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Shining your light within
We all gather in close as our retreat host, Danielle Bendall, shares a few special welcoming words. The vivid blues of Tasmania’s east coast hang behind her like a backdrop of nature in her prettiest mood. The azure waters meet the lighter bluish hue of Schouten Island on the horizon, with Maria Island to our far right. The rich blue skies hold a few puffy clouds, suspended above what’s fast becoming a circle of new friends. We have all gathered for a Santosha Yoga Australia Retreat and Tasmania has turned on the evening weather. Danielle offers Tassie and Bali-based retreats as well as regular yoga classes in Kingston and Kettering, south of Hobart. Having practised herself for more than two decades, her Vinyasa Flow and Yin yoga classes are all about calm. I smile with silent relief when she says, ‘I believe there’s no such thing as being good at yoga.’ ‘Shining the light within,’ Danielle adds, ‘is really the theme of the weekend. It’s about looking inward at ourselves, but also shining our light and being the best version of ourselves that we can be in this world.’ Already the smiles are growing wider in our grassy circle, and the women relax into their new company. There are sisters from the mainland, a busy former ER nurse with five young children, and chirpy grandmothers in the fold. Some know each other, some don’t. But already we feel connected and buoyed by the comforting welcome. By nightfall we’re gathering together for a long-table dinner courtesy of chef Courtney – a flavoursome curry, vibrantly coloured veggies and fresh herbs. We follow this with a candle-lit Yin Yoga, where more than one of us drifts off in the final stages. The yoga is punctuated by lines of poetry and excerpts from books that have moved Danielle. Already, this retreat feels more like a beautiful journey of self care and self exploration well beyond the yoga mat. We all fall into bed, lulled to sleep by the waves just metres away. I’m shocked when daylight streams into my Hampton-styled room and the phone tells me it’s 5.07am. I excitedly wander about the living space in quiet tip toes, waiting to meet the sunrise. I then head out for a jog followed by an invigorating swim at nearby Kelvedon Beach. It’s a glorious start to the day – running the coastline with Julia Baird’s Phosphorescence audiobook filling my headphones (which, serendipitously, Danielle had brought along). By 8am we’re all perched on a deck for morning meditation. Once again, Danielle has snippets of gold she shares from books before taking us through a sensory journey that invites closer attention to our salty lips and the chirps of birds that are seemingly delighted to wake up here for another day. Outdoor yoga follows, because the sunshine demands we don’t head inside. After a nourishing brekkie, the day flows as easily as the company. We glide up the road in Danielle’s quiet electric car for a group swim and return for an afternoon of free time, workshop, another delish meal and restorative yoga to finish. By Sunday morning, we all agree that we don’t want to leave. Our yoga family were practically strangers but are now giggling friends in our closing circle. Without doubt, our light is shining a little brighter now thanks to our shared Santosha experience. ‘Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.’ <Pullout?> – Austrian psychiatrist and author of Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl santosha.com.au [email protected] |