Posts Tagged ‘Wine Destinations’

Yoga on the Wine Trail at Hiddencroft Vineyards

Journey to the Heart on the Loudoun Wine Trail

Yoga on the Wine Trail at Hiddencroft Vineyards

Meet the wine maker, also the owner, in his beautiful open air barn, tasting house, and vineyard deep in the heart of Loudoun County, Virginia. Rich with history, you can feel the strength of spirit here. It is with heart, love, and passion his wines are aged and hand crafted to perfection. This wine matches our practice, carefully combined to engage the deepest
human sense of smell, touch, taste, giving and energy that surrounds the dedication to what we love. This Natarajasana, Prana sequenced practice is a beautiful barn dance with the wind blowing through our bodies…

There are those moments when we get in our own way blocking us from seeing, feeling, doing, saying, and breathing. There are those moments when we get out of our own way unblocking us to see, do, say, breath, love, grow, give, create, live, smile, spread our feathers and FLY riding the breath of the universe…

Erin started students in a bound meditaion with Mexican blankets to prop up the back and allow the ribs and lungs to open in Supta Baddha Konasana. Breathing openly, fresh air lets the mind freely re

lease thoughts while beginning to remove gravity from shoulders in a reclined and relaxed meditation. We all rise to the sound sounds of the singing bowl making the path led by vineyard staff through the apple orchard to the vineyards, row after row of lush vines. Deep in the summer, the heat and humidity fills our lungs while travelling slowly through the grapes, soaking up the sunshine.

Yoga – Heart Opening Practice

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♣ Chakra: The Forth Chakra, the Anahata Chakra, is physically positioned at the heart region. Traditionally, this Chakra is represented as a green flower with twelve petals which match the vrittis of lust, fraud, indecision, repentance, hope, anxiety, longing, impartiality, arrogance, incompetence, discrimination and defiance.

♣ Element: Air

♣ Color: Green

♣ Animal: Antelope (deer)

♣ Body Parts: Heart, Skin, Lungs, Thymus, Blood, Lymph, Immune System

♣ Planet: Venus

♣ Focus: “When energy is not flowing freely from the heart there is a disruption of love, balance, harmony, peace, brotherhood, hope, growth or healing. When blocked there can be an inability to express or share any deep emotions including joy, fear, sadness or serenity. This Chakra is fed by finding your passion and following your heart. Having faith, find ways to express yourself and practicing appreciation, balancing giving and receiving ,and forgiveness of yourself or others.”

We return to our mats for a heart opening practice with Lara that begins in Utthita Balasana (extended child’s pose). When the knees are apart, allowing the rib cage to sink deeper, the arms are extended forward to help length in the spine and begin opening shoulders and chest. Our peak asanas, stages, or modifications are reached through poses placed in sequences to repeat, build, and open the heart, chest, and shoulders allowing for absolute freedom of breath and body movement. Natarajasana (King Dancer or Lord of the Dance), Urdva Danurasana (upward bow), Ustrasana (camel), and Salabhasana (locust) is the family of asanas.

Yoga 4 Life at Hiddencroft Vneyard Practice

Opening dedication is mind and body opening wave through hearts center. Making our way through Moon Salutations breathing in the warm summer air to progressive sequence including balance. As the birds fly through the barn doors each inhale and rise to Tadasana brings the gaze upward. Visual movement through air allows each moment to be present.

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

– Anais Nin

Wine at Hiddencroft Vineyards

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Hiddencroft is located in the far corner of Lovettsville, Virginia. From our Purcellville Yoga Studio on East Main Street, a short drive down 287 taking a left turn down a scenic dirt road seems like a journey back in time. We sampled a large tasting menu with the winemaker and owner. Our light fare lunch was provided by South Street Under in Leesburg, Virginia and the carefully prepared selections were paired with wine following the tasting.

Clyde ages his wine between 22 and 42 months! The blueberry and cherry fruit wines were not something many of our yogis have tried before. Such a nice treat captured in the bottles of Grandma’s Love Potion ties up the knot of love with blueberries – absolutely delicious! The Sweet Cherry was purchased by many this time around to enjoy with cool desserts of the summer. We sold almost 30 bottles of wine to our yogis returning to their homes to share with their family & friends.

The Wine Selection

Here are the wines offered by Hiddencroft. A “hidden gem” tucked far out of the way of highway noise, clutter of visual distractions, and full of warmth to share. Walking through the path to the 1830′s tasting house feels like passing through time to a unique piece of history now captured and enjoyed with the wonderful wine country we are so lucky to call home. We are all grateful for the hospitality and custom vineyard tour during our meditation walk. Yoga and Wine in Loudoun County & Yoga on the Wine Trail is so pleased to have experienced the heart of the people that create wine here on a farm now cherished for generations past, present, and future. Cheers!

Purcellville Virginia Yoga Studio at Hiddencroft Vineyards

Rose

Chambourcin Rose (2011) – $19Wine

Flavors of strawberries and tart summer plums. Lovely mauve color. Dry and crisp. Excellent served as an aperitif or wine cocktail.

White Wines

Traminette (2011) – $18 (Dry)
Traminette (2011) – ~~$18~~ On Sale for $15! (1.5% res. sugar)

Two versions available: one dry and crisp; the other semi-sweet. A nose of old fashioned roses and honeysuckle. Ap

ple at the mid-palate and a spicy tingle on the finish. Excellent when served with spicy, ethnic cuisine.

Vidal Blanc (2010) – $20 (1.5% res. sugar)
Subtle notes of pineapple and grapefruit. Excellent with grilled chicken, ribs, seafood and tropical salsas.

Red Wines

Chambourcin (2009) – $23 Released December 2012

Cellared for tree years, this 100% Chambourcin wine epidimizes the saying “No wine before it’s time”. Swish this deep, dark beauty in your glass to release the palate of chocolate and black cherries, followed by a dry, but smooth, finish. A true showcase of the Chambourcin grape!

Cabernet Franc (N/V) – $23 Released December 2012

Cellar aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels for 3 and 1/2 years. This blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot is a great balance of fruit, oak and tannins that will blossom in your cellar for years to come.

Dutchman’s Creek Blend – $23

Our red blend displays a complex palate with a smooth finish. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Tannat have been blended for a great balance of fruit, oak and tannan. The perfect wine to complement your favorite dish of beef, lamb or wild game.

Tannat (2008) – $40

Barrel-aged for 42 months. This wine has a firm tannic structure, dense purple-red-color, a nose of tobacco, smoke, ripe berries, and a long angular finish. Enjoy it now or lay it down in your cellar to be enjoyed in 5-7 years.

Fruit Wines

Sweet Cherry (2011) – ~~$23~~ On Sale for $20! (750ml)

One of our most popular wines and a unique treat. Intense cherry flavor and sweet at the front and tart on the finish. Made fromMontmorency cherries…the quintessential pie cherry. Enjoy it by itself or with desserts; especially delicious with dark chocolate and almond pastries.

Grandma’s Love Potion – $24 (500ml) Our 2011 Vintage!

The dictionary defines love potion as “a magic drink supposed to arouse passion for a certain person in the one who drinks it.” While we make no such claim, we are certain you will passionately enjoy this unique wine with pate, game, or port, and for dessert with ice cream, creme brulee, and bread pudding or plum pudding with hard sauce.

This charming winery was started in 2008 by Clyde and Terry Housel. Please visit them at http://www.hiddencroftvineyards.com/- browse the current calendar of events, future summer wine & music in the barn, and learn about the family owned and operated farm.

Yoga 4 Life - Yoga and Wine Retreats Virginia

Please feel free to leave comments to our post. We enjoy hearing your experience and love for both yoga and wine! LoveLocalLoudoun

Namaste & Cheers!

Yoga on the Wine Trail Yogis

Yoga is Samadi

Power yoga is the experience of boundlessness. People that practice yoga develop an awareness, and a circle of compassion that expands, outside our inner circles, growing wider and wider, to encompass all beings. All we have to do in yoga is pay attention. By paying attention to the breath, transformation happens.

Letting life energy flow through us, coordinating the breath with a series of postures, one flowing into another.

As we flow into the fall season, in our practice we create heat with the body, providing purifying sweat to cleanse the muscles, organs and mind, resulting in improved circulation, strength and a light body and mind… bliss.

A time for redirection of energy, activating the healing energy within the body/mind. Quietly turning inward, hearing the breath, noticing how engaging the bandhas keeps your mind present, and how this practice becomes a meditation as we build the heat, slowly breathing in and slowly breathing out. Lifting the energy upwards, breathing through the shorter, darker days, enjoying the warmth, the fire that peacefully burns inside of you. This slow, steady burn will guide you, both mind and body, keep you present, aware, open and quiet. Beginning your day with a yoga practice that builds the heat, sheds the darkness, awakens the mind, body and spirit.

Mula Bandha

Is the root lock, the first of the three interior body “locks” used in asana and pranayama practice to control the flow of energy. Prevents the outward flow of energy to lock and interconnect inner systems. It increases flexibility and stimulates heat. It is an objectless meditative state and inner supportive energy flows necessary to create synchrony with and enter into Samadhi. When mula bandha occurs there is less effort and more energy so it is not a contraction. It provides a pathway for spiritual reconnect.

Mula bandha consists of the contraction of the perineum (zone between the genitals and the anus) accompanied by a breath control technique. It can take years of practice to cultivate and is essential for good concentration and more advanced yoga postures. By bringing awareness to the core of the body, mula bandha helps prevent injury. It guides you to move from your center, you will become lighter and flow more with your yoga practice.

Using the asana practice to go deeper inside the mind… entertaining the possibility… that is how we grow.

Moving from the outer to the more subtle, energetic, inner, where the course of breath leads us to the energy (prana) awareness and then to communion with the implicate integrating intelligence at the source of this energy,

BLISS….

Namaste,

Carolyn

Power Ashtanga at Yoga 4 Life with Carolyn:

Tuesday Nights – 6:30pm
Thursday Mornings – 9:30am
Thursday Nights Power to Bliss – 7:30 – 8:30pm (following Pilates)

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“When the winds of change blow,

Some people build walls and others build windmills.”

We sit and marvel at the light shows in the sky during a storm, letting the wind flow through us and take our breath away. On clear nights, by the light of many moons, it blows warm air across towns, cities, farm land, and slowly rolls over the mountain tops to cool itself in the valleys below. It is those glorious nights we stare in wonder as the stars and fireflies come together creating the magical moments of summer. It is not always something we can see, it is a force moving energies through the air – the beautiful smells of a summer night, a cool and gentle breeze, or harsh surge of strength….but above all, it carries one very powerful thing….the winds of change…

“I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world is closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future’s in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change…”

Storms come as a cleansing time, a time to clean out and clear the earth of things no longer needed as they are. They break branches to make way for new shoots, providing light below for those little seeds on the ground to take flight and ground roots. Many fear the thunder, gusts, crashes of lightning both heard and seen by closing windows, doors, and building walls. There is fear in life changes or perceived ones…loss of power, food, shelter. The safety of life as we know it could be in “danger.” Building walls or resistance to change is natural especially when we don’t know what to expect or life changes seem so far off the path we once envisioned. Knowing that we have a purpose here in this life to teach, love, or touch another soul is hard. Faith, like the energies carried by the wind, is not something we can always see but one we trust. Trusting our intuitions and life path to guide us toward the unknown or down the gravel road closer to self discovery will open doorways in walls we created to walk through even in the deepest and darkest times of fear.

Some have learned to live in this place of trust and faith, and have discovered through whatever life challenges lived already that this is going to happen anyway. Perhaps illness or loss has taken them through the walls already or broken them down all together as it no longer serves a purpose. They wait for the storms’ end to wander outside and see what has changed, where it will take them, and what to do with all of the new gifts it has brought. Even in devastation there is a gift to be found under each tree limb, in the light that can now shine brighter into areas of the earth and our lives that has yet to see or feel the warmth of the sun…

“Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change…”

Dream your dream to life of living your dream…

”Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions” – Albert Einstein

**des·ti·na·tion** - destination - the place designated as the end (as of a race or journey);goal, finish,end, terminal - either extremity of something that has length; finish line, finishing line - a line indicating the location of the finish of a race .

1. The place to which one is going or directed.

2. The ultimate purpose for which something is created or intended.

3. Archaic An act of appointing or setting aside for a specific purpose. the predetermined end of a journey or voyage

4. the ultimate end or purpose for which something is created or a person is destined

………HMMMM, if you asked self? #3 or #4

Destination is not a way of life. There is no, “When I accomplish “____” I will be happy. Certainly not in our yoga practice. You won’t be when you get there if you are worn down, tired, and forgot where you were going in the first place. We were raised around it and have seen or already experienced the list: 1) College 2) Have a career making money 3) Fall in Love 4) Get Married 5) Buy a house 6) Have children. Know anyone who has skipped a step and heard how they feel? It’s great but that’s not always the way it works out. Then what? Hopefully, that all works out and maybe not in order, but it works. Hopefully, when you have done it all it doesn’t take you back to number 2) Make MORE money and start all over. Hopefully, when you get there you are happy with all that you lived along the way and don’t wake up wondering what in the heck you are doing or did.

Dreaming your dream to life of living your dream is knowing and living what is true to your heart, soul, and spirit. Let it happen by allowing the little gifts along the way and signs guide your way like fireflies through the night. They are there AND they are shining. Life’s requirements didn’t come in a brown box with a “To Do” List – we made that. Living doesn’t happen on a Post-It, in a smart phone, or online calendar….it happens while you are making lists, and checking them twice, of what you “want” to do.

It all starts with having faith in yourself…and when you forget, those who have faith in you inhale and riSE… We have a lot more power to walk a little lighter than we think if we stop thinking and start letting things happen naturally. Freeing our mind, letting emotions, feelings, thoughts, and love flow in and out takes practice. Learning to identify what we should keep and what to allow go, freely riding the next breeze coming through happens. It can happen with peace of mind that, with destiny, it will return again if it is intended for us.

We will begin to see, feel and make connections with the natural world around us and how in sync we really are if we allow ourselves to let go. There are moments, times, seasons of fear or uncertainty and sometimes very real lessons for us to learn there. Remember, those special souls connected in your life carry shared faith stand right behind you…in need, all it takes is to stop, slow our pace, and turn around.

“The wind of change
Blows straight into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change…”

Let your love shine through in all you do…

it spreads and floats like an open flow on the wings of air and waters below…

Contact : Connect : Collide : Completely

Letting go on our mat begins the second we make contact with ourselves…mat included, but not required. Yoga is the practice of releasing emotions, thoughts and fears. Self judgement and expectations slide away as we make way to find a deeper connection with self. We do so in meditation, through asana sequences, bringing breath and body together. We return to asanas in our practice as recognition of revisiting where we are now; in a very different place, yet in the same form. It is something I personally teach and practice myself daily. Each day we leave our houses, jobs, family, or friends and each day when we return home or come back together we are very different – our journey, moments in time, change that and there isn’t a thing in this world that can stop time. Living in the present and recognizing that takes practice for some. On our mats, without distraction, we connect and collide with soul….hopefully, completely.

Flow with the wind,

wake from the storm,

embrace change,

trust the signs,

hope for the best,

and have faith…

the future is on that path just ahead,

even if you can’t see it yet…

build windows, doors, and windmills

not walls…

♥ Namaste

- 1990 power ballad written by Klaus Meine, vocalist of the German band Scorpions

-Loudoun County, Virginia Photographs – Lara Ward

- Purcellville Yoga

Be The Change You Wish To See

We find inspiration in climbing mountains – the views….and then we come down.

It is there, at the base, when we look toward the earth and see the reasons and inspiration to climb back up…

Looking beyond a puddle and seeing reflection, the light in the sky…

We all wander around earth, in society, and our own lives seeing things we want to change, make better, or create. Sometimes it is something within ourselves or a local community. Sometimes, it is that simple and it changes our world. Sometimes, it is that simple and it changes THE WORLD. And, of course, sometimes it takes great dedication and time to do either. What inspires you to do what you do? What has inspired you to wish you had time, the money, or the motivation to do? What can you or or kids do today, this season, this year, this lifetime?

Summer is a time of renewal and regeneration. As the summer sun shines its glorious warmth on earth and us during these months, it is a time to dream, create, and connect with ourselves and our communities. Sway nature’s dance when the wind blows, soak up the sun’s rays, listen to earth songs, flow with the ease of the rivers through the wonderful journey called living…

Yoga 4 Life’s doesn’t have a “mission.” We are growing into our community and tending to our passions; we are many full of passions and passions for many. We have lots to do! As we spread our rays and shine into a summer of walking the earth in meditations or forest, sipping nature’s harvest with our communities, working with empowerment groups, we constantly cultivate our passion centers. That is where change, dedication to community, and giving freely through our practice flows outward making a difference. It is here, in this time, we can all find those inspirations.

trav·el (trvl) v. trav·eled or trav·elled, trav·el·ing or trav·el·ling, trav·els v.intr. 1. To go from one place to another, as on a trip; journey. 2. To go from place to place as a gift or service to. 3. To be transmitted, as light or sound; move or pass. 4. To advance or proceed. 5. To go about in the company of a particular group; associate: travels within a tribe, group, or circle. 6. To move along a course, as in a groove.

traveller – a person who changes location. //traveler -individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul.

The Traveling Yogis takes yoga and meditation out of four walls and into the world. It gives us the ability to be free spirits and souls with those passions reaching far and wide into the county. Who knows? Maybe beyond! Beginning our summer with Yoga for Empowerment, Girls Going Global, working with Girl Scouts, and cheerleaders, youth groups and community center after school programs is just the beginning of Yoga 4 Life. The sparks lit from these experiences send light into children and young adults. Yoga practices, nature walks, spending time on farms, in vineyards and wineries, and among like minded people allows personal growth for any body, mind, and spirit. Meditation walks through the vines, forests, hills, and valleys of Loudoun County is therapudic for us all. It is simple and some choose to be still and take in movement around them while others enjoy the movement, or journey, they experience by traveling among nature’s great beauty. Yoga on the Wine Trail is becoming more than Yoga and Wine in Loudoun County!

Yoga 4: Heart ♥ Hearth Δ Health ♥ Heath Ξ

A very fresh and new thought for us. This is Yoga on the Wine Trail and part farm, opening a winery, organic market, restaurant, and things beyond our current sight yet concept in the works. What we are already doing is bringing it together and along the way will change and grow a lot. The best part is those who are on this “wagon” with us will grow and change because of it! Still developing thought and mind path to make it happen, we will incorporate what Yoga 4 means to us and the world around us.

Beginning with the word acceptance, Yoga 4 is not a “way of life” rather ALL of life beginning with acceptance of oneself and each other. We all do things we would like to change, possibly habits we are used to and like. We are not going to change those, choose to be part of or explore activities where we feel unwelcome, not following a code of ethics or belief system set up by others, or make us feel negative and harmful emotions such as guilt or shame. The universe doesn’t look at Earth and say you can’t stay here unless you “___.” We are all part of everything in this life. We can touch anything and everything that comes in contact with us in this life. We change life around us. Life changes us.

As our Yoga studio and Yoga 4 Life is based off of the four points of Earth, Wind, Water, Fire we combine the earliest ideas of Heart – Hearth – Health – Heath.

Heart (Soul – giver of energy and light – what comes from and resides within)
Hearth (home, humility, humble, hope)
Health (heart & soul combined)
Heath (heath is defined as a tract of open land - covered with low shrubs – like heather) – the Love for nature and the world that flows out when you have Heart, Hearth and Health and you want to share it with the Heath)

We hope to see you all out this summer either in practice, at our local farms and vineyard retreats, the wine festivals, pictures online of the far away lands you journey to, and around town enjoying the beautiful sunshine! Perhaps there is a change stirring in your mind you want to work on too!

A Little Summer Something @ Yoga 4 Life:

The Shine Project is making changes and we want to help. With the Summer Solstice practices and dedications to our passions, community, ourselves, empowerment, and our studio we plan to SHINE rays through the summer from within and take in all of the warmth around us to create and celebrate why we do what we do.

With your support, we will also host a “Change Jar” in the studio and three others – total of 4. You will see us out and about shining in yellow this summer.

The CHANGE 4 CHANGE campaign benefits The Shine Project’s non-profit organization The Shine Scholarship Project. All money collected will help inner city high school students afford their first year of college. Once each jar has collected $100, and it will be put directly into The Shine Project Scholarship Fund.

“LETS CHANGE THE WORLD.”

Please visit www.myshineproject.com and see the difference one person’s dream can grow….

Shine is defined as:
1. to give forth or glow with light
2. to be bright with reflected light; glisten; sparkle.
3. to appear with brightness or clearness.
4. to excel

“I believe that all of us possess talents, skills, and abilities that can be used to literally change the world. I believe that stepping out of your comfort zone to do hard things is what gives meaning and happiness to life.”

The Shine Project is:

Going out of your comfort zone
to bring light to those who need hope.
The Shine Project emulates love, sacrifice, and
CHANGE.

“The Shine Scholarship Project is a non-profit that was created by TSP to put our beliefs in action. Its mission is to improve the lives of at-risk teens through service, education, and family involvement. We do service projects with inner city students every other week to teach them the leadership skills that are necessary for them to succeed. The money we raise goes to sending these leaders to college, so they can give back to society.You can read more about how to get involved HERE. And go ahead, let the world see you SHINE.”

Inhale to rise, exhale and fold…we don’t always choose what we inhale from what is around us. It is up to us what we exhale out. Each breath is a choice – sometimes to let go of fear, stress, disappointment, acceptance, self judgement. Then, there are those amazing moments we spread our wings, dreams, hope, love, gifts, and change the world… It is Wednesday…it’s not half over, there is half left to make it happen – Lara Ward…Y4L

IGNITE YOUR INNER FLAME!

— ♥ Namaste

- Loudoun County Yoga and Wine

- Purcellville Yoga – Photographs taken by Lara Ward

- Lucketts, Loudoun County Travelling Yogis – Photograph by Gayle T. Tiller

North Gate Vineyard – Yoga and Wine

Yoga and Wine at North Gate Vineyard 2012

“Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People. Now our minds are one.”

There are times in your life you will never forget, ones that will wander in and out, and some that fade away. As we stepped barefoot into North Gate’s vineyard for our first mediation walk through the vines of 2012, it was time to meet all three at once. One at a time, we begin our journey on the Loudoun Wine Trail.

“We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It gives us joy that she continues to care for us as she has from the beginning of time. To our Mother, we send greetings and thanks. Now our minds are one.”

The vines in straight lines and manicured to their structures, they grow and fruit freely within and nestled neatly in front of the mountain backdrop between Hillsboro and Purcellville, Virginia. It is here, connecting directly with the wet ground, we let go, become present, and face the things that enter and leave our minds.

“We turn toward the vast fields of Plant life. As far as the eye can see, the Plants grow, working many wonders. They sustain many life forms. With our minds gathered together, we give thanks and look forward to seeing Plant life for many generations to come. Now our minds are one.”

Wandering in and out of the rows starting with a sequence of skipping rows in 3’s to completely loosing count or care in which way we go or when to turn, walk, speed up, or slow down. Starting together and then taking our own paths, the paths each of us need, chose, or are drawn toward. For a few, allowing some silent eye connection with nearby horses clearly drawn to our quietly moving bodies as we made our way through the vines. Others found the noises of nature becoming louder and hearing sounds that we often over look or the sight and texture of the flowing vines within their rows allows for the mind to escape structure by leaning on the one surrounding them.

“We gather our minds together to send greetings and thanks to all the Animal life in the world. They have many things to teach us as people. We see them near our homes and in the deep forests. We are glad they are still here and we hope that it will always be so. Now our minds are one.

“We put our minds together as one and thank all the Birds who move and fly about over our heads. The Creator gave them beautiful songs. Each day they remind us to enjoy and appreciate life. The Eagle was chosen to be their leader. To all the Birds – from the smallest to the largest – we send our joyful greetings and thanks. Now our minds are one.”

The night’s storms left us with crisp, fresh air and moist ground. The sun’s rays rose over the mountain after the thunder rolled, tornadoes spun, and rain poured. Slowly making way to our mats we began our practice with Native American flutes and meditation.

“Now we turn to the west where our Grandfathers, the Thunder Beings, live. With lightning and thundering voices, they bring with them the water that renews life. We bring our minds together as one to send greetings and thanks to our Grandfathers, the Thunderers. Now our minds are one.”

An Earth Element Practice, our Journey Through Asanas, was complete with the smell of wine, stone, drying rain drops, and hints of rose oil. Starting with our Sun Salute, rising to shine and exhaling to ground to open our bodies fully for peak poses. Building within the sequence allows all levels to experience yoga to suit their body while enjoying the breath, change, and movement of their own practice. Taking Yoga out of the studio by incorporating natural elements brings awareness to heighten senses of touch, sight and sound via mind, body, and spirit connections with our surroundings. Bringing the outside in during our walk allowed that simplicity and beauty to carry into our yoga practice. Enlighten :: Empower :: Emerge.

“We are all thankful to the powers we know as the Four Winds. We hear their voices in the moving air as they refresh us and purify the air we breathe. They help to bring the change of seasons. From the four directions they come, bringing us messages and giving us strength. With one mind, we send our greetings and thanks to the Four Winds. Now our minds are one.”

We closed our practice with a centered reading, words from Lara as we REflect, REtain and REnew. Greetings from the North Gate tasting staff, Karol and Erin, those of us who choose to celebrate this farm and vineyards wine enjoyed a fun and education tasting. Being a Loudoun County and Hillsboro resident, she had lots to share.

North Gate Vineyard has a public tasting room was built to LEED Gold specifications. The roof is lined with solar panels to bring electricity to the building – pretty amazing! We all decided on bottles to share with our light fare lunch prepared by the wonderful people of Stoneybrook Organic Farm located at the end of Rt. 690 in Hillsboro. Fresh and carefully crafted, the lunch and dessert tray of fig, coconut, peanut butter was perfectly paired with our wine selections. Getting to connect with our people over food, wine, and through our practice was a journey we all shared on our own and together.

“With one mind, we turn to honor and thank all the Food Plants we harvest from the garden. Since the beginning of time, the grains, vegetables, beans and berries have helped the people survive. Many other living things draw strength from them too. We gather all the Plant Foods together as one and send them a greeting and thanks. Now our minds are one.”

“We believe that quality wine comes from quality grapes. Pure and simple. So how do we ensure that we’ll end up with quality wine? Through our commitment to meticulous practices in our vineyard and cellar from bloom to bottle. To us, this is not a job, and not a hobby, but just something that we do together. We hope you enjoy the product of our hearts, minds and hands.”

- Mark and Vicki Fedor, Winegrowers and Winemakers

Their wine selection: 2010 Chardonnay, 2010 Viognier , NV Apple, 2010 Cabernet Franc, 2009 Merlot, 2009 Petit Verdot,

Finishing our journey at North Gate’s beautiful vineyard, we were lucky to catch Vicki coming back from the Wine Country Half Marathon and got to thank her for her hospitality. Talking about the upcoming release of the Rose’ and other wine is always fun to look forward to. Grateful for a full mind, body, spirit practice we begin June, Yoga on the Wine Trail 2012, in the sun shine of Loudoun County.

“We now send greetings and thanks to our eldest Brother, the Sun. Each day without fail he travels the sky from east to west, bringing the light of a new day. He is the source of all the fires of life. With one mind, we send greetings and thanks to our Brother, the Sun. Now our minds are one.

Now we turn our thoughts to the Creator, or Great Spirit, and send greetings and thanks for the gifts of Creation. Everything we need to live a good life is here on this Mother Earth. For all the love that is still around us, we gather our minds together as one and send our choicest words of greetings and thanks to the Creator. Now our minds are one. “

♥ Namaste – Lara, Russ, Kim, Erin & Francesca

Writings: A Haudenosaunee “Thanksgiving” Prayer

Our next Yoga on the wine trail will be hosted by Fabbioli Cellars!

Each vineyard has a unique setting and offering – Fabbioli Cellars tasting will be a Wine and Food Pairing. Their unique setting will allow us to spend time in the vines sharing, connecting, and nourishing the mind, body, spirit.

You can also find North Gate’s wine in the following locations…

Markets (Winter)

Purcellville Community Farmers Market – Saturdays 10am-1pm
Falls Church Farmers Market – Saturdays 8am-12pm
Leesburg Farmers Market – Sundays 9am-12pm

Restaurants

Retail

Hill High Orchard, Round Hill
Leesburg Pharmacy, Leesburg
Leesburg Vintner, Leesburg

Partner Wineries

Fabbioli Cellars, Notaviva Vineyards

- Loudoun County Wine Trail – Photographs by Hannah Melinia Kasabian & Lara Ward

- Purcellville Yoga & Wine

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

Yoga 4 Life will be closed on Monday to celebrate our Troops, Veterans, Wounded Warriors and those who have gone before us to protect and serve our country.

We will honor them in practice on Tuesday Night at Above Ground Winery during our Sip ‘N Stretch with a Hero Pose/Asana practice. Please join us for this tribute. Namaste ~

Posts Tagged ‘Wine Destinations’

Yoga on the Wine Trail at Hiddencroft Vineyards

Journey to the Heart on the Loudoun Wine Trail

Yoga on the Wine Trail at Hiddencroft Vineyards

Erin started students in a bound meditaion with Mexican blankets to prop up the back and allow the ribs and lungs to open in Supta Baddha Konasana. Breathing openly, fresh air lets the mind freely re

Yoga – Heart Opening Practice

_______________________________::

♣ Element: Air

♣ Color: Green

♣ Animal: Antelope (deer)

♣ Body Parts: Heart, Skin, Lungs, Thymus, Blood, Lymph, Immune System

♣ Planet: Venus

And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight inside the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”

– Anais Nin

Wine at Hiddencroft Vineyards

_______________________________::

The Wine Selection

Rose

Chambourcin Rose (2011) – $19Wine

Flavors of strawberries and tart summer plums. Lovely mauve color. Dry and crisp. Excellent served as an aperitif or wine cocktail.

White Wines

Traminette (2011) – $18 (Dry)

Traminette (2011) – $18 On Sale for $15! (1.5% res. sugar)

Two versions available: one dry and crisp; the other semi-sweet. A nose of old fashioned roses and honeysuckle. Ap

ple at the mid-palate and a spicy tingle on the finish. Excellent when served with spicy, ethnic cuisine.

Vidal Blanc (2010) – $20 (1.5% res. sugar) Subtle notes of pineapple and grapefruit. Excellent with grilled chicken, ribs, seafood and tropical salsas.

Red Wines

Chambourcin (2009) – $23 Released December 2012

Cellared for tree years, this 100% Chambourcin wine epidimizes the saying “No wine before it’s time”. Swish this deep, dark beauty in your glass to release the palate of chocolate and black cherries, followed by a dry, but smooth, finish. A true showcase of the Chambourcin grape!

Cabernet Franc (N/V) – $23 Released December 2012

Cellar aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels for 3 and 1/2 years. This blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot is a great balance of fruit, oak and tannins that will blossom in your cellar for years to come.

Dutchman’s Creek Blend – $23

Our red blend displays a complex palate with a smooth finish. Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Tannat have been blended for a great balance of fruit, oak and tannan. The perfect wine to complement your favorite dish of beef, lamb or wild game.

Tannat (2008) – $40

Barrel-aged for 42 months. This wine has a firm tannic structure, dense purple-red-color, a nose of tobacco, smoke, ripe berries, and a long angular finish. Enjoy it now or lay it down in your cellar to be enjoyed in 5-7 years.

Fruit Wines

Sweet Cherry (2011) – $23 On Sale for $20! (750ml)

One of our most popular wines and a unique treat. Intense cherry flavor and sweet at the front and tart on the finish. Made fromMontmorency cherries…the quintessential pie cherry. Enjoy it by itself or with desserts; especially delicious with dark chocolate and almond pastries.

Grandma’s Love Potion – $24 (500ml) Our 2011 Vintage!

This charming winery was started in 2008 by Clyde and Terry Housel. Please visit them at http://www.hiddencroftvineyards.com/- browse the current calendar of events, future summer wine & music in the barn, and learn about the family owned and operated farm.

Please feel free to leave comments to our post. We enjoy hearing your experience and love for both yoga and wine! LoveLocalLoudoun

Namaste & Cheers!

Yoga on the Wine Trail Yogis

Clear Eyed, Open Heart

Yoga is Samadi

Letting life energy flow through us, coordinating the breath with a series of postures, one flowing into another.

As we flow into the fall season, in our practice we create heat with the body, providing purifying sweat to cleanse the muscles, organs and mind, resulting in improved circulation, strength and a light body and mind… bliss.

Mula Bandha

Using the asana practice to go deeper inside the mind… entertaining the possibility… that is how we grow.

Moving from the outer to the more subtle, energetic, inner, where the course of breath leads us to the energy (prana) awareness and then to communion with the implicate integrating intelligence at the source of this energy,

BLISS….

Namaste,

Carolyn

Power Ashtanga at Yoga 4 Life with Carolyn:

Tuesday Nights – 6:30pm

Thursday Mornings – 9:30am

Thursday Nights Power to Bliss – 7:30 – 8:30pm (following Pilates)

Winds of Change

‎

“When the winds of change blow,

Some people build walls and others build windmills.”

“I follow the Moskva Down to Gorky Park Listening to the wind of change An August summer night Soldiers passing by Listening to the wind of change

The world is closing in Did you ever think That we could be so close, like brothers The future’s in the air I can feel it everywhere Blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away In the wind of change…”

“Walking down the street Distant memories Are buried in the past forever I follow the Moskva Down to Gorky Park Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams With you and me Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away In the wind of change…”

Dream your dream to life of living your dream…

”Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions” – Albert Einstein

………HMMMM, if you asked self? #3 or #4

“The wind of change Blows straight into the face of time Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell For peace of mind Let your balalaika sing What my guitar wants to say

Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams With you and me Take me to the magic of the moment On a glory night Where the children of tomorrow dream away In the wind of change…”

Let your love shine through in all you do…

it spreads and floats like an open flow on the wings of air and waters below…

Contact : Connect : Collide : Completely

Flow with the wind,

wake from the storm,

embrace change,

trust the signs,

hope for the best,

and have faith…

Vidal Blanc (2010) – $20 (1.5% res. sugar)
Subtle notes of pineapple and grapefruit. Excellent with grilled chicken, ribs, seafood and tropical salsas.

“I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change

The world is closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close, like brothers
The future’s in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change…”

“Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change…”

“The wind of change
Blows straight into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring the freedom bell
For peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say

Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change…”

Shine is defined as:
1. to give forth or glow with light
2. to be bright with reflected light; glisten; sparkle.
3. to appear with brightness or clearness.
4. to excel