ESCAPE
live well
at the Rising Collective
The Relaxation Reset
20
february / march 2017yogajournal.com.sgPHOTO CREDIT : THE RISING COLLECTIVE, ART DIRECTOR : ANUJA BAGADEAS I SAT ON THE PLANEheading to Bali from
Singapore, attempting to read a book on
mindfulness, ironically my mind whirred with
a million thoughts, making it impossible to
concentrate. Anxious and run down, I wanted
to get back to a place where I felt healthy,
whole and sound. A restorative week in Bali
seemed like the perfect spot to hit the reset
button.
I arrived at an intimate yoga retreat called
Rising Collective in the lush surroundings of
a private villa tucked away in Canggu. The
six-day retreat was run by Jody Vassallo, an
acclaimed Ayurvedic chef, cook book author
and health coach; and Rachel Fearnley, Yin
Yoga teacher and owner of ‘The Pineapple
House’, a surfing and yoga retreat in Bali.
This was not a yoga bootcamp, and we were
not expected to subsist on wheatgrass juice.
On the contrary, their approach was gentleand grounded, and supported that change is
inspired gradually through nourishing food,
therapeutic yoga, healing treatments and,
most importantly, practical takeaways that
can be implemented on a daily basis. All
activities were optional as the purpose of the
experience was to get you to ask yourself,
‘How do I feel today?’
Our group of seven women, ranging in age
from 30 to 70, kicked off the first day with
a big picture exercise called ‘The Wheel of
Life’. I couldn’t recall the last time I had taken
a step back and looked at everything in my
life—from relationships to family to work to
exercise—and assessed my happiness levels.
Seeing it all on paper came as a rude shock to
me, and I felt a surge of emotion rise once it
became apparent that while my habits were
well-meaning, my days were mostly a mix of
a multi-tasking frenzy and an uneasy feelingthat I was constantly falling behind. Superfood
smoothies and salads were gulped on the go,
power yoga sessions were rushed over lunch,
and even massages were deep tissue—painful
sessions to work out knots from hours slumped
over my laptop.
This was reinforced when we began our
exploration into the principles of Ayurveda,
and the three doshas, or body constitutions—
Vata, Pitta and Kapha. Vata dosha, governed by
the elements of air and space, fit me to a tee. A
constant worrier, I eat a lot of cold, raw foods at
irregular times, rely on caffeine for energy and
go to bed far too late. I learnt that most of us
these days have a Vata imbalance, and it is best
for us to follow a routine, and eat warm food.
I went for a private consultation with Jody,
which turned out to be less about the details
of a good diet, but more about being kinder to
myself, and allowing my body to go into ‘restA journey into stillness to find clarity and purpose.
By Andrea Seifert