The Glastonbury retreat!
We have just returned from another amazing retreat at the most beautiful Lower Coxbridge House (how you steal my heart).
It certainly wasn’t intentional, but clearly meant to be, as the full moon arrived on the Saturday, a big and powerful one too, Scorpio, with a sting in her tail and a lot of emotionally charged energy to challenge us all in our own way. This was the perfect time for retreating and letting go and we embraced both.
Olga’s amazing vegan food, made with love, was just perfect and really helped to support the healing s that took place over the weekend. This was a big one. It felt at times that a tornado came through Lower Coxbridge House and whipped everyone up in its path turning us upside down and around again and making us look at things differently, see through the detail, be clearer. At times it might have been devastating, at others, liberating.
Saturday afternoon and the usual pilgrimage up the Tor, it has to be done, following in the footsteps of many for an awfully long time now. There’s something special about pilgrimaging, even if you don’t really know the reason that you’re doing it. Some went into town, others chilled out at the House, others still went for massage, there is so much to do here, finding the time is the problem.
I was so pleased that Sam joined me for the obligatory skinny dip in the White Spring, in the cavern that the boys find a little overwhelming as it is lit by candles and is probably a bit too out there for even them. Ewan skinny dipped after us. It just makes you feel so alive, cleansed and invigorated every time.
We held a burning bowl ceremony on the Saturday evening, when the weather had calmed and we were treated to stunning sunset skies (how I love those sunsets here). Bless Elijah for taking his role so seriously and carefully in helping daddy set up the fire and keep it going while the ladies wrote their notes to burn in it.
At the time I felt like crying, but looking back, I can only laugh at the timing. Just about the time the full moon peaked on that Saturday evening, Eben tipped a small shovel full of cold ash from the log burning stove in the barn (my back was turned for What felt like a second!, I wasn’t even checking my phone or anything!) into the bath I had just run for him and Elijah. It was late. I was tired. I wanted to sit with the ladies by the fire and in the moonlight and we still had to get the children to bed. Now we needed to run the bath all over again…
…it was perfect timing really. I did my fair share of letting go later that evening! Ash in the bath. That sums up that moon. It mixed everything up. The light and the dark. Everything got properly stirred up. My phone went missing…I couldn’t photograph the full moon (thank you Mandy for capturing her)…but my phone going missing found me wondering outside in the later hours trying to find it so that i actually got to see the moon rising, not that I felt like giving thanks to her at that exact time. She stirred good and proper this moon cycle!
I awoke early the next morning to step out of the yurt and find the mists of Avalon had returned. How I love the early morning mists and the Tor appearing finally in the distance, like it was, like it is, coming home to Avalon and the Goddess.
We were treated to views of a hot air balloon going over the Tor and we couldn’t help commenting on the fact the balloon was red. As if the Goddess herself was sailing past us and bringing with her a sense of calmness and renewed energy. There was still residue to release in class however and some fabulous compass poses to try to orient ourselves again!
There’s nothing I love more than teaching yoga in that space, you journey there, there is no doubt. The chanting, the breathing, the asana, the resting, the Reiki, the robins gazing in, I just love it all and am so grateful that I can share it with others as they make that journey too.
I bought a little image of the labyrinth for my altar and that summed up the weekend. We made it through the labyrinth, or so it felt to me returning home yesterday evening. That was one huge journey we all went on together. Thank you ladies and the Goddess for supporting us. Thank you to my beautiful boys for showing me the way, as always, and for loving Lower Coxbridge House as much as I do.
That was definitely a special and memorable retreat.
Love xxx
P.S. You can see more photos on the Facebook page.
P.P.S Thank you Alex for this photo and to Kristin, Mandy and Ewan for the others. xx
