​How many times a month do you think to yourself: I need a holiday! 
I totally believe that you do. Juggling your work, social life, family, self care, etc. and doing all that in a city environment, which is already stressful without all of those extra factors... Woo, damn right, you need a holiday!

Actually, even more than a holiday, you might need a yoga retreat. Here are 5 reasons why I think you should consider going on a yoga retreat in stead of a regular holiday.  

Also, retreats offer the opportunity not only to do yoga and meditation with guidance, but to learn new principles, get a new point of view and maybe discover some completely new aspects to these disciplines. ​

As you dig deeper and start discovering how much there is to yoga that you actually never thought about, you will get inspired to learn and then apply that knowledge further, always keeping your attitude fresh and curious. ​

I hope this inspires  you to make that decision about booking your fist yoga retreat. 
If you've already attended yoga retreats, please share your reasons for participating and also what you feel you have gained from your retreat.

​No matter if you’ve been practicing yoga for a while, or you’ve recently joined your first yoga class, it’s essential that you start developing your home yoga practice. Those moments when you are alone with your body and your breath are at least as important as attending a regular yoga class. So, I’d like to share a few tips with you how to start and keep your home yoga practice.

​1. SET THE TIME
​If you decide that today you will do some yoga at some point of your day, chances are you’ll keep delaying that time until you realize that the day has passed and then you firmly decide that you will do some yoga tomorrow at some point. Will you? We already know the answer. Instead, better set the specific time and treat it as a date. Well, essentially, it is a date – with yourself.

2. BE REALISTIC
​How busy are you in your day? How realistic is it to say that you will be disciplined enough to practice 40 minutes every day? How about 30? 15? 5? Like in so many other aspects of a yoga class, more is not necessarily better. It’s the commitment and the consistency that will prove to be the biggest change makers, not the number of minutes you spend on your mat. To begin with, better go with less.

3. BE CREATIVE
I’m of the opinion that the biggest benefit from practicing asanas (yoga postures) doesn’t come because those shapes have some mystical powers, but because in yoga class, we are always invited to slow down and deepen our breath, to observe our body, and to move mindfully. So, if your reason for not practicing at home is that you can’t remember how to properly execute any of the traditional asanas, then simply don’t do them. It’ll be enough to do the simplest of moves keeping your attention on the breath, and synchronizing it with your movements. Try to listen to your body. In which way is it inviting you to move?

4. TAKE IT OFF THE MAT
For me, yoga is about finding freedom. But if we confine yoga to the one square meter of the mat, how can that be freedom? You can do yoga anywhere, and by saying this I’m not inviting you to try and put your leg behind your head while waiting at the traffic light. (Actually, I’m explicitly inviting you to never do this, but that is another subject.)Wherever you are, you can always turn your attention to your breath. You can always reach your arms up and stretch with an inhale, and soften your body with an exhale. You can always notice how you are standing or sitting. Is your posture symmetrical? Is it comfortable? You can always feel your feet on the ground and be aware of the way they touch the ground when you walk.

​Sounds simple and doable, right?

The day is full of these “yoga and mindfulness windows” inviting us to look inside. We just need to notice them.

Good luck with developing your personal practice!

I had a choice. Pay hundreds of pounds on a part for my car which it may or may not need, or go on an adventure.

I choose the latter. I choose well.

Autumn in the UK is both beautiful and dark, damp and miserable. It’s the perfect time to throw caution to the wind, fill up the rucksack and head for the hills.
​
I browsed the internet, with a half-baked intent: Somewhere far away and exotic, but affordable (please and thank you universe). My eyes kept being pulled to these words:
8 days Yoga, Meditation and Hiking in Nepal”.​

​Oh, that sounded just right – rest and relaxation with some hiking added to the adrenalin mix for good measure. Too good to miss.

So, go for it. Check out flights, book annual leave, figure out the finances – it’s do-able.

It’s done. It only took a few clicks.

By sheer coincidence I’d arrived at the beginning of Diwali. At the airports, complete strangers wished me a Happy Diwali. It felt like Christmas Eve, and that warm glow-worm of delight filled my belly. It was Diwali – imagine that. Festival of Light! Four flights removed and now I was on the edge of another world – it felt oddly ethereal, as I took in the panorama of the Annapurna range.
​
My destination was the Shivalaya Yoga and Meditation Centre at Lake Begnas. The little town of Begnas is about a half hour taxi ride from Pokhara – and oh my, what a ride! I was a complete novice to the Nepali road experience, ‘sans seat belts’ and so my heart leapt into my mouth – once, twice, thrice! ‘I’m a survivor right. What could possibly go wrong?’ and nothing did, that was the joy of it.

​A giant gold-gilted Shiva in meditative state welcomes me silently. Just one more push – almost there, like giving birth (keep breathing, focus on your breath) - put one foot in front of the other – a few more steps and alas! The warmest welcome from the coolest people, sitting chillin’ beneath the thatch.

I meet Marija – the wonderful woman of myyogicadventure.com.

She is a force of nature, and a beautiful human being. She could not have been more helpful. I am a day early – but she arranged a room for the extra night, meals, and even a couple of extra classes to kick start the experience.

Her smile stretches from ear to ear, her lilting accent a delight to hear, and her light and love radiate magnetically. I feel in safe hands and wonderful company. Most of all, Marija does not take herself too seriously – she has an enigmatic sense of humour. She’s funny and she laughs a lot. She is a joy-maker. I could not have chosen better – all by chance, by sheer luck and good fortune, I am here at Shivalaya, Begnas, Nepal, far from Belfast and the hum-drum rain-sodden streets.

My new room is perfect. Ganesh is on my door for good fortune and protection. My room steps out onto the view, with abundance of jungle foliage below and beyond – a Shiva tree, its fruit ripe for the picking, a reminder of this perfect earth, and its endless giving and forgiving.

I have a double bed, cosy cushions, a bedside table, a desk and chair, an en suite with toilet and shower. It’s simple but tastefully done. I could not want for more.
​
The days start early – but we retire early, relaxed and exonerated from each wonderful day – just the right mix of full on activity and time to relax and check in with the self.

​On day one we are in for a surprise. It is the special family day of Diwali, and all of us visitors are invited fully into the family gathering. Shivalaya is a family run yoga and meditation centre and the husband and wife team and their staff are so helpful and kind (fulfilling my endless demands for more Tulsi tea). There is a feast for all – and the food on this day and every day throughout the retreat is bountiful and beautiful. Spoilt rotten, as we’d say at home. All vegetarian and adjusted for vegans if and as required – the food is wholesome, nourishing and utterly delicious. 

That night, people from the neighbouring area are celebrating Diwali. We end up ‘partying’ and dancing into the night. The partying continues for a few more evenings – the following night a large speaker is carried up the steps, and young women in traditional Nepali costume dance as if there’s no tomorrow. The grace, dignity and beauty of these people know no bounds. Being here during Diwali has enhanced the entire, excellent experience.

​For November, the weather is wonderful - warm mornings, hot afternoons, cool evenings.

​For hiking, we need to leave early to ensure we have plenty of time for our yoga and meditation classes each morning and evening. The longest hike I did was around seven to eight hours – it was steep, I persevered, but when we got to the top – the panoramic views were breath taking, the air was clean and clear. I felt my lungs fill with a joy I wished I could capture forever. It was noon – and this was for me, the high of the whole time in Nepal, I cannot find the words to describe the beauty and the exhilaration, sense of accomplishment and freedom. On the way down, Marija and Dom (a highly experienced yogi and traveller) had arranged for us all to stop for lunch with a Nepali family for Dal bhat – a traditional Nepali dish, most welcoming for a pack of hungry hikers.

​Other highlights included a boat trip on the lake, day trip to explore Pokhara, short hikes, chillin’ and chatting in mountain cafes, or precious time rocking in a hammock.
Eight days of heaven, bliss, and an all-embracing wonderful experience.

I get the bus to Kathmandu. It’s also an experience – stunning views, a lovely lunch included and a few hairy moments (so I just looked up, didn’t look down). I booked myself into a hotel in Kathmandu – America had gone to the polls, and by breakfast time, I realised I was back in the real world, a real world that had changed overnight. I wished, wanted to go back up the mountain, but it was time to fly back west.

I’d only tasted Nepal, yet I wanted to drink it all in. I made wishes and tossed them out there in the hope that some fly-by fairy godmother might notice.

I fly back to London for a few days – then touch down in Belfast midnight, 12th November. Rain batters the apron, I get the chills. I look forward to the day when I go back up the Nepali hills, and stretch on through this life via a thousand more amazing yoga, meditation and hiking retreats. Bring it on!
​
Namaste!

Julie Williams-Nash
19th November 2016 

Since our earliest age we are being taught that there is right and wrong, and we should know them apart.
There is good and bad, and we deserve only the former.
There is ugly and beautiful, and we should always strive for the latter.

Every moment of every day, we are making a judgment whether we like something or not, be it a meal, a TV program, the weather outside, the information we have just received, the noises we hear around us. Somehow we think that the more like boxes we tick next to the countless events of every day, the happier we will be. We believe that all we need to do is work hard to one day finally achieve the situation in which every single thing that has happened to us has the quality of ‘‘I-like-it’’. Should any ‘’I-don’t-like-it’’ events or situations arise, we need to immediately start finding ways how to remove them.

Simple and logical, someone might say.
(Hm!), someone else might raise an eyebrow and think ‘’or is it really?’’

In light of these thoughts on man-made dualistic concepts, I am sharing with you a few verses by Lao Tzu, a 6th century BC poet and philosopher from China. The verses are taken from his famous work Tao Te Ching, a body of mystical writing which forms an important basis of Daoism.

I hope you'll understand the poem. Whether you'll like it is far less important. ;)

Things as Beautiful

When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.
Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.
Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn’t possess,
acts but doesn’t expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.

Sometimes the moment I open my eyes I feel that I am being bombed by so many examples of craziness, suffering, ruthlessness, negativity... And all of that seems to be floating around continuously in my country, as well as globally. It makes me feel angry. Sad. Frustrated. Helpless. ... And judgmental. Very judgmental.

What kind of people (I say people here, but let's be honest in my mental chatter I will probably use the word idiots, at the very least) can vote for this party? What kind of people can harm other human beings for no apparent reasons? What kind of people can fear everything and everyone which doesn't come from their nation and religion? The list of questions goes on and on. But merely asking these questions and resenting all of those people changes nothing.

I read something by Eckhart Tolle recently, which really spoke to me deeply:

Violence and judgments can result only in more violence and judgments. You can't plant an apple tree and hope for peaches, right? I mean, this approach hasn't really worked for humanity thus far, and I'd say several thousands of years is a fair trial period.

I remembered a poem by Thich Nhat Hanh I once saw, posted on a notice board in a meditation center and I wanted to share it here. It explains everything I want to say far more elegantly and beautifully.

Remember to be kind today. Especially to those who know how to push your  buttons.  :)

Last week, I shared with you a simple technique of observing the breath and this week we’ll explore how your body can bring you back into the present moment. As you are reading this, you are most probably not moving around too much: you’re sitting at your office desk, maybe resting at home, or maybe you’re in public transport. Either way, your body is fairly still.

Remain as you are and begin by first observing your breath for a couple of seconds. Stay still and allow your breath to become subtler and subtler.
 
Now shift your attention from your breath to your body. Start by scanning your body from the top of your head down to the tips of your toes. Become aware of the position of each body part separately. Is your head slightly tilting to one side? Is your body weight evenly distributed between left and right? Is your spine straight? As you are observing your position, don’t change it. Don’t judge it. Just become aware of it.
 
Start noticing any sensations on your body. Be aware if any part of your body is touching the ground, or the furniture? What is the sensation there? Is any part of your body stiff and tense? If so, try to observe that stiffness first – how big is the area that is stiff? Do you feel that the tension starts from a particular point and then spreads around? Observe the tension for a few moments and then with the help of a conscious deep breath let it dissolve and try to relax that part of your body. 

Once more scan your body from head to toe, paying attention to any sensations – warmth, cold, numbness, tingling, touch of your clothes, or the touch of air. Try to observe the sensations objectively. Even if the sensation on your body is unpleasant, don’t rush to change your position. Examine them as if you were looking though a microscope. 

Gently shift your attention back to your breath.

Next time you are stuck in traffic, or waiting in a supermarket queue, in stead of getting all restless and nervous, try observing your breath and your body and see that if you practice staying in the present moment, there is no such a category as 'time wasted'.