B
eing a yoga teacher can be a solitary affair. Driving from
class to class, standing alone at the front of the room,
giving a passing ‘hello’ to the next teacher - sometimes
it can be hours before you have a full conversation
with someone during your teaching day. This sense of
solitude is one of the things I treasure about being a yoga teacher;
I thrive on the freedom, autonomy and trust of those I’m working
for and I will never tire of the privilege of seeing my students break
down barriers, make discoveries and grow, physically, emotionally
and spiritually. But after nearly a decade of teaching yoga,
Pilates and personal training, I started to crave collaboration,
companionship and co-creation.
When the opportunity arose for me to teach a yoga retreat on a
friend’s yacht, I didn’t hesitate to get involved. It seemed a beautiful
marriage of activities, being close to nature whilst gliding on theTeaching yoga at sea is not the same as teaching on terra firma.
Corrie McCallum explains what it’s like to teach yoga on-board a yacht
STAYING GROUNDED
om travel
waves and stretching on the beach, becoming absorbed in the
movement of hoisting sails and daily Vinyasa, letting the lull of the
boat and the humming of pranayama melt away tension.Into Ibiza
After a few months of planning with life-long friend and skipper
James Barnett, from Kingfisher Sailing, the big day finally arrived
and as I stepped off the plane in Ibiza and breathed in the balmy
evening air I was struck once again with how lucky I am to be able
to follow my passions. I met a group of smiling faces at a restaurant
on the dock before we boarded the boat together, ready to begin
our journey as members of the crew, yogis and adventurers. That
first night, I lay cocooned in the belly of the boat, listening to a Yoga
Nidra before the gentle rocking motion soothed me to sleep.
Growing in popularity, yoga retreats encourage a shift fromYOGA
AT SEA