Holidays are coming up! Are you excited? This should be a time to celebrate and be with your loved ones. If this is exactly what you need at this time of year, then this is not the right time to go on a retreat. BUT, before you read any further. Stop, pause, take a breath… We do not have a lot of days off. Is this really what you need during this time of year or is this what we ‘should be doing’ this time of year. Does this bring you joy or does it actually give you more obligations than you already have? If you have any doubts about what you need this time of year, then we invite you to read further.
Take a break
Most of our guests go on a retreat to relax, escape the busy life from home. They come here to take a break and yes, you will get to experience that. While you are among the beauties of nature, you have a huge king bed, a hammock on your balcony, a delicious rain shower and a pool with a stunning view over the jungle and ocean. But to get to experience this, it is not necessary to go on a retreat. You can go to any beautiful destination that gets you away from your daily life.
Why setting new intentions doesn’t work
During the Holidays we tend to over eat and we set a new intention for the new year to treat our body healthily. To get rid of the extra kilo’s, we start the new year working out more than our body is used to. This goes well for a couple days, but as we already have our busy lives our body can not keep up the pace. We are setting ourselves up for failure. We feel more tired than we were before and we feel bad about ourselves for not living up to our standards. Sounds familiar?
Treating your body as a temple
Why not handle it differently this year? At Eden we honor our body as a temple. We fuel our body with delicious nourishing healthy vegetarian meals and juices. All meals are very well balanced with all fresh ingredients and no processed sugars. Some fruits and veggies we even get from our own garden. You will get to experience all the good stuff that nature has to offer. We start our day with a meditation and an energized vinyasa practice and end our day with another meditation and yin practice. During the whole week you are free to use our jungle gym and during the week we will take you to a stunning secret beach to do a beach work out. All classes are structured in a way your body gets what it needs. That’s the beauty of yoga. It will bring balance in so many ways. If you are naturally flexible, you will get stronger. If you are naturally strong, you will get more flexible. Yoga balances the body, mind and soul, so you will feel more in line with yourself. It is a beautiful practice, and all classes are given by very passionate and experienced yoga teachers.
Changing perspective
In the Western world we usually have a very fast paced lifestyle. This should not be a problem as long as we can find balance within ourselves. Sometimes this means we need to change our outer world, but what if we could change our inner world? Maybe we just need to change our perspective. I am sure we all have experienced a flow state, where you can get a lot of things done, without feeling stressed. You are so absorbed in what you do, you go in a state beyond time, it just flows.
Empowering your intentions
“It’s better to walk your own path imperfectly, than someone else’s path perfectly”. – Bhagavad Ghita
The ancient teachings of yoga and mindfulness can help us to find balance within ourselves. During the retreats we offer workshops to share the teachings of yoga OFF the mat. Because our asana practice is just a small part of yoga. At Eden we share the teachings of yoga to enter a flow state, to use techniques to handle stressful situations without feeling stressed. To set a foundation within ourselves that is so strong, that no matter how big the storm, we remain standing. There will be time to reflect upon our lives and check in with ourselves if we are walking our own path or the path of someone else. Like the Bagavad Ghita says: “It’s better to walk your own path imperfectly, than someone else’s path perfectly”. During this week you can immerse yourself in the beautiful teachings of yoga, so you have a strong base and feel empowered to live up to your intentions for the new year.
A new family
You will go on an inner journey with like minded people and connect on a deeper level. In our beautiful cacao ceremonies we create a safe space to learn a little bit more about ourselves, share our feelings and experiences and gain more clarity which direction we would like to go. While sitting down at the bonfire, we let go of the things that are holding us back. After these ceremonies guests usually experience a love from within, while being connected with the elements of nature. A state we can all enter by just shifting your awareness. You will have a new family to spend the Holiday with, so your loved ones back home will enjoy the best version of you during the rest of the year.
Happy Holidays!