Gentle yoga suitable for all
A gentle Yoga weekend introducing Yoga to beginners.
Some people had previous Yoga experience and wanted a gentle relaxing weekend. One of the participants was a Yoga teacher herself.
This weekend conssited of Satyananda Yoga which begins quite gently and uses breath awareness and inner focus throughout the classes.
The group of 11 particpants arrived between 6:00 and 7:00 PM on Friday and settled themselves into their dorms.
The food was described as excellent "Delicious food, friendly atmosphere, scenic views, relaxing Yoga... what more could a person want. A Very benificial weekend. Looking forward to coming back" wrote Geraldine in the visitors book.
From 9:00 - 10:00 PM we had a gentle Yoga class led by Dave Brocklebank consisiting of an introduction to breathwork, a few gentle loosening out postures and a Yoga Nidra (deep relaxation).
Early to bed on the Friday night.
On Saturday morning the group was called at 6:40 in order to be in the Yoga room for the 7:00 AM start.
From 7:00 - 8:00 AM we had a gentle class with Dave of Breathwork followed by an introduction to meditation and a short meditation practice.
At 8:15 we had an introduction to many gentle releasing postures by Mary Arnshaw.
The class also included some of the postures which make up Surya Namaskara (The Sun Salutation sequence).
The group was made up of 9 women and two men. The postures were taught in an easy relaxed manner, and the class was guided so that one's awareness was guided inwards helping us get in touch with our breath, any feelings or sensations within our bodies and helping to calm the mind and stay present and focused with what we were doing.
After the morning class we had brunch and some time to get ready for our outdoor walk. The sky was mixed but we set off towards Mulloughmore Hill (where they wanted to build the interpretive centre). The journey took about 20 minutes by car.
The group walked over the pavement limestone rocks of the Burren, and couldn't help but marvel at the rock formations under foot, and the spectacolour shapes of the hills.
We were lucky with the weather (huge storms last night and wide spread flooding in many parts of the West coast and Dublin), as it stayed dry and relatively mild for the walk.
We arrived back to the centre about 1:30 PM while Paddi (formerly of Seventh Heaven restuarant) was busily preparing another light lunch of really taste vegetarian food.
The class in the afternoon was led by Dave and the remaining postures of Surya Namaskara were taught. This class was a fair bit stronger than the mornings class and most of the participants felt like they had exerted themselves a fair amount while still maintaining the inner awareness and focus which is characteristic of Satayananda Yoga.
After the afternoon's class we had some free time before Paddi served us with another meal of exotic vegetarian food. The food tasted great but was not heavy, and left us feeling energised. The home made cheese cake for desert left us all with a nice satisfied feeling after the meal. ;-)
Mary led the evening relaxation class between 8:30 - 9:30 PM.
More lying down ;-)
Again most people went early to bed, although a few stayed up chatting.
Sunday morning started with the usual 7:00 - 8:00 AM Breathwork and meditation by Dave.
As the day brightened we discovered that there had been a heavy snow fall (very unusual for the Burren Area) and the house was surrounded by snow which was still falling.
After this we had Jala Neti which is one of the traditional cleansing practices of Yoga. It consisted of cleansing the nasal tract with warm salty water using special Jali neti pots. The group were quite surprised at how easy the procedure was. A few commented on the really clear feeling in the nose afterwards, and the ease of breathing.
From 8:30 - 9:30 we had another slightly stronger class with Dave. The feeling after this class was a feeling of being exergised, clear-headedness and full of life.
After brunch a few people ventured out in the snow for some fresh air.
Mary taught the class between 11:30 - 13:00 which consisted on more relaxing poses and further gentle loosening up.
All in all, a very enjoyable weekend and the group finished with lunch at 13:00.
Comments from the group;
"Great classes, great group, great food - an excellent weeeknd" Maura
"Thanks. Had a great weeeknd. Everything was excellent" Nessa
Thanks Dave for a wondeful weekend. Will certainly try to take it back" Margaret
"I hate writing in these - as it never does the experience justice - but - when something deserves praise!!!
Had a great weekend. Everything was simple and real, just what i needed. By the way.... we wouldn't have enjoyed the food as much without the hours of Yoga! " Aoife
"Great Yoga, Great Food. Lovely Scenery. Would love to return" Paul
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