Last month was quite a busy month for me – not only did I pass my exam and finished my 200hrs Yoga Alliance teacher training course but I also went to a Scaravelli Yoga retreat (officially called Scaravelli Immersion Course) in East Sussex which was a 4-day residential course to deepen my practice and learn more about this approach to yoga.
What is Scaravelli Inspired Yoga?
Even if you practice yoga regularly you might not have heard of Scaravelli Inspired Yoga before so I’ll try to explain it briefly. It is based on the teachings of Vanda Scaravelli who was a student of BKS Iyengar and over the years developed her own approach to Hatha Yoga. It’s a gentle yet demanding style of yoga which uses breath and gravity to release tension in the body and to move into yoga postures with ease. It’s actually really hard to explain and is best to be experienced (sorry that’s not very helpful…)!
Here is a quote which to me shows the essence of this style of yoga:
“Yoga must not be practiced to control the body: it is the opposite, it must bring freedom to the body, all the freedom it needs” Vanda Scaravelli
It’s basically ‘intelligent’ yoga using gravity, breath and the spine to make you feel absolutely amazing!
My personal experience of Scaravelli Inspired Yoga
Before having my kids I used to take regular classes with Catherine Annis who teaches Scaravelli Inspired Yoga at Triyoga in London and I always felt amazing after her class. The movements are small and hardly visible but really powerful and it’s really hard work! There have been a few times when it really clicked in my mind and I understood a new connection between one part of the body and another – usually this involved my spine and releasing the shoulders and neck.
I continued with Catherine’s classes pretty much throughout my first pregnancy but then had to stop as I couldn’t travel across London anymore and since having kids and moving to Surrey I can only make it to local yoga classes.
I’ve been wanting to do the Scaravelli Immersion Course for a long time actually, ever since my teacher Adelene Choeng had recommended it to me. I was too late to enrol for last year’s course, which was a good thing in hindsight as I had a 3 month old baby and wouldn’t have wanted to leave him for 4 days… So even before starting my teacher training course I signed up for the 2015 course and was looking forward to it all year!
The Retreat Centre
When the day finally arrived I was not so happy about leaving my kids anymore – you can read all about my break from the kids here. It was strange leaving my children for 4 days but of course, also because I didn’t know what to expect from the retreat and who the other attendees would be! You spend a lot of time together on a retreat so it can be quite daunting if you don’t know anyone to start with – trust me you know them very well by the end!!
It was a really nice drive down to the East Sussex cost to Gayles Retreat which is about five miles from Eastbourne. The retreat centre is in a lovely converted farm and stables surrounded by beautiful country side and about a 30 minute walk from the beach.  It’s is run by Roz and Derry Robinson who are very hands on and host regular retreats throughout the year.
Accommodation is mainly in dormitories and I shared mine with 3 retreat attendees who were all lovely and being yogis we handled different sleep patterns, temperature requirements and shower routines with love and acceptance - which means we didn’t scream and shout or pull each other’s hair (that’s what you would usually expect from girls sharing dorms!)
The Food
The food was of course vegetarian (and even gluten free / vegan for some) and everything was super fresh with lovely herbs from the garden! Roz, the owner, is a passionate gardener and there are lots of beautiful little herb and vegetable garden areas around the retreat and during the day I would usually see her around watering the plants.
The kitchen and dining area was the place where people were hanging out when they felt like having a chat and the whole atmosphere was just very chilled out and without any fuss and drama (not that I expect drama on a yoga retreat but it’s quite a big change from my usual life).
I’m not a vegetarian but the food was really lovely and my favourite was probably the beetroot risotto which I tried to replicate at home!
The Yoga
I was familiar with Catherine’s way of teaching so I knew what to expect and I knew it would be completely different to anything I was learning on my teacher training course. I was mainly there to deepen my own practice though which I absolutely did. This style of yoga is so subtle from the outside but it really gets under your skin. After day 2 it started to release some serious tension accumulated over the last year which meant that I felt like crying the whole day… in a good way though! The kind of crying that my toddler does all the time basically – she doesn’t know why she cries but she feels better afterwards!
Catherine is extremely knowledgeable and she approaches her classes with a great sense of humour which is lovely when you’re working hard! We did 3 hours of yoga in the morning and then 3 hours in the afternoon which was exactly the right amount I think. There was a lot of room for experimenting with what we were learning and of course to ask many questions. I usually get a bit shy when I’m around lots of people who know so much more than me (most attendees were yoga teachers) but the atmosphere was really relaxed and everyone was there to learn and to enjoy it.
Another highlight was the day we spent with Gary Carter of Natural Bodies who was teaching us about anatomy and fascia and how it is relevant to our yoga practice. Gary is extremely passionate about what he does (so much that he even forgot to give us a 5 minute loo break in 3 hours) and he really brought things to life! I would actually love to do his anatomy course for yoga teachers if I had more time… maybe one day…
What I’m taking away
So many things! Here is a 3-minute video that Catherine put together which gives you a little taste of the experience.
It was a really nice mixture of yoga, enjoying some peace and quiet and being around like-minded people. I did of course miss my children very much but it was nice to be taken care of for once and not worry about cooking and doing laundry! Some people ventured out to the local pub in the evening but I was just happy to get some time for myself and space to think which I don’t get very often (if you’ve ever taken care of small children you will know what I mean).
Catherine’s classes are such an inspiration for my own yoga practice. Since the retreat I have tried to incorporate some aspects in the classes that I’m teaching but I have to say it didn’t go very well (I got some “I don’t know what you’re on about” looks during the class) so I don’t think I’m quite ready to pass it on yet…
I got some great advice from my retreat room mate Barbara Gibson who teaches classes in Belfast (if you live nearby then do go and see her!!). She is a very experienced yoga teacher who has been teaching Scaravelli Yoga for a long time, knows a lot about Vanda Scaravelli and is just generally good company! When I said that I wouldn’t know how to teach it she said that what you teach needs to come 100% from your own practice which is so true. I can only pass on what I experience myself rather than what I read in a manual (even though the manual we got during the retreat was brilliant!).
Catherine always tried to give us some tips and ideas how we can teach this style of yoga but what I got out of it first and foremost is that I have to incorporate it into my daily practice and then it will eventually come really naturally.
Easier said than done of course so off to practice NOW…
It’s sounds very interesting and relaxing and the place looks lovely too 🙂