By Vanessa Fleming, Summersalt Yoga teacher

“I’ve been cheating a lot in this pose,” I admitted to my new teacher, Tonći, as I came down with heaviness and a belt around my arms and a block between my thighs for wheel pose.

“Yes, most people do,” he said, with a smile.

Tonći does not know that I am a yoga instructor. I avoid answering him when he asks what I do. I came to Tonći after a friend recommended him. It was a wise choice.

Tonći is an Ashtanga teacher. I’ve only recently started practicing Ashtanga, and in Mysore, I still get lost on what’s next. But I’ve fallen for Ashtanga recently. The practice itself presents a whole new challenge for me. From alignment I’ve been missing from having a regular teacher (travel teaching does not afford one to have a regular teacher), to exploring new poses I’ve never done before, I feel like a beginner.

But that’s because, well, I am.

This is a whole new ballgame for me. It’s like playing basketball your whole life and then you walk onto the court to play handball. Totally different rules, different mindset, different strengths.

And there isn’t much room to bail when it gets hard. Today, I struggled bad with one pose. I didn’t want to do it. It was next in the sequence, and I had already decided I was going to skip it. Tonći had other plans. He didn’t know I was planning to skip, but I think he sensed my struggle. So he came over, sat with me, and helped me get into the pose. Strong, but careful. Smart and mindful.

This practice, as I go and get in trouble with the sequence or poses, I feel my ego just…dying. I said this to Tonći. With a laugh and his deep Croatian accent, he said, “This practice is built to burn up the ego.”

He’s right. I’m basically on fire right now.

But I’m starting to trust in it a little bit more. I am seeing the progress, even in the short time that I’ve been practicing. I’m connecting with new elements that I haven’t seen in my practice ever, and all those alignment cues that I’ve learned in my 10 years are taking a complete new form and meaning.

And within that, I start again, with fresh eyes and new excitement, all to continue on this life long practice of mindfulness and presence called Yoga.

The post New beginnings – a journey with ashtanga appeared first on Summersalt Yoga Retreats.

By Leah Sugerman, Summersalt Yoga teacher

Each morning as the sun kisses our faces, we offer our salutations to greet it. As we move following the rhythm of our breath, the gentle ebb and flow of the waves echoes our tempo.

Life is slow on this little island paradise in the Adriatic. Its gentle pace reminds us to slow down ourselves: our bodies, our breath, and our minds.

This perfect environment for a yoga practice keeps us drawing inward and reflecting. Listening to the peaceful breeze blowing and the slow movement of the sea, we journey through ourselves.

According to yogic philosophy, our bodies hold energy in the form of chakras. These whirling vortexes of energy exist throughout our bodies and culminate in seven major ones that travel from the base of our spines up through the crown of our heads. This major “highway” of the seven chakras, if clear of any barriers and optimally aligned, allows us to connect to our highest sense of self and our greatest potential in both our everyday and spiritual lives.

Moving through chakras

In each practice, we bring our awareness to one of these seven major chakras through meditation, pranayama (or breath work), and asana (or the physical yoga postures). Tuning our awareness to each these chakras allows us to inwardly reflect on whether or not we feel open and aligned within this space and what it signifies in our lives. By tuning everything else out and sharply tuning our attention inside, we are able to release any stagnant or “stuck” energy from these spaces and create space and alignment wherever it is needed most.

Every day we focus on a different area of our bodies, moving through the base of the spine, the sacrum, the solar plexus, the heart, the throat, the third eye, and, finally, the crown of the head. Each chakra space is associated with a different body part and, therefore, aspect of the physical practice (such as core work or heart openers). As we focus each day on a different area, we’re able to bring both strength and flexibility to this space to align ourselves deeper, both physically and mentally.

Each chakra represents a different part of our psyches as well, so we meditate upon these aspects as we move through our practices. From grounding and rooting down with the root chakra to creating love and self-acceptance with the heart chakra to elevating and connecting to our intuition and sense of purpose with the third eye chakra, we are able to find balance between our bodies and our minds.

Yoga – on and off the mat

Each practice moves us closer to our best version of ourselves. Every release brings us one step closer to alignment. Every revelation brings us closer to a sense of unity and our ultimate calibration for inner peace.

We spend our mornings moving rhythmically with our breath, finding a dance between effort and ease as the sun illuminates the sky. We spend our evenings relaxing and releasing as we draw awareness deeper inside with slow gentle stretches, following the slow release of the sun dipping down toward the sea.

We practice our yoga off our mats as we excursion out throughout the island, mindfully enjoying each moment of our relaxing and rejuvenating holiday. Our awareness is always on this very moment in time—this delicious taste against our taste buds, this picturesque piece of the coastline, this breathtaking view of the town, this invigorating movement of our bodies. Our undivided attention is always to the present—perhaps the greatest lesson of all from our beloved yoga practice.

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By Milda Urban, Summersalt Yoga founder

Visiting the land down under (yes, I said it) was one of the things I’ve ALWAYS wanted to do. It took a while for this particular dream to come true, but time has finally come and I was on my way.

How was it, everybody asks? Well, it was everything and at the same time nothing I thought it would be. Both from travellers and personal experience.

The journey has taught me a lot about how to clear my mind from preconceived expectations and to embrace whatever happens. It once again proved me that being open and going with the flow is so much better than feeling anxious with some hidden hope that this anxiety will bring some results. That letting go of the grip doesn’t mean letting go of your values, goals or beliefs

The biggest revelation, however, was something more specific. A chunk of my journey I have travelled on my own. Solo. For the first time EVER. And only after I left the sunburnt country I understood that those 2 weeks were the biggest meditation and mindfulness school I’ve ever had. Unexpected, yes. But completely true.

Some people go on Vipassana retreats to spend time in silence and by themselves. Travelling by yourself is an incredibly underrated alternative to that.

Baby, let’s cruise…

Unless you immediately find a travel buddy or spend a lot of time at the hostel common areas, pubs and the likes of it, there is a big chance that a large amount of your journey will be spent by yourself, not talking to anyone, silence is broken only by the basic “thank you” and “what’s the Wi-Fi password”.

And (Quelle surprise!), THE not talking turns you to THE thinking and THE reflecting. To turning inwards. To seeing the dustiest corners of your mind and soul. To lifting barriers and creating new pathways. All of that – in overdrive first, but then – into a pleasant cruising and flat out enjoying mode.

Emotional cocktail

With so much time without letting your thoughts being pushed back or silenced by THE talking, at first the stream and intensity of it all may be confusing. Just like a captive set free, the mind goes – freedom!! Now what?!

Crazy(ish) dreams, unexpected, heightened emotions most likely will be your new squad for at least a few days. Some of them be okay to hang out with, some will simply be douchebags you can’t seem to shake.

If this emotion mojito is still not kicking in – blend in the new experiences, surroundings and being outside your comfort zone every day to the mix (all of these will follow while travelling!). In the end, you are left with a Zombie or a strong Long Island Ice tea if lucky.

However, once you pass the initial stage – everything will get better. You will love it!

A gift that keeps on giving

I am not saying that you won’t have a single negative or confusing thought in your head. No. But trust me, so many answers to long contemplated questions will seem clear as day. Some long-held struggles or dilemmas will be offered new solutions. The crippling anxieties or chronic stress s will easy up.

You will notice that just like that you become much more open to the new ideas, experiences, solutions and paths and will be able to look at various questions with a fresh mind.

You know, I feel like I’m either giving away some special long-kept secret here or maybe just boasting the obvious. Either way, going on the road on your own is one of a kind experience and the incredible gifts have gotten on the way will keep on giving long after you’re back home.

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