Thoughtless Spaces

04/06/2019

With the promise of more sun and temperatures in the 60s tomorrow we’re so excited about our upcoming retreat on Mother’s Day from May 10-12 at Windrift Hall, a historic mansion on a private lake in the beautiful Hudson Valley. Join us for a pampering weekend of mixing potions and lotions with award winning pastry chef, health coach and cookbook author Katzie Guy Hamilton https://katzieguyhamilton.com, chef extraordinaire Linda Laestidius from Grounded and Ayurvedic Health Counselor and yoga teacher Susanne Frenk of . Get nourished from inside out and outside in with deliciously healthy food for body, mind and skin that will fill you with the right amount of mindfulness, taste and pleasure. Learn how to make your own skincare products with all natural products. Whip up a facial cream, toner and exfoliator and learn how to use the same ingredients to create delicious cookies made with love. Take some well deserved time for yourself or treat your mom or daughter to a luxurious and fun Cookie and Cream bonding experience. More details and sign up at https://www.windrifthall.com/retreats. The best Mother’s Day gift is the time we make for ourselves and each other to collaborate and celebrate Mother Earth in all of us.

03/11/2019

With the days getting longer and the promise of more sun I’m so excited to announce our upcoming retreat on Mother’s Day from May 10-12. Join us for a pampering weekend of mixing potions and lotions with award winning pastry chef, health coach and cookbook author of , chef extraordinaire Linda Laestidius from and Ayurvedic Health Counselor and yoga teacher Susanne Frenk of . Get nourished from inside out and outside in with deliciously healthy food for body, mind and skin that will fill you with the right amount of mindfulness, taste and pleasure. Learn how to make your own skincare products with all natural products. Whip up a facial cream, toner and exfoliator and learn how to use the same ingredients to create delicious cookies made with love. Take some well deserved time for yourself or treat your mom or daughter to a luxurious and fun Cookie and Cream bonding experience. More details and sign in at https://www.windrifthall.com/retreats. The best Mother’s Day gift is the time we make for ourselves and each other to collaborate and celebrate Mother Earth in all of us.

08/21/2018

If you happen to be in the Hudson Valley on Labor Day weekend you’re in for a special treat. Come join us on Saturday, Sep 1st, 11AM - 4PM to embark on a transformational day at our neighbors And-Hof Animals, Sanctuary for Farm Animals. Meet the animals and find comfort in their recovery from cruelty to happiness. Follow Medicine Woman Vicki Lagoudis from Teaching Spirit and Yogi Juliana Machado from Yoga Path for Healing through a magical experience of healing and wholeness in the serenity of nature and the comforting sound of the forest’s stream. Meet your animal totem on a shamanic journey, awaken your energy with pranayama, step into the healing vortex, dance in the fairy circle and commune with nature for healing of yourself, the animals and the earth. All proceeds benefit the animals at the sanctuary. To register please email Juliana at yogapath4healing@gmail.com or
Vicki at teachingspirit@aol.com.

08/11/2018

Happy to read Renee’s blog today about a recent retreat here at Windrift Hall. We always hope you can leave the outside world behind after passing through our gates, distance yourself from your to do list, empty your vessels and create space for fresh thinking. Thanks Laura Lee Creative for organizing this mind expanding retreat that empowered so many women and Renée Nicolo Photography for sharing your experience.

I’m so excited to finally share with you all about my time at The Fireside Retreat! From June 11 through the 14th, I had the incredible opportunity to attend my friend, Laura’s, first ever retreat! The retreat took place at the incredibly gorgeous Windrift Hall in Coxsackie, NY!

08/11/2018

Happy to read Renee’s blog today about a recent retreat here at Windrift Hall. We always hope you can leave the outside world behind after passing through our gates, distance yourself from your to do list, empty your vessels and create space for fresh thinking. Thanks Laura Lee Creative for organizing this mind expanding retreat that empowered so many women and Renée Nicolo Photography for sharing your experience.

I’m so excited to finally share with you all about my time at The Fireside Retreat! From June 11 through the 14th, I had the incredible opportunity to attend my friend, Laura’s, first ever retreat! The retreat took place at the incredibly gorgeous Windrift Hall in Coxsackie, NY!

05/05/2018

Walking outside in the fresh air is so much better than trudging round inside your brain. As you go on a walk this weekend think of your thoughts and emotions as little puffy clouds in the sky. The vast open blueness of the sky is you, your essence, your True Self. Endless. As a thought or feeling comes up, put its name on a cloud and watch the cloud float away. No judgments. The thoughts and feelings aren’t good or bad. They just are. They’re not permanent. They aren’t who you are. You aren’t connected to them. It’s your choice to focus on them and make them grow into thunderclouds or to let them drift by or dissipate as the little puffy clouds they are. Realizing that we are not our thoughts and emotions can be very freeing. Have a wonderful weekend thinking less and being more. 📷 for .t.r.t.daily

03/18/2018

I recently discovered my sketchbook again. I used to spend hours sitting in nature trying to grasp its beauty. Sketching became to me like a form of meditation, getting lost into the present moment while observing every detail. All my thoughts tried to capture what is. My mind didn’t want to wander to past or future, because it was occupied to stay focused. I always felt so happy coming back from my sittings, very refreshed and inspired. But I stopped sketching a long time ago, telling myself I don’t have time for this. Just as a daily practice of yoga seems often in my way of doing more “important things”. As a result I deny myself the great opportunity to refuel and recover from stress I put myself under. Whatever it is that moves you outside yourself, it’s Sunday morning and maybe the perfect time today to reacquaint with some old habits. I will roll out my mat for now and see where that takes me.

03/15/2018

Following up to yesterday’s Ode to Oats, here’s another way to make oats part of your daily morning routine. I was happy to share at our last retreat a hands-on workshop of how to make your own Ayurvedic skincare products with all natural ingredients and oats are so good for your skin. Did you know that whatever we put on our skin gets absorbed into our bloodstream? So why spending a fortune, loading up on chemicals when you can make your own products at home. Oats soothe skin and reduce irritation. Oats are grainy making them ideal for scrubs, exfoliating gently without stripping your skin dry. The skin sheds cells at the rate of a million per hour, so it is important to remove those dead cells on a regular basis. Oats will leave your skin smooth and hydrated. Combined in a blender with rose petals, chamomile, lavender, orange peel, and French green clay, they make a perfect exfoliator and an amazing clay mask. Just add water, honey or yoghurt to make a paste, cleanse naturally and nourish yourself from outside in, knowing exactly what you allow under your skin.
📷 Bette Blau betteblau.com

03/10/2018

After a long winter of mixing and matching we’re so happy to have found the perfect balance for a custom made blend of all natural Ayurveda skincare products. It was so much fun to introduce and share this ancient wisdom at our retreat last weekend at Windrift Hall. So empowering to know what exactly you allow under your skin and how to create your own lotions and potions from scratch like the moisturizing facial cream. Using the cooling and nourishing properties of aloe vera, grapeseed and almond oil to soothe and hydrate, fortified with Vitamin E, uplifting and balancing with the essential oils of Grapefruit, Lavender, Rosemary and Cedarwood. Thanks to all the spirited women who braved the storm to be with us and Bette Blau betteblau.com for capturing the magic so beautifully.

03/01/2018

Tonight on the first day of March we will experience a full moon. Always a wonderful reminder to tune into the natural rhythm of nature with the moon’s passage from dark to full. This moon is also called the Worm Moon. At this time of year, the ice that has been clinging to our world begins to thaw as winter comes to an end. The earth is wet, raw, and nutrient enough for the greenery of spring to finally grow. This is often when earthworms reappear. The return of these worms is usually the first sign of spring, a sacred period of renewal, rebirth, and new beginnings. Best time to debut our Ayurvedic skincare line developed with our natural cycle in mind. Our body lotion is infused with all natural soothing and balancing botanicals that ground you at the end of the day, so your body can relax and rejuvenate over a good night sleep. Handcrafted in small batches at Windrift Hall with the freshest, all natural ingredients with no chemicals or preservatives, so you know exactly what you let under your skin at night.
Good night moon.

02/28/2018

Nothing says change of season to me more than replacing dried flower arrangements with the first blooms of the new year. Thanks to the reed, cattail, curly willow and limelight hydrangea branches of our garden we had some muted tones brightening up long winter months, but we’re so ready now for more color in our lives. One of the perks of hosting a retreat around the Spring Equinox is that we get to indulge into our obsession with flowers. Bringing color and nature inside with the first quince blossoms of the year is such a treat. Today is the last day to sign up for our annual spring retreat, treat yourself to a weekend or drop in on Saturday for restorative yoga, renewing nature walks, relaxing massages, rejuvenating skincare and regenerating food & cocktails. Please sign up at thoughtlessspaces.com for the last private bedroom and reset and retreat.

02/21/2018

If you still need a reason to join us for a pampering Reset Retreat weekend, maybe it’s your love for food and nature that brings you to Windrift Hall, a historic mansion in the Hudson Valley, 2h from NYC. We can’t wait for Laura Silverman from The Outside Institute to guide us on a nature walk through the local flora and fauna and treat us to a 3 day culinary feast that will delight all senses. Only a couple of spots are left in private or semi private accommodations. For the love of food, yoga, nature walks, skincare and massages reward yourself with 3 days of treats from March 2-4 or just drop in on Saturday for our Reset Retreat. Sign up and more info at thoughtlessspaces.com.
📷 Bette Blau