SOLD OUT!

But stay tuned for more info on our annual summer retreats!

Spring invites renewal — not through effort, but through listening.

This one-day Yoga & Wellness Retreat offers a spacious, nourishing day to reconnect with your body, breath, and inner wisdom. Through mindful movement, restorative rest, breathwork, meditation, and reflection, we’ll explore practices inspired by the five koshas - the layers that make up our entire being - as lived experiences that support strength, resilience, and ease.

With an emphasis on functional movement, nervous system regulation, and awareness of sensation, this retreat invites you to gently release what no longer serves you and make space for clarity, vitality, and renewed presence — just as the natural world awakens around us.

$97

*includes lunch

Gather with community in a warm, welcoming space — a cozy stone fireplace, natural light pouring through a wall of windows, and expansive views of 2½ acres of century-old oak trees and lush evergreens. A setting that invites you to exhale, arrive, and feel held by the landscape.

What to expect

9 am - Welcome, Intention & Gentle Breathwork

• Settle into the space

• Establish intention for the day

• Simple breath practices to arrive and ground

Morning Practice

Mindful Movement for Strength, Balance, Flexibility, and Agility

• Functional, sensation-led movement
• Emphasis on joint health, strength, and ease
• Exploration of effort and release through embodied awareness

Lunch Break

Nourishment & Rest
• Time to eat, rest, walk, or be in quiet connection

Afternoon Practice

Breath, Meditation & Subtle Awareness

• Guided meditation
• Deepening awareness of inner rhythms and presence

Reflection & Integration

Quiet Reflection / Journaling / Contemplation
• Guided contemplation
• Space for personal insight and integration

3 pm - Re-enter the real world ☺️

FAQ's

1. What do I bring?

This year I have yoga mats for you! And all other props will be provided.

2. What do I wear?

Wear something cozy and comfortable to move in. The morning yoga will be a more active practice. The Yoga Nidra practice will have you lying down, so you may want to bring layers and socks to stay warm.

3. Will there be food to eat?

Yes! Lunch, iced tea, hot tea, plus sparkling and still water.

4. What is the location of the retreat?

Lake Zurich, IL. The exact location will be sent to you upon registration.

5. When does it begin and end?

9:00 am - 3:00 pm CT

6. Who will be running the retreat?

Karen Hamilton, Founder of 20,000 Breaths Yoga & Wellness Online Studio. Karen is a 25+ year yoga practitioner, creator of Yoga for Empowered Aging™, a Yoga Alliance Certified Teacher, a Yoga Wellness Educator, Certified Yoga Therapeutics provider, Yoga for Healthy Aging, and Restorative Yoga. She is a certified level 3 reiki practitioner. Karen runs a Facebook Group and You Tube channel: Yoga for Empowered Aging™.

Karen’s superpower? Gently settling nervous systems — so effectively that clients’ dogs routinely fall asleep during her online classes. 🐶

Cats, however, remain unconvinced. 🐈

More questions? Email Karen at 20000Breaths@gmail.com

Yoga Lab for March

The Bees Knees!

Sunday March 15th 9 - 10:30 am CT

$37

We'll be zeroing in on how best to support this vital, yet well-worn joint of the body and looking at what can cause knee discomfort, and what we can do about it.

Even if you don't have issues with your knees, this class can help you keep knee issues from happening.

We'll strengthen some muscles that are (surprisingly) a huge cause of cranky knees and we'll lengthen others that are just as surprising!

You'll come away with practices to support healthy, pain-free knees.

What Are Yoga labs??

Yoga Labs will be learning opportunities about where your body is today and where you want it to go.

In other words, through each yoga practice, you will learn and feel how your unique body wants to move... is designed to move... and what YOUR body needs to move safely while building strength, flexibility, and agility, all the while keeping your joints safe from injury and creating resiience.

In each monthly 90-minute session, we’ll focus on a different aspect of your body and movement—through the lens (or microscope!) of yoga

Yoga Labs will blend functional anatomy, with physically nurturing yoga movements, which will promote your overall physical strength and well-being.

The practices and learnings you will experience in Yoga Labs, will give you a road map for your body's unique aging journey.

Join me for yoga for your body today... and your future self!

**Expect laughter, encouragement, and real results. 😁 🧘🏼‍♀️

*Free as a gift to our community*

This week we begin our NEW series:

Yoga for Healthy & Empowered Aging

There is a new medical certification that (so far) more than 10,000 doctors have received: "Lifestyle Medicine". This new certification trains medical doctors to "treat the whole person"...

Wow. Imagine that!?! 🧐

In this series we'll be covering all 6 pillars of Lifestyle Medicine, as designated by the American Medical Association. And we will be covering ALL of them in each practice!

This Saturday Feb 21st!

Sleep is a vital, unconscious state that repairs the brain and body through complex hormonal changes.

Conversely, rest is a conscious, active, or passive state of relaxation that reduces stress and recharges energy without full unconsciousness. While sleep is a form of physical rest, it cannot replace rest.

Please join me!

Join your online community for a FREE 45-minute yoga + meditation class!

Perfect for beginners and experienced yogis.

If you missed registering and would still like to purchase the recording(s) you are in the right place!

Click HERE to purchase the recording. $37 for the 1 1/2 module.

Get Lit!

Ignite Your Heart & Mind

**Now updated from this summer's retreats!

During our summer Yoga & Wellness Retreats each year, everyone gathers around the fire with a list of 3 or more books that they had read recently and loved.

Each person talks about their 3 books and why they enjoyed them so much.

Here they all are...for your reading pleasure...

Summer 2025

Bright Remarkably Creatures – Shewlby Van Pelt

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store - James McBride

The Authenticity Project - Claire Pooley

You are Stronger than You Think - Joel Osteen

Stolen Pride - Arlie Russell Hochschild

Say You’ll Remember Me - Abby Jimenez

The Warmth of Other Suns - Isabel Wilkerson

The Last American Road Trip - Sarah Kendzior

The Light We Carry – Michelle Obama

The Day the World Came to Town - Jim DeFede

Let them – Mel Robbins

The Grief Recover Method - John James

The Yoga of Self Love - Ramaa Krishnan

Caste – Isabel Wilkerson

The 5 People You Meet in Heaven - Mitch Albom

Skin- Ted Dekker

So Gay for You - Leisha hailey and Katherine Moennig

How to Retire and Not Die - Gary Sirak and Max Sirak

Crime & Punishment - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief – David Kessler

All the books by Frieda McFadden

Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease - Caldwell B. Esselstyn

The Whole 30 - Dallas Hartwig and Melissa Hartwig Urban

Life Force – Jeffrey S. McCombs

First Lie Wins – Ashley Elston

The Wheel of Time – Robert Jordan

“In Death” book series - J.D. Robb (the pseudonym used by Nora Roberts for this series)

Foundation trilogy – Issac Asimov

LaRose – Louise Erdrich

Tom Lake – Ann Pachett *the audio book is read by Meryl Streep!

Cutting for Stone – Abraham Verghese

A Day in the Life of Abed Salama – Nathan Thrall

How to Stand up to a Dictator – Marie Reesa

Master Slave Husband Wife - Ilyon Woo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summer 2024

The Measure – Nikki Erlick

The Women – Kristin Hannah

Lessons in Chemistry – Bonnie Garmus

Remarkably Bright Creatures - Shelby Van Pelt

Braving the Wilderness – Brene Brown

The Imperfections – Sam Mariano

The Gift of Imperfection – Brene Brown

Stop Being Lonely - Kira Asatryan

Expiration Dates – Rebecca Serle

The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Alma Cuervo

The Storytellers Secret - Sejal Badani

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

Good Material – Dolly Alderton

Verity – Colleen Hoover

The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo – Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Silent Patient – Alex Michaelides

Caleb’s Crossing – Geraldine Brooks

In the Heart of the Sea – Nathaniel Philbrick

Snow Falling on Cedars – David Guterson

Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman

Falling – T.J. Newman

The Measure – Nikki Erlick

The Other Boleyn Girl – Phillipa Gregory

Pillars of the Earth – Ken Follet

Devil in The White City – Erik Larson

Aging with Grace – Sharon Betters & Susan Hunt

Sacred Self Care -Dr. Walker Barnes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Summer 2023

For you Mom, Finally – Ruth Reichl

Getting in Touch with Your Guardian Angels – Jill Kempner

Awareness – Anthony DeMelle

The Color of Water – James McBride

The Art of Racing in The Rain - Garth Stein

Outliers – Malcolm Gladwell

Right Brain and Left brain – Daniel Pink, Patrick Linconi

The Next Big Idea Club - https://nextbigideaclub.com/?fbclid=IwAR0atPUiP9jcbu0mqKzbNF-9yxhmRVFd0a_tMZa_OnCR_2wo76Qrf8KDNDE

*and a Facebook group

Daisy Jones & the 6th - Jenkins Reid

The Seed Keeper – Diane Wilson

The Island of Missing Trees – Elif Shafak

She Said - Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey

Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neal

Horse – Jeralidine Brooks

The Measure – Mickey Eirlich

Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolve

Crying in H-Mart – Michelle Zauner

The Artists Way – Julia Cameron

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

The 5 People You Meet in Heaven – Mitch Album

With The Fire on High – Elizabeth Acevedo

This is How it Always Is – Laurie Frankel

The Great Alone – Kristen Hannah

Willow Rose (author) a series of books

Enlightenment For Idiots – Anne Cushman

Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

Nightingale – Kristen Hannah

The Advocate (series) – Theresa Burrell

Noble Beginnings – L.T. Ryan

My Grandmother Told me to Tell You “I’m Sorry” – Frederick Bachman

The Women in Black – Susan Hill

Mutant Message Down Under – Marlo Morgan

The Positive Dog – Jon Gordon

The Eight Dates – The Gotmans

Speeches (?) – David McCullough

Being Mortal – Atul Gawande

Learning to Pray – A Guide for Everyone – James Martin

Sacred Self Care – Dr Chanequa Walker-Barnes

The Sociopath Next Door – Dr. Martha Stout

Shadow Divers – Robert Kurson

Such A Fun Age – Kiley Reed

The Whole Thirty – Dallas Hartwig

Food Freedom Forever – Melissa Hartwig

Eric’s Story – Carol Hill

Proof of Heaven – Eben Alexander

How to Change Your Mind – Michael Pollan

House of Sand & Fog – Andre Dubus

The Bible Code – Michael Drosnin

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fall 2022

You Before Me – JoJo Moyes

The Warmth of Other Suns – Isabel Wilkerson

The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho

Picnic with Picasso – Anthony E. Thorogood

The Nightingale – Kristin Hannah

Rebecca – Daphne Du Maurier

River of Doubt – Candice Millard

Destiny of the Republic - Candice Millard

Ordinary Grace – William Kent Krueger

Breath – James Nestor

What Happened to You – Bruce perry and Oprah Winfrey

Me & White Supremacy – Layla Saad

The Body Keeps the Score – Bessel van der Kolk

The Death of Josseline – Margaret Regan

American Dirt – Jeanine Cummins

The Underground Railroad – Colson Whitehead (Pulitzer Prize Winner)

This is How it Always Is – Laurie Frankel

The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz

Metta Human – Deepak Chopra

Total Meditation – Deepak Chopra

Where the Crawdads Sing – Delia Owens

Becoming – Michelle Obama

The Soul of America – Jon Meacham

The Righteous Mind – Jonathan Haidt

The Girl on The Train - Paula Hawkins