When imagining what was to come upon signing up to a five day yoga retreat on a secluded island with 17 strangers, the words ‘silence’, ‘stillness’, ‘introspection’ were front of mind. I was expecting early nights and even earlier mornings with mainly my thoughts to keep me company. Because yoga retreats aren’t for having fun, right? They don’t count as a proper holiday… your big holiday.
What I wasn’t expecting was pizza parties, dancing to disco classics on the deck of our own private boat, cliff jumping into the sea, exploring volcanic caves, sun printing, clay play, incredible food, and so much laughter.
Slow, quiet days bookended by yoga practice is what you’d usually get on retreat, and while they admit there’s certainly a space for it, that’s not what Nathalie Limon and Damien Brown – the duo behind community-led movement studio Waking Dreams – are trying to achieve with their take on yoga retreats.
I joined the Waking Dreams crew as a guest on their first in a growing lineup of retreat experiences at the architecturally-pleasing Parco Dei Sesi on the volcanic island of Pantelleria in June and it changed the way I view R&R.
Who are yoga retreats even for?
The first sign that this yoga retreat was going to be different was at Palermo airport when a group of us met to catch our hop-over flight to the island. I was actually a little shocked that we weren’t all solo female travellers in our 30s looking for a break from our nine-to-five London media jobs.
Ages ranged from early 20s to mid 60s. There was more than one couple. There was a guy on his own (honestly, a rare sight on a yoga retreat). A set of colleagues. Some best friends. And the other solo women travellers weren’t all 30-something, and didn’t work in London or the media. Everyone had flown in from somewhere different, was based somewhere different.
What did connect everyone, however, was that they’d taken a class at the Waking Dreams studio and were keen for more.
After the trip Nathalie told me: “We wanted our retreat demographic to be almost a microcosm of our studio. I feel that too often, men or couples travelling together can feel that retreats aren't geared towards them and we wanted to do away with those outdated concepts entirely.”
The yoga schedule on offer was diverse, varied and teacher Charley Logan taught classes catered to all levels of experience.
One evening before dinner we gathered on the roof for slow flow at sunset and finished off the session with guided meditation and journaling.
The group dynamic and sense of community was what really set this experience apart from other retreats I’ve been on. We got to know each other not just by gathering for yoga practice, but over communal meals and excursions laid on by the Waking Dreams team.
Everything was optional including yoga
Each day the team laid out a different schedule. Everything was optional including yoga practice and communal meals.
Friday:
Welcome meditation
Dinner
Saturday:
Meditation and dynamic vinyasa
Swimming and spa
Walk to the beach cove with sea swimming
Sunset yoga on the roof and breathwork
Communal dinner
Sunday:
Meditation and dynamic vinyasa
Swimming and reading by the pool
Clay play
Excursion to the mud lake and thermal hot springs
Sunset yoga on the roof and breathwork
Communal dinner
Monday:
Meditation and dynamic vinyasa
Sun printing
Hike and natural sauna
Breathwork and flow to restore
Communal dinner in local town
Tuesday:
Meditation and dynamic vinyasa
Sailing boat excursion
Massage and sound healing
Pizza party
Music and dancing with DJ Vivien Solak
“Our aim for the retreat was for the people to be able to bond naturally, the activities, the communal meals, the class schedule all left space for people to come together at their own pace,” said Damien. “The fact that everything including the yoga is optional is also really important, we wanted people to really be able to unplug.”
My default idea of holiday rest and relaxation is alone, with a book at the pool. And while I was intent on R&R’ing alone, I was drawn to group activities far more than expected. It was like being on holiday with a big group of mates. No forced fun in sight.
However, I did make sure to take advantage of the massage and sound-healing experience for a more formal sense of chill.
For an additional £80 I booked in for an hour and a half of holistic massage, complete with sound bowls, tuning forks and chanting. After that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to have a simple deep tissue ever again.
Yes, a yoga retreat can be your big holiday
A yoga retreat isn’t usually sold as your proper holiday, your big annual vacation but there’s no reason it can’t be. This trip changed my perception of a retreat and what I need to do to relax and unwind.
I had fun and it turns out yoga retreats can and should be fun. I left Pantelleria feeling peaceful and with a new Whatsapp GC full of friends.
Waking Dreams is a community-led progressive movement studio in east London. Monthly rolling studio members receive 15% off all retreat bookings.
For upcoming retreats including Cornwall, Morocco, California and Pantelleria or to book a class in the studio go to WakingDreams.co.
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