Outdoors in the Burren.
Explore the Burren
The BurrenYoga weekends are not just about Yoga. They are as much about reconnecting to our inner nature through contact with the natural unspoilt surroundings in the Burren.
Many of us spend much of our time living in cities.
Many of us have quite hectic lives.
And much of our activities are very far removed from the natural lives humans have enjoyed for hundreds of thousands of years.... until quite recently.
It is mainly within the past 100 years that human lives in the Western world have changed so radically. Much activity in life is now related quite heavily to commercialism and consumerism.
One good thing about taking a whole weekend (or even better a week) to oneself at the Burren Yoga and Meditation Centre is that one is able to leave behind the fast pace of modern living and to allow oneself to return to the more natural environments which we have evolved to live with over hundreds of thousands of years.
And not surprisingly, our inner selves thrive within this natural environment.
Even if one did not practice Yoga or Meditation within the Burren, one would benefit greatly from the peace and tranquility which develops from within in such an environment.
Lough Bunny is a lake about 5 miles from the Burren Yoga & Meditation Centre.
"Is maith snamh san uisce. Agus athas mhor arais ar an rock"
It is crystal clear and most of the water is less than chest high, so it becomes quite warm in the Summer.
Lough Bunny is a great spot during the Summer months and ensures a good few laughs as well as an ideal spot for swimming in natural surrounds.
The water is very clean and is fed by a number of natural underwater springs.
The silence of the Burren. No cars. No tractors. No air craft.
Neti neti neti
The silence
And after a refreshing swim what better place to simply unwind and relax.
And then a short 10 minute drive back to the centre, the warm yoga room, with fresh incoming air, awaits
Oksana from the Ukraine enjoys the natural sunshine in the yoga room.
Granville balances on the dolmen outside the Burren Yoga and Meditation Centre
Postures which appear a little difficult on a flat yoga mat with no drop either side take on a very different role as the rough rock underfoot is neither flat not level.
5 miles away from the centre is the little picturesque village called Kinvara.
This is the English word placed on this village when the authorities changed the Gaelic "Cinn mhara" translated as 'head of the sea'.
'Cinn' or 'ceann' means head, and mhara means 'of the sea'.
The pier at Kinvara looks out onto DunDuaire Castle.
The pier brings a nice place for activity to this sleepy village of Kinvara.
And one never knows what one will see in Kinvara
Well ok, we are hardly going to see all the way over to the Aran Isalnds.....
but these islands are only a short ferry away on one of the 7 day summer courses.
The view when approaching the Aran Islands often brings to mind lots of mystery and surprises which are always in store.
From a distance the Cliffs of Moher don't look too high.
And yes, they are people standing on the overhand on the cliffs of Moher.
And what better way to see Galway Bay than from a Galway Bay traditional sailing boat called a Hooker.
These traditional sailing boats used to be used to haul turf from the mainland out to the Aran Islands and they still use hand held lines rather than using winches of most modern day yachts.
Hey, the boat pose!
Coircenroe Abbey is a nice peaceful spot and is an excellent place for photography.
The old abbey is a great subjec for a photograph and an interesting place to explore.
Conversations flow in this land of mystery.
The ancient reaches forth and touches the present.....
or does it really ... ?
And Kilmacdough tower is one of the most intact towers of this type in Ireland.
It's said there have been 7 churches here.
And these churches in times past have helped the people to 'see the light'.
The outdoor walks in the Burren gives people a chance to get to know each other, and a little more about ourselves.
The Burren Limestone sometimes looks like lava.
And in other places is almost flat enough for a tennis court.
Some of these large bounders were deposited by the glaciers which moved across the Burren millions of years ago.
The Burren is famous for its wide variety of wild flowers which do not exist together anywhere else in the world. These range from wild orchids to gentian violets below.
The best time for the wild flowers is from May to July.
Poulnabrone dolmen is the most famous Dolmens in the Burren. However these days often one sees tour buses at this location.
The best time to visit Poulnabrone is in the middle of the night with a full moon.
It produces an eerie reminder that one is standing beside a man made dolmen which is estimated to be at least 5,000 years old. That makes it older than the pyramids.
There are many more ancient sites in the Burren which the tour buses do not go near, and sometimes we visit these sites which are peaceful and rarely visited by anyone.
If you are interested in a special weekend visitng these sites, then please contact the centre with your ideas.
Standing beside this dolmen which was built over 5,000 years ago
i hope that we have learned to lead better fullfilling and happy lives
or at least i hope that we are looking for it
Horse riding in the Burren is a lovely way to get back to nature.
Mulloughmore in the background where the intended interpretive centre was to be built.
Climbing back down Mulloughmore. Hey did we really come up this way!
Walking back after the climb up Mulloughmore, many people's thoughts turn to Paddi's excellent vegetarian cooking. No doubt she will have a feast waiting for us when we get back. ;-)
And swimming with the dolphin at Fanore is always great fun.
Hey not many dolphins let you get this close.
Lough Bunny is a place of peacefullness and bliss.
I wouldn't say that the Burren is paradise, but definitely this environment helps us to slip into a world which is more conducive to happy thoughs and feelings.
What better place than the top of Mulloughmore to have a chat.
Or sitting in the patio at BurrenYoga.
Coircenroe Abbey is a beautiful ruined abbey which is about 5 miles from the Burren Yoga and Meditation Centre.
This is a great place for taking photographs and also an interesting place to explore.
Kilmacduagh is in the other direction from the centre, and is about 5 miles from the centre.
It has a beautiful round tower which is one of the most intact in Ireland.
Poulnabrone dolmen is near Carron village and about 15 miles from the centre.
Many archiologiests claim this is a burial tomb because they found a few bodies buried nearby. But there is also a belief that these dolmens were possibly used as ritual places rather than burial tombs.
And that later settlers a couple of thousand years after their enception, were unaware of their intended use, and used them to bury their dead.
This is more like the wedge tombs and possibly was built as a burial site.
This one is a typical wedge tomb.
And yet another wedge tomb.
Our outdoor walks are not like a hill climbing club which rushes up the hill hardly taking the time to stop and rest.
Most of our walks could be better describes as strolls in nature, taking time to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings.
Depending on the group, some of our walks are more challanging and can last for 2 or 3 hours.
This group was a young mixed group and we enjoyed a nice climb up Mulloughmore mountain.
This is the view from the Burren Yoga and Meditation Centre patio doors upstairs.
The hill just outside the centre is called Sliabh Carron and takes about 40 minutes to climb to the top.
One nevers knows what will happen during one of our adventures in the Burren.
This day we had just finished our swim with the dolphin, and as one of the girls was getting dressed, this over friendly pony tried to pull her clothes off.
Although this day was overcast, it was quite warm, and the blasts of sunshine felt great during our hill climb.
Granville and the rest of the group trying some outdoor yoga near Black head overlooking the Atlantic ocean.
Its nice walking on the flatter rock after the climb up from sea level.
At the top is a stone fort which is a few hundred years old.
We chilled out inside the walls of the fort before setting off on ur walk back down the hill.
The wild goats wander the hiils of the Burren and we were quite lucky to get so close to this big herd.
Coming down the hill one needs to take care, and it is a good idea to bring walking boots as these help protect one's ankles.
Some of the walks we take are quite easy, and this one is mainly along one of the tracks which run alongside Black Head.
This is the top of Abbey hill which is about 2 miles from the centre.
The exhilaration one feels on some of these courses can make one feel one is on top of the world.
But in the Burren, one can always go higher ;-)
Hey, this feels good ;-)
The two Davids from Canada who teach Partner yoga and Ashtanga in July enjoy some fun and games.
Fanore beach is about 30 minutes drive from the centre, and we often go swimming here during the Summer.
A little further along the coast from Fanore beach is where Mara the wild solo dolphin spends her days.
Its an amazing sight to see Mara swimming in the sea waiting for swimmers to come join her for fun and games.
A little more inland near Carron village, are short walks to Cairns and Tombs, dolmens and forts.
Some of the structures built from the rock are not so ancient and make a nice place to sit down and daydream.
The green roads through the Burren are mainly used by walkers. However, this part of the world is very uninhabiated, and often we don't come across another human being during our walks in the wild.
Looking out from Black Head lighthouse, one can see the 3 Aran Islands which are about 4 miles off shore from Dolin. And to the right, one can see in the distance the 12 Pins of the Connemara hills.
Closer to the centre (about 5 miles from the centre) is Kilmacduagh which was an old monastery and has one of the finest ramaining stone towers in Ireland.
The walk by the sea in the late evening is a lovely way to finish off another magical day on one of the yoga courses at the Burren Yoga and Mediation Centre.
July and August is the best time for butterflies, dragon flies, and some other prehistoric looking green beatles.
And one great thing about a yoga holiday in Ireland is that you are not pestered by mosquitoes, and other biting insects that one puts up with in other paets of the world.
The Burren is a very dry location and we are lucky not to have midges or other small flies either.
So this is where Father Ted's house is.
How do they make it look like it is on Craggy Isalnd instead of where it really is, in the heart of the Burren?
Even the cows love to go hill walking here ;-)
The easy climbs which take between 20 and 40 minutes to get to the top of many of these hills, provide breath-taking scenery that just cannot be captured by camera.
The the shapes of these hills often lead people to say that it looks like the moon!
