![\"Triopetra](\"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Triopetra-3-rocks.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWho is she?\u00a0 This woman I spend every breath of every day with.\u00a0 This woman I used to run from (and sometimes still do).\u00a0 This woman I am so proud of.\u00a0 The one who has stopped to turn around and face herself, her fears, her shadows.\u00a0 The courageous, beautiful one who dares to be vulnerable.\u00a0 Who dares to take step after treacherous step.\u00a0 Often stumbling, often falling but never turning back.\u00a0 I wonder who she is and what she will reveal to me as I arrive at the airport.\u00a0 Early.\u00a0 Always early.\u00a0 Anxious. Hmmmm yes she\u2019s still always a little anxious.<\/p>\n
Arriving at Yoga Rocks I am welcomed by my\u00a0 Soul family.\u00a0 The people who loved me, trusted in me and saw me long before I did.\u00a0 And who always inspire me.\u00a0 Cheerleaders with just the right sprinkling of humour and naughtiness to ensure I don\u2019t take myself too seriously.<\/p>\n This week Helen Reavill is the teacher.\u00a0 Helen is Co-Founder of Yoga Rocks with her partner Phil.\u00a0 Together with a team of generous and kind Karma Yogis Helen and Phil have created a slice of pure Heaven.\u00a0 Helen\u2019s holistic, nurturing and authentic approach to Yoga is a delight and a joy.\u00a0 Her knowledge and commitment to the practice on and off the mat is impressive and inspiring.<\/p>\n Each morning starts at 0630 with Meditation and Pranayama followed by a long, deep and juicy Asana practice.\u00a0 Breakfast of freshly squeezed orange juice, homemade peanut butter, jam, muesli, yoghurt\u00a0 together with an abundance of fruit is enthusiastically devoured by our group of blissed out Yogis before I dissolve into \u2018my\u2019 hammock for a read and a snooze.\u00a0 I am woken by the gentle sound of a cow bell calling me to lunch.\u00a0 A fresh, colourful, delicious vegetarian feast.\u00a0 Afternoons are spent chatting and laughing around or in the pool, possibly exploring local beaches, maybe a massage\u2026. usually (in my\u00a0 case) more snoozing before the afternoon practice.\u00a0 A more mellow yet equally deep affair with a Yin\/ Restorative focus\u2026.. and the occasional sneaky backbend that Helen guides you into so gently and lovingly that you almost think you\u2019re still hugging a bolster!<\/p>\n As I watch myself and my thoughts (Svadhyaya, the practice of self study is one of the 8 limbs of Yoga and my favourite word in the whole world) I observe I am slightly withdrawn from the group.\u00a0 On the periphery of the action.\u00a0 And I notice that that\u2019s ok.\u00a0 6 years ago I was an attention seeker and a drama queen.\u00a0 Desperate for external validation.\u00a0 Now this seems to be fading. I\u2019m listening more to myself and to others.\u00a0 Taking time for rest.\u00a0 Taking time to reflect before responding.\u00a0 Able to be present and compassionate to their challenges without judgement.\u00a0 Happy to enjoy their successes without needing to compete. Yet at the same time somewhat detached.<\/p>\n And also I\u2019m willing to be seen.\u00a0 To show my vulnerability and share my fears genuinely.\u00a0 No drama. No pity pot.\u00a0 No need to self deprecate or be a victim.\u00a0 I\u2019m willing to lower my shield and risk showing my truth.\u00a0 To get naked.<\/p>\n And as if to demonstrate this the Universe presented me with a wonderful opportunity to witness myself towards the end of the retreat.\u00a0 Our morning meditation had taken the form of chanting the ancient Gayatri Mantra 108 times on the beach.\u00a0 Following this there was the chance to go for a swim.\u00a0 Most of the group headed straight for the sea in their bikinis\u2026. but a couple of women walked slightly away and stripped off for a skinny dip.\u00a0 I stood and watched these women in slight awe and admiration for a while before realising that I could join them.\u00a0 And I did!\u00a0 And it was fantastic!!\u00a0 Liberating!\u00a0 Such a relief to let go albeit temporarily, albeit of a skimpy 2 piece that barely covers me anyway.\u00a0 Such a wonderful metaphor for the process of un-conditioning, delayering and allowing my authentic self to be seen.<\/p>\n So who is she?<\/p>\n Is she there?\u00a0 Is she fixed \/ healed \/ awakened?\u00a0 No!!!\u00a0 I\u2019m right here.\u00a0 Right where I\u2019m meant to be. Gloriously, messily, courageously authentically here.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s awesome.\u00a0 Sometimes it sucks.\u00a0 And I wouldn\u2019t have it any other way<\/p>\n With love and thanks to Helen, Phil and all the Yoga Rocks team.<\/p>\n For details of retreats at Yoga Rocks see www.yogaholidaysgreece.com<\/p>\n x<\/p>\n … at Yoga Rocks, Triopetra, Crete August 2016 Who is she?\u00a0 I wondered as I drove my trusty Ford Focus up to Dublin for my sixth visit, my annual pilgrimage to the sanctuary that has become my Spiritual home Yoga Rocks. Who is she?\u00a0 This woman I spend every breath of every day with.\u00a0 This … Continue reading Getting Naked…<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=636"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":637,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/636\/revisions\/637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/faithfullyalison.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"