Yoga for Pleasure Retreat

  with Hazel Morrisey and Syamananda Das Brahmacari

Yoga sunset

  • Five Yoga Classes with Hazel 
  • One class-room based presentation on Yoga Philosophy with Syamananda 
  • One two-hour walk in a local nature reserve 
  • Optional extras: talks and kirtan (traditional yoga music) and aromatherapy massage.

Hazel Morrissey has over 20 years experience teaching Yoga. She has a gentle and pleasant-to-experience teaching style. Her classes suit mixed ability, but even if you've never done a class of yoga in your life, she'll be able to cater for you.

 

Hazel says: Pleasure is traditionally associated with the five senses; how we respond to the world and environment. Pleasure is a feeling of wanting more of something, and we become attached to the objects of those five senses to continuously bring us satisfaction. Whether it be food (taste), sex (touch), music (hearing), perfume (smell), art (sight), we look outside to these external sources for fulfilment and happiness. But Yoga brings us a new pleasure which is more durable and life-enhancing, a pleasure which is not dependant on sensory stimulation, but arises from within us.

Five sensesAs teachers we often spend time stressing the health benefits of Yoga practice, how it de-stresses the mind and stretches the body, how you can lose weight and improve your fitness etc. However the main reason for practising Yoga is because it is extremely pleasurable! Unlike all other forms of exercise it has a quality that is unique and quite mystical. We begin to stretch, to learn how to engage with the breathing process, turn all of our energy and focus inward and pay attention!                                            

As you attend Yoga practice not that much may have       changed objectively, but somehow you begin to see things in a new light, feel more relaxed and positive. Hard to        explain I know, but like everything else we do, it has to be experienced first hand to make it                                    believable.                                                                  

It’s a way of letting go of all those roles we play and the demands of responsibilities we take on, a sense of surrender to a state of just being who we are, not doing anything to prove it. We find the joy of discovery of our own bodies again even though we may be stiff or feel awkward, these are only signs that everyone has limitations and concerns. But the body doesn’t lie or confuse, if we choose to listen it always tells the truth - there is no faking it.                                                                             

Yoga teaches honesty and patience and the pleasure we    receive is pure pleasure, not tainted by guilt or                  regret.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                

 below: A Vedic figure perfoming the namaste gesture 
along a woodland walk of Inis Rath Island

namaskar

 

   (Hazel continues...)

Tension and stress are what defines the life situation of so many people. We give our energy to others who demand our time our emotions our efforts, we feel burnt out highly strung with tension lodged in all our muscles and joints. We feel pain and distress. Pain however can be wake-up call to change our condition and take positive steps to make beneficial changes

As a Yoga teacher for over 20 years I often observe after class how students faces glow with an inner beauty. Something about their attitude and posture tells me they have felt that deep soft relaxation and contact with an inner world that results in shining eyes and happy smiles.

 



Syamananda has been a monk for 18 years. He leads dynamic talks and discussions in Philosophy that are sure to get you thinking. He'll explain some of the deep purposes of yoga based on the Vedic texts of ancient India.

syam-discuss

above: discussing Yoga philosophy with monk Syamananda  

 

  All prices include:

  • Return ferry crossing(s) to Inis Rath Island 
  • Free parking on the mainland adjacent to island 
  • Accommodation for duration of retreat 
  • Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and complimentary herbal teas every day 
  • All classes and workshops 

      Fees for this retreat:

  • €185 per person in shared accommodation 
  • €225 per person for two friends or a couple sharing, en suite 
  • €245 en suite single room (limited availability) 
  • All children are FREE. Accompanying teenagers (13-19yrs) get 50% discount. Youths are welcome to join in all classes.  

 

 

 How to Book:

(1) Email us to let us know your requirements and to check availability.

(2) If you decide to book we ask for a deposit of €100 per person.

Email and Payment options here - Contact and booking

 

 

 Go to Retreats Main Page 

 

 

 

photo1