So, I’m sitting on the porch of The White House (no, not the one in Washington!); along with ten other lovely yogis. We are staying in a charming, colonial-style mansion (owned by the funny and friendly Devinda) on the South West coast of Sri Lanka. Think super high ceilings, a cute courtyard with a frangipani tree, Buddha statues, coffee table books (on subjects like Sri Lanka’s Tame Elephants and The Encyclopedia of Dreams) surrounded by lush greenery.
In the garden, there’s a yoga shala, coconut palm trees and you can hear the calming sounds of nature – swallows singing and the lulling crashing waves of the Indian Ocean.
At dusk, the crickets and glow worms come out to play. There’s the distant whistling of the local trains (a ride on one of them is a must), the occasional yapping and howling of the owner’s friendly dogs (Prince and Bo) and sometimes a dramatic thunderstorm followed by tropical-esque rain.
We have just finished a sweaty, morning session of Vinyasa Flow (attempting handstands) with the lovely Camilla who teaches at Urban Yoga and did the Crow Pose for Yoga Pose of the Week and is now leading her second retreat here. Today’s theme is letting go of fear. Later on, at sunrise, I’ll lead the outdoor, Zen-inspired candlelit meditation.
But for now, we are learning the art of chilling. I’ve just had one of the best Ayurvedic massages ever, with a local medicine man (called Priyantha) who harnesses the power of fresh aloe vera leaves (the fresh aloe liquid helps to heal the body). His firm pressure magically seems to release the tension in my shoulder area and an hour later I feel I’m floating on cloud nine.
Many of the lovely yogis who have joined us on our retreat work in high-stress corporate environments and are simply looking to relax, have fun and gain some much-needed inner peace. Besides yoga and meditation, Ceri, our resident life coach is on standby to give advice.
After morning yoga, there’s always a hearty breakfast to look forward to. Delicious local dishes include Pol Sambol (homemade spicy coconut mix), mangosteens, passion fruit mango jam with coconut roti, to Sri Lankan hoppers and so on. I could move here just for the delicious local dishes!
Afterwards there’s free time to explore. The local beaches are super relaxing and the choppy waves make them ideal for surfing. You can do a tour of a lush, tea plantations, get up close and personal with the elephants at a nearby sanctuary (just be careful you don’t whacked with an elephant trunk while trying to take a selfie!)
A 20-minute tuk tuk ride away is Galle Fort – an atmospheric town (which is actually a UNESCO world heritage site) with colonial-style boutique hotels, art galleries and quirky cafes. On market day, expect to hear the dulcet tones of a live guitar-strumming musician in the town square while locals play cricket. Then just before sunset, we will enjoy another round of restorative yoga before we will chat about love and compassion while incense burns, during our group meditation.
I could get used to this Zen way of life, where you walk around in barefoot, sip on coconut water and chat to like-minded souls about anything and everything, from how to make cashew milk to astral travel, Wayne Dyer’s book on Tao and how ‘real’ everything in Sri Lanka looks – from the shape and colour of the local fruit to the natural, sandy beaches. Here, you appreciate the happiness in the simplicity of life. As the Turkish novelist, Mehmet Murat Ildan says: “If you live a simple life, you will own the most beautiful treasures in the world”.
Namaste from Sri Lanka!
Love,
