Retreating to move forward

For me breaking my routine and going away for a short holiday has become an essential part of life. It recharges me, reignites me and wakes me up to the possibilities that exist beyond my everyday existence. It shifts my focus to the big picture and lets me return to my routine excited and energised, with new perspective and enthusiasm.

It also means I can concentrate on my yoga practice and give it more space to affect me. This is the beauty of going away on retreat, it allows us the luxury of space and time around our yoga practice to process the things that come up and let the energy fly!

                                I found this recently in a box of old photos. It was taken many 
                         years ago in Rishikesh where BKS Iyengar was teaching in a 
                         tent on the banks of the Ganges. These senior Iyengar yoga 
                         teachers from around the world were giving a demonstration. 
                         It made me feel nostalgic too, for India and the luxury of 
                         spending six hours a day doing yoga!

I especially love doing yoga surrounded by nature because it takes me out of my head and into my animal body, feeling the heat and the breeze and smelling the earth. It is liberating to do yoga in the warmth with the vigour of a tropical vine and revitalise afterwards with a swim in the ocean.

I have been coming up to Yeppoon from Sydney for more than 30 years now because some of my family live here. I find it the perfect antidote to Sydney. That’s why I started offering yoga retreats up here at The Haven in Emu Park, to share my Queensland experience with my Sydney students.

Yoga retreats work on different levels for practitioners at different stages. In the beginning, it’s just great for people to connect with themselves and their yoga away from the distractions of normal life. As we practice more, it can be great to go on retreat to deepen our experience by working more intensely into the asanas and giving ourselves the space to process whatever comes up. Often a deep yoga practice can unsettle us and bring up anger or other emotions that are difficult to deal with when you’re busy trying to get the kids to school or yourself to work. A yoga retreat lets us deal with this stuff without having to worry about any of the consequences of taking it out on the people around us!

As one of the participants at my last retreat said “My partner always encourages me to go on retreat because he knows I’ll come back a happier person, easier to live with!”

I think going on retreat is like getting to the heart of whatever may be disturbing or inspiring us, and looking at it so we can function optimally and continue to grow and flower like a healthy and luxuriant tropical plant.