Our popular urban retreat returns 28 – 31 December 2018, triyoga Camden, bringing all the benefits of a yoga retreat without leaving London. The retreat includes traditional yoga practices led by Anna Ashby and Jean Hall, plus chanting from the heart, led by Nikki Slade. Joining them will be Sarah Deco, a professional storyteller, to weave in the power of story and myth. But why storytelling on a yoga retreat? Sarah explains all…
Yoga, we know, is not just about repetition of postures – it is about the exploration and discovery of the subtle energies of life. While “stories make us more aware of ourselves as part of a feeling, creating, laughing, crying, curious, courageous humanity.”*
The quote from Bertrand Russell chosen to describe the aim of this retreat talks of enlarging the boundaries of what we see as “myself” until one perceives oneself as part of all life. In service of this, stories have the effect of “broadening our inner knowing, our compassion, and our sense of self. They can also help us to nourish the body’s natural intelligence by speaking directly to and from the intricate weave of our bodies.” *”Your heart and my heart are very, very old friends.” Nothing brings this Hafiz quote to life like the experience of being touched by a story told face to face, heart to heart.
The two wisdoms of yoga and storytelling with the deep nourishment of chanting, create an environment in which the truth contained in the core of our personality can emerge, “penetrating muscles, heart and soul with wisdom beyond ordinary conscious thought.” * Come and join us for this delicious alchemy.
The subtle energies of the body and the deeper layers of the psyche turn inwards in these darker months. This time, just past the point where the year turns once more back towards warmth and light, is a time to stand still, to take a moment out of time to see who we are and where we are going. This is a once upon a time moment. A time to assess the adventure of our own lives; to see where this story we inhabit is leading us and if it is time to let the boat freely sail or to re-calibrate the compass.
* (From Body Eloquence by Nancy Mellon)
Click here to book your place on this year’s urban retreat: reach, reflect + reveal.Â
