Yoga on a Cornish beach
1st July 2019
We invited Next Wave Yoga to be our latest guest blogger, to give you plenty of inspiration for a relaxing Beach Retreats stay…
Let’s set the scene…
It’s 8.30am on a Monday morning with Next Wave Yoga. Instead of being near the end of your morning commute to work, or rushing the kids off to school, you are on a beach in Cornwall. Perhaps it is not just you, but the whole family is there with you. The beach is still quiet, there are only a few people walking their dogs. Instead of being sat on a train or in traffic you are sat on a yoga mat with sand between your toes and the sound of the sea and birds. Your yoga teacher asks you to close your eyes and for a few minutes just allow yourself to really listen to everything going on around you, to be ‘present’ and enjoy where you are in that moment.
It’s hard not to enjoy where you are when you are sitting on a beach with the sun on your back and listening to the sound of the waves. For the next hour you are guided through a yoga class that has been created specifically for you, with careful guidance and assistance when necessary. This ensures you have plenty of time to come back to ‘that place’ of just being still and listening to the world before rolling up your mat and heading off for breakfast.
What a great way to start the day.
We are exceptionally blessed in Cornwall to be surrounded by beautiful coastline, hidden coves and tucked away woodlands that are open for us to use as our ‘yoga studio’. Instead of four walls, air conditioning, false lighting and the person next to your mat being less than an inch away from yours, we want you to be able to experience space, the ability to move freely and breathe deeply. If you have never stood and intentionally taken lung fulls of fresh sea air before, you are in for a treat.
The outdoors is part of a Cornish lifestyle and our environment is our greatest asset. We want to share it with you.
Over the years we have received an abundance of research into the effects of our modern and indoor lifestyle on our physical and mental health. Studies have shown how positive just a simple walk in the park or stroll across the beach can be and the longer you spend outside the more positive those impacts are. Just a 20 minute walk can improve short term memory, boost creativity, reduce stress and anxiety, allow for clearer thoughts, lower blood pressure and even reduce inflammation in the body.
Yoga also helps with all of these things – combining the two is pretty magical and the beauty of the practise is, it can be done anywhere you have space to roll out a mat. A lot of the yoga classes that we do are actually within holiday homes like Beach Retreats’ making use of the wide terraces, private gardens and beautiful views from open plan sitting rooms. This makes it easier for the whole family to join in.
We understand that your time away is precious so we bring the yoga studio to you.
It may be that you want to have just one class to end your stay or daily classes to really reap the full benefits, create your own vinyasa flow, experience yin, yoga nidra or even just master your Downward Dog – the choice is yours. You could even turn a day of your stay into a mini yoga retreat to include a morning and afternoon class, massage treatments, sound baths and even a cookery class with a nutritionist.
We want you to feel free to create what you need to help you truly, relax, recharge and ultimately go home feeling like you have a new found love for ‘self care’ and can take on the world. Maybe after one more Savasana…
For more information visit nextwaveyoga.co.uk or bespokeretreats.com.
A little more about Next Wave Yoga
Next Wave Yoga was created to make the benefits of yoga and massage accessible to all. Founded by Amy Williams, an experienced level 3 massage therapist and passionate yogi, we are a truly holistic approach to relaxation and healing based in Cornwall offering group yoga classes, private yoga classes, massage treatments, unique bespoke retreats and much more.
Next Wave specialises in tailoring experiences to the individual. That means anything from creating a plan for dealing with stress and anxiety through yoga or helping your aches and pains with deep tissue massage or getting all f the family together for some yoga fun on the beach.
It’s no secret that we think massage is a little bit magic. Helping to alleviate aches and pains, improve circulation, aid the lymphatic system, helps the body recover for sporting activities and injuries quicker and creates more space and mobility in the body. For the ultimate treat let us turn your beautiful holiday home into your own private spa for some time to truly relax and unwind.
