Hello Everybody.
Last weekend a friend of mine from high school asked me to go with her to a yoga festival called the Byron Spirit Festival http://www.spiritfestival.com.au/ in the beautiful town of Mullumbimby on the north coast of NSW. I have been practicing yoga for about a year on and off and had never gone to a yoga festival or retreat before but I thought “what the hell’ and bought a ticket, and thus begun the crazy, funny , and adventurous journey that follows.
It all started at 4 am when my friend came and picked me up in her car. Unfortunately for her I don’t live in the best neighborhood and as she was driving down the street she decided to turn her lights off so she didn’t disturb people that were sleeping. Well some half naked guy thought she was very suspicious and came running out of his house yelling and chased us down the street. Like he was literally running after the car as we sped off. It was not the start we had imagined. Nevertheless after such an eventful start, the long dark drive to Mullumbimby went quickly and we were very excited to arrive and get a coffee. However nothing in Mullumbimby opens till 9 am so instead of getting that much needed coffee we set off for our first class.
The first class was “Liquid flow Yoga” by Simon Park. He was accompanied by his partner Coco. This was an incredible class that had elements of Pilates, ti-chi, and dance mixed into the yoga that flowed in such an amazing way. I would highly recommend Simon as his knowledge was incredible and he was incredibly fit. My favorite thing about this class was the amount of technique and energy we were able to access in 90 minutes, We stretched and posed and flowed and the time went so fast. Both Coco and Simon would gently correct you posture in what felt like a mini massage and I was surprised how well they moved around the 60 or so people to give everyone a bit of one on one.
The second class of the day started straight after the first one finished and was called “Zenthai Flow” by Gwyn Williams. This class was like no yoga class I had ever done before. we started out doing whole group yoga where we had to hold onto each other as a group of about 50 people and dance together in a big circle. After this we broke off into partners. I had not done partner yoga before because I have always been afraid they would think I was sweaty or smelly or had weird toes or something. This however was not the case as we were all sweaty and smelly and it felt great to hold onto another person while they held you with no judgement and love and laughter. One pose we tried was a handstand while counterbalancing off our partner. It was very tricky but so much fun. Below is a photo of me trying this pose. I wasn’t able to do it all the way but I really enjoyed attempting it. Gwyn was really positive ans was always saying to me “your nearly there”. He also had an in depth knowledge of how different yoga positions affect your organs in cleansing and supporting.
After that we had lunch and listened to some live music before heading off to our third class of the day called “Soul Vibing, a transformational sound healing journey” by Matt omo. This was something I had never done before but was incredible. I do not really know how to explain it, to start with we ll put our intentions in a bowl on a bit of paper and to begin the class Matt set fire to all our intentions. Then basically you lay on the floor while Matt makes noises with different instruments such as a didgeridoo and a gong as well as with his mouth while at the same time plays music. This puts you in a meditative state in which you lay perfectly still and go on a journey through sound. He also moves around the space blowing the smoke gently over people. It was by far one of the most profound and in depth meditations I have ever done, my only advice to you is do not lay directly under the air conditioning. It gets quite cold.
We floated off after this session to our final session for the day “Secrets of the ancients ones, A Kundalini Journey” by Harjwan. If you have never done Kundalini yoga before you absolutely must try it. We got to do some really unique activities such as dance with your eyes closed for 10 minutes but you cant do the same dance move twice. Or throw a tantrum like your a two year old. Or wave your arms around like a windmill while panting with your tong out. You could not help but smile and laugh in this class and it was so much fun. I myself found that after expelling so much energy in this class I left feeling fresh and wide awake. The breathing techniques felt as though they had a clearing and detoxifying result and and the movements gave you energy. This is one style of yoga I will by trying again for sure.
After Our day full of activity we decided to go for a stroll through the town and get some dinner. We ate our food and relaxed as the sun set before getting changed and going to the evening concert which included music and singing by Fire Mane (Pictured). This was an incredible woman who sat and explained each of her songs and what they meant before singing them. She had an incredible voice and such amazing energy about her. Next was an Autumn equinox ceremony (pictured above). In this ceremony four people dressed up and representing earth, fire, water, and air called upon the elements to bring balance into our lives. It was a beautiful thing to watch and be apart of. Next was music by Markandeya. These young guys were probably my favorite act of the night as they had a sort of sweedish hip hop sound that was impossible not to dance to. I recommend looking them up. Next was a soulful impromptu dance by two people I’ve know idea of their names but their style of classical contemporary was breath taking and you couldn’t help but be mesmerized. The final performance was by Dustin Thomas (Pictured). This act got every single person up on their feet and took you away with his funky souly rhythems and his lyrics about social justice and people power that touched so many people, it really made it feel as though every single person in the hall that night was there as one big happy family. You would think that after a 4 am start and 6 hours of yoga and meditation we would be exhausted but instead we danced and sang and clapped along and were reluctant to leave when it hit 11 pm.
It was finally all over and we dragged ourselves off to bed. before we went to sleep we found time to promise that we were both coming back for the three day long festival next year and I for one can not wait.
Love to you all,
Sarah.
Alternative life: The Sarah Chronicles 