My puritan fantasy becomes a luminous reality as La Casa Del Yoga offers its first family yoga retreat in Crete this year.
I love life, we are blessed and I can’t complain about much but I have to admit that sometimes I freak out at how scarily modern and technologically-mad the whole family can be (I knew it was getting bad when I peered from over my laptop, Bella’s glued to the television watching Paw Patrol with her tablet in hand, Ruben is upset because he can’t watch the football so he watches it on his phone instead, we haven’t talked for about 3 hours). Not to mention the incessant entertaining, consumerism and spending (I never realised you had to buy your children a present every time you entered a shop) and what about the daily merry-go-round of stress and bickering. So I got thinking, what family wouldn’t benefit from an extremely simple, back-to basics non-technological holiday, I know ours will.
A vegetarian yoga retreat situated down on the south coast of Crete, no-shops, no high-rise buildings, in fact there’s no buildings other than the white washed Greek Tavern, Pavlos Place, that sleeps around 30. Technology is politely packed away and a private beach, hammocks, shabby books, playing cards and daily yoga classes provide the entertainment. What could there not be to love about this puritan fantasy? Except, it’s not fantasy, it’s a luminous reality just waiting to restore peace, zen and maybe even conversation back into your precious family life. I’ve been running yoga retreats for a few years now, mostly it’s either high-flying career folk in need of a detox, single ladies looking to get in shape or mums who arrive frazzled in need of two days of ‘Time Out’. Why not combine the lot I thought, bring peace to all.
Last year I visited Triopetra beach, one of those mystical places that unless you know, you don’t know. Sign posts are planks of wood randomly dotted along a precipitous road bursting with the aroma of fresh lemons and sea air, I felt like I’d just been shipwrecked on a desert island alongside a few hippies and healers, it was heavenly. The whole time I was there, studying under one of my yoga masters, my attention kept wandering ‘I want to bring my family here, I need to bring my family here’.
I must have put out some pretty magnetic manifestations, I’m not sure how it all happened but this year, Ruben, Bella and myself will be hosting a yoga retreat for literally all the family. The idea is while mum does yoga in the morning dads get to lay-in with the children, nobody has to cook, nobody has to drive anywhere or buy anything, when mum and children siesta dad can do the same of go off to golf with Ruben, drink beer, play cards. Whatever. The relaxing evening yoga class can be taken by either mum or dad and then we’ll all eat together under the stars. You’ll probably forget your log-in to your Netflix account, you’ll probably forget all your worries and feel like life is really is as easy as you want it to be. And while we are on this ‘peace and love for all’ vibe, I have made this retreat as cheap as humanly possible, I don’t want this possibly life-changing retreat to break the bank – because where would the stress free fun be in that.
6 nights, all inclusive retreat including all meals, drinks and 2 yoga classes per day for only €650 euros (about £513) per adult. Any partners who don’t want to partake in the yoga classes pay just €480 euros (£379), children under 12 years old pay €120 (£95) and babies under 2 years old are free. There’s no kids club, there’s no nightclub but there are stars, skies, sunlight and fresh air to make you feel truly alive like never before.
About Kathryn
Kat is on the Soul Seed Travel blogging team. You can read her review of the Zest Life retreat in Wales here.
Following the completion of an intensive yoga teacher training in Morocco with Yoga Alliance UK I have continued to progress on my spiritual path, training and studying with the likes of renown teachers Shiva Rea, Simon Parks, Rod Stryker, Bodhiyoga.es (mindfulness yoga), Tara Lee and Uma Dinsmore-Tuli.
I am passionate about sharing the joy of yoga with all and run 2 successful yoga studios in Spain from where I also hosts monthly retreats, combining Buddhist principles, meditation and a flowing form of vinyasa yoga that creates energy, joy and health in every cell, pulse and beat of the mindbody – igniting your soul and enlivening yourspirit www.lifeesbella.tumblr.com
