Final days at YogaPlus (3 of 3 Posts)
The days have gone far to quickly at YogaPlus. I have allowed myself to be pampered by this season’s resident body-worker Federika, whose shamanistic massage technique was handed down to her in Africa. Her technique incorporates a choreography of massage. It is a fluid performance, where she draws on her experience as a professional dancer as well as the physical study of the body. You are asked to be completely passive and only to breathe in a relaxed manner, as she stretches, rotates and massages your limbs. It is an intoxicating experience and after my treatment I float out of the room to fall into my bed and sleep deeply for an hour.
Crete has certainly worked its magic on me. Every day the rugged landscape and the turquoise sea infused me with awe. I can see why Radah and Pierre have lived here for six months of the year for the past 20 years.
So the season for YogaPlus is about to come to an end in mid October, when the doors are locked up for winter, and Radah and Pierre begin to travel to their many destinations to teach Ashtanga. Then in April, as spring wakes up the native flora, so does YogaPlus begin its season again. Staff arrive from all over the world as volunteers, receiving yoga instruction in return for their services. Richard, the wonderful chef, will strap on his apron and create delicious meals with local, seasonal produce. And then the keen yogis and yoginis will arrive, as well as the first timers, who will find a magical remote cove, normal quite arid, bursting into a palette of colours, as the native flowers blossom and cover the rocky mountains.
I have thoroughly relished the experience of YogaPlus and Agios Pavlos. Certainly there are quirky things that might perturb the not so seasoned traveller, such as the lack of luxuries of air-conditioning or on demand hot water (the water is naturally heated via solar panels); toilet paper is not to be disposed of inside the toilet, but into a bin next to it. The foods available are generally seasonal, so you might not be able to get duck ala orange or lobster mornay. Also the midgies (tiny little bitey things) are vicous, but generally only at dusk. But then, these are the things that make travel so worthwhile. It is meant to be an ‘out of normality’ experience, one that allows you to wake up to the world and your perhaps somewhat misguided values. I would love to return to this place in May to see Crete at its most beautiful.
The traveling Ashtangi
Posted by The Traveling Ashtangi at 26 September 2009, 1:09 AM 
Categories: Yoga Centers, Yoga, Greece, Yoga Centres
Tags: Yoga Plus Yoga Yoga Centers Yoga Centres Ashtanga Travel Retreats
Categories: Yoga Centers, Yoga, Greece, Yoga Centres
Tags: Yoga Plus Yoga Yoga Centers Yoga Centres Ashtanga Travel Retreats
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