All posts tagged: Meditation

Hitting Rock Bottom

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After travelling for over a month on my own I was ready for some company, and with the indulgence of a house boat all to myself and some time relaxing on the beach in Varkala I was looking forward to the week ahead.  I had booked into Amrutham Ayurvedic Village Resort based near Kovalam.  It was a short taxi ride from Varkala to the retreat, and being slightly out-of-the-way, we were greeted at a junction by a resort escort to guide us to what was to be my home for the next week. After experiencing the five-star treatment at Shreya’s Retreat I knew it would be a tough act to follow, but I had searched for hours trying to find the perfect retreat that would suit what I was looking for.  It had to have yoga and meditation, I wanted to try ayurvedic treatments and it needed to offer the flexibility of free time by a pool and be close to a beach.  All was going well, I had made it safe and sound, I was blessed on …

A Luxury Escape For Two

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Thanks to some creative accounting I was fortunate enough to spend two days at Shreyas Yoga Retreat with my friend Majo.  After spending most of the week in Bengaluru, the prerequisite for the weekend was to retreat away from the city and embark on a wellbeing journey of the luxury kind.  From the moment we departed our hotel, we had a sense we were about to experience something special.  From the chauffeur driven Indian Army car (it pays to have friends in high places), to the ceremonial blessing on arrival and refreshing pineapple and celery drink (who would have thought of that combination), our humid one hour car journey was quickly forgotten and a sense of calm gathered around us as we were transported into another world. Nestled amongst 25 acres of greenery and frangipani gardens, we were guided through the resort to our garden cottage tent named Titiksha.  Titiksha is Sanskrit meaning forbearance. Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 2, Sloka 14) refers to Titiksha as the contact between the senses and the sense objects.  O Arjuna, are the …

Once The Shock Is Over: My First Week In India

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I always knew India was going to open my eyes and challenge me in ways I’ve never experienced before, but I don’t think anything can quite prepare you for the first 24 hours you spend in India for the very first time.  The traffic seems to be organised chaos.  There’s the constant noise of car horns sounding all around you.  The first time you attempt to cross a road taking your life what seems into your own hands.  And then there’s the smells, people urinating and spitting on the streets while cows roam freely feeling completely at home in a major city. As I started to come to grips with these new senses and my surroundings in a country that was about to become my home for the next two months, it was a welcome change after spending my first three days in the city of Chennai, that some calm and normality began to creep in when I headed out of town.  I spent three nights in the city Puducherry (formerly know as Pondicherry) which …

A Balancing Act

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Having been active all my life, travelling was bound to upset my weekly exercise routine.  There will be no Pilates classes three times a week and the ease to go for a run won’t be as appealing when the temperate is 30 degrees outside with 90% humidity.  But for me exercise is ingrained in my DNA and after a week without it, I start to become irritable. Heading to Thailand and India where Pilates classes are scarce and yoga classes are in abundance, it’s time to head on a yoga journey.  Having only tried yoga a handful of times I’m keen to explore it more.  I’ve also recently started meditating, having had my first introduction only a little over a year ago.  I had an amazing one on one session with a lovely lady named Lani at the Gaia Retreat in Byron Bay.  She was the perfect teacher to set me off on a new spiritual path and journey.  It was a huge help for me last year as I tried to cope with grief and …