Hey everyone! I'm a yoga addict and today I'm basically preaching all the benefits of yoga whilst documenting the fabulous retreat day I attended at my university last week. It was a perfect post-exam detox.
After finishing my exams, I started to feel a little lost. All of a sudden, I had gone from spending every minute of my free time revising, whilst living off unhealthy food and having a lifestyle which I couldn't possibly maintain for any longer than necessary. I pushed myself, I'd gone from all that to nothing, I had become a person who had been so involved with my exams that once they were over, I had no idea what to do with myself, I'd forgotten what my hobbies were and worst of all, I'd lost who I was. But fear not, for the fabulous yoga society at my uni put on a yoga retreat day for us!
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The day Started with a 90 minute dynamic balance class from teacher Rob. I love dynamic balance. Its moderately paced, done along to background music and focuses on building your core strength. I always ache tremendously afterwards but its so worth it, I always finish the class feeling refreshed and more positive. After the dynamic balance class, Rob led us through a 20 minute relaxation session which was perfect. Relaxing yourself both physically and mentally after exercise is so important and I wish we did that much relaxation after every yoga class!
After the morning with Rob, the society provided us with fruit, smoothies and juice at lunchtime. We then ate our lunch outside in the sunshine as it was such a beautiful day! It was a great chance to stay hydrated and healthy, keep energy levels up and get to know like minded people (I swear everyone who does yoga is super nice).
After lunch, we had an hour's class of flow yoga with teacher Alice. I really enjoy Alice's classes because they're more relaxed and if you've never done yoga before, its probably the least formal and intimidating one (not that yoga is intimidating anyway). Flow yoga was really fun and involved several balance challenges and some funky music. Following this, we had our final yoga class of the day, and hour of yin yoga with teacher Alex. I love yin yoga. Its much slower than the yoga I'm more used to as you move through a few poses, holding each for several minutes whilst focusing on breathing and relaxing. And it is incredibly relaxing. Its like, after a while, I start to relax in the discomfort of the poses and I could actually just fall asleep whilst stretching in unusual ways. It really was the best class to end the day as the different style of yoga complimented the prior classes perfectly. Finally, Alex led us through a 30 minute meditation session to end the day.
In just one day, I went from feeling lost to feeling totally grounded. I felt much fitter and healthier and proud that I was actually doing something positive for my health. Yoga is literally life-changing and I think, if given the chance, everyone should embark on a yoga retreat day at least once! Its just one day where you can put all your worries and troubles aside and focus on you. It really helps you focus on the present moment and use your breathing to relax through moments of pain or discomfort. Yoga teaches you so much more than you could ever be told in a classroom and really helps you appreciate your life more. So if you've never tried yoga, give it a go! And if you have, never ever let it go.
Thank you so much to the fantastic UoY Yoga society for organizing an amazing day, I really hope there are more in the future! And thank you to Rob, Alex and Alice for being such wonderful teachers and making the day so much more worthwile.
peace and love xo
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Labels: Lifestyle, Mental Health, Yoga
