Before I left Ireland to travel for 8
weeks I decided that as part of my trip I’d build a yoga retreat into
it. Partly because I knew I’d be missing my weekly classes and partly
because I wanted to treat myself. So when I was in Vietnam I decided to
do the retreat in Langkawi and just did the usual googling. Luckily for
me Yoga Now came up on the search engine and I sent off a mail looking
for information ( I saw it as a good sign that Marc was Irish). In the
vein of treating myself I decided to go for the option of staying in
Sunset Valley and I wasn’t disappointed. The Malay House was lovely,
super comfy and cute. Having the frog that was living outside the house
chatting to me at various times during the day was a nice touch too :-)
The views in the valley were amazing and changed constantly throughout
the day. Having the pool to take a dip in whenever I felt like it was a
nice touch too.
From the moment Marc and Meng Foong picked me up from the airport they made me feel welcome and that it was their objective to ensure that I enjoyed the retreat from start to finish. As with anything new I was a bit anxious at first as I didn’t know what to expect but from the first class I felt at ease as they made me realise that during the practice I would be encouraged to take my practice as far as I could ,it would be no further than I was comfortable with.
Speaking of being anxious I was really dubious about doing Neti, I am not a person who deals very well with snot but once I got the knack it was grand I could feel the benefits of doing it.
I had never really done any meditation before the retreat but now that I’ve been introduced to it by Marc it's something I want to explore in more detail and I’ve made a commitment to myself to do a few mins every day. Thanks to Marc I now also have an interest in exploring chanting, there is something very soothing about repeating those words over and over. For the most part this retreat has reaffirmed for me that I love doing yoga. Before the retreat if someone was asking me about my practice I would have said that I enjoyed doing yoga but I wasn’t “very good” but Meng Foong has showed me that it's not about being good or bad, it's just about being in each pose in that particular moment, concentrating and trying your best. Once we let go of our fears we can achieve anything, this is something I have to work on but at least now I recognize that fact can make some steps to over come mine.
As well as the classes I thoroughly enjoyed the chats over tea and dinner. Marc is a great cook and the food was YUMMY! Finishing the retreat at the waterfall was great with the monkeys and all.
I would recommend doing a retreat or just one class with this lovely friendly couple for whom teaching yoga isn’t a job its just a way of life. Whether you spend four days or just 2 hours with them your bound to go away from the experience taking away something positive.
Brenda Lawlor
From the moment Marc and Meng Foong picked me up from the airport they made me feel welcome and that it was their objective to ensure that I enjoyed the retreat from start to finish. As with anything new I was a bit anxious at first as I didn’t know what to expect but from the first class I felt at ease as they made me realise that during the practice I would be encouraged to take my practice as far as I could ,it would be no further than I was comfortable with.
Speaking of being anxious I was really dubious about doing Neti, I am not a person who deals very well with snot but once I got the knack it was grand I could feel the benefits of doing it.
I had never really done any meditation before the retreat but now that I’ve been introduced to it by Marc it's something I want to explore in more detail and I’ve made a commitment to myself to do a few mins every day. Thanks to Marc I now also have an interest in exploring chanting, there is something very soothing about repeating those words over and over. For the most part this retreat has reaffirmed for me that I love doing yoga. Before the retreat if someone was asking me about my practice I would have said that I enjoyed doing yoga but I wasn’t “very good” but Meng Foong has showed me that it's not about being good or bad, it's just about being in each pose in that particular moment, concentrating and trying your best. Once we let go of our fears we can achieve anything, this is something I have to work on but at least now I recognize that fact can make some steps to over come mine.
As well as the classes I thoroughly enjoyed the chats over tea and dinner. Marc is a great cook and the food was YUMMY! Finishing the retreat at the waterfall was great with the monkeys and all.
I would recommend doing a retreat or just one class with this lovely friendly couple for whom teaching yoga isn’t a job its just a way of life. Whether you spend four days or just 2 hours with them your bound to go away from the experience taking away something positive.
Brenda Lawlor
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