It is not the same that they tell you we inhale and exhale in the room of a yoga center in any big city, to that they tell you we inhale and exhale and we notice how our breathing follows the rhythm of the sea.
The ceiling that one contemplates when following his arms with his eyes is not the same, watch the sky change as you perform a sun salutation. And yes, leaving your mind blank is easier if they recommend that you Let thoughts pass by like clouds pass by.
The teacher Sara Serrano at a moment of the yoga retreat at the Hostal Aigua Clara in Formentera.
This is what one experiences when, for example, one participates in one of the retreats that YogaOne Terrassa organizes at the beginning and at the end of the season in the Hostal Aigua Clara de Formentera , with Eva Oller Y Sarah Serrano as teachers (still there are places left for which they will celebrate from April 30 to May 3).
We could think that it is obvious that those who live from yoga defend that it is good to keep up your practice even when you are away from home. However, they do not need to sell anything, they refer to the facts and just look at the relaxed faces of the retreatants to understand what they mean.
“Practice helps you focus. If you have jet lag or are a little out of place in the country you are in, the practice, through breathing (pranayama), helps you focus, to feel more balanced, helps you sleep better, cushions the changes. In the end, the practice, once you include it in your life, the day you don't practice you feel like you haven't washed”, explains Sara.
“They told me at the beginning, your yoga practice is a hygienic routine, like brushing your teeth every day. Is the same. It becomes that for people who are truly dedicated: a well-established, regular, daily practice. Eve tells.
Eva Oller performs an asana in front of the retreat attendees.
They recognize that it can become complicated due to changes in schedule, diet and lack of routine that do not help to maintain the discipline that the practice of yoga requires. However, they also recognize that it is not impossible and begin, as if it were a tennis match, to alternate to propose options. Hand in hand, just like in those classes of yours in which one gives up the baton to the other. Calmly. Flowing.
Although there is so much change, it is good to find the moment, when you wake up in the morning, even if it is 10 minutes to do a routine to maintain”, Eve starts.
“You can go to a YouTube channel, although I think practicing yoga is having a teacher who knows you, that he follows you up, that he encourages you, that he sets the routine for you, let him give you the exercises and then you can do them ”, Sarah continues.
In that sense, Eva explains her online experience with her clients. “They travel a lot for work, they are faithful to their practice because they understand that it suits them very well and they need it to stabilize themselves, to focus each day. So from wherever they are on the planet, they call me and we do the session online”. She though she has no hesitation in recommending the look for a "cool teacher" at the destination and take advantage of the trip to go to his classes.
Sara helps a student with an asana.
And there are destinations that are clearly associated with yoga. "Starting by Formentera, because we are here; India, Thailand, balinese and add and continue. Then you would have the developed countries, with leading cities in yoga: New York, The Angels, Miami. I guess in Australia there will be too. The best teachers are in Japan”, lists Eva, who, after returning from India in 2010, began to go back and forth between Barcelona and Formentera in 2011, until She six years ago she decided to stay and live there.
She likes the island. She notices. During her sessions at the retreat, Eva talks about the love that she feels in Formentera, from the people and from nature. And she also likes the Hostal Aigua Clara.
“When I arrived on this island there was very little yoga and María [Mayans, owner of the hotel] was receptive to listening to me and listening to my proposal. I proposed to him to do some yoga classes in the hotel in the mornings because I loved the place: it is ideal, the location is unbeatable, the sea here in front, green, tranquility. The Migjorn beach is very special to me and defines a lot the essence of freedom, savagery, tranquility of Formentera”, Eve remembers.
Let thoughts pass like clouds pass.
“I have always really liked doing sports, activities, and I thought that It was time to head towards yoga and it would be nice to be able to offer classes. We talked about it and started under the junipers and, seeing that people were interested and appreciated it and that it went very well with the Aigua Clara concept of tranquility, of enjoying, the sea, the energy, we built the stage and for about three years we started with the retreats”, María tells Traveler.es.
“This place is ideal, it defines the essence of Formentera a lot. Practicing in front of the sea, that platform is unique”, Sarah points out.
Both Eva and Sara are in favor of choose the type of yoga experience to live on your trips depending on the moment in which you find yourself and the advice that your teachers can give you, although retreats are interesting to them.
"You fancy a little trip, that is not the same as tourist ; you fancy a different experience that recharges you, that renews you. So, find yourself a yoga retreat and you really renew yourself. You come back a different person and fully recharged." Eve says.
Also if you are a beginner. “It's super cool because you can really feel the essence. Normally, on a day-to-day basis, you are always running, but you cannot reach the bottom and with the retreat you can connect”, Sarah assures.
Calm, tranquility, fresh air and the sea before you when you open your eyes.
That is precisely what happened to Judith Coma , one of the participants in the retreat at Hostal Aigua Clara. “I had never practiced yoga before, so I chose to go to the retreat, not only for the practice but also for the experience in general. I needed a break, recharge energy, learn new things, meet people… ”, she recalls weeks later.
And it is that to immerse yourself in such an experience You just need desire and an open mind. “Having the curiosity to want to go a little deeper inside of you, want to explore, see how you feel. There is a moment when you start to be more curious”, says Sara.
“It was my first retreat and I had a different idea of what it really is. I thought it was something important in which I am sure I will continue to invest time, energy and money. Well, it's not just about doing postures, for me it is something beneficial for both physical and mental health. Those days helped me to do a reset, I was in a state of peace and serenity that I had not experienced for a long time”, explains Judith.
Sara and Eva in a moment of rest.
In all of this, choosing retirement well is important. “If you are thinking about it half vacation half retirement, location is important. I am more in favor of a good hotel lately, a good spa, more than a private house or a private villa. (...) In a good hotel you already know that you are going to go and you will be able to disconnect because the hotel will have all the room services, food, you will be able to completely unconcern. At the same time as the hotel, I would look the type of diet, which chef is going to be there and what menu they are going to offer”, Eve ponders.
Sara, for her part, highlights the importance of looking for references. “The teacher has to inspire you and the style too, because there are many styles”.
And one last aspect to take into account: communication. “For me it is super important that you see that communication is fluid that is to say, if you ask something that someone answers you right away, don't hang up for a week or two or I'll tell you or now I don't know. let there be direct, clear and fluid communication, that they immediately send you a PDF with the detailed information about what it consists of, the costs, what will be worked on, what you will do”, Eve recommends.
Detail of a shruti box.
From there, enthusiasm and an open mind in a suitcase that does not need to be filled with accessories. “A minimum of what to carry in the luggage, well a travel mat and comfortable pants”, Eva points out seconded by Sara. “Yes, the travel mat. If you're really into you take your mat, the mat that does not weigh and you put it anywhere, but you can start practicing anywhere”.
“From my point of view and my experience, Yoga is being marketed too much and is being distorted. Nothing really is needed. Starting from that point, whatever you want to add to it: your pro mat, your pro mesh… Whatever you want”, claims Eva.
"Of course, it is The practice of yoga can be as much as reading a philosophy book or meditating, it does not only involve physical posture. If there is a day that you are in a hurry, you can take advantage and cultivate your mind more by reading, You can go different ways It is not only limited to the practice of postures. You can also sing mantras, you can help someone on the street”, says Sara.
“If you really want to do yoga, you don't need anything. You go and do your yoga”, concludes Eva.
“If you really want to do yoga, you don't need anything. You go and do your yoga.”