Healing Through Loving-Kindness Practice: A Visit From Bhante Sujatha

On May 6 Bhante Sujatha, a Buddhist monk from the Blue Lotus Temple in Woodstock, IL, will be visiting Glen Ivy Hot Springs to teach guests a yoga and meditation class. Sujatha, a Buddhist monk for over 30 years, has taught around the globe to those wishing to learn the art of happiness and contentment through meditation. The teaching is centered around the cultivation of self love and the activities include: "What is Loving-Kindness?" and how to practice it.

Some other benefits of this beautiful workshop include:

• Reduced stress, anxiety, worry, and depression
• Healing and enhancing relationships with others
• Gaining a sense of empowerment over challenging issues in your life
• Insights into your life purpose
• Awakening to the blessings of the present moment
• Attaining unshakable inner peace

Make sure you join Bhante Sujatha for a Yoga class at 10am followed by a meditation class at 11am on May 6 at Glen Ivy Hot Springs. Bhante believes his purpose is to not only teach Meditation but also to "teach people how to be happy." For more information on Bhante and the Blue Lotus Temple click here.

Moms Love Glen Ivy!

With Mother's Day just around the corner, "Mom" is definitely the word at the spa lately. In our office we were talking about Mother's Day and Elizabeth and Jennifer both shared some great Glen Ivy memories of their moms.

"My mom and I come to Glen Ivy every few months to spend quality time together - in fact, we just got some one-on-one time here on Monday! While we were relaxing she commented on how she finds herself at Glen Ivy for all sorts of different reasons: personal getaways when she has a day off work, Mother/Daughter days with me, and one special memory she recalled from Mother's Day two years ago when my brothers and dad joined us at the spa. We reflected a bit on that happy, fun day and she said spending time at a place she loves with the people she loves most is a memory she will cherish forever." - Elizabeth F.

"Just a few weeks ago I brought my mom and future mother-in-law to the Hot Springs for a relaxing Spa Day before the Big Day. We got a Cabana and we were so thankful to have a Cabana Concierge taking care of all the small details so we could just sit, soak and enjoy each others' company - quite a contrast to the wedding planning, that's for sure! Weeks leading up to the wedding can usually be very stressful so it was nice to carve out a full day for time together. We had such a great time laughing and chatting, and really celebrating the fact that our families will soon be joined. It was the perfect way to kick off the one month countdown to the Big Day!" - Jennifer S.

Do you have a Glen Ivy Mom Memory? Leave a comment with yours below!

March MUDness--Winner #4

CONGRATULATIONS to our 4th and final weekly winner---Heather!! Heather and her friends seemed to be channeling a little Bob Marley as they created mud-made dreadlocks and accessories! It was definitely a team effort for this pic a big thanks goes out to all of the lovely ladies who created such a masterpiece!

-Heather-

March MUDness--Day 20

Today March MUDness came to a end and I couldn't help but think of how lucky we are to have such creative guests who aren't afraid to get a little dirty! With that being said, even though we only had a few participants today, we sure did have one big celebration! It was Barb's 50th birthday and she celebrated with a red clay mud cake made with love by her friend! Happy birthday to Barb from all of us here at Glen Ivy!

Thank you to all of our amazing and creative guests who participated in March MUDness!

-Happy 50th Birthday Barb-

-Bernie-

March MUDness--Day 19

With Easter just around the corner, it was only appropriate that we had our very own Club Mud bunny hopping around today! Along with the bunny we had mud crowns, mud facial hair, and mud horns!

Don't forget, voting for the March MUDness grand prize photo starts tomorrow afternoon! Make sure and stop by to cast your vote for your favorite photo!

-Regina-

-Elizabeth-

-Shari-

-Sandy-

-The rowdy group of the day!-

March MUDness--Day 18

It was quite a busy (and beautiful) day but I have to admit, I was a little startled when I rounded the corner to enter Club Mud. Immediately people noticed the clipboard and camera and scurried on over to sign up. Soon after that I was snappin' photos of our amazing March MUDness participants--just the way I like it!

Remember, there are only two more chances to enter or else you'll have to wait until next year!

-Heather-

-Heather and her artists-

-Shannon and her guests-

-Claire and guest-

-Look what Keri found!!-

-Nancy's butterfly-

-Claire showing how she loves Glen Ivy-

-Lauren showing her wild side!-

-Sheila and her guest-

March MUDness--Day 17

It was everything tribal today in Club Mud!! Guests used the red clay and leaves to create a jungle-like atmosphere. With beautiful weather and creative guests, what more could a girl ask for!?

-Mojdeh-

-Christian-

-Frank-

-Christian #2-

March MUDness--Day 16

Los Angeles Marathon runners descended on Club Mud today to show off their muddy muscles and proudly display that they conquered 26.2 miles yesterday! Congrats to all of the ladies who stopped by to play in the mud! You all helped kick off the 4th (and final) week of March MUDness with a bang! Enjoy the photos from today!

-Marie, Theresa, Barb, Ramona, Aleta-

-Omar and his guest-

-Suzanne-

-Amanda and her friends-

-Theresa-

-Juan and his guests-

-Aleta-

-Barb-

-Ramona-

-Marie-

March MUDness--Day 13

Sun + MUD + Amazing Guests = Incredible March MUDness photos!!

Club Mud was packed with guests ready for me to capture their muddy moments! The creative juices were definitely flowing as our guests piled on the mud and struck their best pose! We had a lot of guests work together to turn one lucky friend into a mud masterpiece while others slapped the mud on themselves. It just goes to show, whether you're flying solo or in a group, you can create wonderful things in the mud!

-Andrew (the front)-

-Andrew (profile shot)-

-Vanasa posing with Mr. Sun-

-Rachel-

-Mud/Rock Monster Jason-

-Krista with her birdie-

-Rana AKA "Lips"-

-Melissa...Arrrgggg-

-Cindy being wooed by her guest-

-Valerie-lou-who-

-Kim doing her best Wilma Flintstone impression-

March MUDness--Day 12

Today we had some guests use every inch of Club Mud in their photographs and I couldn't be more excited to share them! Charlie's Angels (or should I say "Tammy's Angels") paid us another visit and Ruby shoved some mud in her friend's face! The best part of March MUDness for me? Watching our guests have so much fun getting muddy!

Enjoy the pictures!

-Kim & her friend-

-Brittany & her guest-

-Tammy and her angels-

-Ruby shoving mud in her friend's face-

March MUDness--Day 9

Give me an M!
Give me a U!
Give me a D-D-Y!

What does that spell!?! MUDDY! And that's exactly what our guests got today! From pyramids to monkeys to Club Mud babies, we saw it all today. These photos really took March MUDness to a whole different level (and I'm not just talking about the Jill and her friends)!

-Jill and her friends showing their Glen Ivy spirit-

-Casandra and her Glen Ivy Mud baby!-

-Ariel-

-Still strong friends after 20 years-

-Rita celebrating our 150th anniversary-

-Karen and her friends-

-Cheers to Jackie and her friend-

-Claudia and her guests-

-Frank-