Portugal Yoga and Surf retreat 2018

I decided pretty early on in the year that I wanted to go to Portugal on a retreat. I’m 30 next year and have a list of ‘Before I’m 30’ and on the list is to surf and decided to combine yoga and surfing on a retreat. I researched various retreats and chose ‘the ‘Surf, Yoga & Meditation Retreat’ at Shamballah Yoga Retreats, not far from Sintra. My decision was based on what was included in the week as well as the price as many retreats cost a lot!

The week for £800 included:

•       5 nights accommodation

•       5 delicious and healthy breakfasts (buffet)

•       10 Yoga classes

•       5 surf lessons

•       5 healthy and tasty lunches

•       5 healthy and delicious dinners

•       5 guided Meditations 

•       Spring water, teas and various snacks

I booked my retreat 5-11th August 2018 but decided to arrive on 3rd and discover Lisbon as I had never visited Portugal before and wanted to maximize my time. I arrive into Lisbon, on probably the hottest weekend (45C), I am lucky in the fact I really like the heat!

Friday

The first day I arrived following an early flight, arrived at the gorgeous boutique hotel right in the centre of Lisbon. As it was so hot and it was my first day, I decided to head to the beach, it was roughly 25 minutes from where I was staying. I found my spot and opened up a book and stayed soaking up the rays and relaxing for the afternoon. I met a lovely American lady who was travelling with her children who advised that uber was incredibly cheap and reliable in Lisbon, which was reassuring, especially travelling alone.  Once I had enough Vitamin D, I made my way back to the hotel in a uber, the driver was incredibly useful, recommending various must sees in Lisbon.

I had researched into vegan restaurants before I arrived in Lisbon and used ‘Happy Cow’, an app that lists vegan, vegetarian and healthy food options in your area. After settling into my room, showering and getting ready, I went for a walk and explored the beautiful cobbled streets of Lisbon before heading to Ao 26 Vegan Food Project, a lovely little restaurant serving various vegan dishes with excellent service. I had a delicious burger with sweet potato fries and a garlic aioli.

Saturday

The Saturday, I had a rough schedule for the day. After breakfast I made my way by foot to the São Jorge Castle, a castle on a hilltop overlooking the historic city of Lisbon. The views from the castle were absolutely sensational.  I wanted to walk as much as possible in Lisbon as I feel that’s the best way to truly explore a city and gain a real feel for the culture. You also stumble across many buildings and experiences along the way that you may not had planned for!

Sunday

I followed @yogagirl on Instagram and noticed she had written a post about a previous student on her yoga teacher training who was based short term in Lisbon (Melissa Dolan @meld_yogini). I love experiencing yoga around the world as it creates these fantastic relationships and you get to meet the most inspiring people. I contacted Melissa and arrange a 1-1 yoga session early morning during the sunrise at Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara, a landscaped terrace with panoramic views of the city. We had an hours practice which was incredible, Melissa has such lovely energy in her class.

I was collected later that afternoon to begin my retreat! I was really excited and met several other people during pick up who were also on the retreat, one of the other retreaters, I am still in contact with today ad we formed a great friendship (Maud). We got to know a lot about each other as the journey was about an hour from Lisbon, near SIntra.

Upon arrival, we entered this clean, spacious, energised villa and greeted my Patricia and Zariq (the couple who ran the retreats). Patricia took the yoga, reiki and massage while Zariq organized the surfing, cooked and guided us through meditation. We arrived mid afternoon and four of us decided to go for a walk to the beach, this should have taken 10 minutes but having taken a wrong path, Maud and I became separated from the other 2 and end up at the beach 25 minutes later. We dipped our toes in the Atlantic Ocean, goodness it was freezing!

Maud and I arrived back at the villa, everyone else was back as they couldn’t actually find the beach! We all showered, sat down in the out area and read before dinner. During this time we had the chance to chose anything extra that we wanted to do on the retreat. These included:

·       Reiki

·       Deep tissue massage

·       Ayurvedic massage

·       Aquatic special bodywork

·       Voice therapy

·       Guided walks

·       Forest therapy

·       Instrument meditation

I decided to have Reiki, Auyrvedic Massage, Aquatic Special Bodywork and the Instrument Meditation. I wanted to find and afternoon to visit Sintra for a few hours, as we were so close.

Monday - Friday

Monday was the first day the retreat started with 1.5 hours of a vinyasa flow at 07:30, I started each day at 07:00 with some gentle movement and meditation as well as some lemon and warm water. We began with a slow flow and each morning we adding on different poses creating a more dynamic flow. What I loved was that Patricia, like my self, included essential oils in the practice. Following the practice, we all sat around for breakfast. This was delicious and we had fresh fruit, muesli, various milk alternatives, toast with different spreads (aubergine, tomato, parsnip, horseradish, curry) as well as herbal teas and flavoured water.

After breakfast, was free time or if you had treatments book, this is when the treatments began. We were all given a pack lunch to take with us if we were leaving the villa.  The first day was surfing, I don’t particularly like the sea, I’m a weak swimmer but I thought it was time to challenge myself and move outside of my comfort zone. Putting on a wetsuit was not the most enjoyable moment, neither was the initial moment we entered the Atlantic Ocean, wow….I don’t think I have experience such a contract in temperatures, the sun was so hot but the sea was so cold! We practiced the movements and how to stand on the beach first before being let lose in the sea! I can’t remember how many times I fell off but then all of a sudden, I was upright! I can’t begin to explain the feeling of riding the waves! I absolutely loved it! I went surfing the 2nd day but the waves were so big and strong, I was knocked off and must have moved awkwardly as popped a rib out (this happens quite regularly to me as I have a hyper-mobility). The sea conditions got worse throughout the week and so I decided to not surf on the other days. I went for a walk instead on the other days I was supposed to surf with one of the other retreaters along the beach or to the next village. On one afternoon Maud and myself visited Sintra, such a beautiful town. We visited the Gothic Castle and explored the town before heading back to the villa in time for our yin/ restorative yoga practice.

Evenings during the retreat included a healthy dinner, made my Zariq and on most evenings we had a delicious, dessert (healthy of course). After dinner we had meditation or 30 minutes, this was a great way to prepare for bed and sit in stillness following a busy, active day outside.  On one evening instead of the usual guided meditation we had a friend of Zariq and Patrica guide us through a instrument meditation. I have never seen so many different instruments, mostly from South America but a few from Africa and other places around the world. The sounds the instruments and vibrations the instruments made when being played sent such energy trough my body.

On our 2nd to last night we went to a local park with Patricia and Zariq and their friends, they played live music and they had a pizza van, which was owned by Kundalini yoga teachers. This was such a special night, every person there had such incredibly positive energy you couldn’t help but smile! The temperature dropped hugely in the evening but the sunset was spectacular!

Our last day approached and I genuinely did not want to go back home (other than to see my family). I felt in this week I had grown in confidence, grounded myself and something shifted internally that made me view things from a different angle. I finally felt at peace with certain situations and accepted that I needed to heal in various ways and I was ok with that. I am hugely grateful for sharing this week with such lovely people who came from all over Europe as well as for Patricia and Zariq allowing us into their home and guiding us through this week.

My flight wasn’t until the evening so I headed back to Lisbon with Maud to spend the day. We took a tram around the City and went back to Ao 26 Vegan Food Project where we shared a few dishes and enjoyed a cold, crisp and organic glass of vinho!