Diary Of A Wellness Retreat, Part 3: The Fire Ceremony

Our morning yoga class on Saturday was followed by one of the most amazing lunches I’ve ever had. It was a salad bar with everything I’d want to have in a salad – quinoa, fresh tomatoes, broccoli, homemade pickled beets and brie cheese with an incredible kumquat compote made by Eva. After lunch we had some time to ourselves and I went straight for the hammocks outside. Rocking gently back and forth with the wind and two rabbits scurrying around me…a canopy of leaves overhead and beyond that blue skies. I hear birds, insects, the faint rustle of the leaves, and my pen on paper as I write this. The bullfrogs occasionally chime in in the distance. I realize that in this moment, I don’t need anything else. It’s perfect.

Our second yoga class of the day was relaxing, restorative yoga. More like meditation. It was exactly what I needed to really release all of the tension inside of me and focus on breathing. At one point Aaron had us do a sort of free-form asana, where we would burst up out of child’s pose into whatever direction our body chose to take us. As we started, Radiohead’s “No Surprises” came out through the speakers and it was such a beautiful, freeing moment it almost brought me to tears. Not sad tears, but tears of happiness at what I was accomplishing and where the next steps would take me.

That night we had the fire ceremony. It’s really difficult for me to open up, and the idea of the speaking stick made me really nervous. But the group of people I was surrounded by made me feel so at home, so at ease. The things everyone said will never leave that bonfire, but the words that were spoken were so true and so wise. It opened my mind to so many new thoughts, and ways to approach my own issues. We all have had difficulties in life and we all came here to shed something. And after the ceremony I truly feel like I have. I have shed some of my own skin, and somehow these 7 strangers got through and it was a really powerful thing.

Check out parts one and two!

For more info on Sagrada Wellness visit their website and Facebook page.

Photos by Julia.