Emoyeni Retreat Centre - Discover Magaliesberg

Like an eager student, I’m getting really serious about ticking things off my bucket list.  In fact so serious, that I am becoming that annoying person always with their hand up in the front seat in class.  Last week I decided to outrun the cold front and head to Magliesberg for some time out.

I stayed at Emoyeni Retreat Centre, a simple charming establishment built and run on Buddhist principles.  Simplicity is always a great reminder that what we really need is silence, a library, effortless food and a REALLY good bed! When I am exhausted the best gift anyone can give me is a solid mattress, a down feather duvet and lots of pillows whispering sweet nothings to my face. The moment I saw that bed it was like Rumble in the Jungle I was KO, I slept like a drunk on the pavement with reckless abandon until the early morn.

I loved the morning pleasure of being woken up by a multitude of birds instead of some loud annoying alarm that intrudes on the natural process of waking up.  My mornings were for reading and writing whilst lounging on the stoep (front porch) with a cup of green tea.

The bed was so inviting that every morning I had a little furry visitor who was more interested in the bed than my lap. Mid mornings were set aside for exploration, this particular area is well known for its rock pools, as luck would have it the resident rock pool enthusiast offered to take me on his motorbike to the dome area in search of some Massive rock pools he had not explored yet. When he said bike… I couldn't help myself! Off-roading!?! of course I wanted to tag along.

My off-roading excitement died off an hour into the hike, we hit some heavy shrubs and as I was being bush beaten by blackjack, spiky grass and some funky thorns.  I thought about calling it quits, with no evident route markers leading us anywhere except an ambiguous path, I even hoped for Hensel & Gretel crumbs! 30 minutes further into the hike I was no different from doubting Thomas, “are you sure we on the right path?” the answer “the experts say it’s a 2 hour hike up”  In the back of my mind I was thinking  well those experts should have thought about inserting signs with directions and distance... just for control.

Eventually and much to my dismay as predicted by the experts we stumbled upon the first signs of humanity, a man made camp site with rocks seats which was pretty cool, as the clock hit the 2^nd hour we found the pools. 

The rocks were huge and impressive, the water was as crisp as the cold front that was making its way through the country. After slipping and sliding around those huge boulders we finally found a good spot for our picnic and just soaked in the sun.  I would have never thought the Maglies Mountains have such magnificent secrets, whilst I was merely ticking off a spot on my bucket-list I found treasure; as I lay there drawn into my surroundings, the bush beating was forgiven and replaced by a pirates glow.        

Africa Yoga Project - Be the YES in Your LIFE

Africa Yoga Teacher Training 2014

As I lay in savasana the posture of pure surrender, the few days leading up to this moment finally caught up with me.  Lying on my mat I was overcome with emotion, here I was on the floor with nowhere to go or hide. The past few days I had been submerged in an environment of open vulnerability, I was living with over 80 people from various parts of the world.  My ideas of what was and how it was were being challenged from every angle.  As the words of Jeff Buckley’s song Hallelujah filled the room…I cracked.  Around me 300 people, a packed community yoga class at the Africa YogaProject’s Shine Centre all of them yielding to their existence. In the middle of this moment, was me silently trying to control the feelings that were tearing through me.  Can I just mention that I simply hate crying in public, I hate it so much that when I was in my teens I took a vow that crying would always be a private affair (Funerals don’t count as public, considering its communal mourning)

It was a series of events that came together to allow me to attend the first Kenyan led Africa Yoga Project Teacher training.  I had heard about Africa Yoga Project before and would often visit their website for inspiration for my Ekasi Yoga Classes.  I was totally balled over when they told me I had made it through the application process.  Yoga training in Kenya the land of tea and the Masai Mara, I could not think of a better setting.  I like being part of firsts, there is energy around such historical moments; the sense that something is new and will never be new again.  As I lay on my mat, it was the cool, comforting smell of the lemongrass soaked cloth that was placed on my burning eyes that offered me relief from the tears that were flowing down my face.

Warrior of light

Growing up my grandmother always used to say “ it matters not what you look like because your beauty does not come from there,  it comes from your heart.” It hit me that what she meant was that our beauty comes from the manner in which we deal with ourselves, our environment and with each other as beings sharing the same world.

Billy leading a session

At this point it dawned on me that this was not just yoga training, it was a community effort to create a wholesome existence for ourselves and others from all the different communities we stem from. That through seeing the importance of our existence, actions and the light that is inherent in each and everyone of us, we could choose a path of loving kindness in our interactions.

The first place I had the chance to put this way of living into practice was at the training.  I didn’t get it right all the time, there were times when I was in my umpteenth back bend and ready to throw in the towel, I would look to my side and see Rachel still holding on and I would think “dammit! Why is there no one in child’s pose already!?!  In that moment I would take strength from my community in Rachel’s persistence I would be inspired to continue.

Rachel Rae Shining Away

It’s harder to give up when everyone is shining their light because it takes you back home to the question, “Why am I here, right now, in this position?”

This little light of mine…

Here I was 5000km away from home and I was relearning the value of being accountable for my actions, of seeing the person and sharing. I fell in love with the people I met they were lifing (living, doing their best). Some of the highlights for me were watching the sign interpreters do their thing, meeting Kiragu, the guy who believed in me before he met me. 

learning to jump is a workout & a half

Learning to jump like a Masai warrior from Joseph a Masai Yogi, they have the strongest legs the secret is in the locks they use when jumping.  

I met the “first” sign language mother tongue speaker, a young man with sparkling eyes and a smile that can lift the roof.  

When I asked him what it felt like being a hearing child with deaf parents, he candidly shared how there was no one to complain about his loud music nor did he have to worry about leaving the room when receiving calls.  As with every thing in life there are pro’s and cons. 

I found people to share my love for tea with, every night we would gather around sharing tea, ideas and thoughts. There was the talented Jamo dropping profound, life altering one-liners that would have me thinking for hours. It was also through these tea discussions that I stumbled upon a brilliant massage therapist who solved a problem my physio had been struggling to fix for over a year.   

Finding your direction, opening up to the world - Beautatious

When I signed up for this training, I was looking forward to back breaking, barrier crashing yoga. I got that and the murky work of making sense of my emotions and the daily decisions I take in my life.  Nothing prepares you for wading through your own physical and emotional barriers, when you get to face your nakedness, your truth and your light.  When you get to ask yourself right now and this very moment “who am I being?”  This simple question had a huge impact on me, who am I being right now for myself, my community, for my country? When I ask myself that question before I make my decision it goes from being what does Michelle want? To how will Michelle’s want impact her immediate environment and community? It’s a whole different ball game when you stop thinking about yourself as an insular being you start living.  

Experiences like this remind me to always strive be the YES in my life.

Thank you Jamo Mweu for the Photography