Meditation & Pranayama Series

5.006 reviews

Open Dates

About this Retreat

Your Guides

Dennis

Dennis Eagan

Dennis Eagan E-RYT 500 is the Director of the Balanced Rock Yoga Alliance-certified WildYoga Advanced Study and Teacher Training Program as well as the instructor for the Balanced Rock Energies of Nature backcountry course. He became a dedicated sadhaka in 1989 and gradually developed an hour-long home practice under the guidance of Lynne Minton, an Iyengar-style teacher in Anchorage, Alaska. Yoga saved him from back surgery twenty-three years ago and since then it has allowed Dennis to lead a very active life. The positive results in his own body inspired him to learn more about yoga. After nine years of dedicated practice, Dennis moved to Berkeley, California to pursue yoga studies full time at the Piedmont Yoga Studio, directed by Rodney Yee. He graduated from their 320-hour program in December of 1998 and has been teaching ever since. Dennis spent seven years in Berkeley, teaching 15 classes a week and attending weekly classes with Donald Moyer, the director of the Yoga Room (one of the earliest yoga programs in the country), Tony Briggs, the director of Turtle Island Yoga, and of course Rodney. During that time he experienced a wide range of students from the high-energy vinyasa/ashtanga students at 7th Heaven in Berkeley to wheelchair bound yogis at the Cerebral Palsy Center in Oakland. In addition, he attended many weekend workshops with other top teachers including Ramanad Patel, Tias Little and Richard Freeman. Currently he directs the Advanced Study/Teacher Training Programs at the Yoga & Movement Center in Walnut Creek and the Bo Tree Yoga Studio in Davis. Dennis has also been a wilderness guide and outdoor educator for over three decades. His guiding experience ranges from the Artic to Baja and from the summit of Denali to the depths of Grand Canyon. Dennis offers workshops and wilderness retreats throughout the west, from Alaska to Mexico. He is a contributor to Prana, the online newsletter of the Green Yoga Association, and is writing a book about the Gulf Coast of Alaska from the perspective of a kayaker. -- Dennis joins us this year for the 18th Annual Yoga Jambalaya to lead Interoception & The Inner Breath from 11am-12:15pm This quiet class explores the body's response to the breath from the initiation of the inhale to the surrender of the exhale, and the pauses in between. -- Website: wildyoga.com Dennis Eagan on Youtube

Details of this retreat

Registered students can access this 4-week series via enrollment on our online learning platform Thinkific. Upon registration, you will be sent an email with instructions on how to access the recordings!

SERIES DESCRIPTION:

This four class series will cover the anatomy, physiology, and philosophy of the breath as we work with interoception, visualization, bandhas, and breathing techniques to deepen our awareness of life's most precious gift..

EQUIPMENT NEEDED: None

Getting Here

Balanced Rock

Directions

With our staff of resident Yosemite experts, we specialize in visiting less crowded, yet stunningly beautiful corners of Yosemite National Park. We have decades of collective experience in exploring the park, and have a wide range of hidden sanctuaries, secluded lakes, outdoor granite-slab yoga “studios”, and comfortable campsites in our routes and itineraries. If you want to also see some of the more popular icons and destinations, there is ample time at the beginning and end of each trip.

Once you complete your registration for a trip, we will send you detailed directions and a map to the meeting place.

Accommodation

Accommodation options vary based on the trip. Backcountry trips will be rugged experiences with solo or shared tent camping. Campground-based retreats will the solo or shared tent camping at a designated site with varied amenities. Lodge-based retreats may feature shared or private rooms, camping options, or hostel-like dorms (depending on the location).

Venue & Amenities

A/C in Rooms

Free Wifi

Spa

Sauna

Pool

Towels

Free Parking

Kitchen

Tour Assistance

Hot Tub

Coffee/Tea

Cafe

Restaurant

Fitness Center

Yoga Studio

Housekeeping

Bicycles For Rent

Our staff and instructors are a group of inspired adventurers who have honed their skills living and loving life in connection with wilderness. Accomplished musicians, artists, naturalists, yogis, healers, chefs, and free-spirits Balanced Rock instructors have a knack for making people feel safe and comfortable in any setting: from the mountains to the studio.

Meals

Menu Types

Vegan

Vegetarian

Pescetarian

Ayurvedic

Includes Meat

Organic

Gluten Free

Dairy Free

Nut Free

Food is a cornerstone of the Balanced Rock experience, and most of our retreats offer nourishing, organic, and seasonally-sourced meals. Dietary restrictions/preferences are collected at registration

Customer Reviews

5.00 out of 5.0 average rating

Marcia • Jun 07, 2020

5.0

Verified

EVERY Balanced Rock Retreat is AMAZING!!

I've been on several Balanced Rock retreats and every single one was AMAZING!! The attention to detail for every participant made me feel like it was designed specifically for me. Everything from making sure my sleeping accommodations were cozy to yoga poses right for me in that moment to the Over-the-Top Excellent food! You can be assured you will be WELL taken care of and fully nourished in your body, mind and spirit!

Ruth • Nov 16, 2019

5.0

Yoga Jambalaya 2019

Heather has a way of bringing the outside inside, and helping to connect people to nature right from the start of her yoga class. A wonderful way to stir a pot of something delicious! Jambalaya has always been amazing, but it keeps getting better

Kristin • Aug 16, 2019

5.0

100% Worth every penny!

This trip couldn't have come at a better time in my life. I was finally able to quiet my heavily distracted and fast paced mind with the guided meditations and yoga poses taught by Jana. She meets you at your level and provides you with a variety of meditation styles to take home and practice whenever you like. Patrick prepared the best meals for the group and even snuck in a sweet dessert once in awhile. Overall, this retreat was much needed and I am very grateful to have been a part of it. The connections that were made on this trip will stay with me for a lifetime and I look forward to my next trip with them.

Endria • Aug 05, 2019

5.0

Women of Color Backpacking and Yoga Retreat

I've been backpacking and climbing for over nine years, and this was one of the most special, healing, and joyous backpacking trips I've ever been on. I really loved spending time in the mountains with women of color--sharing space to talk about our experiences, joys, and pains in the outdoors, and cultivating the healing that comes with being heard and seen (and from plunges in freezing alpine lakes). Thank you to the trip leaders, Grace and Miho, for holding such beautiful space, and to Balanced Rock for providing this magical and necessary space!

Andrea • Jul 30, 2019

5.0

Amazing Journey

My yoga and backpacking retreat, couldn't have gone any better, this was a life changing experience were reconnecting to nature and spirit was the key, the instructors (Breezy and JP) are absolutely exceptional yoga instructors, they care tons about the welfare of the group, the food was super healthy and convenient, meditations were beyond my expectations, the place was fantastic and the instructors were super knowledge of our surrounding environment. ***** 5 stars Highly Recommended :)!!!!!