The magic of Sark!

What a treat - dolphins playing near Herm on our way to Sark, there’s nothing quite like watching a pod of dolphins playing in the waves to lift the spirit, a real bonus as we travelled over to Sark for the autumnal yoga and wellbeing retreat.

Sark held us well as it is always does. Not least offering glorious sunrises, but the delight of the dark night sky and the stars shining brightly, I even got to watch the moonrise as I trekked over to the dolmen on Little Sark on my own on Saturday night.

I’m biased I know, I love Sark, but it really is the most wonderful place to retreat, to de-stress, unwind, let go and just go with the flow. You can’t help but connect with nature, the weather, the sea, the wildlife, the elements. It re-centres, re-aligns and re-energises and this is just the land, let alone the yoga.

Obviously I’m biased there too, but since restricting the group size and making it more intimate, it has become an even more enjoyable experience than it as already, certainly for me as a teacher, it allows me to get more involved in each student’s practice, and to manage the space more easily. I’m hopeful that the students feel the benefit of this - I have a sense that they do, as the students were all really committed and the group energy was wonderful.

I have a sense that retreats to far flung destinations need to drop away, not least because of then impact of air travel, and the stress of it, but because of cost in this current climate. And really, why travel far for a retreat, when we have Sark right on our door step, with its hassle free travel (high seas aside!), a wonderful hotel (thank you Stocks) in that amazing Dixcart Valley, and a short commute to the yoga space. We even have the benefit of Lynn-Marie’s healing hands for massage and Reiki. And of course there is Caragh’s chocolate shop too. What’s not to enjoy about any of that?!

I’m really grateful to all the students who joined us last weekend, all of them were returnees, which is credit to both Sark and to these retreats, people do really benefit. And those of us facilitating benefit too. We had a great fun staying at The Old Forge, the boys, E, Katie, Adam, Steph and Sunny too. The boys adore Sunny, we all adore Sunny, and it was an added bonus that Elijah’s pal, Etienne and our friend Faye, came along and hung out with us over the weekend.

We walked, swam, enjoyed the fact the island was super quiet, and the views stunning. We had fun in the sea at Dixcart, and Eben loved running around with Sunny. I got to indulge in my passion for neolithic stones, I love the Goddess statue there and of course the dolmen. I never bore of Sark, there is always so much to do, and actually we took it really gently this retreat and only made it to one beach - well two if you include Le Creux, for a swim right at the end, it’s like swimming in a crystal bowl (or how I imagine it to be!).

Thank you to all of you who joined us and helped to make this another special Sark retreat with lots of memories made and laughter had. I certainly felt the benefit and had my usual two-day post Sark crash! Guernsey always seems so busy and frantic energetically after the beautifully calm and spacious energy of Sark! It really is a magical island.

I’m already looking forward to the next one - our first women’s-only (sorry men!) Yoni Yoga retreat 12-14 May. You can find more information here.

Love Emma x