🪷Reset🪷

🪷 RESET🪷

Welcome back Gen-x-ers... This week's post is a little different from previous blogs, I wanted to share my yoga week experience. As you will read below it's a little more than just yoga! 🧘 🧘‍♀️ 🧘‍♂️ 

If you had told me that by the end of the week, I would be swimming in the sea naked and participating in discreet yoga poses in my birthday suit I would have laughed in your face! 

There is a certain air at Charco Del Palo, which breaths relaxation and a sense of gratitude to nature, alongside a magical presence experienced when simply standing on the black rugged lava rock coast, looking out over the deep blue Atlantic......inhibitions and previous stress just float away.

My beautiful experience came about whilst on the latest yoga retreat at Eco Beach a villa by Lanzarote Retreats.

Being lucky enough for the past 30 years to enjoy the benefits of yoga, this retreat experience has left me feeling light, confident and on top of the whole world. This particular retreat week called "Reset" did as it said on the tin and more!

The week started with a warm welcome from Bellatrix our yoga guru, on arrival to the luxurious and well-appointed villa. The villa has been specifically designed to welcome group stays offering five spacious ensuite bedrooms complete with kitchenettes, all offering either ocean or pool views. The heart of the villa is the main living area with a high-ceiling atrium, ocean views, dining area and comfortable seating. The sea view wood floor shala area is perfectly sized for our eleven yoga mats. 

Each morning we were awoken by Bellatrix's inspirational wake-up music followed by a morning stretch on the mat and a wonderfully healthy breakfast buffet. Our morning yoga shala space ranged from, the beautiful wood floor yoga room, the sandy beach in front with lava platforms, to the poolside terrace. Our days were filled with self-reflection, mindful hikes, time to reflect, eating well and "just being present ".

Alongside our two yoga sessions each day, we all embraced a digital detox. Something we all mean to do and never find the time! Bellatrix made it simple, giving us clear instructions to leave our phones on one specific table in the corner of the lounge. The phone could only be used in this space, thus removing our habit of checking it so often. The rules stayed the same throughout the whole week which highlighted how reliant we are on our phones. I for example use it for sleep stories when struggling to get back to sleep at 4am! Others wanted to take lots of photos, if we don't know the answer to a question, we automatically look to find the answer on Google! The list seems endless.......this proved a very good reminder to help us realise how often we reach for our phones day and night!

Eco Beach villa we quickly realised was a wonderful space for the retreat, giving a wide variety of chill-out areas and cosy seating where you could take in a moment of privacy and reflection. The location is truly privileged being situated right on the ocean of the naturist village Charco Del Palo where clothes are optional.

I was sceptical about being exposed to naked bodies and how the other ladies on the retreat would react. They all knew the retreat location when booking their stay and although a mixture of cultures everyone seemed very relaxed about it. We found the whole experience extremely refreshing, clothed or unclothed the entire community accepted your choice and showed the highest respect to your personal preference.

Although our week's mission was to work on ourselves; focusing on mind, body and soul we still found time to enjoy some local light entertainment. On our last afternoon, we walked along the sandy coastal path to a local restaurant called Lili´s Paradise Bar. We were made to feel very welcome by Lili and Carlos, who made extra effort to provide us with sunshades and an after-dinner shot of local honey rum. We found the restaurant offered great food at a reasonable price and we thoroughly enjoyed the live music Sunday afternoon vibes.

For our last morning, we wrapped up our week with an early morning swim where yes bikinis were optional....followed by a little yoga by the pool, by this point we were completely desensitised to whether we did or did not have any clothes on! What a difference a week makes, it was as though we were naturals at being naturists!

The whole experience was truly refreshing, all our bodies are different shapes, colours and sizes but essentially we are all women with nothing to hide.

Although our saying was...What happens on the yoga retreat stays on the yoga retreat! I did check with my yoga buddies to see if they minded me telling our story and adding some photos. They are brilliant sports and agreed.

In summary, this amazing experience is much more than just yoga poses on the mat, it's where you open up your soul, allow yourself to be vulnerable, and expose yourself mentally and in our case physically. I truly feel I have managed to rid myself of deep traumas and let in light. On top of that, I have met friends for life and the memories will stay with me always. 

If you are interested further you can find Eco Beach villa information here - https://lanzaroteretreats.com/holiday-home/eco-beach/

If you are planning a group stay then get in touch with the helpful friendly team at Lanzarote Retreats for more info - info@lanzaroteretreats.com

If you are interested in joining one of Bellatrix's yoga retreats get in touch via her web page - www.yogastudioouddorp.nl

I do hope you have enjoyed this week's blog and I will catch up again with you all very soon.

 💜xMx💜