Welcome to the new inward bound site!

I am THRILLED to launch our new site which includes this blog that I will be updating weekly and our highly anticipated store that will feature the Leila Yoga collection and other lovely items from Bazaar de Nosara, Gonca Gul’s store. You can browse and find out why all the girls in Nosara look soo lovely. (I am particularly fond of the Zoe Yoga pants right now!)

Of course, our wonderful retreats will hold center stage. The menu we have for this spring/upcoming high season is exceptional – starting off with a yogaSurf at our beloved Harmony Hotel, a cleanse at Hacienda del Sol – a beautiful place that I consider to be an oasis of healing & renewal, followed by an amazing Anusara Yoga Retreat with a fabulous teacher who is currently on yoga tour in South America. We’ll finish out the season with 2 yogaSurf weeks at the Jungle Beach House, one of my favorite properties in Nosara, which is just steps away from the beach and the epitome of glorious tropical living.

For the US summer, I’m currently working on 2 family weeks at the Greystone Inn on Lake Toxaway, a spot that I like to describe as “the Lake Como of the south.” A beautiful, thoughtfully designed destination that is perfect for families and offers a little something for everyone: golf, tennis, swimming, boating & beautiful hiking …and we’ll bring in the yoga!

A trip to India is in the works for 2010. A friend and co-worker of mine from my days at the Chopra Center, a very special woman named Corrine, just married a wonderful man from India where they now spend 6 months a year. They are running tours around Southern India and I just can’t wait to co-create and/or participate in any way that I can in their company and travel itinerary. They believe in treating their clients as guests, a philosophy that I strongly identify with, and love introducing people to beautiful places. And, did I mention that Corrine has the voice of an angel and offers nightly kirtan?! We are also planning to add a week of yoga study post-tour…

Back to the new site – I worked with Minima Designs, a company out of Richmond and I will forever sing the praises of Michelle Martinello, the owner and head designer. She is so talented and just a pleasure to work with. We wanted the site to reflect the essence of the inward bound experience, which in my mind is to create a sense of spaciousness and ease, helping guests reconnect to their inner selves via the ocean, surfing, yoga, meditation or experiencing a new place. The site conveys what I feel when I walk out onto the beach in Nosara, or a beautiful beach anywhere – ease, openness and a reverence for nature and all it has to teach us. The word, or concept, I’m actually meditating on these days is “spaciousness” and the idea of creating space around everything, especially challenging situations or relationships.

Let’s commit to doing the work in this lifetime – enjoying the journey, both inward and outward, and growing and learning in the process.

I hope you enjoy the site as much as I have enjoyed creating it with Michelle.
Please email with any thoughts, feedback, comments or suggestions for the site, or future retreat locations or ideas, or whatever is on your mind – I will love it!
joy@inwardbound.com

See you on the beach,
joy