Mother Nature blessed us with absolutely stunning weather for the first yoga retreat of 2021. Our home for the weekend overlooked Cloudy Bay Lagoon on southern Bruny Island, Tasmania.
Among the participants were 7 women from Melbourne who had all booked into Santosha Yoga Australia’s April 2020 retreat, which was cancelled due to COVID. After enduring Melbourne’s endless and repeated lockdowns, I think everyone had all fingers and toes crossed that this retreat would go ahead, right up to landing in Hobart last week.
For some, this was their first ever yoga retreat. Others have been on retreat with me every year that I’ve held them (until a pandemic stopped them!) But as I have found with all retreats, the connections made among the group were incredibly enriching.
In fact, we talked about this sense of connection in our closing circle. We connected to nature, to ourselves, and to each other. It wasn’t necessarily a case of making new lifelong friends, but of heartfelt connections being made in the moment, without any expectations of - or obligations to -one another. I was reminded of the saying that people come into our lives for a “reason, a season, or a lifetime” and I believe that the Universe has a way of putting the right people in our paths, with the right message, at the right time.
And that includes putting the wonderful Sharon Stegeman of Bille and Brie, who kept us nourished all weekend with her amazing food.
Here a couple of testimonials from the weekend:
“Danielle is such a calm, inclusive, supportive teacher. She has an openness and acceptance of others that invites and encourages connection to each other and to nature. She balances the variable needs of the clients with ease and embraces the thoughts and suggestions of everyone. I loved this retreat and I will definitely be back!”
“Another wonderful, refreshing retreat with Dani. Opportunity to make new connections, deepen existing ones, and learn, reflect and experience joy and contentedness in a gorgeous spot.”
The next two weekend retreats are fully booked. If you have a group of friends keen on a private retreat customized for you, check out my custom retreat service: https://www.santosha.com.au/custom-yoga-retreats