goodbye Stress and burnout, hello yoga

Research shows that 80% - 90% of all visits to the GP (doctor) are related to stress.

We seem to be facing new epidemics of stress-related disorders, and psychosomatic illnesses are no longer exceptions in our modern Western world. Many of us know very well how stress can creep into our lives, and that it can be a difficult guest to leave!

Unfortunately tensions are not always easy to spot and also not always easy to cure. In yogic philosophy, but also modern psychology, tensions are threefold: muscular, emotional and mental.

In yoga, we deal with problems of tension with a wide periscope and relaxation from tension is one of the chief concerns. Yoga aims at improving health on all levels and can be a way to find true relaxation, freedom and wellbeing. Yoga views an individual as a dynamic entity, integrating body, mind and spirit. From physical movement (asana), to breathwork (pranayama) and meditation (dhyana), yoga encompasses multiple practices to establish homeostasis and move towards liberation.

Benefits of Yoga

It is great news that modern science has now published a wide scope of research showing the benefits of meditation and yoga on our overall health! Just a few examples of those benefits are:

• slowing the heart rate

• lowering blood pressure

• stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system (our rest-and-digest-response)

• helping to diminish depression and anxiety

• improving thought patterns

• lowering brain waves

Meditation is now often prescribed by GP's to very tense patients with sleeping disorders and the US Army uses yoga nidra (a systematic method for deep relaxation) successfully as a way to treat veterans with PTSD.

time to relax

Here at Suryalila we house retreats with international experts on stress-relief and therapeutic, integrative relaxation so you can learn, experience and immerse yourself. Experience is often the greatest teacher.

The Relax and Restore retreat with Ellen Aarts (link here) is one of those retreats.

meet ellen

Ellen is a former journalist and ex-manager from the corporate insurance world and after experiencing a traumatic life event and overcoming burn-out and PTSD, she devoted herself to knowing everything there is to know about calming and recovering the nervous system, the brain and body, relieving tensions and healing from anxiety, trauma and deep emotional tensions.

Ellen made it her life's work and now runs her own programs here at Suryalila. This retreat is carefully curated with a well balanced mix of scientifically tried-and-tested techniques and holistic, therapeutic tools to restore fully. The program contains meditation, yoga nidra, deep yin yoga and restorative yoga, workshops and coaching. For anyone who is in need of profound, professional and conscious relaxation, who wants to learn practices and tools that promote mental, physical and emotional well-being, seeking inspiration and a deeper (re)connection with themselves, this retreat is a recommendation.

Ellen is a coach, certified yoga and yoga nidra therapist, meditation teacher, Yin yoga teacher and certified Reiki healer. The next Relax & Restore retreat is the 16th to the 22th of September or you can catch the next one in December: from the 2nd to the 9th.

You can find more information and book here.