20
Feb, 2023
Samahita yoga retreat, image of pool overlooking the beach

7 Reasons to go on a Yoga retreat

You might have heard about a Yoga retreat and wondered if it is for you.

Perhaps you are not sure whether it would be too spartan? You are thinking

‘Will I have to start the day at 5am?’

And

‘Will the place have decent amenities?’

And worse, you are wondering 

‘Will I have access to a decent coffee?!’

Or maybe you think you are not experienced enough at Yoga and Meditation to attend such a retreat … something has sparked your interest, but you are not sure whether you are good enough or fit enough yet to commit to everything on offer.

And also importantly, you are wondering whether you will get any free time?

If you have any of these questions, you’ll have nothing to worry about with Danni’s and my upcoming retreat to Samahita on Koh Samui, Thailand.

Here are some of my observations on attending (as both a student and leader) many Yoga retreats over more than 20 years. This includes retreats to Mission Beach, Thailand, France, Byron Bay, India, Tasmania and other parts of Victoria:

1. More time to focus completely on yoga and meditation practice

Personally, I have had some of my most powerful meditation experiences.

Perhaps the discipline of daily yoga and meditation has enabled a mental slowing down and allowed this more fruitful inner exploration?

There is time to really tune in to that inner knowing.

Not to mention the opportunity to support physical wellbeing with daily asana – I usually learn something new about my self and my practice.

2. I love settling into the rhythm of nature

The discipline of group Meditation as the sun rises and sets, hearing the sounds, seeing the sights, smelling the smells. The daily rhythm has a discipline about it that is supportive and nurturing.

3. I love the relaxed pace

I love being away from the daily responsibilities, and how that leaves time to explore and focus. And not being attached to electronic devices. Not having to get back to the daily grind makes it a complete break.

While we have plenty on offer on our retreats, there is always plenty of unstructured time as well.

This of course is especially beneficial if you need to release stress and unwind.

4. Delicious and nutritious food

And I don’t have to prepare or cook any of it!

Retreats generally have fabulous food and Samahita takes it completely to another level with a focus on health and wellbeing. Food intolerances are of course taken into account too.

5. Other wellness activities

Retreats can also be a chance to pamper yourself with other nurturing treatments and activities to support wellbeing.

Our retreat centre in Koh Samui has a wellness centre with massage and other treatments available, and the beach and pool await too.

6. I emerge feeling strong, healthy and rested

I love the daily asana practice and walking – somehow I emerge from retreat feeling strong and yet also rested. Asana practice on retreat is usually a more dynamic practice in the morning and a restorative or meditative practice later in the afternoon. There are always enough options to suit beginners as well as more experienced practitioners.

7. Yogic/life wisdom

I love the access to Yoga wisdom from experienced teachers. If you want to ask questions and delve further whether it is about living a yogic life, a particular situation or how to develop your asana, you can. Or you can just let it all wash over you. It is your retreat to do what is right for you.

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So there you have it, 7 great reasons to attend a yoga retreat!

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Maybe you have thought ‘Wow that looks great, I must get around to that sometime.’

But the time has never been quite right. I have never met anyone who has regretted going on a yoga retreat!

And not only not regretted it, it is much more likely one of the best things you ever do for yourself.

>> Thinking about going on a Yoga retreat? Maybe now is the time to GO!!

For more information about our upcoming retreat to Thailand: https://classicalyoga.com.au/samahitaretreat/

16
Feb, 2022
finding freedom in everyday life

YOU are the only one who can free yourself

Yes a teacher might point you in the right direction.

But unless you do the work yourself, you probably wont get to experience the wonderful state of freedom that is available for you.

The wonderful state of bliss and connection that comes from dropping back from the busy mind.

The state of yoga that is your birthright.

This is something that takes work to realise, it certainly isn’t immediately obvious, is it?

To see the mind for what it can do and what it can’t do.

To practice being still and dropping away from the mental drama so as to experience the bliss and Shakti of being.

It is wonderful to have a mind and we use the mind in so many ways to make our way in life.

We get so familiar with it that we mistakenly think that we are the mind and that the mind is somehow what defines us.

Our work is to free ourselves from the trap of the mind.

The trap of the ego.

The trap of the mind-developed sense of self.

As this card suggests that you contemplate, you are the only one that can do that for yourself.

When you do, what is left is experience of inner freedom and bliss. Of perspective. We realise the Self as one big connected being.

We are the droplet in the ocean, so we are the ocean itself.

Freeing yourself is the work of yoga.

Oh, and when you truly get that, guess what? Then there is more work!

Feeling free within in a big step.

And then life goes on and continues to require actions, responses, interactions and so on. If you take the time and effort to keep noticing (and not just float around in your newfound bliss bubble) you will observe that life still has its ups and downs. You can observe yourself interacting. You see the effect of your interactions.  You can observe your mind chatting.

Perhaps you have a new compassion for yourself and for others.

***

Much more meaning than is teased out here can be taken from these cards, this is just a starting point.

You can purchase your own set of these ‘Yoga off the mat, contemplations to enrich your practice’ cards from the store HERE.

The gorgeous original picture on the front of each card is by Gayle Stone Art.

*If you are interested in experiencing more inner freedom in your life, then my online course Fluff-free freedom might be just perfect for you. Find out more HERE

15
May, 2021
inner freedom is possible

Use your talents and skills, and also experience your divine nature

We all have skills and talents. Things we like to do and things we are good at.

Perhaps you know what your skills and talents are. Or perhaps you think yours are nothing special, but if you consider your experiences leading to this point, then yes they really do make a unique set!

Maybe also there is something that you want to do, something that has been nudging at you to come to life.

Are you talented at or curious about music, art, accounting, organizing, motivating, singing, creating, engineering, story-telling, IT, yoga teaching, meditation teaching, sharing mindfulness, teaching stress-management, gardening or whatever combination of these and other things you bring to your life?

For me what this card is saying is that while we do the work that we bring to the world, we can also experience our state of inner freedom, our divine nature.

These are not mutually exclusive. We are not divine only every now and then, or only while we are sitting in meditation. There is nothing in our world and our life that is not divine, that is not connected and a part of the whole.

So perhaps we don’t have to run away from our life to experience the bliss of being, or to experience our divinity, our inner freedom?

Whether we are zen on the mat or caught up in an argument, whether we are out in nature or doing our work, this is life and all of life is divine.

Does this mean that life always feels blissful?

Sometimes it takes being fully immersed in our creativity to find our bliss. We find ourselves in the flow and the work pours out of us. But I think we can also experience inner freedom and bliss in doing the dishes. Not if we are grumpy about doing the dishes, and probably not if we are rushing and trying to be super efficient either! But if we simply go about our day, we can do it with presence and awareness, rather than being on autopilot without such awareness. We can practice moment-to-moment awareness, and moment-to-moment inner freedom and divinity.

What have you been doing when you were just going about life doing your thing with your unique set of skills and talents, and have felt the experience of divinity, your divine nature? I’d really love to know if inner freedom is a more or less constant experience for you, whatever you are doing, or even if you think that is possible.

Much more meaning than is teased out here can be taken from these cards, this is just a starting point.

You can purchase your own set of these ‘Yoga off the mat, contemplations to enrich your practice’ cards from the store HERE and postage is free in Australia. They make a perfect gift too.

The gorgeous original picture on the front of each card is by Gayle Stone Art.

*If you are interested in the possibility of experiencing more inner freedom in your life, then my online course Fluff-free freedom might be just perfect for you. Find out more HERE

17
Nov, 2020
Yoga off the mat contemplation cards to inspire your practice

Find the bliss and freedom that is dancing and sparkling within

You may or may not believe that every cell in your body is alive with prana, with subtle energy, as well as the oxygen required for cellular respiration.

In her book ‘My stroke of insight’ Jill Bolte Taylor calls her cells her ‘girls’. She talks to them and encourages them. She has a unique insight due to her stroke and subsequent recovery.

In fact what you believe doesn’t really matter, it is the experience that matters.

You really can experience the inner bliss and freedom that yoga talks about and offers.

Maybe you have been fortunate enough to experience this in your meditation practice or at some other time, or maybe not. I can’t put myself into your body, but I’m pretty sure that this experience of bliss is available to all serious meditators at some point.

We soon realize that we can’t make these blissful experiences happen, but we can set up the circumstances and be willing to drop back and surrender to the experience.

I think dropping back or letting go is probably the hardest part of the meditation journey for many of us.

We just get a tiny taste of something that feels still and expansive and the mind jumps right back in. Have you experienced that?

Perhaps it takes a degree of courage to let go? A strong mind to let go of the mind?

The mind does not like to be let go of! It can’t know the experience that we have when it is dropped. But really, when you finally do manage to let go and drop away from the mind, that is when the magic happens. That is when we really do experience the feeling of bliss.

A feeling of love, a feeling of being peaceful and expansive …I do encourage you to find this out for yourself.

A place from where you can witness without having to be drawn in. You can see the mind but not have to take it so seriously. See it for what it can do, but see also that there is a watching aspect that is the observer of the thoughts.

Drop back, let go, find this inner place of observing and it really will change your experience of life.

Please share your experiences!

Much more meaning than is teased out here can be taken from these cards, this is just a start. I’d love your feedback and look out for my blog about the next card soon.

You can purchase your own set of these ‘Yoga off the mat, contemplations to enrich your practice’ cards from the store HERE and postage is free in Australia. They make a perfect gift too.

The gorgeous original picture on the front of each card is by Gayle Stone Art.

1
Jul, 2020
Yoga off the mat contemplation cards to inspire your practice

Surrender doesn’t mean no discipline or no passion

The practice of surrender truly is a practice of yoga that can awaken us to the experience of profound inner freedom. I really have found that it is.

I know that word ‘surrender’ can sound scary but really it isn’t at all.

It is true acceptance and okay-ness right here and now. And it doesn’t mean nothing will change.

The practice of surrender has helped me a lot in living my life. Find somewhere safe and quiet and practice surrendering your thoughts. Let them go, drop back from them. Stick at it regularly and there you will find love and bliss.

Not thoughts about love and bliss, but a no-thought state where the experience is one of love and bliss and inner freedom.

The Yoga Sutras talk about the practice of Isvara pranidhana, surrender to God, or to a greater power, or to the Universe, or a higher source. Isvara pranidhana is one of the 5 Niyamas or inner observances to practice on a path to experiencing the freedom that yoga offers. There is nothing that you have to believe though, simply practice surrendering to what is.

Surrendering into stillness, into flow, into a state of profound quiet and bliss and love does not mean we have no agency over the way we live our life.

Surrendering to what is right now does not mean we can’t work towards changing things for the future.

It does not mean we don’t have any discipline in life.

Actually it takes a certain amount of discipline, ironically a level of focus and strength of mind, to be willing and able to let the thoughts go.

To drop back from the mind that always wants to know and control. Practicing surrender to simply ‘what is’ does not mean we become a doormat because things are going to unfold anyway. In this context it does not mean flying the white flag.

We do have choice and practicing surrender doesn’t negate choice.

It doesn’t negate using the gifts we have.

Practicing surrender also doesn’t mean there is no point in being passionate if there are things you are passionate about. If you passionately work towards something and that thing doesn’t work out, practice being okay with that. On the other hand, perhaps that thing does work out.

Surrender to being okay whatever the outcome, but follow the passion anyway.

Much more meaning than is teased out here can be taken from these cards, this is just a start. I’d love your feedback and look out for my blog about the next card soon.

You can purchase your own set of these ‘Yoga off the mat, contemplations to enrich your practice’ cards from the store HERE and postage is free in Australia. They make a perfect gift too.

The gorgeous original picture on the front of each card is by Gayle Stone Art.

10
Jun, 2020
Yoga off the mat contemplation cards to inspire your practice

Use your talents and skills, and also experience your divine nature.

We all have skills and talents.

Perhaps you think you have nothing special but if you consider your experiences leading to this point then they make a unique set!

Maybe also there is something that you want to do. Something that has been nudging at you to come to life.

Are you talented at music, art, accounting, organizing, motivating, singing, creating, engineering, story-telling, IT, yoga teaching, meditation teaching, sharing mindfulness, teaching stress-management, gardening or whatever combination of these and other things you bring to your life?

While you do the work that you bring to the world, you can also experience your divine nature.

They are not mutually exclusive.

It is so cool that you don’t have to run away from your life to experience the bliss of being or to experience your divinity.

To experience one-ness, connection and a state of flow.

Sometimes it takes being fully immersed in our creativity to find our bliss. We find ourselves in the flow and the work pours out of us.

We can also experience inner freedom and bliss in doing the dishes. Not if we are grumpy about doing the dishes. Probably not if we are rushing and trying to be super efficient either.

But if we simply go about our day we can do it with presence and awareness, rather than being on autopilot without such awareness.

What have you been doing when you have experienced your divine nature? I’d love to know!

Much more meaning than is teased out here can be taken from these cards, this is just a start. I’d love your feedback and look out for my blog about the next card soon.

You can purchase your own set of these ‘Yoga off the mat, contemplations to enrich your practice’ cards from the store HERE and postage is free in Australia. They make a perfect gift too.

The gorgeous original picture on the front of each card is by Gayle Stone Art.

12
Mar, 2020
Yoga off the mat contemplation cards to inspire your practice

Can you live the mystery rather than trying to manage life?

Do you usually live a very predictable life? Do you try and control as many aspects of it as you can? Dotting all those ‘I’s and crossing all those ‘T’s so to speak?

Rather than attempting to control every aspect of life, what would it feel like to be open to the idea that everything can’t be controlled, and that we really don’t know what is around the corner?

Can you be open to the mystery, the unknown?

Meditation can be a great help.

There is a difference between going into panic mode about catching the Novel Corona virus COVID-19 and taking sensible precautions.

We do what we can, and for me, as well as hygiene measures, it also includes taking the time to practice yoga and meditation at home in Mordialloc and eating well so as to stay as well as I can.

When we let go into meditation, we are dropping all that control and surrendering to the unknown.

It is unknown because we are dropping back from the mind that knows.

Aaaah, bliss, the mystery, the great abyss of peace. Life’s inner mystery might be more real than any idea in your head!

It is true that right now we are in uncertain times. As well as the opportunity that meditation offers us to drop into a blissful state, I think that knowing how to reduce stress with yoga and meditation and regulate your own nervous system is so helpful.

We have a great opportunity to slow down our own nervous systems and help to reduce the state of heightened anxiety and nervousness that surrounds us.

This yogic contemplation is about being OK with the twists and turns that life takes. And it is also about not being so attached to outcomes. We can do the work we do and by all means have goals, but perhaps we can still be okay if the path swerves a little or a lot and the work no longer leads to those goals.

Don’t live small and controlled, micromanaging every second. Be open to the mystery!

Much more meaning than is teased out here can be taken from these cards, this is just a start. I’d love your feedback and look out for my blog about the next card soon.

You can purchase your own set of these ‘Yoga off the mat, contemplations to enrich your practice’ cards from the store HERE and postage is free in Australia. They make a perfect gift too.

The gorgeous original picture on the front of each card is by Gayle Stone Art.

25
Feb, 2020

Freedom and happiness are not reserved only for special people

I picked this card in class today. It reminded me that our attitude to the experience of life makes a big difference.

I remember that after I had been meditating for a while and also exploring Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras with Mataji (Swami Shantananda) at some point I realized that while my life didn’t really look that different on the outside, my inner experience was forever changed.

I no longer asked myself questions such as:

What is life about?

What am I doing with my life?

Why am I here?

Why are we all here?

How do I want to be remembered?

What does it all mean?

It is not that I necessarily had the answers, just simply that something had shifted inside and these questions were no longer burning as they had been.

I had come to a place of inner joy and okay-ness, an acceptance of things.

So what changed? And why do I think we can all access this inner freedom?

I realized that life had a sort of flow and surrendered to something greater than the little ‘me’. When I really surrendered I felt inner bliss. And still do. There was a realisation that even though I had a degree of agency and choice, I also could relax into the flow.

Aaah.

It is not as though life didn’t and doesn’t have its ups and downs, but an inner sense of okay-ness is there anyway.

If that is something that an ordinary Medical Scientist turned Yoga and Meditation teacher living in suburban Melbourne can come to, then I have absolutely no doubt that this is available for you too. Take a look and see for yourself.

Much more meaning than is teased out here can be taken from these cards, this is just a start. I’d love your feedback!

You can purchase your own set of these contemplation cards from the store HERE and also my book Yoga off the mat, freedom in everyday life HERE and postage is free in Australia.

The gorgeous original picture on the front of each card is by Gayle Stone Art.