Embracing the elements in Norfolk
March 6, 2024 3:16 pmHannah MacInnes reviews a weekend on a characterful eco estate at West Lexham in Norfolk, where she finds bodily connection through strong, slow yoga and early morning paddle boarding and swimming in a wild lake.
As I drive to West Lexham I feel the familiar pre-retreat nerves setting in. Mostly at the thought of so much time in my own head and body. A body that has not fully recovered from a broken arm six months earlier.
But ten minutes into the yoga class the first afternoon, my worries are assuaged and what this weekend is about becomes quite clear. This is for my body. A chance to connect with it, accept it, nurture it, stretch it, and to appreciate how important it is to breathe properly and deeply again.
And as I meet the 20 other women, all smiles and perhaps a touch of the same initial nervous energy as me, I feel myself relaxing and have that energising feeling of being with a group of new people: sharing stories and connecting with each other as we all reconnect with ourselves.
Jess Horn leads the yoga and the retreat. I am instantly calmed and reassured by her kindness, warmth and sparkle as she welcomes me and shows me to my room. And as we begin the class that afternoon, I feel reassured and enthused by her instruction. She has been teaching yoga for 14 years and it shows.
Read the full article here.
See more of Jess’s retreats here.
Categorised in: Uncategorized