Wednesday, June 10, 2009

LUX YOGA



So my 2nd blog about yoga. I am currently in the South of France on a Bikram yoga retreat, Lux-yoga.  This is my 2nd visit to this incredible place and I hope to make it a annual pilgrimage for years to come.

Last year I came straight from Tales of the Cocktail and had totally lost my voice, I couldn't speak for the first 2 days which if you know me was rather challenging especially when on a holiday with a bunch of people I hadn't met before. I haven't been on any other retreats, and although regularly holiday by myself had not done a group holiday type thing before. I can remember being apprehensive last year on the plane with the question that 
must have run through everyone's mind 'What if there all weirdos?'. Of course they weren't and this year's group is just as fun and interesting as last years.

Lux-yoga is not your normal yoga retreat, firstly its Bikram yoga which if you've taken class is not tree huggy, navel gazing yoga. It is a dynamic series of 26 different postures done in a room heated to 100 degrees. It is the most full on, all encompassing work out I've ever done and totally changed my opinion of yoga which I had previously found a little boring. 

Secondly, Lux-yoga is as its title says, luxurious. Ben and Craig who created the retreat wanted to create a vacation that they themselves would want to go on. There is daily yoga, every other day a double and posture clinics to further deepen your practice but there is also incredible accommodation, a huge house  on the Cote D'Azur over looking Nice, gourmet chef, literally some of the best food I've ever had the pleasure to eat. 

There are staff on hand to accommodate your every wish as well as a masseuse who visits and does an array of massages ranging from aromatherapy to deep sports massage.

Days are spent lazing by the pool in between classes and meal times or exploring local villages and beaches. Evenings are spent at dinner, drinking fine local wines and being entertained by your fellow guests or bands that visit. It is the perfect mix of yoga, relaxation and fun!

I am on day 3 of my visit this year and am writing this whilst looking at the amazing view from my bed, I do ache, in face my aches ache but its a good feeling and what I've learnt about yoga and life in the last 3 days has opened my thoughts, mind and heart a little more. It is good to immerse myself in something different and also give yoga the time it deserves without having to rush to and from class.

I shall leave you with this but will write more at the end of the retreat "A yogi is a seeker of balance, a yogi observes and connects and does not judge'.


1 comment:

Zaki said...

Interesting. I didn't realise that yoga and cocktails were compatible. Is your body in better condition in spite of the aches?