Dynamic Yoga Flow - Meridian Qigong Yin Yoga & Meditation
With Sue in the morning and Peter in the evening.
A balance of Yin & Yang – finding the balance between effort & surrender, bringing a gentle strength to your practice.
This advanced or beginners yoga retreat will be led by Sue and are suitable for everyone who wish to bring more balance & depth to their practice.
The emphasis of the week is enhancing health, vitality & diminishing blockages in the energy body. It is structured to allow you to feel a strong sense of grounding & a deep belonging to mother earth & at the same time to experience expansion of consciousness & connection to universal influences.
The morning sessions with Sue are 2.5 hours . The practice is a dynamic flowing yang/yin asana practice which is softly powerful designed to build gradually over the week, gently relieving tensions while strengthening muscles, increasing endurance & enhancing flexibility. The practice is challenging yet accessible for all body types, utilizing Vinyasa Krama (step by step progression) to ensure you have the space & necessary sensitivity to find your edge & let go of striving for more. It is a practice that helps you embody & maintain integrity & access the many benefits of achieving the correct postural alignment atuned to your own unique anatomy, physiology & journey. The practice weaves in themes of helpful Asana related breathing techniques from diaphragmatic ujjayi into bandha breathing as the week progresses. Prepare to have your understanding of the bandhas (energy locks) clarified, enhanced or redefined as they are subtly & accessibly threaded into your Asana practice. Learn that often less is more. Learn how to bring about balance & calm to your Autonomic Nervous system so that you are effortlessly drawn into the present moment letting go of any anxieties that may be inhibiting your ability to truly relax. The practice will conclude with complementary Pranayama (breathing practices) & a restorative led savasana (deep relaxation)The classes place a lot of focus on freeing the diaphragm & thus allowing the breath to deepen without strain, yama/niyama - the attitudes & orientations of yoga posture practice, the functioning of the body mind organism & the synchronization & marriage of movement & breath. Emphasis is placed on opening the chest & relieving tension in the shoulders & neck - the perfect antidote to time spent hunched in front of the computer screen.
The evening sessions take a much more physically passive, yin approach, postures are held longer with an attitude of surrender balanced with your own unique level of tolerance. You will learn to draw prana to & release physical, energetic & emotional tensions from different areas of the body using mindful attention & awareness. Much of the focus is on interconnective tissues, strengthening ligaments, lubricating the joints, releasing fascia & softening the muscles. A little time each day will be spent sitting in meditation learning relevant core practices of mindfulness meditation which will then be kindly & gradually applied to the yin practices to help you delve more deeply & non judgementally into your inner world.
This year much awareness is placed on Anahata chakra (the heart energy vortex) as we move into an epoch in history where it is becoming essential to be more heart centred if humanity is to prosper & evolve. Our practice will also have a strong element of gratitude as we recognise how privileged we are to have enough time & resources to immerse ourselves in the practice of yoga & reap its enormous benefits.
Single £550 - Shared Twin or Double £500pp - Eco caravan £450
Stone Cottage £600pp
Yoga Evolution Retreats, Amieira, Oleiros, Castelo Branco, 6160 052, Portugal - 0044 7398 949 054
with Sue & Peter
https://www.yogaevolutionretreats.com