Retreating in Goa at the beautiful Satsanga!

Wow, we've just returned from an amazing adventure to India, beginning with a fabulous yoga retreat at the beautiful Satsanga retreat Centre in Goa.  

I know I'm biased as I was leading the retreat, but it was a fabulous retreat with an amazing bunch of lovely ladies with beautiful souls who called themselves "the Marigolds", and with good reason too as they shone as brightly as this sunny flower.

Satsanga is yoga heaven for me, a paradise then, where you're safely held within a space of love, care and kindness.  It's really like nothing else.  The staff are amazingly friendly and helpful, always smiling and keen to do all they can to make you feel at ease and able to enjoy your retreat.  

The owners Emma and Olaf are beautiful souls too and my eldest, Elijah, loved playing with their eldest, Lomax, and one of the local boys, Rihad, It was a joy to see, happy in each other's company. In years to come my youngest, Eben, will no doubt forge a friendship with their youngest, Leo too.

It's the family aspect that makes this retreat centre so welcoming. It's real life lived in a spiritual context, with tractors and diggers, but also the most beautiful yoga space.  You can even drink wine by the glass with your meal, which is refreshing from the olden days where wine and yoga were never encouraged to mix. It's all about balance after all.

The yoga studio is incredible and I am pining for it now!  It's got it's own uplifting energy, containing the vibration of all that practice, which has taken place in there over the last ten years. There's a huge statue to Shiva too, and this has no doubt had an impact on our experiences in the yoga studio and beyond. Bringing Shiva into our lives is to be welcomed, but he likes to destroy...so that we can recreate...

We practiced four hours of yoga every day except for one day where we enjoyed a break in the afternoon and the ladies made the most of the opportunity to go and watch the sunsetting from the beach. The classes whizzed by, and we covered an awful lot of ground, and with it being such a beautifully intimate group, everyone was able to advance their practice somehow.

For some this meant learning how to practice a headstand or a handstand, for others it was more about the other aspects of yoga, so perhaps chanting Bija mantra for the first time, or Kirtan, or embracing the diversity of breathing exercises and gaining an understanding of how they change the way we feel, or perhaps the opportunity for a yoga nidra every day, and using props in a way that we don't do in Guernsey due to lack of yoga studio space.

Each morning began at 7.30am with a two hour asana practice, each day having a different theme, maybe one day we looked at fear and how that showed up in our practise and maybe another looked at love, or clarity, or whatever it may be.  We practiced as many different postures as possible, sometimes using the wall for alignment awareness, and sometimes flowing, and being encouraged to adapt as necessary to allow for any body issues arising during the week.  This class always finished with a relaxation and me channelling Reiki to everyone in turn.

After class we enjoyed a scrummy breakfast. There were bowls and bowls of freshly cut fruit, homemade gluten free granola, homemade peanut butter, a plethora of breads, and a hot Indian dish. We were spoilt for choice and Ewan and I always washed this down with homemade chai made with homemade coconut milk.  Bliss! 

Free time followed, perhaps a swim in the beautifully deep, long and refreshing pool, a lie on a sun lounger in the peaceful space protected from the rest of the world, with beautiful pink flowers and occasionally a sighting of a monkey swinging in the trees, and the dragon flies which are abundant here, or maybe a treatment with the Ayurvedic ladies. 

Lunch was at 1.30pm and was a help-yourself affair, perhaps a vegetarian or vegan curry, with rice and a salad, or there was humous one day with falafels.  All the food is made from scratch using the finest ingredients sourced locally as much as possible.  The head chef, Hannah, is incredibly knowledgeable about the healing power of food, she also a trained nutritional consultant and most of the ladies saw her for this service on a one-to-one basis  and said she was incredibly intuitive and helpful

The afternoon was again at your leisure, before the class at 4.30pm.  Often Ewan, the boys and I would disappear after breakfast and head to the beach in a taxi.  However if Eben decided to nap, we'd go late morning instead, skipping lunch. It was very easy to get out and about. Satsanga provide a list of mobile numbers for their pool of local taxi drivers from the village, and there's even a free phone to use. 

We happened upon Isaac on our first outing and he became our taxi driver for the whole week.  It'd take him ten minutes to arrive from calling him, and he was always available for us. Sometimes we'd venture to one of the closer beaches such as Anjuna (15 minutes away by car), although I preferred it when we ventured further up the coast to Mandrem (35-40 minutes by car), as the beaches were cleaner.

We're spoilt for beaches in Guernsey and I certainly wouldn't go to this area of Goa just for their beaches.  The popular ones like Anjuna were dirty, and we quickly learned the best areas to go along this stretch to avoid glass on the sand and rubbish in the shallows. This was probably more of a concern to us than for most, simply because we had the children and Elijah likes to run around.

The beaches farther away like Mandrem were clean, and they had better shore break which made for lots of fun with Elijah in the water.  Furthermore they're quieter without the loud disco music so we'd get a couple of sun beds in the shade and Ewan would sit with Eben while Elijah and I played in the sea.  It's sun bed service here and lemon soda quickly became the perfect refreshing Goa drink for us!

We were generally the only ones going to the beach as the ladies preferred to stay by the pool, swimming, reading books, chatting, and enjoying treatments with the Ayurvedic-qualified girls.  I went for a few Shirodhana sessions where warm oil is poured over the forehead and third eye and found this deeply relaxing. The ladies also arranged sessions with the Ayurvedic doctor and with Hannah.  They popped out for shopping purposes but they were all happy to chill out as much as possible.

The afternoon yoga class was a relaxed affair, including pranayama, meditation and a yoga nidra. Sometimes there was some gentle movement, other times restorative yoga, sometimes Bhakti yoga with some singing, and other times the chanting of Bija mantra, and then the use of mudra. It was certainly the more introspective part of the day and also an opportunity to truly tap into the energy of the practice beyond the asana and see how that made us feel.

Dinner followed at 7pm, and we were again spoilt. All of the local ladies who assist in the kitchen are very skilled in producing quality home-cooked Indian vegan and vegetarian food and they catered superbly for all our dietary requirements.  There were yummy Indian curries and one time we had Burmese and another Thai, and on the final night it was Friday pizza night using the proper pizza oven that Emma and Olaf have recently installed, and a Spanish friend who used to run his own pizza place back home in Barcelona was on hand with the cooking.

Many times I thought we'd died and gone to heaven.  If it wasn't the meals it was the snacks, the raw cacao balls were amazing, and then the homemade juices and smoothies which you could order throughout the day, the yoga studio and the pool, and the rooms which were spacious, at least for us, and the fans that helped to keep us cool.

One night I arranged for Emma's teacher, Om, to come and lead a kirtan session.  It was a hilarious hour as we tried to tune into his wife's pitch and chanted the Hare Krishna mantra at some pace.  None of us dared to look at another for fear of giving rise to the giggling we felt was near! Om and his wife brought their daughter with them and they were so lovely in there sharing, it was a fab night!

Another night Emma arranged for one of her friends, an Italian lady called Chiara to come and share a very ancient, deep and dynamic style of singing called Dhrupad with us. Dhrupad is the mother of all hindustani music evoking the ancient veda and more ancient nada yoga chanting. It was amazing, you could really feel the essence of this ancient mystical music and Chiara was so passionate and inspiring in her sharing. 

It was a Taurus full moon the last day of the retreat so the night beforehand we Marigolds swam in the pool with the moon shining brightly ahead and howled up at it for holding us so safely over the week. This was a lovely way to spend our last evening together! 

The retreat finished after breakfast on the Saturday and we all felt heavy hearted saying goodbye.  Some were headed directly home and others, like us, onwards to other parts of India.

Ewan, the boys, Vicki and I flew up to Delhi and took the train the next day to Agra to see the Taj Mahal, before taking a train back to Delhi and visiting the Red Fort. It was a crazy few days after the peace and calm of Satsanga and  I wouldn't do this again!

I'm already looking at dates to return to Satsanga and would go back next week if I could.  It truly is one of those magical gems that you find from time to time during your life and I'm grateful it's been in mine!

Thank you to all of you at Satsanga and to you beautiful Marigold ladies, and of course to Vicki for being child-helper extraordinaire on our adventures to Delhi and beyond. 

x

Namaste from incredible India!

We made it here in one piece, children and all, and are now on retreat at the beautifully peaceful Satsanga Retreat Centre in Goa. Here we're nourishing our souls and revitalising and rejuvenating our bodies and minds at the same time.

It’s a joy to practice yoga in the Shiva shala, swim in the refreshing pool, eat the most delicious vegetarian food (the raw cacao balls and masala chai with fresh coconut milk are especially divine), and be treated with such kindness and attentiveness by our Indian friends. 

We’ve been enjoying trips to the beaches and the markets and getting out of the comfort zone and experiencing a different pace of life. This is a fabulous place to retreat – my idea of yoga heaven!

Love and light.

x

The Glastonbury Yoga & Wellbeing Retreat

Wow what an incredible retreat! I know I’m biased, but I LOVED it! I love Glastonbury and I love Lower Coxbridge House, they’re two of my most favourite places in the world and I loved sharing them with nine amazing ladies who appreciated both.

Glastonbury is described as the heart chakra of the planet, and my heart certainly came alive. There’s ae magical energy in this part of the world what with the ley lines and that incredible light, so that you can’t help but feel that connection straight into Source.

Lower Coxbridge House, located three miles away from Glastonbury centre and with views of Glastonbury Tor is amazingly peaceful and healing. This time E, Elijah, Eben and I stayed in one of the three yurts with views of the Tor from the massive bed where we slept cuddled together enjoying the outdoors experience. I loved the opportunity to go feral, and Elijah certainly loved this too; no shoes, earth under our feet, showering in the outdoor showers with views of the Tor, standing naked in the sunshine, not a soul around to see you.

Then there were the evening stars, seeing the sliver of the waxing moon, witnessing the most stunning sunsets and evening skies, and a huge thunderstorm with sheet lightening and torrential rain overnight while we huddled in our yurts and those staying in the house looked on and saw out yurts lit by the lightening, as if they were a light themselves. The light and the love is pretty special at Lower Coxbridge House.

It’s a special spot designed and built with love. Roses spread their love through their petals in bud and fallen to the Earth, and the horses grazing in the field with a wisdom that you can sense in their eyes. You don’t really need to go anywhere else, surrounded by nature, you’re beautifully held by this magical space. The house itself is welcoming with its rustic charm, and time undoubtedly slows down.  

The yoga was ace.  I love yoga. I love teaching yoga and sharing yoga and I love doing this especially where the energy is so clean. With only nine ladies in the class there was plenty of opportunity for channelling Reiki to each of them while they practiced, and witnessing the tension drop away over the weekend as their inner Goddess shone a little brighter too.

Chanting the Gayatri Mantra along to Deva Premal’s rendition on her CD, “Embrace”, I had tears in my eyes as my heart opened with the memories of chanting this beautiful mantra in other places in the world with other beautiful souls and I was overcome with a deep sense of there being no time or space and deep gratitude too for all the teachers who have taught me and supported the yoga journey.

And as for Glastonbury, wow. E and I dipped semi-naked into the White Spring on the new moon, re-birthing, and again the next day naked this time with two friends, women together facing our fear of the cold and the darkness and laying ourselves bare. We trekked up the Tor twice and chilled in Chalice Wells drinking the iron water from the mouth of the Lion. We shopped for crystals, Elijah choosing them and their meaning appropriate as always.

The food on the retreat was sublime, prepared with love by Olga, a beautiful Spanish lady with a passion for raw food and its healing properties. Never has a dairy, gluten and refined sugar free chocolate “cheese” cake tasted so amazing, let alone the fresh juices served at breakfast and the yummy salads.

The Goddess was smiling on us in Glastonbury there is no doubt.  She was weaving her magic and bringing us home to ourselves. I gave thanks in the Goddess Temple before being drawn to Wildwood, a beautiful shop with a very strong energy, and in there I found myself a Goddess statue for my altar at home. She brings love and creativity, and reminds me to return.

I’m so grateful to the Goddess and to Glastonbury for helping my heart to heal and to the beautiful ladies for sharing with me and us flying as we did together, and to my little family for flowing with it and to Sarah for making it all possible, and Olga for nourishing us. I was inspired and enlivened by the whole experience and shall return again soon. It nourishes the soul. With love and gratitude. x 

Retreating at Lower Coxbridge House, Glastonbury

The view of Glastonbury Tor from Lower Coxbridge House

We love retreating here at Beinspired, it’s just such a marvellous way to slow things down, connect with nature and the natural flow of things and be reminded of the bigger picture, let alone deepen one’s yoga practice and potentially experience a more expanded and positive perspective on life. You may make a new friend too, which is great!

We came across the hidden gem that is otherwise known as Lower Coxbridge House near Glastonbury quite by chance last summer when I was google searching for yoga classes in Glastonbury. It kept coming up and intrigued me a little, so in October Ewan, Elijah and I went to stay for a few nights in the barn at the property.  We were instantly enchanted and realised that it would make the perfect place for a yoga retreat.  So 7 months later that’s exactly what happened, we held our first Beinspired Glastonbury yoga retreat. 

Here’s what we loved about retreating at Lower Coxbridge House near Glastonbury:

The peacefulness – it doesn’t take you long to recognise that this is a really special place and part of that reason is the fact it is just so peaceful, situated as it is in the Somerset countryside, three miles away from Glastonbury and with fabulous views of the infamous Tor. That’s not to say it is quiet necessarily, one of the neighbouring fields is filled with sheep and the birds can be very noise with their morning chorus, but it is peaceful nonetheless!

The countryside – I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, this is a beautiful spot right here in the Somerset countryside, surrounded by farms and fields, its tractor heaven actually, which was fab for my tractor loving son, he was in his element! Its stunning, especially for those of us from Guernsey who have don’t get to experience quite the extent of countryside as you do here.

Nature – oh yes, nestled in the Somerset countryside (there it is again!) far away from anyone else, you cannot help but connect with nature, what with the birds singing to welcome the morning, the sheep “baa-ing” in the fields, the stunning gardens with the rose arbour and the dappled fissured bark of the waving birch trees, the beautiful sunsets, the stunning views of countryside from the yoga space, the views of the Tor in the distance, the resident horse and little pony, more countryside, the night skies and the morning sunrise. Nature abounds here.

The yoga – it’s a beautiful space with Buddha, Ganesha and Shiva overseeing things, accommodating 11 students, 12 if you fancy a cosy class, so it makes for intimate and personal yoga sessions with lots of one to one attention and a little bit, ok quite a lot, of Reiki in the process! For me it was fab, and I believe the students enjoyed the sessions too, how could you not with the views of that wonderful countryside through the open doors and the sun warming the room!

The food – our very helpful and lovely chef Olga treated us to a veritable feast of yummy vegetarian food both cooked and raw.  Having worked for 10 years as the raw food expert at a reputable Spanish yoga centre, she’s passionate about quality vegetarian food using local, fresh and organic produce and it tastes good! The fresh juice each morning was out of this world, so too the home-made granola, the fresh fruit and the home-made almond milk, making breakfast my favourite meal of the day! At lunch we enjoyed falafels, a rocket salad and a home-made tahini dressing.  The evening meals involved a red pepper pate and home-made crackers the first night, followed by a yummy Moroccan tagine with prunes and butternut squash served with pomegranate couscous and finished with an almond tart.  The last night we enjoyed a tasty lentil and haloumi salad, cauliflower and leek risotto and the most scrummy sugar-free raw lemon cheesecake. Amazing!! Thank you Olga x

The yurts -  how can you not love the yurts.  Not that we got to stay in one but we’ve reserved one for next time because they looked so cosy and even with the sheep in the neighbouring fields (let’s face it, you could count them if you struggle to sleep!), those who stayed in the yurts slept blissfully. Another one is one its way (but that’s ours next year!).

The house – what a beautiful space, I definitely got house envy! Designed as the dream family home by Sarah and her architect husband 23 years ago and lived in as a family home for many years, Sarah is now slowly turning it into a dedicated yoga retreat centre, and with good reason, its ideal for retreating away from the world and yet retains its home-from-home and rustic feel, which makes it so special and so homely really. You’ll know exactly what I mean when you see the photos, let alone when you walk in the door.

Glastonbury – ok so its not for everyone and there’s a limit to how much time we can spend in the centre without Elijah getting wired on the crazy energy and me getting carried away with crystal shopping and Ewan getting “fed up with the tree hugging hippy fraternity” as he so eloquently puts it (clearly forgetting he works with trees and has a tree hugging hippy girlfriend and son!), but it’s a pretty cool place really and its got some pretty cool crystal shops, a fab health food store and an enchanting Indian shop in town.

Glastonbury Tor – so if you’re into energy and ley lines then you need to get yourself here.  Its great, it’s like a pilgrimage for us each time we visit town.  Ewan took the group up on Saturday afternoon but I didn’t manage to get there until the Sunday afternoon. On our visit Elijah and I got to witness a ceremony at the top with drumming and a lady’s haunting voice so that we were mesmerised – Ewan sat outside bemoaning the “tree hugging hippy fraternity” of course! It’s been recognised as a holy hill for millennia and the home of the King of the Fairies, you should really head up it if you get the chance, the views are incredible and the energy is something else.

Glastonbury Abbey – we all headed here on the Saturday morning to enjoy the 26 acres of parkland and the peaceful and tranquil ambiance. The Abbey is shrouded in mystery and legend, dating from 1,200 and sitting on one of the oldest Christian sites in England, King Arthur is believed to have been buried here.  It certainly has its own special healing energy and is quite some contrast from the energy of the town itself. It certainly complemented the retreat and deserves a picnic next time!

The sunshine – ok so we were just lucky but it was in the mid twenties on the Saturday, blissful in the gardens, what with the Somerset countryside and the birds and the peace and the tranquillity and that lovely yoga space and the food and the house, yes the sunshine just added an additionally lovely element to an already lovely weekend.

Sarah – the property owner, Sarah, who has been teaching yoga for over 20 years, is incredibly welcoming and delighted to be able to share her wonderful home with other yogis and yoginis. She really is a fabulous hostess and Elijah certainly enjoyed helping her out in the garden with his new digger. We’re really grateful that she let us come and stay even though she didn’t know us beforehand. Thank you Sarah x

So its perhaps not surprising that we are already looking forward to returning to Lower Coxbridge House from the 26th to 28th May 2017 for our second Glastonbury yoga retreat. We’re hoping to share the details in the Autumn and as spaces are so limited and as its such a special spot we won’t be taking any provisional bookings, but we’ll let you know when we’re about to release the details.

x

Herm Spring Yoga & Wellbeing Retreat 2016

Wow, what a magical weekend we have just enjoyed on the beautiful island of Herm for the annual Spring Beinspired Yoga & Wellbeing Retreat.  The weather was just perfect, bright sunshine and clear skies, which was an absolute blessing on an already blessed weekend!

The yoga took place in the conservatory of the White House Hotel with beautiful views of the sea and Guernsey in the distance, it was particularly fabulous for those of us who had the chance to witness the setting sun on Friday and Saturday evenings during class, let alone the little robin that kept popping up outside. 

Our mornings began early and a hardcore bunch of us, 8 on the Saturday and 7 on the Sunday, braved a swim in the sea at 7am.  It was a little cool to say the least but a fabulous way to wake us up with lots of laughter and some screaming and prepare us for the morning yoga class and indeed day ahead! 

The morning classes were active in nature and and I enjoyed witnessing all those amazing partnered backbends on the Saturday, and the room full of birds of paradise and crocodiles on the Sunday morning - well in mind if not in body!!  The Saturday afternoon restorative class was just that, an opportunity to consciously rest and restore after such active days - we were awash with pillows and props, it was very comfy indeed!!

I was impressed with those of you who joined JP and Debbi for the led run at 12pm on the Saturday and then went on to do the guided walk with Herm Guide, Lesley Bailey, on the Saturday afternoon and then had energy for the chanting and evening session! Some enjoyed the opportunity to chill out instead and I know many of you floated out of the treatment sessions with Hayley Le Marquand (holistic massage), Grace Galliott (reflexology) and Sean Harvey (Reiki), and others learned a little more about yourselves with Sophie Shand's food intolerance testing.

The Mermaid did us proud with the yummy vegetarian food, no doubt a welcomed break for many of us who cook for families on a daily basis, and even for those who don't.  I know not everyone is a fan of vegetarian food but hopefully the weekend showed that it can be rather filling and tasty, to say nothing of its energetic content, but don't get me started on that just now!

Sion and his team at the Hotel were as amazing as always, making us feel very welcome, with a roaring fire and clean, warm and tidy bedrooms, some with balconies and the most amazing views out to sea and across to Guernsey. Mum made sure the snacks were constantly available so no one went hungry although she over catered as usual so we have lots of yummy snacks to eat the next few days!

Personally I loved being able to share the joy of Herm and the joy of yoga with participants. There's something rather magical and uplifting about being on Herm, it's my favourite Island in the whole wide world, you just can't help feeling that little bit more connected to nature and it provides a massive opportunity to slow life right down and see the bigger picture again.

As for the yoga, well I just love sharing as much as I can in all the classes and to enjoy pranayama (breathing exercises), meditation, asana (postures), relaxation, Yoga Nidra (guided relaxation), restorative yoga and chanting.  its all optional, but this year everyone was very dedicated and clearly keen to depend their experience of yoga on and off the mat. 

The combination of Herm and retreating with yoga is not only healing and transformative but uplifting, energising, grounding and centring. Amazing!  I am quite sure that the attendees all returned to Guernsey yesterday in an expanded state of consciousness, so that things seemed lighter, brighter and clearer.  I have no doubt that they also felt a little bit more energised and calmer, stronger, centred and more open hearted than when they left Guernsey on Friday.  Its magical really.

I'm very grateful to all who joined me and gave so beautifully of themselves with their energy, humour and ability to just go with the flow of things.  Thank you.  x

[there are more photos on the Beinspired Yoga Facebook community page if you would like to have a look]x