Online Yoga Retreat: Awaken and Transform

Friday 31st – Saturday 1st April 2023

Springtime Awakening: Awaken and Transform with our Springtime Online Yoga Retreat

“The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?”

Jack Kornfield

I always think of the Spingtime Equinox (March 21st) as the real new year. This is the time when we’re (maybe!) well rested, we’ve had a long winter staying indoors and cultivating our inner light. It’s been a time of rest, nourishment and supporting ourselves and others. Spring is the time to awaken. It’s time to start to put into action all those New years intentions and plans, and to step out into the light

I love a new beginning with all the optimism for the future that beginnings bring.Renewal brings hope that any stagnation will change; that the unhelpful habits that we (as a species!) have acquired can be shifted. It brings optimism that the shoots of green are indeed growing under the bare looking soil. Even when it doesn’t look like much is happening, new shoots are sprouting. How wonderful to think that there is still time for our hopes and dreams to come true!! And the best thing is, this year we will have more energy, more tenacity to make our projects happen in the springtime!

But before we all start to charge around, let’s take stock. This is a time to just press pause, for a short moment, to consider the time of awakening, to consider that fresh moment of transformation. This is perhaps the most powerful time of year, the time when we can enact all those plans. But before we do that, it’s important to pause, take deep breaths and consider our direction of travel.

Feel renewed, vibrant and awakened, as if coming out of hibernation from a long, beautiful rest. Yawn, stretch and take in the power of community. Your fellow travellers who will be supporting you as you step into the light.

What to expect

Our retreats are well known for being friendly, inclusive and welcoming spaces. We welcome all bodies, all levels of mobility and all backgrounds. Our retreats are a time to come together, with Founder Kat, and our world-class teachers, to get personal feedback, to ask questions, to move and breathe together as a community, knowing that when we all awaken as a community together, we become more powerful and stronger. This is just a mini-retreat, as we know that the urge to be outdoors in Springtime is strong. So this retreat is a very manageable package – just friday evening and Saturday for the morning class, lunchtime Q&A and evening class with guest teacher. All the classes (except the Q&A) are recorded so if you miss any, or you particularly enjoy a class, you can go back and re-visit the practice.

The Teachers

Our teacher on this retreat is Lucy McCarthy, one of MFML’s favourite teachers. Her classes are always weaved in with yoga philosophy, breathwork, mudra, perhaps some chanting, and yoga nidra. She manages to encourage us to move but only in ways which feel good to each of us. The classes that she will teach on this retreat are designed to open us up to awakening, to moving in ways which feel strong and supportive. Do check out Lucy’s classes here.

Our guest teacher, Dirish Shaktidas, will teach for an hour’s class on Saturday night. His classes are always playful and fun, inspiring and vibrant. Do check out Dirish’s classes here.

Kat Farrants is the founder of MFML and she will be binding the retreat family together by hosting the discussions and supporting you all in sharing opinions and experiences.

The Schedule

All sessions will be hosted live on Zoom and are suitable for all abilities; you are welcome to join no matter which stage what of your yoga practice you are at, or no matter your level of mobility. We will be offering suggestions for a range of additional classes which you can practice in your own time through the weekend.

We recommend you take the whole weekend off as if you were away on retreat! Spend time in nature, read books, journal, relax, book in a massage or bodywork session and eat nourishing foods. We’ll even be sharing some recipes for you to try out.

Friday 30th April

6.00 – 7.30 pm BST | Deep Rest to Reset

A evening of peace inducing practices of yin, breath work culminating in a long sweet yoga nidra to induce deep states of rest and release.

Saturday 1st April

9am – 10.30 am GMT | Blossom and Bloom

An uplifting and fluid all-levels Vinyasa yoga class that will dive into twists and back bends in order to invite a cleansing out of stagnant energies whilst creating space for the blossoming of your innate radiance.

12pm – 1pm GMT | A lunchtime Q&A with Lucy

A cosy, informal chance to ask any questions relating to anything that has come up in the retreat so far or indeed any burning questions you have about yoga that you would like to ask!

5pm – 6pm GMT | Yinspiration for Balance with Dirish

This session combines a powerful Kundalini-style breath work and yin yoga stretches which help to release tension, gripping and tightness to bring back lightness. This includes a special chakra cleansing technique to build inner vibrancy and clarity. You may need a blanket to sit on and a bolster.

6pm – 7pm BST | Settle and Soothe

A closing session to integrate all the work from the weekend. Through gentle movement, breath work and some guided meditation the invitation is deep nourishment and ease for your own Spring awakening in the coming times

If you cannot attend a session, don’t worry, we will record the sessions (except for the live Q&A) and they will all be available for 14-days after the retreat for you to enjoy.

What You’ll Get

• The support of our community of Movers, alongside support of Founder, Kat, who will be hosting each of the sessions, alongside our teachers, Lucy and Dirish.
• A retreat PDF full of ideas for how to make the most of your retreat, plus additional suggested reading and listening materials
• 6 hours of live tuition with some of the world’s leading teachers

Cost

We know that some of you are facing some real cost-dilemmas and we know that sometimes our wellbeing practices are the first to suffer when life gets hard.

We want you to know that we are there for you.

Therefore, we are trialing a ‘Pay As You Feel’ retreat price.

There is a suggested price, which we ask you to pay, if you have the means. We have had to increase our regular price, as like you have noticed within your own life, the costs of everything has sadly increased, and while I have internally tried to address these costs by cutting down so much within MFML, the true cost of a space on this retreat is £70.

If finances might get in the way of you joining, we will welcome you to the retreat, and you can pay what you think that this will be worth to you. This is the Buddhist system of Dana. The minimum that we can accept is £15, because like you, we are also struggling at these times. 

Those of you do have the means to support us, please do feel free to pay more than the suggested price. We want so much to continue to support you for years to come, with community and the magic that these spaces give us all, however we can only do that if we continue to have your support through tougher times.

Please do get in touch if you have any queries whatsoever about the retreat, about payment, or any concerns at all. We always really love to hear from you.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the retreat, drop us a message on support@movementformodernlife.com

Terms & Conditions

Practicing safely

The live online retreat is for your education and your enjoyment only. You are participating in the live classes at your own risk. You are encouraged to to take breaks when needed and/or when in doubt, don’t do sequences that you are even a little concerned about. If you have any health condition, please seek medical advice before taking any form of exercise. If you have any concerns, please let us know before the retreat starts.

If you feel unwell in any way or if you experience any discomfort during class, please stop the class and consult your health practitioner immediately. Remember that yoga is mostly a journey off the mat and into life, and it is a journey about taking responsibility for our own actions and cultivating self-knowledge. Only choose exercises which will nurture and support you, and please take responsibility for yourself and your current abilities during your practice. Remember that each day is different, and even if yesterday you were able to perform a movement, that is no indicator that the same exercise is possible today. Please move within your comfortable limits and if you’re in any doubt whatsoever, please seek medical advice.

We are not medical practitioners and we do not seek to offer medical advice. Please consult your healthcare practitioner before starting any new exercise. This is particularly important if you have any limiting condition or are, pregnant, nursing, regularly taking medications, or have any existing medical conditions. We do not accept any liability whatsoever for any injury or damage, either during or after this retreat. Your participation in this retreat is entirely voluntary and at your own risk, and you agree to abide by the T&Cs of Movement for Modern Life.

Payment

Your secure payment will reserve your place on this very intimate, special online retreat. No refunds will be made.

Your data

By signing up to the online retreat, you consent to us adding your name and email address to our marketing database. If you do not wish to receive emails from us outside of this retreat, please do let us know and we will be sure to remove you from our database.