Summer Newsletter 2021
News, inspiration, yoga sequences and a prayer!
Dear friends,
greetings from Eagles Rock Retreat to you all.
It’s been a while since we wrote with all the craziness and uncertainty.. but now that summer is truly under way I feel a writing inspiration coming on.
In the absence of events, we have been making ourselves busy in useful ways, getting to do things which would not get done otherwise. We are learning to grow as much of our own food as possible, we have five different varieties of a potato this year and I hope that we actually get some ripe tomatoes this time! We are also growing sweet corn and lots of other fruit and veg. Gooseberries and currants are nearly ready and the challenge now is to keep the birds away from it!
I am looking forward to making jam very soon.
I have continued my watercolour painting throughout the year and it has become as important to me as yoga for de-stressing and keeping my sanity intact. It is a true meditation to become so immersed in something you love doing.. time stands still.
We are truly delighted that events are back on and it is wonderful to meet new lovely guests at the weekends. Ferdia, who is now four, gets particularly excited and usually steals the younger, female retreat participants for himself to play with and he loves to lead the walks! He gives us lots of laughs these days.
If, like us, you are staying on this island this summer, we have plenty of retreats and one day events to choose from. To name but a few,
We have a five day Yoga and Walking Holiday on the 14-18th July and there are still a few spaces left in case you fancy joining us. We love hosting longer retreats, as with the extra time everyone truly relaxes and gets the most out of the experience. We will be taking our holiday makers for some truly amazing hikes in the Mourne mountains, and of course there will be more time to make new like-minded friends, to embed yoga into your life and to be inspired on your journey to a healthier life.
At the end of August, we have our friend and a senior Iyengar Yoga teacher Annette Cahill returning to teach another wonderful weekend of top class yoga, with all the yummy food, beautiful walks and warm hospitality to compliment.
John McKewn will be back in September with the Wim Hof training. This is a truly life-changing experience. Exposure to cold has so many health benefits, and there has not been more important time to take control over your own health, than it is now. Combined with the best yoga tuition, you will feel amazing.
We are taking a break from teaching online classes in July and August, but we will be back in September. We have a few sequences for you to practice.
One sequence that I would like to bring your attention to is the one to support your immune system. This is a variation on a sequence for emotional stability. As BKS Iyengar would say, you can not have a strong and healthy immune system without emotional stability.
I am going to leave you with this powerful version of the Serenity prayer:
“May I take deep responsibility for all the consequence of my actions, both intentional and unintentional.
May I take deep responsibility for my emotional states.
May I take deep responsibility for everything I control and everything over which I have some
sort of influence.
May I accept complete surrender in all those aspects of life in which I have absolutely no control or influence.
May I cultivate tremendous trust and acceptance wherever my control and influence end. May I relax into the deep vulnerability of human life.
And between what I control and what I do not, what I influence and what I do not, may I have the wisdom, the courage, and the insight to know the difference.”
Lots of love from all of us at Eagles Rock Retreat!
Stuart, Martina, Oisín and Ferdia
