Today I went to an Autumn Bliss yoga retreat in a yurt. I have been several times now. They are run every season which I love. It gives me something to look forward to. The weather was lovely and sunny for it.
When I entered the yurt, I immediately smelt the nag champa incense. In the middle, there was an alter with autumnal things on it such as pine cones and flowers. There were also candles alight and an Oracle card pack was placed in a circle too. Mats were also placed in a circle, and they had goody bags for us on them. I peered inside mine and there was a hematite crystal gemstone, nag champa incense, a snack, herbal sleep teabag, and a handmade sleep balm. There was also a nice card with a message on. It said:
I have many qualities that are to ne cherished. I deserve to be valued.
I also picked an oracle card from the pack, Healing Waters by Rebecca Campbell. The card was:
The Mist. It said: Trust your inner compass, be led from within.
This definitely resonated with me.
We began with some breath work; bellows breath and ujjayi breath.
Afterwards, we were led through a vinyasa (flow) yoga practise. We all got rather hot during this session. At the end, we laid on our mats with our cosy blankets and did yoga nidra which literally means “yogic sleep.” Yoga nidra involves slowing down and chilling out. It is a meditation technique where you enter a deeper state of conscious relaxation, moving awareness from the external world to the internal. Yogic sleep brings you to a state of deep relaxation, verging on sleep, where your senses, intellect, and mind can completely rest and let go.
We took a short break after this, and had some Pukka herbal tea and snacks were provided such as nuts, fruit, dark chocolate and biscuits.
My yoga teacher taught us a yin and restorative practise which was incredibly relaxing as it’s a lot slower than the vinyasa yoga. We held poses anywhere from 2-5 minutes, and it was all on the floor. We did savasana at the end to finish.
I almost forgot to mention the chanting we did. Sa ta na ma.
It is in fact a popular and effective kundalini yoga mantra.
Sa — birth and the start of everything that there was (and will be)
Ta — life and how it manifests into infinity
Na — death and the transformation of consciousness
Ma — rebirth and the resurrection for the rest of time
Benefits:
- Increases aspects of cognitive function
- Helps to relieve stress and anxiety
- Encourages kundalini awakening
- Improves your mental wellbeing
- Creates a sense of calm and relaxation
- Prepares you for a transformational shift
- Pushes a vibrational change
- Reveals your true inner self
- Helps establish a positive identity
It’s now late at night as I’m writing this, and I must say I feel so content and at peace as I had such a lovely day, and now I’m all cosy in bed with my electric blanket on, ready for a good nights sleep. I think I will definitely sleep well tonight ☺
