejuvenating yoga experience!
See our online calendar for more details. Or call Amanda directly at 800 953 3343.

With the G8 heading to Muskoka for the June 25-26, 2010, many thousands of media, journalists, and political types will be decending on the area for political handshaking, speechmaking and photo opportunities.

Having been at the last two G20 meetings in London and Pittsburgh as an online journalist for my blog at http://climatecafe.org I have learned by experience  that these type of events take place indoors, behind walls of security that make an airport TSA checkpoint look tame.

London was swarming with police in riot gear and the streets of Pittsburgh were basically deserted during the big event.   So sleepy Huntsville should resemble the off-season right at the start of the big summer tourist season.  For residents of Huntsville, and cottage country regulars, it might be time to head a little ways north in a Quest for Balance during the G8 gathering in Muskoka.

Northern Edge Algonquin is offering a little yoga, sea kayaking and wonderful meals on this special long weekend retreat.

So if you were thinking of trying to catch a glimpse of Obama, or maybe even the new UK Prime Minister, David Cameron forget about it.  In Huntsville there may be a few public speeches, parades or fireworks featuring activists and protesters, but guests at the Edge will be off-the-grid enjoying the peace and tranquility of Algonquin Park.

After the weekend wraps up, we’ll all be better ready to catch up on all the news that kept everyone engaged through Muskoka’s G8 weekend.

 Here at the Edge as well as in most parts of Ontario we have been enjoying some beautiful spring weather that feels a little more like summer. It’s not only the human family that is feeling this time of new life, but the forest is coming alive. Many of our spring wildflowers and native trees have already flowered and are beginning to form seeds for the next generation. In this short post I’d like to describe a little about the animals and birds who have been tending to thier new borns and I had the priviledge to observe over the course of the last couple of days.

I watched as the starlings and robins flew from thier nests in South River at Matt’s house and worked feverishly to keep the nest clean of droppings and ‘fresh’ for thier young brood. As I travlelled home I stopped to watch two families of Canada Geese as the young goslings swim in the safe ‘eddies’ that thier parents created as they lead them down the river. On the road to the Edge there have been many deer and moose including a cow moose and twins and a lot of deer including a couple of fawns. The fox kits are up and moving with thier mothers as the vixen that I saw tried catiously to get her young from one side of the road to the other. The beavers have been working hard adding wood and mud to thier dams in anticipation of the low water levels to come this summer. On our lake there have been many species of ducks in thier courting pairs and now most females are sitting on nests. This year I’ve been able to watch wood, black, mallard, buffleheads and mergansers swimming in Round lake. As I paddle each day I love to keep an eye on these small family groups and have noticed that the herring gull that has been nesting on the rocks in front of my place has just hatched her young. The other day was thier first venture into the water and the mom and dad are quick to ‘rush’ them into the water at the first sign of danger. They were quite used to me paddling by twice a day up until the young have arrived. Now we are starting all over again in our relationship and establishing new boundaries and acceptance of one and other. The loons are calling each night from different corners of the lake and the hummingbirds have returned to the island on which I live as well. The crows and ravens wake me each morning as the sun rises and often I get to hear the shrill call of the merlin or the sharp-shinned hawk as they hunt through the tall white pines.

As the days become longer we all go through transitions as we let go of the things from the past while embracing the present moment. Last night as I went to sleep listening to 4 different species of frogs singing around the lake it made me feel alive and ready to move into this next season with a ‘re-newed’ sense of Vision and Purpose. I wish the same to all of you and hope that you can come and visit us soon.

Alexis Burnett

I think most folks are familiar with the idea of a second honeymoon. It conjures up visions of exotic places and activities to rekindle romance – sans kids. But what is a Marriage Vacation?

Earlier this week I made a status update to Facebook and Twitter where I referred to Martha as a great friend. Our video intern thought this sounded strange. “Aren’t you married?”
Of course we’re married, and we’re best friends. The two aren’t mutually exclusive are they?

If you can’t call your spouse our best friend it might be time for a Marriage Vacation.

In some marriages friendship might be lost between the stresses of getting everyone out the door in the morning, cooking and cleaning, dealing the day-to-day living and even getting lost in blackberries, iPads, or laptop computers. It’s not your relationship that is at fault, it might just be your lifestyle keeping you from enjoying the company of one another as much as you would like to.

A marriage vacation is an opportunity to rekindle the greatest friendship in your life. To step out of the ordinary – perhaps a fair distance short of extraordinary for a weekend getaway with your spouse.

The recipe:

• somewhere new, nearby – away from distractions of home.  (If you live in Toronto, Ontario there are numerous places within a few hours that would be great destinations.  Make a list and plan a couple of marriage vacations in Ontario each year!)
• 3-4 days
• no kids
• no technology
• no tv
• add equal parts: adventure, dream time, socialization with other adults, creative pursuits, outdoors in nature.

Three or four days away, perhaps on a train so you can spend the travel time looking into one another’s eyes, enjoying meals and activities with other adults might be just what your need to rediscover your best friend – a marriage vacation.

Natalie, Topher and I headed out for a spin on a fine spring morning and captured the essence of the beauty of canoeing in just a few minutes of video.

First Paddle of the Season from todd lucier on Vimeo.

Greg is the master tapper here and he is ready for some serious Maple Syrup.  March 8 2010 – Northern Edge Algonquin – South River, Ontario

These wolves are feeding on a deer near the Algonquin Park visitor centre.  It is interesting that the dominant wolf is enjoying his solitary meal while the others watch and wait their turn.   It’s interesting to watch the second dominant wolf confirm his place with one other wolf at right.

Our Wolf Howl Canoe Trips in Algonquin Park give guests an opportunity to experience the spine tingling howls of the Nahma Lake wolf pack.