Heart Coherence Breathwork

This  popular breathing technique offers more detail about the ways that breathing exercises promote relaxation. With the help of biofeedback, the approach attempts to coordinate breathing with heart rate, slowing and steadying breathing to slow and stabilize  the heartbeat.

The method was developed based on the understanding that slow, deep breathing increases the activity of the vagus nerve, a part of the parasympathetic nervous system; the vagus nerve controls and also measures the activity of many internal organs. When the vagus nerve is stimulated, calmness pervades the body: the heart rate slows and becomes regular; blood pressure decreases; muscles relax. When the vagus nerve informs the brain of these changes, it, too, relaxes, increasing  feelings of peacefulness. Thus, the technique works through both neurobiological and psychological mechanisms.

About Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga stretches and targets both the deep connective tissues between the muscles and the fascia throughout the body. The aim is to increase circulation in the joints and improve flexibility as the poses stretch and exercise the bone and joint areas.  It also helps us to regulate the body's flow of energy.

Yin Yoga is a beautiful deliecious practice that helps us heal both our heart and out mind.  It allows us time to sit within ourselves, to just be still and to notice what the body and mind are telling us.

It differs from Vinyasa Yoga yet is the perfect complement!  By having a Yin and a Yang yoga practice, you are creating a beautiful balance within your energy systems and a unique sense of calmness you will feel both physically and mentally.

Benefits

• Yin Yoga increases flexibility
• Melts stress away
• Allows you the opportunity to learn to listen to your body, slowing everything down and brings you closer to your authentic self
• Builds fortitude and perserverance
• Releases emotions
• Leaves you with a beautiful afterglow

Meditation

No matter what your age, meditation is one of the easiest ways to improve your health. Research at the Medical

College of Georgia found that meditation lowered blood pressure and reduced the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Additional studies have demonstrated meditation can reduce chronic pain, decrease levels of stress and pain in

cancer patients, and reduce symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia.

Other studies have indicated meditation may reduce the levels of cortisol, a hormone that in high levels can weaken the immune system and slow down healing. Results from a small study conducted in 1998 with patients suffering from psoriasis lesions indicated meditation can speed up the body’s natural healing process. Some studies have even suggested meditation can help in the prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Carole is a qualified Meditation Teacher. Her teaching methodology is to ‘keep it simple’ starting at the basics and then progressing at an achievable pace.

We will be focusing on Loving Kindess Mediation for this Day Retreat as it ties in well with the Heart & Lung Yin Yoga practice.

This meditation technique will enhance your feelings of unconditional love towards other people. It will also help you to love yourself. WHY? Because it reduces:

• Feelings of judgement and condem-nation
• Increases a sense of compassion, connection and open-heartedness.
• Plus you will radiate a sense of peace, calmness, love, happiness and comfort to everyone around you.

Mandala Meditation

Simply put, a Mandala is a design, drawing or painting within a circle.  However, there is more, Mandala art is an ancient healing art dating back more than 2,000 years.  It is found in many cultures and used in many different practices.

The Mandala is a round form that holds a story – our story - about our mental, emotional and spiritual state of being. Mandalas create a safe place to pursue deeper feelings and explore complex patterns of our identity enabling us to retrieve lost or broken pieces to make us complete. Each shape, colour, form and pattern is significant for that journey.

It has been said that mandalas are symbolic pictures of the human psyche as it reaches out towards wholeness.

Mandalas are created to gain knowledge from what we hold in the deepest regions of the mind – our unconscious mind.

They can tell a story of our inner self using images, forms and colours to symbolise deeply felt feelings when words are not enough.

Mandalas are used to quieten our constant thoughts so that our creative self can be expressed. They give us a point of focus, remind us that nothing is permanent, and connect us to what is truly important.

If you meditate by using a mandala, you can experience a relaxed and connected sense of being. You may find a greater personal understanding of yourself and feel that everything in life is connected in some way.

Special Breathwork Practice

This is going to blow your socks off......if you choose to read our TripAdvisor Reviews you will get a feel for what to expect.

https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attraction_Review-g4713526-d15589053-Reviews-Balance_for_Life_Yoga_Wellness_Retreat-Dundee_Beach_Top_End_Northern_Territory.html

Itinerary:

10:00  Welcome Juice & Opening Circle

10:30  Yin Yoga, Breathwork & Guided Meditation

12:30  Sumptuous & Nutritional Lunch

1:30    Mandala Meditation

2:30    Afternoon Tea/Snack

2:45    Special Breathwork

4:15    Closing Circle

Itinerary and times are subject to change.

What to Bring/Wear

Loose Yoga or similiar clothing, Yoga Mat, Drink Bottle, Towel and your favourite Pillow - plus 'Time just for You'

Lunch

Your host will prepare for you a sumptuous vegetarian (or vegan, upon request) lunch packed with so much goodness to nourish your mind and soul.

I hope to have the opportunity to share this amazing day with you at Cullen Bay.

Om Shanti

Carole x