For the last week I have been in Spain, on my first proper yoga retreat. I have been on a couple of yoga holidays before, but this was a whole different experience. I thought it would be helpful to share my experience with you, as so many clients ask about retreats.

Yoga retreats come in all shapes and sizes and the content and format varies greatly depending on the teacher and the kind of yoga you are interested in — there are actually Pilates retreats, as well.  It’s important to do your research and perhaps ask for recommendations, because going on a retreat can be expensive and uses up precious leisure time. It’s worth taking the time to get it right.

I flew into Malaga and then met up with three other ladies, none of whom I had met before, and we drove to the retreat. I knew that the location would be rural and out of the way, and have to admit that I was a bit nervous. I was fortunate enough to know the yoga teacher quite well and there were also a couple of other friends of mine going along, so the prospect of the week ahead was not quite as intimidating as it could have been. When we finally got to the end of a very rough track up in the hills, it became evident that the retreat really was in the middle of nowhere! The nearest small town was 11km away, so other than the olive trees spanning the countryside as far as the eye could see, there really were no distractions!

The yoga teacher running the retreat was the truly amazing and beautiful Isabell Britsch at the Hacienda near Montefrio. The Hacienda is a private house, not open to the general public, so the entire space is rented by one group at a time. There were 16 of us on the retreat I went on.

The programme for the day consisted of a fairly early start — 8.30am. That was actually quite late, compared to the previous two yoga holidays I had been on, when we began practising at 7.00am! The morning practice was a fairly fiery yang one, challenging and energetic and the session went on until 11.00am. It was great to be pushed to try and achieve greater depth in my practice in a safe environment, with an incredibly supportive group of people. By the end of the session, stomachs were rumbling and brunch was very welcome. All the food was vegetarian and cooked on-site by an amazing chef. The food was plentiful, delicious and varied; it was a real treat.

We were then given time off to sun ourselves around a gorgeous pool. Much dozing, reading and chatting took place — no television and very dodgy WiFi! We were also given homemake cake before afternoon practice, to make sure we didn't go hungry!

Afternoon practice was from 4.30pm until 7.00pm and was very different to the makeup of the morning session. We had a much slower, cooling, yin practice for 90 minutes, giving time to sink slowly into poses, and then finished with 45 minutes of seated, silent meditation. Then came dinner — again, very welcome by this time! After three courses and more chatting it was pretty much bedtime. No alcohol was served during the week, so it was a good opportunity to live a very healthy lifestyle.

Initially, after I arrived and sat in my bedroom with the whole week laid out in front of me I did feel daunted. Would I manage the schedule? Would I get on with everyone? How would it feel to be so far removed from everything?

Having been back a couple of days now and with time to reflect, I can honestly say that it was a wonderful week. Coming back to civilisation felt so noisy and busy and my senses were bombarded! It had been such a lovely, gentle way to pass the days: cleansing, mentally and physically. Being with the same group of people in quite close proximity for such concentrated time could have caused some friction, but everyone was truly inspiring and kind and considerate; I didn't hear an impatient word uttered the whole time I was there. I was glad to get home to friends, family and routine, but it was an experience that will stay with me for a long time to come.

If you know you need some time out of a stressful and busy life, then I would thoroughly recommend it. Maybe a weekend retreat initially, particularly if you have never done anything like it before. I feel more content, balanced and appreciative of what I have and will definitely be going again.

​Hello again! 

You recall that we were just beginning to talk about bandhas in the last post.

Using bandhas helps us to intensify the effect of our pranayama. One way to think of bandhas is as valves which work in a similar way to the valves within the circulatory system. When the heart beats, the blood surges through the arteries and veins. Valves prevent the blood returning to the heart. In this way, the heart beats and blood continues its forward movement. 

Bandhas regulate the flow of prana (life force) in a similar way within energy channels running through our bodies. When engaging locks, energy is forced to spread through these channels more effectively.

In order to activate our bandhas we need to engage internal muscles. Remember my entry a couple of months ago on how to find your core? This is one way in which I find Pilates and yoga to be accomplishing similar things in different ways. Yoga and Pilates concentrate on posture, breathing and using internal muscles to support the body. Pilates takes a very practical approach; yoga takes it further by drawing the connection with the flow of internal energy and the subtle body.

There are three main bandhas: Jalandhara Bandha (Chin Lock), Uddiyana Bandha ("flying upwards") and Mula Bandha (Root Lock).

Jalandhara Bandha — Chin Lock

This bandha involves the neck and upper spine, and makes the whole spine erect. 

Although we talk about having a “neutral” spine in Pilates and the importance of keeping the neck in line with the spine and the shoulders away from the ears, there is no term that directly compares to this bandha. 

To activate Jalandhara Bandha, the spine is lifted so that it is very straight. The head is then pulled back a little, the neck is stretched and the chin is lowered. 

You can perform this bandha in many asanas (seated yoga poses). Engaging this bandha enables primal energy to rise.

Uddiyana Bandha — "flying upwards"

The diaphragm and the lower abdomen are raised. As you begin to exhale, the abdomen is contracted. 

In Pilates we would only contract the abdomen around 30-40%, as this is all that is necessary to engage the muscles effectively. It is a little different when engaging Uddiyana Bandha in yoga; the contraction is a lot more extreme. 

I have never practised the full bandha and for the purpose of the practice I teach, a gentle contraction similar to that taught in Pilates is really all you need to engage the deep, core, tummy muscles and to support the spine.

Mula Bandha — Root Lock

Engagement of Mula Bandha is achieved when we contract the muscles of the pelvic floor. When engaged, the primal energy is able to rise.

The introduction of bandha into our practice encourages good posture and the engagement of core muscles to support the spine. By engaging bandhas, we intensify the effect of the way prana is circulated around the body. You’ll find that the process is cleansing and energising. 

Jalandhara Bhanda positions the torso in such a way that the spine is held erect. This makes it easier for the prana to flow into our bellies. Uddiyana Bandha raises the prana and Mula Bandha helps us to keep it there.

It is important to remember to relax the bhandas at the end of a practice and not to hold them tightly throughout the entire practice. When relaxing in savasana (”corpse pose”) at the end of the class, all muscles should be softened and released. We should never force the body or the breath.

So what do you think? Will you try practicing the bandhas I’ve described? Let me know in the comments how they make you feel and if you experience any problems with them.

This week I’ll be writing a two-part entry to give you a brief introduction to bandhas. Before I drop you in at the deep end, though, I’m conscious of not introducing too many new concepts without the appropriate context, so I want to write a few words about the origins of yoga, how it has been transmitted to us through thousands of years, why we use the language Sanskrit to describe its practices, and how it continues to influence our lives and language right up to the present day.

Let’s talk about one or two basics first.

As I’m sure you know, yoga is an ancient series of physical, spiritual and mental practices that originated in India. How ancient? Well, for a couple of reasons it’s always been a bit difficult to say with complete accuracy. One reason for this is because it was originally taught orally, human-to-human, with nothing written down. Another is that when parts of it were eventually written down, the writing was done on fragile palm leaves that were damaged or lost. It’s believed, however, that early forms of yoga may date back as far as 10,000 years. The actual word “yoga” was first seen in a sacred text, the Rig Veda, which dates from around 3,500 years ago. It means “yoke” or “union”.

One of the sacred books that helped to define yoga was the Bhagavad Gita, a 700-verse scripture probably written between 2,500-2,200 years ago. The Gita made up book six of the larger Mahabharata epic, which discussed, among many, many other things (!) the goals of one’s life. You’ll sometimes see yoga instructors discuss beliefs regarding energy flow and the makeup of the body; those beliefs will often have come from the Gita.

When you hear someone talk about yoga, from time to time you’ll hear them use non-English words to describe yogic practices and beliefs — I use those words in this blog, as you’ll have noticed. The language being used is Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a language — one of the first human languages — that was used throughout India in olden times. It comes from the Indo-Iranian and Indo-European language families and, as such, has influenced the evolution of many languages used today, including English. You speak Sanskrit every day, probably without even realising it. “Aubergine” comes from Sanskrit, as do “avatar”, “cheetah”, “crimson”, “loot”, “punch” and many others. Others such as “bandana”, for example.

Speaking of bandana! The Sanskrit word “bandha” means to hold, tighten, or lock. In the context of yoga, bandhas are a series of internal energy gates within what is called the “subtle body” (the Bhagavad Gita describes the “subtle body” as being composed of mind, intelligence and ego; it controls the physical body) which help the regulation of life force flow. Prana is our life force and pranayama is the breathing technique we can use to send prana more effectively around our bodies.

I can see your head spinning through the webcam on your computer, so I will leave it there for today! Let’s recap: yoga is very old. Its language is Sanskrit. Bandhas are internal energy gates regulating our prana, and we use pranayama as a breathing exercise to send energy around our bodies more effectively. Done!

In the next piece, we will look at bandhas, what they do for us and how we can tell our bodies to use them. I’ll introduce the background to bandhas, explaining where they come from and what they are. I’ll then tell you about the three main bandhas and how to form them.

Until then… namaste (which comes from — you’re way ahead of me! — Sanskrit and means “I bow to you”).