When I say “One-Day Yoga Retreat”, what does that conjure up for you?
Perhaps you visualise a full day of downward dogs and chanting?
Maybe you imagine a room full of advanced yoga experts* bending themselves into funny shapes.
Or you might be filled with guilt. Guilt at the thought of spending an entire day on yourself, away from all those important things that need to get done.
Whichever one of those applies to you – I get it. I’ve actually experienced all three of those myself.
So I’m here to bust any myths, and give you the low-down on what a One-Day Yoga Retreat is really all about.
First up – let’s cover off what it isn’t about…
- My One-Day Yoga retreats are not just for advanced yoga experts*.
- We might do one downward dog… but then again, we might not.
- I’ll give you the opportunity to chant Om a couple of times – but whether you join in is up to you.
- We don’t just lie around self-indulgently doing nothing. Instead, we are engaging in the important activity of putting ourselves first for once!
OK, so tell me, what is involved?
Good question, I am glad you asked!
We start the day with a juice (ingredients picked from the garden, subject to season and my gardening prowess!) and a little chat around the fire pit. Maybe we’ll close our eyes and listen to the sounds of nature around us – the first step in slowing everything down.
Then, we step down to the studio and begin with some relaxation and breathing exercises. And we follow that up with some very gentle hatha yoga.
Before we know it, it’s time for lunch. Again, depending on the season and my gardening abilities, it might be freshly picked from the garden. If not, it’s fresh from the local organic shop and prepared that morning by one of my helpers.
You can eat lunch on one of the decks overlooking Pittwater. Or seated amongst the growing veggies. Perhaps you prefer to take yours down to the beach. You choose…
We have some free time (beach, read, relax, chat).
And then we start to really get into the business of slowing down and relaxing. We indulge ourselves in some Forest Bathing (a silent walk through the spotted gum forest).
By now, your nervous system is really beginning to get the message that you are safe. That you can let go, and that everything is going to be ok…
Finally, we’re back to the studio for an hour of delicious yin yoga. PLUS a sleep-based meditation (yoga nidra) and a healing and vibrational sound bath.
(What’s a sound bath? Simple – you lie down, I swing chimes over your body until you are floating on air).
By this point, you are practically melting with relaxation, so we finish with an afternoon tea and wrap the whole day up.
What if I’m not good enough?
There’s actually no such thing as being good at yoga, you know. There’s just yoga.
But I get that you might be a little nervous – so hopefully this might make you feel better.
The most taxing thing we will do all day is walk up and down the steps to the studio. It’s around 50 steps from the Owl Door (front gate) to the studio. If you can get down 50 steps, then everything after that is going to be a breeze!
Our focus is on learning how to signal to your nervous system that you are ok. That it can stop pumping stress hormones around your body. On remembering what’s really important in life, and how to prioritise that when you go back out into the world.
As one of my participants once said:
A One-Day Yoga Retreat with Claire is a very necessary luxury.
I implore you to give it a go…
* There is no such thing as a yoga expert, you know!
