I was lucky enough to WIN a CHILLOUT RETREAT at the OM Yoga Show in London last October. My first ever retreat! I was so impressed with the beautiful Barn venue and vast views over Arundel. What made it so special was that Chillout Retreats is family run by sisters Nat and Lucy - Nat teaches yoga and mindfulness, while Lucy dishes up delicious, nourishing veggie food. Their daughters helped with mealtimes, cooking pancakes and making desserts and even clearing away the dishes. Together, they created a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. There were 3 yoga classes and 1 yogalates class over the weekend, each with a different theme - from restorative to dynamic, with easy-to-follow guidance and lots of fun with balancing and partner poses. I enjoyed doing core and stability moves, balancing a ball on your back, and imagining you're a king prawn in a sushi roll, while lying back over your partner in childs pose. We also had two long evening mindfulness sessions, on the breath and on compassion. It's so rare in modern life to treat yourself to a longer meditation. I was a little nervous about who was going to be on the retreat, and how we would mix, but Nat & Lucy created an optimal environment for us to relax and have a laugh together. We ate together, went on a walk exploring the beautiful cathedral, castle and surrounding countryside in monsoon rains, (we saw the funny side!) and had fun creating and sharing visions in a life coaching workshop. The retreat lived up to its title for everyone, and the following Monday morning, when my daughter shared the fact that she hadn't brought her homework book home over the weekend, and had lost all her uniform shirts in the last couple of weeks, there were no raised voices, just two people calmly discussing the best way forward. That's the power of Chillout Retreats.
