This past weekend I was fortunate enough to head to Sahayoga Retreat Centre in Prince Edward County to experience my first yoga retreat with instructor, Carol Prentice and 17 other beautiful women.  I have always wanted to indulge in a 3+ day yoga retreat and now that I have taken the plunge in committing to my first, I am now hooked on making them a yearly ritual!

On Friday afternoon we arrived at the retreat centre to begin 3 days of unplugging from the rest of our busy world and experiencing a new environment with an open mind.  On the first night we all settled in to the beautiful retreat home, 3-4 people per room, meeting women from all areas of Ontario who came with similar intentions of capturing peace and relaxation.  We started off with a yoga session in the beautiful spacious studio to loosen up from the long drive to the wilderness.  Following the first yoga class, we were blessed with a delicious vegetarian dinner which was just phenomenal!  Veggie pasta, curried squash soup, spinach salad and fresh whole grain bread – followed by a scrumptious fruit crumble!  One thing I was introduced to for the first time was Karma Yoga – one of the four pillars of yoga, focusing on the adherence to duty while remaining detached from the reward.  After each meal, a number of people were in charge of taking care of the kitchen clean up to practice this form of yoga, making it a true ‘yogic’ weekend!

Something that I have been gradually incorporating into my life is daily meditation and I was grateful when Carol introduced us to 2 forms of meditation in an introduction workshop the first evening.  We were taught about ‘mindful eating’, as opposed to mindless eating – something we never really think to do because we’re all in such a mad rush most days to finish our meals and get on to the next task in life.  I too am guilty of often forgetting to stop and observe the food, taste the food and truly experience all that it has to offer allowing it to nourish our bodies.  The other activity was on candle meditation, which is the practice of training the mind to be in the moment, focusing just on the candle; a great way to calm the mind and tune into your inner self and escape the busy world.  Going to bed that night, I felt settled into the idea of experiencing all that this type of retreat had to offer and was able to feel unplugged from the rest of the world and ready to indulge in all that was available in this type of place.

The second day was sort of like a transition phase into living and experiencing yoga and the present moment.  Choosing to be entirely in the place of peace, relaxation and centeredness brings new awareness and meaning to living!  Starting the day with a morning yoga session we built up an appetite for the delicious breakfast that followed.  We were then given free time to just be and embrace the feeling of being bored, which so many people in today’s busy world forget to do or even enjoy when it is found.  I was fortunate to experience an infrared sauna for the first time ever which produces radiant energy to increase your core temperature enough to create an excellent detox for the body.  It was highly enjoyable to spend the early part of the day just embracing the present moment, enjoying the company of other peaceful women in such a natural environment.

In the afternoon Carol took us through a fabulous workshop on the practice of Emotional Freedom Technique (E.F.T.), an emotional, needle free version of acupuncture that is based on new discoveries regarding the connection between your body’s subtle energies, your emotions, and your health.  Something that each of us found very helpful and simply to incorporate into our daily go-about.  Following the afternoon workshop we ventured into a more relaxing yoga session focusing on gratitude and love towards the body.  Feeling relaxed, centered and at peace within allowed the waves of gratitude to pour over me in full force during Shavasana (relaxation).  Expressing gratitude is something many people forget to do on a daily basis, causing us to move forward in life making it “all about me”.  One thing I now commit to is writing a “gratitude journal” each night to list the things that day which I feel thankful for.  By being open and showing gratitude, we naturally create more space in our life to receive the greater things we desire.

The evening workshop Carol took us through was on “How to be happy now” using the Ho’oponopono technique, an ancient Hawaiian code of forgiveness, used to correct the things that “go wrong” in a person’s life.  Simply put, Ho’oponopono means, “to make right,” or “to rectify an error.”  According to the ancient Hawaiians, error arises from thoughts that are tainted by painful memories form the past and the subconscious mind.  Ho’oponopono offers a way to release the energy of these painful thoughts, or errors, which cause imbalance and negative experiences.  It was a great activity to take home that can simply be incorporated into the daily routine to overcome stress.

The last day was opened with a morning yoga session, followed by a delicious breakfast of hot oatmeal, buckwheat pancakes and fruit salad.  We chose to enjoy our breakfast in silence to practice the mindful eating Carol taught us on the first night.  It was amazing how much many of us got out of the experience and much better the food tasted as a result!  The food we were served for the weekend was something definitely worth raving about!  I think I brought home about 3 different recipes from the delicious meals we ate.

Taking the time out of our busy lives to truly indulge in some “me time” is something that many people forget to do on a regular basis.  Something this weekend made me realize is that if we don’t take time to give to ourselves, how will we ever have enough to give to others?  It was a wonderful weekend experience tapping into my favorite form of physical activity, connecting with nature in a new environment and meeting many beautiful women whom I hope to meet again in this journey through life.  Thanks to Sahayoga for providing such a beautiful sanctuary for this type of retreat and to Carol Prentice for guiding us through a peaceful journey to self-centeredness and gratitude.

To learn more about Carol Prentice’s yoga retreats visit her website: www.carol-prentice.com

To learn more about other references in this post go to:
www.sahayoga.com
www.emofree.com
www.pec.on.ca