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A yoga studio mixing asanas and dining featured in a New York Times article has highlighted a long-building rift between yoga purists and yoga hobbyists.

Some yogis who have practiced for many years mention meat and wine as no, nos. Other yogis believe yoga is about appreciating every moment and that includes every bite. (One recent study showed such mindful eating is why yogis are less likely to be obese.)

But the food is only symbolic of the larger divisions in the yoga community. For some, power yoga and hip-hop music played in practice are viewed as sacrilegeious as eating meat. Others view the American-style of yoga as bringing more people to the mat to learn the principals of listening to your heart and quieting your mind.

Despite yoga meaning “yolk” or “union,”  some yogis remain welcoming of all while others only let you in if you are the same as them.

Yoga spas and retreats can be just as different and it’s important to find the one that fits you.

The Mount Madonna Center in California served meals free of garlic, onions and gluten. Brown rice was common and, while the food wasn’t gourmet, at least one dish at each meal was yummy. Main buildings also stocked a large variety of teas and fruit.

Other centers provide gastronomic delights including wine and chocolate.

Just know the differences, so you can make a clear decision about what you want for your holiday.

My recent attempts to try new yoga classes and studios have challenged my yogic calm, and reminded me that it is easy to be at peace on a pond and difficult in a raging river.

Loud sorority girls next door highlighted Monday’s class.

Not necessarily an issue in a fast-paced power yoga class but this was a long-slow deep stretch class known as yin yoga. The room was dark and calm with candles and yogi music punctuated by the noise next door.

Now I’m not sure which was worse, the yoga class with the racquetball court in the next room or with the sorority headquarters next door.

Both did not permit a relaxing savasana because I felt so agitated.

This takes me back to an issue during my weekend at the Mount Madonna Center. I complained about a clock ticking on the wall. Some people in the class hadn’t noticed. For others, like myself, it felt like a guillotine.

Over the course of the retreat, people kept insinuating that if I just focused the clock would not bother me. One woman said she uses a clock in her meditation classes and to her it was like a heartbeat.

I, however, have spent most of the last 10 years listening to multiple police scanners and am trained to be observant for my own safety and for reporting.

As much as I tried, I could not muster enough yogic calm as the sorority girls giggled next door or in the earlier racquetball experience. Maybe I have become too snooty in my yoga practice or just so used to quiet during savasana. When I first started yoga, the classes were at a gym with hip-hop music blasting just outside the door.

Even though I have mastered a few poses since then, savasana can sometimes still be the hardest.

Saturday is Yoga Alliance’s annual Yoga Day USA.

Studios across the country will offer free classes and yoga education activities.

Head to a new studio or a new class to expand your yoga experience. I’m planning on trying out a different studio that is too far away for me to attend regularly.

A Lonely Planet blogger posted that she is irked by the healthy traveler.

The author said a holiday is supposed to be an indulgence – not counting calories and working out.

I disagreed and commented that for some people, spending a few days of quiet by themselves doing what they love is a true indulgence. I know you moms that were at the yoga retreat felt that way. It’s all in what’s best for the individual traveller. I’m not a mom but it still felt great to get away, meet new people and have a new experience. I think a vacation or holiday is whatever you do that leaves you feeling rejuvenated and relaxed.

The Jerusalem Post recently had an article by Karen Lerner on a yoga vacation in Goa, India.

Check it out and keep on dreaming: Yoga travel in magical Goa.

During the weekend, Judith Lasater imparted daily life lessons corresponding with yoga’s philosophical principals. One lesson was to stop giving advice. We all want to impart our wisdom on the world. But to enhance our closest relationships, we need to stop giving advice and listen.

Hours after that lesson, I was at the National Steinbeck Center about an hour away in downtown Salinas.

By Sonja Bjelland

A bookmark in the store included this quote from John Steinbeck’s The Winter of Our Discontent “No one wants advice – only corroboration.”

I picked it up as a reminder of that lesson.

But I also know, that when I fail to follow that advice I can go back to the first lesson of the course and recite the following phrase – “How human of me.”

A sunset view from the Mount Madonna Center

Just arriving at the Mount Madonna Center outside of Gilroy, Calif., I started to feel relaxed.

Sunset views of Monterey Bay and the smell of the forest immediately put me at ease after a long drive.

License plates from Oregon and Saskatchewan revealed only a suggestion of how far people traveled to be there. People arrived from Vietnam, New York and Texas for the Judith Lasater program Living Your Yoga.

For the 100 or so residents and students at the school, the views and surroundings are part of daily life.

For the rest of us, we have to remember our lessons and take the beauty with us.

Over the next few days, I will be discussing the philosophical teachings, asana practice and restorative yoga I enjoyed while at the center.

If you have been to the Mount Madonna Center, what was your experience? Have you been to other similar places I should check out next?

I had a lovely yoga class today preparing me for this weekend’s trip to the Mount Madonna yoga Center. The class, by my favorite teacher, focused on following your heart, which I am doing with this site. I also accomplished a beautiful wheel pose toward the end of class making me so giddy I was glad we did some meditation before savasana to help calm me down.

So readers out there, what is the pose you were most proud to accomplish?