Retreat? Yes, please

Three days of wall-to-wall yoga, nestled away at Braziers Park, was just what the doctor ordered. For both John and me.

John had a wonderful weekend without me. He was able to do just as he liked without a nagging wife tutting behind him. He ate pizza and Indian take-away, put his feet up on the table (metaphorically-speaking), got up when he liked, watched whatever programme he liked, went to bed when he liked and drank whatever he liked. “Oh, yes. You can do it all again, dear. I’ve been fine”

Well, it was a relief that he’d enjoyed himself. I didn’t have to worry about enjoying myself and feel guilty about having left him miserable at home. So, a great result all round.

And the Retreat was absolutely wonderful. Jaime had planned three days of brilliant activity and thought of everything. We had meditation and yoga from morn till night. What an experience. And I was chuffed, too, that nothing was actually beyond me. Jaime had exactly the right yoga levels that meant everyone could join in and feel happy with what they’d done. Clever girl.

In between classes, we had food or free time. The food was delicious every day and we were all thrilled with our experience of vegetarian dishes. The free time was to savour, too – which I did, setting off towards the summer house with my book, sitting in the sunshine and reading a few pages before nodding off. Bliss.

I had to laugh at myself, though. I was one of the first to arrive and was greeted by Jaime on the doorstep. She walked with me to the car to help with lifting a few things out from the boot. No sooner had I opened the boot than I realised that an essential piece of equipment was missing. No yoga mats…….. Oh, blimey. I had been so focussed on taking my bolster with me for the specialist practice of Yin Yoga, that I had failed to unhook the bag of mats from my wardrobe.

“I know,” I said, “I’ll order one to be delivered here tomorrow. I need a new one anyway….” But – no internet or, at best, intermittent internet. Bother. “Never mind,” said Jaime, “I’ve got a spare you can borrow.” and, turning to Will, one of the residents of the commune, she continued, “Anne’s forgotten her yoga mat!” Will gave me a wry grin. “We’ve got some we can lend you.” Really? Oh, brilliant! “Well, we are a yoga centre, so it would be mad not to have any mats, wouldn’t it?” So I was sorted.

In addition to yoga, Jaime had organised some other activities, too. In particular, one of our group is a jeweller, specialising in chainmail jewellery and semi-precious stones. She has a great interest in the properties of crystals and stones, too, so she brought a selection for us to choose from and some kits for us to make our own bracelets. Oh, we did have fun. I chose Rosy Quartz, for love, and Black Quartz, for protection, making them for Lily, our granddaughter, because she loves that sort of thing. I hope she likes them!

Last night we had a cracking evening, too. We sat out under the stars, by the fire pit. It was such a delight. We practised our chanting ‘Om…..’ and then nattered away to our hearts’ content. I was very moved by the sight of the starry sky, too, because it was Wallingford, where I have spent many a night with Dave and Chris, and George and his family, and all our kids, star-gazing at that very sky. Brought back wonderful memories.

And then, this afternoon, we had our final group session together before we said our goodbyes. Just before we left, Jaime gave us all a little ‘goody bag’ with seeds to plant for future life, a candle for meditation, a little personal note, and a ‘love’ tea bag for love (obviously). Honestly, that girl worked so hard to make our stay and experience perfect – and it really was. But look at the beautiful material she used to make our bags – reminiscent of that beautiful starry night – cool, eh?

As we began to pack up our things, Fleur, the jeweller, had brought more crystals for us to choose from. I chose the carnelian that you can see in the pic which, apparently, restores vitality and motivation. I could do with a bit of that!!

I think John was pleased to see me when I got home. “Hang on, I’m just doing something on the computer,” were his first words. And then his second words were something along the lines of, “God, you look grim,” Ah. Yes. My hair was a mess. I’d had a massage and the oil through my hair didn’t look the best. Hmmmm…. I think John had been studying my Mum’s ‘Book of Etiquette’ while I was away. Once I’d had a shower and washed my hair though, he relented and said it was lovely to have me home. And I was rather pleased to see him, too.

I’m saving the COVID news for tomorrow – don’t want to spoil the memory of a perfect weekend. Take care everyone. God bless.