Hometown Weekends
Come spend a weekend in Ithaca with your community
We’re planning two weekends this summer full of Ithaca’s ‘must do’ activities!
Join us June 21-23 or Aug 9-11
Connect. Celebrate. Come hOMe.
Enhance your mind, body, and spirit at Yoga Farm Ithaca’s H(OM)etown Weekends!
Restore your spirits and rekindle your practice in the stunning natural setting of Ithaca, NY our school’s hometown! Think of this as a Pilgrimage, or a personalized Wellness Getaway, or Mini Retreat and Immersion! Curated content, workshops, special events, shared meals, yoga classes, tours, hikes and so much more for those of our students who value life-long learning, connection, and community.
Welcome to ITHACA!
Take time for yourself in a choose your own adventure weekend, or jump in on our full schedule of events all included in your registration. Enjoy the lakes, waterfalls, farmers market and all things iconically Ithaca within the embrace of community and belonging.
Our welcoming and inclusive experiences include yoga, qigong, hiking, some shared meals, tours, festivities, and adventures.
connect with your YFI Community as we gather for full days of exploration, practice and fun.
As you set out for Ithaka
hope your road is a long one,
full of adventure, full of discovery.
~Ithaka by C. P. CAVAFY
Soak up the natural beauty of the Finger Lakes over these three-day weekends with a range of Yoga Farm staff. Each weekend will have a different theme and unique activities, come for one - or both!
Choose your adventure
June 21-23
Music, Movement & Community
Come together for a full evening of studio classes or workshops as we open our weekend with our fellow travelers. We will have a catered dinner from one of our favorite restaurants and we will create a ceremony for connection through the weekend.
Friday
Your Saturday will be spent enjoying the beauty of Cayuga Lake at Reggaefest. Yoga Farm is one of the main sponsors for this amazing festival and we will hold workshops and have a picnic bbq at the park as well as all the Reggaefest activities for you to enjoy. An afternoon on the water with SUP boards will be weather contingent. This evening there will be a workshop at the studio followed by a return to the festival for one of Ithaca’s favorite Reggae bands!
Saturday
Sunday morning starts with a ‘soul love’ practice and kirtan before we have a delicious brunch at the studio. An afternoon workshop and a closing ceremony will round out the weekend before we say ‘Until next time’.
Sunday
Aug 9-11
Begin your weekend with a full afternoon of studio classes or workshops as you begin to connect with those who have joined us. We will have a picnic dinner on the lake followed by an opening ceremony to kick off our weekend celebration.
Friday
Yoga, Food & Friendship
Saturday
Saturday kicks off with an invigorating studio practice followed by the ‘best of Ithaca’. We will walk over to the local farmer’s market for a culinary tour that delights all your senses, the afternoon continues with a workshop at the studio before we head to a local cidery and finish the evening off with a sunset boat tour. It will be a day of delicious merry making!
Sunday
Morning practice will be followed by brunch at a local Ithaca institution. Take a walk up one of Ithaca’s many gorges and experience the beauty of our local art museum before we return to the studio for a restorative class and closing ceremony. We may even wrap up the weekend with some of our favorite ice cream!
H(OM)etown Weekends include:
Themed Programming
Any Drop-In studio classes
Special Events (Reggae Fest, Tours)
Three Shared Meals (one each day)
DATES:
June 21-23, 2024
OR
August 9-11 2024
pricing:
$333 Paid In Full
$111 3/Mo Payment Plan
*NOT INCLUDED: Travel, transportation (including from the airport), accommodations, some meals
ABOUT Ithaca
The Finger Lakes are a destination in all four seasons and June & August are breathtaking! Featuring 11 pristine lakes in the heart of upstate New York, Ithaca is located at the base of Cayuga Lake.
Summertime is our favorite time of year to really showcase all that Ithaca has to offer. The farmers market (a local favorite) is packed with colorful veggies, the water is sparkling in the sunshine, and the whole world is blanketed in every shade of green imaginable.
Being located at the base of Cayuga Lake, and surrounded by an astonishing 150+ waterfalls, we are blessed with the magic of water all around us. Whatever weekend you come we will be relishing in the power of the waters of this place.
A small but mighty city, Ithaca is a place of culture and adventure. With two higher educational institutions, Ithaca has an influx of fresh energy each fall with the return of college students, giving it a youthful vibe.
We suggest making your home base within 15 min of Ithaca (there are a lot of hotel, Air BnB and camping options). Everything we have planned for the weekends will be no farther than 20 minutes outside of the city, so having access to a vehicle is recommended.
Meals
We will have a combination of shared and on-your-own meals
We can’t wait to share some of the amazing flavors of Ithaca with you during our time together! Ithaca is known for it’s diverse restaurant scene, with cuisines ranging from Mexican to Ethiopian, Italian to Creole, there’s something for everyone. We have some of the best food in the state right here in our little town and are happy to provide suggestions for any meals that we don’t have scheduled as a group.
ACCOMMODATIONS
Some suggestions:
Hotel Ithaca or the Downtown Marriott
Air BnB in Ithaca, Brooktondale, Newfield
Local State Park campgrounds
Yoga Farm will not be able to provide any transportation. The closest airports are Ithaca, Syracuse, or Elmira. Getting around with Uber is doable or you may consider renting a car.
TRANSPORTATION
MEET Your RETREAT HOSTS
JEANNIE O'NEILL
M.ED, E-RYT500, YACEP:
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT Yoga Farm Ithaca (YFI)
Jeannie has a masters degree in education specializing in contemplative pedagogy and transformative curriculum design.
She is a 500E-RYT Vinyasa and Kundalini Yoga Teacher, Mindfulness Meditation instructor, a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider and an Ayurvedic health practitioner.
Jeannie has led thousands of students through Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) programs at the foundational and the Advanced level. She has created countless educational programs and CEUs for educators, as well as creating the ‘Radiant Warrior Yoga Teacher Training’, ‘Kundalini Warrior’ and ‘Spiritual Warrior 300YTT’. She also developed and guided a Kundalini Prenatal YTT and Rebirthing Certification Program.
Jeannie’s take on yoga is that there is a depth and breadth of information that can be experimented in order to find the perfect inner balance and alignment. Her teaching philosophy is based in experiential learning and teaching the path that you have walked.
JESSICA ENGLISH
RETREAT COORDINATOR, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT YOGA FARM ITHACA
Jessica has spent her life crafting experiences and leading people on adventures.
She is thrilled that in her role at Yoga Farm she gets to continue to explore this passion, working alongside Jeannie to bring Yoga Farm out into the world via retreats.
Jessica’s passion for travel has been well honed over the years, and she has an eye for amazing spaces and unique opportunities, as well as a skill at making a retreat feel seamless and the participants feel welcomed and at home. She takes care of all the details so you can let yourself simply relax and enjoy the ride.
Jessica believes in the transformative power of coming together in community, in a space that is out of your element. She knows that the curriculum created for the retreats YFI holds will leave the participants feeling more centered, whole and aligned.
Student Reviews
Waking up with the sun, and going to mantra was surprisingly one of my favorite parts of every day. I didn’t have many expectations coming into the retreat and everyone was amazing, I connected with people from all different walks of life, and through these newfound friendships, I found transformation in how I walk through the world. The balance of programming and downtime was perfect. I am so grateful that I took this time for myself, I can feel how taking a step back from my day-to-day life has already shifted my interior landscape.
Emma R
It was more than a retreat, it was a spiritual awakening. As someone who would say they are an introvert, everything I had in my head about how this was going to be a hard experience, immediately disappeared with the incredible support created during the retreat. I am walking away with amazing friendships and a new sense of who I am.
Natalie C
This retreat helped me realize how you gain something special every time you go on one. Yoga Farm carefully curates the schedule in such a nourishing way, for your mind and body, you can tell there’s a lot of thought and heart that goes into the planning. It’s the only way to travel for me now. The community you create and the friendships you make are something that you don’t find in your normal life. Retreats are necessary, it’s an invitation to just take care of yourself.
Debra D.