Embracing the elements on a YOAS Yoga Retreat in England
Hannah MacInnes reviews a weekend on a characterful eco estate at West Lexham in Norfolk, where she finds bodily connection through strong, slow yoga and early morning paddle boarding and swimming in a wild lake
As I drive to West Lexham I feel the familiar pre-retreat nerves setting in. Mostly at the thought of so much time in my own head and body. A body that has not fully recovered from a broken arm six months earlier.
But ten minutes into the yoga class the first afternoon, my worries are assuaged and what this weekend is about becomes quite clear. This is for my body. A chance to connect with it, accept it, nurture it, stretch it, and to appreciate how important it is to breathe properly and deeply again.
And as I meet the 20 other women, all smiles and perhaps a touch of the same initial nervous energy as me, I feel myself relaxing and have that energising feeling of being with a group of new people: sharing stories and connecting with each other as we all reconnect with ourselves.
“I am calmed and reassured by Jess Horn’s kindness, warmth and sparkle. Her expert classes are long and deep, slow and strong, and we work on every muscle and limb as we listen to her physical directions and words of wisdom”
Jess Horn leads the yoga and the retreat. I am instantly calmed and reassured by her kindness, warmth and sparkle as she welcomes me and shows me to my room. And as we begin the class that afternoon, I feel reassured and enthused by her instruction. She has been teaching yoga for 14 years and it shows.
We practice in a spacious barn with brick walls, stone floor, wooden beams and double doors opening out onto the garden, which brings a breeze and the sound of trees blowing in the wind. We are not moving fast, but the classes, all between an hour and a half and two hours, are long and deep, slow and strong. We work on every muscle and limb and listen to both physical directions and to her words of wisdom.
To mark Summer Solstice during my retreat, each class is aligned to a different element. We ground ourselves to the earth, flow like water, dance about like air and feel the fire within us as, during each session, we explore how we can be more of a balance between them and tune into their natural states. Jess’ guidance in this stays with me long after the weekend is over.
There is something for everyone, and we all find our own pace. I would have benefited just as much whether with or without my injured arm, and the thorough stretching feels like everything my physio would have prescribed. The evening practices are more restorative, and on Saturday they include a sound bath in which we lie on our backs and let the sound waves and vibrations from Jess’s crystal bowls wash over us.
The long sessions give me a profound hunger. Lucky then that we walk straight out of each class and into the dining space, an adjacent room with a big square table, for breakfasts at about 10 am and suppers at 7pm of hearty vegetarian fare. Our plates are loaded with salad, vegetables and grains each meal, with vegan options available when the protein is cheese or eggs. My favourites are a beautifully presented overnight oats for breakfast, a Sri Lankan curry and a mouthwatering vegan lemon cheesecake. I’ve also come home armed with the recipe for Coconut Sambal, an irresistible mix of shredded coconut, lime, shallots, chilli flakes and salt.
I like my simple room, which like most others backs onto the gravel courtyard garden and feels monastic with its concrete floor, comfy double bed, homemade hanging rail and chest of drawers, and has a simple bathroom with a bath and detachable shower head. I sleep deeply here on both nights. Others have paid more for a tree house by the lake, or a teepee.
After breakfast on the Saturday of my retreat I opt for a combination of snoozy relaxation and a walk around and swim in the lake until the yoga at 5pm. I fall in love with a small lakeside house full of shells from which we swim, and sit and read there for a while. Others paddle board, take out the rowing boats, dip in the pool and go for longer local walks. There’s an orangery where peach trees grow on site, and sprawling and abundant wild gardens with roses of every colour, with an organic kitchen garden that uses biodynamic principles – the whole of West Lexham is run on over 9O % renewables and organic principles, and I would have loved a tour explaining the lengths they go to to be sustainable.
The highlight of my weekend is Sunday morning when I get up at 6.3O am and paddle board on the lake in the early sunshine, huge carp swimming around me, before heading to meet the others at 7 am for our group swim. On Saturday the time before yoga is for meditation, but on Sunday we meet and slide into the green water with the ducks together. It is the perfect, giggly start to the day, and is followed by a yoga session in which we focus on the air element.
We dance to music in the barn and out into the garden - women of all ages, from their 20s to their 7Os, gyrating their hips, shaking out their arms and seeming as free as can be. Energised by each other, by the wild, bucolic setting and mostly by Jess, the person playing the music and leading us in our dance.
I leave my yoga weekend with a restored faith in humanity from all these warm hearted women, and resolve not to let worries about a polluted planet get in the way of always embracing the elements whenever I can.
