A weekend of nature!

What another stunning weekend on Guernsey and indeed Herm, it is weekends like these that make me feel so gracious for living in such a wonderful place - one overlooks all the traffic!!

E had a friend visiting from the UK so we decided to make the most of the free boats to Herm, plus the wonderfully mild and bright weather, to visit Herm with Hayley and Mike. We walked from Rosaire where the boat docked, all the way around the Southern cliffs of the Island to Belvoir Bay, as beautiful as ever.


In fact it was fantastic as the tide was particularly low, the lowest I have ever seen it on Herm and while it may not have been ideal for our annual November Herm swim, it did mean that we got to walk all the way from Belvoir to Shell Beach on the beach itself, which was a first for all of us.


E, his friend Nige, and I went for the swim, no easy feat as we had to walk some distance over the sand banks to get wet beyond our waist. Meanwhile on the beach, Hayley and Mike were indulging in some Tai Chi. I was aware that a few passing visitors were taking photos - clearly amused by people swimming in the sea in November and practicing Tai Chi along the shoreline!!


I can't quite believe it is almost the beginning of December and here we were swimming in the sea without it feeling absolutely freezing. The weather is so strange this year, well in comparison to last year when it was almost snowing by now. I still see people wearing shorts and flipflops and there are still flowers everywhere.


My lovely farmer friend in France mentioned that she had been talking to other farmers, one who does the seaweed test and this shows it is going to be a very cold winter, and another who does the onion test, and this shows that it is going to be a very mild winter. So I guess even Nature is confused. You can certainly see this in the garden at the moment, what with dandelions and daffodil bulbs shooting. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months.


It really is beautiful over there on Herm. I just love the peace and quiet and the lack of traffic, plus all the wildlife and bird life surrounding you. You can't help but leave Herm feeling a little more refreshed and grounded than when you arrived. It just slows you down somehow, plus I love the fact you have to walk everywhere...you can only hurry that so much!!

Sunday and we spent some of the morning wandering around Earlswood gardening centre looking at all the trees and plants and flowers. I love smelling all the herbs and E loves checking out the "sick bay" where they put any trees of plants that are suffering in some way. I bought E a sickly pine tree as an early birthday present together with an indoor gardenia, which should continue to emit a rather pleasant smell. It has this wonderful energy in the nursery and every time I visit I can't help thinking that, like my parents' greenhouse, it would be a calming and uplifting environment for a Yoga class. We'll see...


In the afternoon we walked from Petit Bot down to Portelet, that lovely sandy beach only accessible at low tide on foot. There is this crack in the cliff face that E has managed to walk through previously and was keen to show Nige. There was a fisherman down on the rocks but other than that we did not pass a sole on the whole walk. I wonder if people realise how invigorated and uplifted it makes you feel going for a walk on the cliffs.


Mind you I shouldn't complain, the less people enjoying the cliffs, the more peaceful it is when we do exactly that. However it is a shame because they are stunning and such good exercise, you couldn't help but get fit if you walked, and certainly ran, on those cliffs a few times a week. You just need to make sure to practice some Yoga thereafter, to stretch out the legs and rest a while!!

So another lovely weekend courtesy of Mother Nature, E and friends. Thank you.

With love

xxx

Stunning Edinburgh

Last weekend I was in Edinburgh visiting Lou who has been my best friend since we met at school almost 20 years ago now - how time flies! It is funny how you have these close friends, who you don't necessarily see from one year until the next, but when you do finally meet up again, it feels like you only saw them the day before.

So it is with Lou and I, from the moment she picked me up from the airport we were back into that familiar and comforting territory of being with someone who knows you so well! Life has moved on since those school days and now Lou has a husband and two beautiful children, Ronan and Matilda.

We had fun. I was slightly shocked by the exhausting nature of young children and have a renewed respect for anyone with children. I guess it is a little like anything, the more you do it, the more you adapt to it. Still when you lead a busy life without children, you wonder how on earth people cope being busy and looking after children. Much respect!

We went into Edinburgh city centre a few times. It is a stunning city steeped in history, with this incredible sense of space. Edinburgh castle affords a fantastic position, and adds a wonderful energy and grounding nature to the city. I love it. Especially as the weather was incredibly bright and mild on this trip, quite unlike my previous November trips when it has been freezing cold, wet and windy.


We visited the museum and I got to visit the Tibetan section and turn the prayer wheels, sending the energy of "Om Mani Padme Hum" into the air. I always feel a sense of homesickness when I am in such an environment with pictures of the Himalayas reminding me Nepal and the wonderful Tibetan Buddhists. There is just such a calming energy about the Tibetan Buddhist culture with all those prayer flags brightening and indeed defining any landscape.




What particularly blew me away on this trip was visiting East and North Berwick. Again the weather was in our favour, but this part of Scotland is absolutely stunning. We went down to the beach and watched a massive heron sitting on a rock. There were lots of people walking their dogs and making the most of the views of all the small Islands in the distance, one of which was apparently the inspiration for "Treasure Island" written by the Scottish author, Robert Louis Stevenson.


North Berwick is a fantastic little coastal town. We visited the bird sanctuary and I took great delight in finding the remains of this chapel, which had been home to many a pilgrim on a pilgrimage to and from St Andrews. I just adore all that old "spiritual" energy, the fact that the stone in the buildings is still filled with the energy of all those pilgrims and their prayers. I can't help but press the palms of my hands against the stone walls and just feel the vibration. It is incredibly subtle, but I have no doubt that that energy exists.



We visited Lou's parents, who were like my second parents all those years ago, and her sister, Rachel, with whom I went travelling around the world for the first time all those years ago. We managed dinner in Edinburgh one night with a couple of Lou's friends and Rachel, which was lovely as I do enjoy spending time with other women, discussing life through our different eyes and sharing and discussing experiences, so that you can gain a renewed perspective on life.

On my last day we drove out into the countryside from North Berwick so the children could sleep in the car. What a joy. We passed a wonderful castle where Lou and Dave got married, and then this incredible rambling castle on the cliffs around from the town,and these beautiful churches and ruined chapels. And then out into the land, there was just this feeling of expanse and nature all around you, so many birds and even deer and this wonderful Autumnal golden light softening and yet brightening the entire landscape so that I was rather awestruck by the whole experience! I can't wait to visit more of the country!

A huge thank you to Lou, Dave, Ronan and Matilda for making my time with them so special.

xxxx

The wonderful Autumnal yoga & wellbeing retreat on Herm.

What an incredible weekend we have just enjoyed on Herm on the Beinspired Autumnal Yoga & Wellbeing retreat.

Truly we have been blessed with the most incredibly mild, calm and bright November weather, which showed Herm at its very best. Not only was the sun shining all weekend confusing the fauna and flora, which believe Spring has arrived again but we were also fortunate to enjoy a bright moon waning from full on Thursday, quite a joy to witness it rising as I was walking with the girls from the Yoga hall to the restaurant in flip flops after our evening session and then seeing it setting in the morning, on our way back to the Yoga hall for our morning session with Guernsey in the background.

Unbelievable.


On Friday Mum (my incredible assistant!) and I travelled over on the first Trident boat of the day at 8.15am with the Herm teacher and a father and son going fishing on the Island for the the weekend. We were laden with bags of props and blankets and food and all the other paraphernalia that a retreat on Herm involves.



It was wonderful to be there so early on a Friday out of season, clear skies and the Island so quiet of visitors. Linda, the Mermaid hotel manager, was incredibly welcoming and helped us as we set up for the weekend. Needless to say it was quite a joy to walk into the conservatory of the White House Hotel and know that would be our Yoga space for the whole weekend, with those wonderful views of Guernsey in the background and Jethou off to the side. There are very few other places in the world I would rather teach, and indeed practice, Yoga.


After setting up and making sure the heating was on - although it has to be said that this has been the warmest retreat we have ever held, in fact I actually had to turn the radiators off on Sunday, it got that warm - Mum and I headed off for a much needed walk through and around the Island. How amazing to have it to ourselves, and the time to enjoy the scenery - the view of Sark on one side and Guernsey and Jethou on the other, let alone the opportunity for a bit of cow gazing and an opportunity to collect 3 whole bags of pine combs...a joy of mine, I love to collect pine combs!!


By the time the Trident arrived from Guernsey at 4.20pm, the light was decreasing and I was more than ready to get on with some introductions and teaching! What a delight to see all those people coming off the boat, so many familiar faces from classes back home and previous retreats, and also a few new faces who had google-searched Yoga retreats on Guernsey and decided to come and embrace the unknown in Herm for the weekend with Beinspired - thank you hugely to everyone.


After dropping bags off at rooms we met in the front lounge of the White House Hotel for cups of tea in front of the roaring fire, courtesy of my Mum's fire-making skills and of course the collected pinecombs! From there into the warm and cedar-smelling Yoga hall with the lights of Guernsey shining in the background and the candles burning on the window ledges, for our introductions before our first Yoga asana class began.


With a focus on trying to bring balance to the chakras (the 7 main energy centres of the body) throughout the weekend, the first evening class centered (quite literally!) on our root and sacral chakras with lots of grounding and hip opening postures, and finishing with a nourishing and indeed embodying Yoga Nidra. Yum.


This year, with my Mum on the case, the vegetarian food prepared by the Mermaid was great. Anyone coming on the retreat and hoping to eat less than normal would have struggled, the Mermaid staff did themselves proud this year. Throughout the weekend the food was nourishing and healthy as we were accommodating a variety of dietary requirements, including those lactose, glucose, dairy and wheat intolerant.



That first night the choice was vegetarian cottage pie with a sweet potato mash topping or a chickpea, tomato and onion curry with brown rice plus 3 different types of salads, a large bowl of home-made coleslaw and a choice of breads including gluten free. And for those with a sweet tooth, homemade chocolate brownies and fruits salad for desert. Yum!!!


An early bedtime was taken by many, 9.30pm seemed to be the average light's off time, Herm has that habit you see, of calming you down from the fast paced lives we tend to live very quickly. I guess it is the general energy of the place and the fact you have to walk everywhere and there is no rush about anything, it is just a very restorative and peaceful experience, well worth a trip for anyone who needs to simply calm down and come back to earth a little. Not having televisions in the rooms helps too, it kind of encourages you to let go.


Saturday morning and Mum was up before dawn making a fire in the hotel in preparation for those wanting a cup of tea and some fruit or biscuits in front of the fire before the early morning class. Christine and Hayley, my wonderful earth angel friends as well as being the retreats reflexologist and massage therapists respectively, met me at the harbour for an early morning swim under the moonlight. Unbelievable with this weather and relatively warm seas!!


Joining together in the Yoga hall with the moon setting in the sky, we started the morning with some pranayama and silent meditation before an asana class focusing on the navel and heart centres so lots of core strengthening work, twisting, hip flexor opening, heart opening and backbending poses. The energy was high and we finished off with a relaxation to set everyone up for an active, or indeed inactive day ahead.


The class was followed by breakfast in the Mermaid, your choice of eggs, vegan porridge, muesli, juices, teas and coffees and morning banter. Thereafter - and actually like the whole weekend there were no rules so everyone could do as much or as little as they liked - there was the option to do your own thing, enjoy a reflexology, massage or Reiki session, join my Mum for one of her led walks, or simply chill in your room with a book or the opportunity for a warming bath.


Herm was indeed at its best and while I spent the time offering Reiki treatments and enjoying the opportunity to practice on my own in that wonderful Yoga space with the sun setting in the distance, I know everyone made the most of the opportunity to get some fresh air and truly connect with nature. And actually this is the joy of these weekends on Herm. While I don't doubt the healing benefits of the asana, pranayama, meditation and Yoga Nidra sessions, the true joy is the fact you have this wonderful opportunity to embrace the grounding, tranquil and healing energy of Herm Island.


The evening class was gentle in approach. Moving slowly from one asana to the next with complete awareness on the breath, resting often so the body could integrate the effects, we ended with a lovely nourishing Yoga Nidra, which is an incredibly healing and restorative practice of its own. From there, with the moon rising behind the trees on the top of the Island we walked to the Mermaid for another wonderful meal of vegan pumpkin risotto, courgette lasagna and an array of salads and bread and an opportunity for wine for those who fancied it, followed by a fruit crumble, custard and fruit salad.


That evening was another relatively early night for most of us. Mum and I were staying in harbour cottage near the harbour itself and the others were in various other cottages near to us. As I lay in bed that night I was very aware of not only the gentle sound of the lapping sea but also the rather noisy birds that become active after 10pm. And then in the morning waking and hearing the sea and the birds again. There is nothing quite like it, to be that aware of the flow of nature again.


On Sunday Mum was up before dawn again to light the fire before joining me, JP, Debbie and Christine for another early morning swim at 6.55am under the setting moon off the harbour in Herm. It was great fun, thank you to Debbie and JP for joining us - quite a feat considering they have been swimming in the warm Egyptian seas recently!! There is nothing quite like a morning swim to set one up for the day ahead and a shame to waste the opportunity - high morning tides, bright moons, mild temperatures, laughter with friends, you can't beat it!



Setting up for Yoga that morning I couldn't help thinking how blessed I felt in that moment. Again the moon, always the moon, setting in the distance, Ben Lienbach filling the air with his calming and awe-creating sounds, the incense burning and the chatter of the attendees drinking tea in front of the fire, the high tide visible through the windows...when those moments arrive, it is a wonderful feeling.


So onwards and another morning pranayama and meditation session with some Kriya Yoga to move awareness, from the body to the environment with the sound of the sea lapping the shore in the background. Thereafter we embraced a full chakra balancing asana practice with clear views of Guernsey in the background before ending with a chakra balancing meditation.


It was a joy to witness people's practice over the weekend. There were some who attended every class and others who honoured their bodies and took a much needed time out. Well done to Michelle who hobbled off the boat with a leg injury on Friday and also to Lise who came with a kidney issue, and of course Jessica who is 33weeks pregnant and found the relaxation challenging simply because the baby would start to kick too much!!


Throughout the weekend I shared a number of quotes with those present at the end of the classes, and this I would like to share as it is truly a beautiful poem to end the retreat:-

"The choice for Love"

What does the voice of fear
whisper to you?

Fear speaks to you
in logic and reason.
It assumes the language
of love itself.

Fear tells you,
"I want to make you safe".
Love says
"You are safe"

Fear says,
"Give me symbols.
Give me frozen images.
Give me something
I can rely on".

Loving truth says
"Only give me
this moment".

fear would walk you
on a narrow path
promising to take you
where you want to go.

Love says
"Open your arms
and fly with me"

Every moment of your life
you are offered the opportunity
to choose -
love or fear,
to tread the earth
or to soar to the heavens.(Emmanuel's Book II)



After the class, Mum and I rushed around packing up the hall with lots of help from everyone else, collecting all the bags together at the roundabout for the Herm guys to collect. Thereafter we all congregated together in the Mermaid one more time for a final egg and laughter-fuelled breakfast before heading to Rosaire steps for the boat back home, the sun still - incredibly - shining overhead.


Call it what you like, but the Divine, that something that is both within and around each and every one of us was ever present this weekend, pervading every moment, and it would have been a challenge to ignore its very existence - we were all such a reflection of that essence. Indeed the stars were shining brightly overhead. And now here we were, with smiles on our faces, sitting in the fresh air on the top deck of the Mermaid being rocked gently by the sea all the way back to Guernsey.


Thank you especially to my Mum for all her wonderful organising and support, to Christine and Hayley for their energy work, but also to all the 19 attendees who helped to make this weekend so special. It was after all what it was - and what it was, was whatever we wanted it to be and for me it was incredibly uplifting, inspiring, grounding, calming and centering. Thank you again, with gratitude.

Om Namah Shivaya.

xxx

November sunshine

I can't believe that it is already the 8th of November...where has this month gone, it seemed only yesterday it was Halloween and now we have had bonfire night and it is the full moon again on Thursday!!

Bonfire night was fun. We had a party at our house for E's family and while the boys enjoyed the fireworks I stayed inside enjoying preparing the food for everyone! Mind you I did enjoy an obligatory sparkler, I love the bright light, a reminder of our own essence after all.

Sunday was my Dad's birthday so we enjoyed some family time together, lunch and a walk through the lanes and up to the Guet near our home, lovely to get some much needed fresh air and enjoy seeing the sea so rough and the wonderful afternoon November sunlight shining through the clouds. It was noticeably colder than it has been recently, all wrapped up and that winter feeling in the air reminding me that Christmas is not so far away now. We celebrated over fresh Chinese food in the evening, happy birthday Dad, moments with my family are precious.

It has gotten milder this last few days, and the sea has become calmer again. I managed a proper swim in the sea again yesterday at Petit Bot - so lovely to have that time out as life has been rather busy recently and it is easy to forget to make time for things that bring you back to earth. It is wonderful on the beach at this time of year, not only because you have the whole place to yourself, but because the bird life is so noticeable, and it rather uplifting to sit on the rocks and just watch and listen to all the sounds of nature...a relief after all the sounds of the office and traffic in and out of town.

This weekend we have the Autumnal Yoga & Wellbeing retreat on Herm, which should be a wonderful opportunity to get away from it all and immerse in Yoga and nature, no laptop or Internet, no television and no traffic!

As for this week. Well there are a few exciting days ahead. Not only the full moon on Thursday but 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year on Friday, now that is certainly auspicious. Just catching the clock at 11.11 has some significance, so you'll be very lucky if you catch the clock at that time on Friday in particular.

Happy full moon and 11th tidings!

xxxx