I’m just back from a yoga retreat organised by Free Spirit Travel and hosted by the lovely Emily Clare Hill, a teacher I’ve been practicing with for the last three years and who I am very fond of. I had always wanted to go on one of Emily’s retreats, but hadn’t found the opportunity, until now.

The retreat was held in Kissamos, a town in the west of Crete and about an hour’s drive from Chania. My home for the week was at Mavros Malos, run by a local Cretan family. Maria, the owner prepared our delicious breakfast and dinners, as well as made up our beds and generally did everything you could possibly imagine to make us feel welcome and at home. Maria had warm hands, a kind heart and showered us with hugs.

And, how could I not mention Chelsea here (named after the football club, but pronounced Celsea, without the sound of the ‘ch’), their dog who adoringly followed us around, to the beach, the shops and out for dinner one night.

The day started like this – a 20-30-minute meditation from 8am, some were guided, some silent and one even included dancing. At first, we were all a little shy with the dancing, but it didn’t take long before we all got into the spirit of things and were dancing around the rooftop waving our arms in the air – this was helped by Emily’s great choice of tunes. Anyone watching from the beach might have thought we were still up partying from the night before!

The mediation was then followed by a Vinyasa Flow practice for around 75 or 90 minutes. After this we would wander downstairs and have a leisurely breakfast from 10am, which we always looked forward to. We found that most of us were fond of breakfast – for me it’s one of my favourite meals of the day, especially when I get to take my time.

We had free time until 5.30pm each day. During this time, some days we hung out together, others we did our own thing. For me it was important to get a mix of spending time getting to know my fellow retreaters, but also to spend time on my own.   

Kissamos is a small picturesque town with rustic beauty. The town had some lovely shops and I think we all became fans of the local bakeries and baked goods. I spent some days meandering around the town and others on the beach, which included trips to Falassarna and Elafonisi.

The evenings began with some inner work, which again was guided before we moved into a slower, gentler practice.  

All classes were focused around an element, which changed each day - Water, Fire, Earth and Air, along with an additional theme, which included Freedom, Love, Elevate and Balance. Music was selected to accompany each theme and, because the yoga took place on the roof we had the beautiful setting and audio of the sea.

This was my first retreat outside of the UK. I had previously been on long weekend retreats, just outside of London, so this was extra special. Going on my own, I had felt a little apprehensive at first, but on arriving and meeting my group of fellow yogis, any nervousness I had was washed away. It didn’t take long for us to form friendships and become like a little family. It was nice to have the option to spend time together, but also to spend time apart, which was important for me.

This trip couldn’t have come at a better time for me – a time when I was starting to feel a bit burnt out and in need of some time to tune out of daily routines and tune back into myself; time to switch off and reset and that’s exactly what I did! I left Kissamos feeling calm (my intention set for my retreat), with happy, fun memories and some new friends.  

If you’re looking for a retreat to go on in the future, then you should definitely consider this one or any others with Emily. Check out her website for updates and if you can’t wait that long, then you can find her at one of her London locations instead.

Thanks Emily for being a fantastic host and inspiration for my practice and teaching going forwards and thanks to all my retreaters for being a brilliant bunch of people to experience this with.