Last December, I bought myself an early birthday present: a healing yoga trip to Gili Labak. I never been to any healing event, so actually I had no freaking idea how it's gonna be. Back then I just desperately wanted to go somewhere far away from my daily routine, somewhere with limited phone reception. One of my friend, Mb Sitta, also joined the trip. I felt if it's gonna be a flop, at least I had Mb Sitta with me through boredom and awkward moments haha.
The trip itself started off late. We supposed to leave at 8 A.M but delayed to 9.30 A.M and I didn't know why cause everyone had arrived yet the official moved so slowwww to get everything ready. I got uneasy, naturally, cause I liked everything to go as scheduled. Late start is definitely an alarm for me; if we don't do it right from the very beginning, we may not do it right till the end. We were far behind the schedule when we arrived at the harbour at 3 P.M, 2 hours late from the schedule. Me? I felt anxious already. I started to think this was a waste of money and time and I hated both. We had to take the boat to reach Gili Labak and it took 1.5 hour. I had a hard time to not snap and complain about the whole being late thing. Next in schedule should be Sunset Yoga Session at 5 P.M. We might not make it on time too.
All the frustration was left at the sea once we made it on time to our Sunset Yoga Session. 50 minutes of sun salutation, one of my favorite flow. Doing yoga by the beach surely had different sensation than doing it at home or studio. The breeze, the thick salty air, the sand that kept me stumbling during warrior three. And the sunset, the calming sky that melted into purple, pink, orange and everything in between. The yogi told us to let go all the tension so the good energy around us could enter our body, replacing worry with merry. Maybe it's the wind, maybe it's the warmth of afternoon on December, I did feel good. Earlier I was all angst and nasty but when I surrendered in my breathing, I could feel a good energy flow through my blood, reach my heart then bursting to every corner of my body. For the first time I felt really really good from the inside.
The rest of the trip simply fell in to the right place and pace. Tents were build, food were served and they also brought screen to watch Korean crime movie during dinner. I was completely swept out, especially because I played in the water for an hour after Sunset Yoga Session. The night was warmth, thou heavy cloud hanging low and hiding all the stars I planned to map that night. I fell asleep not long after, dreaming about the sunset earlier and how it made me feel inside.
We started the next day super super early, as we were scheduled for another yoga session, The Sunrise Session. I woke up in shock as people rushed to get ready; stumble finding my yoga pants in the dark and washed my face with sea water hahahha. During this session, we spent more time to meditate, to feel our breathing and distribute it to our whole body. I remembered clearly every second of this session as the sun climbed the sky and the breaking waves lullaby us to fall deeper into the core of our mind. It's almost as if being touched by a divine energy that caressed my cheek, my hands, every centimetre of my skin endlessly. I felt like it's no longer my nose breathing, it's the pores on my body opening up to absorb this warmth.
When we finally open our eyes, the sun was already up, full circle, bright and mighty. We ended the session by going to the water to cleanse our body from any negative thoughts that usually followed us daily. Never once I thought that going to a remote island and praticing yoga by the beach could be this powerful. I think that's why people call it retreat, I felt this trip was indeed a treat for my mind. If I might, food for my soul too.
I think, the fact that I let go everything, desperately to feel good again about myself, desperately willing to try anything, had me experiencing a big impact after.
When we finally open our eyes, the sun was already up, full circle, bright and mighty. We ended the session by going to the water to cleanse our body from any negative thoughts that usually followed us daily. Never once I thought that going to a remote island and praticing yoga by the beach could be this powerful. I think that's why people call it retreat, I felt this trip was indeed a treat for my mind. If I might, food for my soul too.
I think, the fact that I let go everything, desperately to feel good again about myself, desperately willing to try anything, had me experiencing a big impact after.
I felt wholesome that morning, as I floated in the water facing the blue sky. I counted my blessings, I called out my family and friends one by one in my head, I tried to recall all the hardship that made me who I was and who I would be in the future. That day I realised that the cure to my sadness recently was right there in front of me. I needed to stop, breath and enjoy the sunrise showering my body with new hopes and good energy. I did hope that I could spoil myself as often to join healing trips and reuniting with this feeling, this goodness. But it's okay. One day at the time.
