I didn’t expect to feel comfortable during a three-day yoga retreat. You see, when I hear the words “yoga” and “retreat” together, I envisage 5am wakeups, lengthy meditations in a Spartan space, simple meals eaten in silence and serious-faced yogis practising asanas with fervour. Don’t get me wrong, all of those things can be beneficial and worthy, just not necessarily comfortable.
So when my airport transfer pulls into the lush green pocket of calm that is Byron Yoga Retreat Centre and a beaming woman hands me a glass of lemonade, I feel a tad relieved. The lemonade isn’t the bottled stuff, of course; rather, a homemade refresher of lemon juice, maple syrup and chia seeds. Chatting away sunnily, Sarah, our retreat hostess, escorts me to a twin-share room with en-suite at the rear of the main building — one of several wooden structures encircling a green lawn with a statue of Buddha seated at its centre — and leaves me to relax ahead of a “welcome circle”.
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A weekend is a realistic timeframe as a retreat for busy folk, but it’s not that long, so at 3pm we get started — slowly. In the spacious Garden Shala, I sit cross-legged with six fellow guests and Sarah around a mandala of fresh flower petals. We do a brief meditation and set an intention for the weekend, followed by 90 minutes of restorative yoga, a relaxing style designed to cultivate full physical effortlessness and characterised by long holds completely supported by props. Five from our group have done little yoga before and all bodies differ, so Sarah’s alignment cues and adroit adjustments prove valuable.
Sleepy-eyed and yawning, we float out at 6pm for the first of many nourishing sattvic vegetarian- and vegan-friendly buffets — this one, a yummy gluten-free pasta accompanied by a rich tomato and capsicum sauce with spinach, cashew nut cream, roasted pumpkin, a rainbow of salad and companionable conversation — before returning to the shala for a yoga nidra led by a young ex-monk and scholar of yoga philosophy. Jan lives with his wife onsite, part of the centre’s dynamic community of yoga teachers, yoga students, wholefood cooks and WWOOFers (willing workers on organic farms), who tend the permaculture gardens and grounds.
Yoga nidra translates as “yogic sleep”, a period of deep relaxation as the mind focuses solely on the teacher’s voice. When it ends at 8pm, the real deal comes soon enough — I can’t keep my eyes open.
Day two, at 7am, we flow through a vinyasa session before breaking our fast with kitchari — a soupy spiced rice and lentil dish served with fresh ginger, coriander, lemon and ghee, a breakfast mainstay here — and a choice of porridge, chia pudding and accompaniments. There’s an abundance of herbal teas, and coffee and black tea, too.
Afterwards, we meet John Ogilvie, a yoga teacher of 35 years who founded Byron Yoga Centre in 1988. He operates a yoga studio in Byron Bay proper under that brand as well as the retreat centre, which he opened six years ago. A long-time Iyengar practitioner, John now teaches purna yoga: a style that integrates alignment-focused postures with philosophy, meditation, pranayama breath control and the yogic personal and social code of ethics, the yamas and niyamas. He focuses on these last two now in a session on living the eight limbs of yoga.
We break at 10am for a cold-pressed juice before another slow but strong yoga class, followed by a new one for me: pool yoga! It’s hot outside, so we jump into the pool beside the studio and John enthusiastically leads us in a playful, hilarious dance.
The rest of the day is just as delightful. After a lunch of Buddha bowls, we enjoy spare time (I cycle out to commune with the ocean) and an hour-long massage each. Mine is with Rago, a skilled remedial massage therapist and Reiki practitioner, whose hands intuitively seek out knots and tension. A yin yoga class with Caitlin, focused on hip openers and twists, follows.
After dinner, Jan leads a discussion on dharana (single-pointed focus) and introduces us to the concept of mantra recitation as a tool for meditation. I feel so peaceful when it ends that I lie on the grass outside, soaking up the clarity of a night sky unencumbered by city lights.
Before day breaks the next day, we drive to Wategos Beach for a heart-start of a walk to catch the sunrise from Australia’s most easterly point. It’s the ideal warm-up for 7am yoga with Caitlin, who eases us into the day with a dreamy, sunny flow and meditation. As blissful as it feels to move the body and calm the mind, I’m starving by the end. Breakfast tastes divine.
Caitlin runs another educational session next, focusing on the basics of yoga postures. She explains how to engage the bandhas (yogic locks) and adjust our bodies for correct alignment then, after a juice break, teaches a slow, juicy yin yoga class individually tailored for injuries or to help ease any tight, problematic areas.
After some spare time and lunch, Sarah discusses current wellness trends and how to incorporate yoga, meditation and nourishing rituals into daily life. In a closing circle, we then review our retreat experiences, revisit our intentions and close with a meditation.
Was a three-day retreat long enough? Well, no, not really, but simply because those days were so good. I shared movement, laughter, good conversation and vibrant food with a community of likeminded people in a beautiful environment. Did I feel comfortable? Supremely so. Would I return for more? Absolutely.
