A search for new beginnings
When Emma Pryke booked a weekend yoga trip to Marrakech with Satvada Retreats, she knew she was looking for inspiration and headspace. Her hunch that a change of scene and a few days away with like-minded souls may help her answer a few big questions turned out to be spot-on. Here's how a three-night Wellbeing Weekend in Morocco helped change the course of her life.
Towards headspace and clarity
September has always been synonymous with new beginnings for me. A fresh school year, the start of autumn - and even though I’m not purchasing new pencil cases and digging out my rucksack this September, the same mentality has followed me into adulthood.
'Change is good’ has been my mantra of 2016, mostly due to the fact that I spent most of 2015 stuck in a rut and grizzling about a lack of direction, but a year ago, September rolled around and things started to shift.
When you find yourself at a crossroads, I find it’s important to take a step back and work out exactly what needs to change. Do you feel engaged and enthusiastic about your job? Do you feel supported and encouraged by your partner? Are you excited about where your life is headed?
These were a few of the questions I was asking myself daily, but the monotony of routine clouded the answers and it seemed a never-ending circle.
In November I flew to Marrakech with my sister, to experience a Wellbeing Weekend yoga retreat organised by Satvada Retreats. I had very few expectations, never having experienced this type of travel before, but what I was certain of was that I needed an out from my life back home for a week, and seeking reflection in a beautiful part of the world, on a yoga mat, seemed a good way to go about this.
Stillness within movement
Staying in a stunning Riad, closed off from the bustle of the city outside I relaxed quickly, enjoying copious amounts of mint tea and getting up (way earlier than normal!) for sunrise yoga sessions on the rooftop terrace.
In the free time between classes and exploring the city I began to look at my life back home without panicking about making a decision. On one of the days I visited a traditional Moroccan Hammam with Sarah, a lady from my group, whilst being scrubbed down ferociously (an entirely different tale!). We chatted about our careers and my ambition to create a more flexible lifestyle and she asked why I wasn’t freelancing. Cue brain cogs creaking and the seed of an idea forming...
This niggle of a thought continued through many Downward Dog poses and Savasanas. And perhaps it was day four when I’d pretty much made up my mind to get home and make things happen. How? That all still needed to be worked on. My point is: that magical moment of change had occurred; the mental block and frustration I felt cleared and I was left energised and excited about returning to the UK and starting a new chapter.
I'll be the first person to admit that I found Satvada's focus on including mindful and meditative periods throughout the yoga practise quite challenging. It took time to challenge the idea that physical movement isn’t worthwhile if one can’t feel 'the burn'. But I've come to realise that the experience of being still is as valuable as the active elements of a yoga practice.
I’m a real advocate that travel enriches your life in many ways, and I wonder whether had I not taken the time to sit back and reflect without the distractions of day-to-day life whether I would have had my eureka moment. Who knows, but a year on I’m sure glad I did.
Brighton-based Emma Pryke attended Satvada Retreats' three-night Yoga Weekend in Marrakech.