Fall/Autumn Self Care DIY Retreat: Air Element Theme (Love, Contentment and Gratitude)
In this post I’ll help you create your own Air element self care + yoga retreat.
You’ll want to theme your self care around the Air element if you are trying to increase love, contentment, freedom and gratitude.
Your ideal Air element yoga retreat itinerary/activity ideas include:
• Yoga Hiking Experience
• Yoga for the Air Element
• Bodywork & Massage
• Try Some Tapas Restaurants (Light, Airy Meals)
• 15 Recommended Books for Self-Reflection/Self-Improvement
I live here and Asheville is also known for it’s hippie-ish, alternative, healing vibes as well as great food, festivals and live music.
If you’re local, use this to plan a self-care stay-cation, discover new things to do and support your neighbors & Asheville business owners!
If you’re nearby (in the US, especially the Southeast), use this as a resource to plan your next wellness/self-care trip to Asheville, North Carolina.
Alternatively, you can also order many things online and apply the principles & ideas here to plan your own retreat wherever you are.
Air element theme is especially recommended for solo travelers finding time to love and care for themselves.
You ARE the Air Element!
Air is associated with the fourth chakra: Anahata or the heart Chakra. It is located in sternum. Air represents love, openness, freedom, mobility, positivity and intellect.
The sense most associated with the air element is touch.
The season most associated with the Air element is Autumn, but it’s good to keep in touch with all the elements year round.
Yoga Hiking Experience
Exercise your freedom to choose between our most popular yoga hike experiences:
RELAXING WATERFALL YOGA HIKING TOUR
Relax and reconnect with your body, mind and with nature during our most popular tour. Includes up-close views of a 150 foot waterfall, historic structures, 2.5 mile (to the falls & back) easy-moderate guided hike, guided meditation, guided yoga in the forest. Optional: take your shoes off and wade in the water at the base of the falls. Free pictures and lightweight yoga mats to borrow provided by your local guide & certified yoga teacher. This is our most popular location. Also available for private groups of 4 or more. [Available Weekday/Weekend Mornings, Year Round, Weather-Permitting]
BEAUTIFUL BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY VORTEX YOGA HIKING TOUR
Elevate your body and mind on this scenic tour after an easy, scenic drive on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Includes stunning mountain summit views, historic structures, 2 miles (to the bald & back) easy-moderate trail guided hike, guided meditation, guided yoga on the bald at 5600 feet. This location is said to be a natural vortex. Free pictures and lightweight yoga mats to borrow provided by your local guide & certified yoga teacher. Also available for private groups of 4 or more. [Available Weekday/Weekend Mornings, April - October]
SUNSET VORTEX YOGA HIKING TOUR
Enjoy a short - but steep - hike and then bask in a mountaintop sunset. Up to 2 miles easy-moderate trail guided hike, guided meditation, guided yoga at 5600 feet. This location is said to be a natural vortex. Free lightweight yoga mats to borrow provided by your local guide & certified yoga teacher. Also available for private groups of 4 or more. [Available Weekday, Weekend Afternoon/Evenings, April - October]
Air Element Yoga
This post will share yoga poses that really help you connect with the Air element, increase feelings of love, contentment and gratitude and open up the chest & shoulders.
Some highlights of this post include:
• My 5 Favorite Air Element (Heart/Chest/Shoulder Opening) Yoga Poses
▶️ An easy, 10 Minute LovingKindness (Metta) Meditation
▶️ Learn How to Do Cloud Salutations (Video) in 5 Minutes to release heavy/negative energy and feel lighter
▶️ Enjoy this 25 Minute Air Element Yoga Flow Video
❗You NEED more of this in your life if you work on a computer or use a smartphone.
Bodywork & Massage
Whatever kind of bodywork/massage you are looking for, chances are you will find it in Asheville. One of my mentors jokes that “You can’t throw a yoga teacher in any direction in Asheville without hitting a massage therapist.” LoL
Here are a few local favorites for you to choose from:
Centrally located near downtown Asheville in a cozy vintage bungalow, they offer integrative massage therapy, Thai yoga bodywork, Ashiatsu (back walking), and an herbal apothecary. They offer heart-centered and high-quality services while still maintaining fair and competitive prices.
54 Merrimon Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 • (828) 252-7827 • Open daily 9:30 AM - 8 PM
Founded in 1999, Asheville’s original spa establishment is dedicated to relaxation and wellness. Enjoy a full range of luxurious treatments including massages, skin care, facials, body wraps, manicures, and pedicures performed in a beautiful and distinctive environment. Their Eminence organic treatments are customized according to your specific needs.
53 College St, Asheville, NC 28801 • (828) 255-4171 • Open daily 10 AM - 7 PM
Still Point Wellness offers Esalen Massage®, Cranial Sacral Therapy and Somatic (body) Psychology, is designed to encourage effortless relaxation and an opportunity to reconnect to your body’s wisdom. They also offer Salt Water Floatation (sensory deprivation).
81 B Central Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 • (828) 348-5372 • Open MOnday - Saturday 8AM - 12 AM, Sunday 8AM - 10 PM
Located in the heart of Asheville’s shopping district, this unique communal space allows you to take a break from exploring the city, cozy up in a plush chair and enjoy a custom foot soak made from essential oils, dried herbs, and botanicals. Sip on hot tea with treats while you soak. Add on a massage by a licensed massage therapist and soak up the bliss!
1 Page Ave #115, Asheville, NC 28801 • (828) 575-9799 • Open daily 8AM - 9PM
Try Some Tapas Restaurants (Light, Airy Meals)
Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas (Japanese)
I am a regular at Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas as it’s one of my favorite restaurants in Asheville. You have to try the garlic butter edamame although fair warning, it may make you never want to eat regular old salted edamame ever again, lol. I also really like the Miso Eggplant and they even serve a vegan ramen! I also love the bright, happy, colorful decor and reasonable prices. Two locations:
630 Haywood Rd, Asheville, NC 28806 (West Asheville)
3 Biltmore Ave, Asheville, NC 28801 (Downtown)
Itto Ramen Bar & Tapas
Cúrate Bar de Tapas (Spanish)
If you want bragging rights of dining at one of the most popular restaurants in town, make a reservation in advance and eat here. Internationally renowned chef Katie Button opened Cúrate in Asheville in 2011. Katie Button was a semi-finalist for the James Beard Rising Star Chef award in 2012 & 2013, a nominee in 2014, semi-finalist for Best Chefs in America in 2015 and a nominee for Best Chef Southeast in 2018 and 2019. Cúrate is a celebration of authentic Spanish cuisine and features an all Spanish wine list.
13 Biltmore Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 • (828) 239-2946 • Downtown
Closed Monday, Tuesday-Thursday 4pm-10:30pm, Friday 4-11pm, Saturday 4-11pm, Sunday 4-10:30pm
Cúrate Bar de Tapas
Zambra Tapas (Western Mediterranean)
Zambra is a charming nod to the tastes and traditions of the Western Mediterranean, offering downtown Asheville a contemporary twist on fine wine and tapas. I also really like the ambiance and cozy, eclectic decor. Some of my personal favorites are the Ensalada Arugala and Patatas Bravas.
85 W Walnut St., Asheville, North Carolina 28801 • (828) 232-1060 • Downtown
Open Sun-Thur 5-930pm, Fri-Sat 5-10pm
Red Ginger Dim Sum and Tapas (Chinese)
Established in 2016, Red Ginger has been voted for “The Best Chinese Restaurant” in Asheville 6 years in a row. They deliver traditional, healthful, and elegant Chinese-style dim-sum and tapas at really reasonable prices.
82 Patton Ave Suite 100, Asheville, NC 28801 • (828) 505-8688 • Downtown
Open Monday - Thursday 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-9pm, Friday 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-9:30pm, Saturday 11:30am - 9:30pm, Sunday 11:30am - 9pm
Red Ginger Dim Sum & Tapas
15 Recommended Books for Self-Reflection/Self-Improvement
Here are some of my favorite books to help you with self-reflection, self-improvement and decluttering your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual places. If you start reading a book during this retreat, aim to have it finished within 30 days. If you do this every month, you would read 12 books a year!
Personally, I find it easier to listen to audio books and use Audible while I’m driving or cleaning or cooking or doing other things.
Which titles appeal most to you right now?
The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
To make the journey into The Power of Now you need to leave your analytical mind and its false created self, the ego, behind. Access to the Now is everywhere - in the body, the silence, and the space all around you.
Audiobook
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you'll never have to do it again.
Audiobook
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
Based on ancient Toltec wisdom, don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering.
Audiobook
The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck by Mark Manson
In this generation-defining self-help guide, a superstar blogger cuts through the crap to show us how to stop trying to be positive all the time so that we can truly become better, happier people.
Audiobook
Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport
"Newport is making a bid to be the Marie Kondo of technology: someone with an actual plan for helping you realize the digital pursuits that do, and don't, bring value to your life." (Ezra Klein, Vox)
Audiobook
The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Learn to speak and understand your mate's love language, and in no time you will be able to effectively love and truly feel loved in return.
Audiobook
Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin
How do we change? Gretchen Rubin's answer: through habits. Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life. It takes work to make a habit, but once that habit is set, we can harness the energy of habits to build happier, stronger, more productive lives.
Audiobook
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
With profound empathy and radiant generosity, Liz offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering.
Audiobook
The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin
By asking the seemingly dry question “How do I respond to expectations?” we gain explosive self-knowledge. She discovered that based on their answer, people fit into Four Tendencies: Upholders, Questioners, Obligers, and Rebels. Our Tendency shapes every aspect of our behavior, so using this framework allows us to make better decisions, meet deadlines, suffer less stress, and engage more effectively.
Audiobook
You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
Packed with humor, inspiration, and advice, You Are a Badass is the number one New York Times best-selling self-help book that teaches you how to get better without getting busted.
Audiobook
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
The Big Leap delivers a proven method for first identifying which fears prevent us from reaching our personal upper limit, and then breaking through that limitation to achieve what Hendricks refers to as our Zone of Genius. Hendricks provides a clear path for achieving our true potential and attaining not only financial success but also success in love and life.
Audiobook
Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday
"While the history books are filled with tales of obsessive visionary geniuses who remade the world in their images with sheer, almost irrational force, I've found that history is also made by individuals who fought their egos at every turn, who eschewed the spotlight, and who put their higher goals above their desire for recognition." (From the prologue)
Audiobook
The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." (Marcus Aurelius) We are stuck, stymied, frustrated. But it needn't be this way. There is a formula for success that's been followed by the icons of history - from John D. Rockefeller to Amelia Earhart to Ulysses S. Grant to Steve Jobs - a formula that let them turn obstacles into opportunities. Faced with impossible situations, they found the astounding triumphs we all seek.
Audiobook
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
An intensely articulate and moving memoir of self-discovery, Eat, Pray, Love is about what can happen when you claim responsibility for your own contentment and stop trying to live in imitation of society's ideals. It is certain to touch anyone who has ever woken up to the unrelenting need for change.
Audiobook
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
Forget the old concepts of retirement and a deferred life plan. There is no need to wait and every reason not to, especially in unpredictable economic times. For living more and working less, this book is the blueprint.
Audiobook
Which of these practices resonate the most with you? What else to you like to do during a full moon? What are some things you want to let go of?
Let me know in the comments!
Sending you good vibes for your full moon themed retreat.
💖 Miranda
