Sati yoga and meditation retreat

We warmly invite you to join us for Christmas on the island for this special retreat—a chance to deepen your meditation and yoga practice in a small group, whilst also enjoying delicious and festive vegetarian food in a welcoming environment. The retreat is ideal for those who consciously wish to take time out during the Christmas/New Year period, to reflect on the year just ending and create space and possibility for the year to come.

This intensive course is aimed at those who have a keen interest in both yoga and meditation. We will be exploring the practice of Satiyoga which involves the integration of mindfulness (sati in the ancient language of Pali of the Buddha) into the practice of hatha yoga, allowing us to slow down, deepen our experience and increase our understanding of both the body and the mind. The practice of Satiyoga enables us to find a balance between the physical and mental practices of both postural yoga and meditation as well as allowing for the transformational possibilities of these practices to enter our everyday lives. Periods of silence help cultivate our practice: noble silence is kept from the evening meditation to brunch. To take full advantage of the retreat we ask participants to turn off their mobile phones, tablets, etc. while you are here (we will pass on any emergency calls if necessary).

The morning session begins at 8am and consists of guided meditations as well as explorations of a variety of asana. A delicious brunch follows at 11am, after which you have some spare time to relax by the fire or brave the elements and explore the wild and beautiful landscape of the island in winter. The afternoon session, beginning at 4.30pm focusses primarily on pranayama (breathing) and mindfulness of breathing meditation, but may also include kryas (yogic cleansing techniques), restorative and/or yin postures as well as other meditation practices including walking meditation. A delicious dinner follows, prepared from ingredients grown at the farm. The day concludes with a 30 minute silent sitting meditation session.

Some previous knowledge of yoga and meditation is essential. Please note that this course involves over five hours of yoga and meditation practice each day and is therefore not suitable to people complete beginners.

The farm is an alcohol free space, so we ask participants to please not bring any alcoholic beverages.