Back home again in the Dales after my holiday, returning to falling leaves and russet bracken on the fell side. Along the edge of the tops there’s a pale, almost white, yellow grass that catches the low autumn sun and shines brightly against skies the colour of limestone crags and dry-stone walls. I think it is the grass a sheep farmer told me wasn’t so good for grazing, which there is so much of it. I must try and find its name.

The house gutters are full of leaves, so that needs sorting out to prevent the drains from getting blocked. I’ll need to get the ladder out or ask a handyman in the village to help. Otherwise, everything seems to be much as I left it. My neighbours across the lane had kept an eye on the house. I’d left them a key and they’d taken letters and packages out of postbox and put them in a neat pile inside the front door.

The yoga retreat in Turkey was in parts fun, relaxing and challenging. The fun bits were good company, excellent food and a therapeutic massage. By its very nature, a yoga retreat is going to attract people who have common interests, so conversations were easy and interesting; and at times absolutely hilarious as people recounted life experiences. It was also possible to talk openly about things like mental health and somatic trauma as everyone was on a similar sort of mental and physical journey.

The food was wonderful! The accommodation was fairly basic, which I’m perfectly happy with, and the meals were exotic, varied and simply delicious. Freshly prepared in the retreat kitchens by a cook from the village with entirely local produce. If you are familiar with the healthy diet recommended by ‘Zoe’ then this was it, with lots of different vegetables and herbs, olive oil, fruits and yoghurt.

The retreat had a small swimming pool with a view over a lagoon to hills and the sea. So one of the relaxing parts was sunbathing on loungers reading or snoozing. There were also nearby beaches to visit and a day out exploring ancient ruins. One morning I took a walk through the forest down to the lagoon and saw a huge turtle swimming close by, eyes watching me from an enormous antediluvian scaly head before they dived and disappeared.

The challenging parts were first of all getting to know a new group of people. But that proved to be easy. However, it took a little while to get used to the etiquette of a yoga retreat. I kept to the back of the class, but I soon found out that I needed to get up to the yoga shala to put my mat out in good time before the class if I wanted to have enough space. I’m sure everyone would have gladly moved to make space, but I’d prefer not to have to ask.

As a complete beginner, some of the yoga positions were not easy for me to get into and hold. But I’ve made a start so now I have to practice regularly so that hopefully I can comfortably flow through the various moves. Have you ever tried yoga? Or perhaps you’re an experienced Yogi who can give us some guidance. 

Rowan on the Moor

A Moodscope member