FM
“Y
ogaFit Retreats may
sometimes look like
a place to get fit, to
take some time off with
friends or just to relax
away from your ordinary world, and it is to
a large extent. But it also exists at another
level. My partner and founder of our retreats,
Lindsay Jay, a yoga and fitness instructor of
many years, is also a follower of instinct and
creation. She came along at the right time,
with the drive and passion to revolutionise the
UK fitness market by persuading one of the
biggest gym chains to take on a dance fitness
class which required only energy and a smile,
something not seen before in gym classes.
Later, she envisioned living by a beach and
creating something really special to help
people with their lives - that was the original
spark for our wellness retreats in Ibiza.
Lindsay - or Lj, as I call her - has
supported me since we met for the first time
online (yes, online!). Many of her friends felt
that I might be too tired and broken to be
helpful in her life. Thankfully, she followed
her instinct and we started dating, albeit at
a difficult time in my own life. I had suffered
from a terrible depression and, with strength
and recuperation time, had emerged, but
with no passion for my old life, as a partner
in a London property firm.
Both of us followed her instinct by
enlisting on a six week yoga teacher training
in Essaouira, Morocco. We were by then
inseparable. Lindsay then became pregnant
with Hercules (now three years old)...and
then, again, following her instinct, we all
moved to Ibiza. The next year Hercules was
given to us and, although the birth was verydifficult on everybody, we emerged as a
family and soon were joined by Lindsay’s
brother, Ken, and his (now) wife, Antonia
(also a yoga instructor) and we all set about
building YogaFit Retreats together.Personal journey
Since meeting Lj, I have been on a huge life
journey. We live in a truly exciting time. We’re
able to share and dive into vast quantities of
information, lessons from teachers all over
the world - you can do or be pretty much
anything you like as long as you have a
phone and an internet connection. I believe
that this connectivity has a purpose. Take a
moment to think about other centuries you
might have existed in: how little knowledge
there would have been; how small your
social circle would have been; how limitedPhoto: ImageNatureyour aspirations might have been - and
then come back to this moment. You have
more opportunity than anyone has ever
had and you have the chance, unlike ever
before, to be really, totally and utterly free.
I know that it might sound easy from where
I sit, co-hosting wonderful yoga retreats,
but I have worked hard over the last four
years and you know what...I didn’t need to.
It comes back to that intuition, that psychic
connection with the universe, that Lindsay
has displayed throughout her entire life. Lj
is highly sensitive to energy and lives from
an open heart which she allows her to guide
her on her path. That is where our work is; in
simply ‘allowing’. When we allow our natural
instinct to take over, when we follow and
live by our hearts, we connect to something
much bigger than the self. We connect toIvor and LJ
“I now believe that
depression is the soul
shaking us by the scruff
of the neck, screaming
at us to get in touch
with ourselves”