The yoga retreat that lasts a lifetime

“I’ve come back to work but I’ve stayed relaxed as well. Quite often when you come back from holiday you just forget everything about the holiday…”

Many of us have a problem; we forget our holidays the moment we step on the plane to fly home. The ‘holiday effect’ disappears more quickly than your tan.

Did you take a proper break? Not really. You probably checked your email, checked in with your ‘friends’ on Facebook and opened your laptop more than once.  And don’t get us started on the piles of work facing you when you get back to your desk. Thrown back into the whirlwind of everyday life, you don’t remember the holiday that you returned from just yesterday. Not quite the refreshed holiday feeling you were dreaming of.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. A GoLearnTo.com holidays is the antidote to regular holidays. Here’s the proof from our recent guest, Paul.

From skiing to a yoga guinea pig

Paul is from Glasgow.  He trains accountants putting them through their paces for their chartered exams. He has an intense job. Time off is limited, he works weekends. He’s busy and he needed a break. A real one.

Paul’s major holiday each year is usually skiing in the French Alps. He’s been doing it for almost 13 years and he loves it. This year, he tried a yoga holiday instead.

“I have to say that this ranks as one of the best holidays I have ever had (even up there with skiing!). I will definitely be back next year and might even stay longer.”

He travelled solo to Italy where he spent a week on our yoga holiday in the peaceful hilltop village of Casperia near Rome. Enjoying a car free village surrounded by sunflower fields and the Sabina Hills. Followed by 4 days in gorgeous Rome soaking up the art, culture and enjoying the food.

Tried it. Loved it. Come back relaxed.

Paul is still feeling the effects of his holiday, more than a month after his return.

“I’ve come back to work but I’ve stayed relaxed as well. Quite often when you come back from holiday you just forget everything about the holiday…but I just remember how relaxed I was just wandering about Casperia doing nothing and just chilling out.”

“I’ve managed to keep that aura of calm around me when things get busy at work. I have to say it’s been a really good thing in my life.”

“I am definitely going into a yoga retreat again.”

Switching off on holiday

“I was so chilled out, I didn’t think about work at all.”

This is nothing short of a miracle. Millions of holidaymakers are incapable of switching off while on holiday. They worry about emails, they text their colleagues. They stress about work they (only physically) left behind. That’s not a holiday.

How did Paul manage to switch off, where millions of others fail repeatedly?

Staying active on holiday

Engage in your holiday to disengage from work. It’s simple. Whether it’s skiing or yoga, when you’re absorbed in a new activity your mind is forced to switch off from work and focus on the task at hand.

“The activity is important. When I have an activity to do, like yoga, it gives some structure to my day.” Paul said.

Great holiday moments….

Morning yoga sessions in the garden:

“We did it outside at the garden, and it was just beautiful. The weather was lovely, it was peaceful, there were birds chirping in the background, you’re a million miles away from the city…”

“In my normal life, at 8 or 9 in the morning I’m usually quite busy getting off to work, so just to grab your yoga mats and do yoga for an hour and a half was fantastic.”

Delicious food:

“After yoga we had a huge continental breakfast that was absolutely fantastic. The food that was provided at sunflower retreats was amazing. We had 2 buffets. They were brilliant.”

Relaxing wellness treatments:

Reflexology. Reika. Chaka Dancing. You name it. Paul enjoyed it.

“I think I had one every day. Once you have one, you want to have another one.”

Oh, the people you’ll meet

Okay, so Paul DID spend some time on his mobile phone. To exchange emails and phone numbers with the others on the holiday.

“7 of us formed a nice tight group. We got along very very well and we just became very good friends during the week.”

From North of England, Manchester, London, Wales, Canada, Glasgow. One of the other guests lives 10 minutes away from Paul in Glasgow.

The girl from Canada had been at the retreat for weeks. She’d only meant to go for 1 week, but ended up staying 3 or 4.

They hung out together, swam, explored the surrounding hills, and enjoyed mud baths.

“It was very funny because there we were, 3 of us who’d known one another for 24 hours, sitting together in a mud pool in the middle of the field covered in mud, waiting for the mud to dry.”

Even the teacher was part of the team

Expect to meet fantastic yoga teachers on this retreat.

“Maya was such good fun. Just a joy to be with. She is one of those people, every time you see them, she just sort of brightens up your day. A very very happy, chilled out, spiritual person.”

“One of the reasons I wanted to go on this yoga holiday is because I was also interested in the spiritual side of yoga, not just the physical side, and she really helped. She is really into yoga. Very welcoming and a fantastic yoga teacher. Lots of experience. For one so young, she’s done lots of things. She became part of the team.”

Maya is an intriguing lady originally from Sweden. Nomad by birth and teacher by nature, she has lived in 24 countries. Find out more about Maya here.

Paradise location

“Casperia is like a paradise. It’s absolutely fantastic. The medieval town was just beautiful; you could just spend the whole day wandering round and getting lost.”

“It was peaceful. There were no cars around in the old town, so once you’re inside the walls of the old town there is hardly any noise at all. The only sounds you hear are the locals talking or the church bells ringing.”

So that’s how Paul managed to switch off on holiday and return with zest in his step.