Burren yoga, near Ireland's west coast, offers an impressive range of top-quality yoga retreats, and plenty of opportunity to see the spectacular surrounding countryside. Lucia Cockcroft spends a week at the centre.
It's a whisker past 7.30am, and the late Spring light filters softly through the windows of the studio.
Sitting in meditation on my yoga mat, I am dimly aware of bird call outside, and of an atmosphere of soft concentration among my eight fellow retreatants. Otherwise, the stillness in the room is palpable.
After meditation and pranayama, a flowing two-hour asana class gets the system moving, before a hearty brunch of home-made banana and walnut bread and muesli, taken in the kitchen/diner.
I have come to experience one of the year-round yoga and meditation retreats held at Burren Yoga on Ireland's West Coast.
Many things make Burren an unusual entity - perhaps the most striking being the consistently high quality of the guest teachers who come to lead residentials here.
For this week, I am studying under David Muehsham from the States - a highly regarded teacher with a background in iyengar, ashtanga and the breathing methods of the Satyananda tradition.
David is also one of a handful of teachers worldwide to have been authorised to teach in the ashtanga vinyasa style by Pattabhi Jois - yet his soft, low-key approach comes without a trace of the ego sometimes seen in world class yoga teachers.
Commited to yoga and meditaiton
It is this serious, yet good humoured, focus on the disciplines of yoga and meditation that distinguishes Burren Yoga from the plethora of retreats now out there.
Founder Dave Brocklebank, himself an experienced meditator and qualified Satyananda yoga teacher, tells me this has been the centre's main goal since its beginnings ten years ago.
He says: 'We try to appeal to as many people as possible, of all levels - and we also work hard to only host teachers who are humble. I always go a a class first before asking a teacher to the centre. I studied psychology originally and have always had a burning urge to help people work towards their potential.'
Dave is keen to emphasise that students of all ages and abilities come to the courses - from age 14 to 60 plus; from beginners and experienced practitioners.
This inclusive approach was evident from the first stroke - out of our reasonably small group of nine students, one was completely new to yoga, two were already teaching, and the rest hovered somewhere in the middle.
Dave is also careful to embrace a wide range of yoga traditions - from gentle satyananda and yin, to kundalini, iyengar, bikram and, ashtanga (a full list of yoga styles taught at the centre can be found here).
For this retreat, I was lucky enough to experience David Muehsham's broad approach to yoga that drew heavily on both iyengar, with its focus on alignment, viniyoga, with its emphasis on the individual's path, and ashtanga: the flowing sequences were mindfully chosen to encompass the best of these traditions.
On a personal note, I found David's gentle, and undogmatic approach to teaching both refreshing and enlightening - he gently encouraged us to find our own style and approach, while sometmes making references that provided important historical framework.
Out into the Burren 
But Burren yoga is not just all about yoga - and again, this makes it unusual.
Food is undoubtedly a highlight: evening meals are restaurant standard, and cooked by Patricia Keane (or Paddi), former co-owner of Sev'nth Heav'n in Galway.
Daily changing, freshly prepared vegetarian menus include an Indian buffet with red onion raita, tomato chutney, lentil dahl and rice; lentil and mixed bean burgers; smoked tofu kebabs; bean and vegetable cottage pies; and lentil, mushroom and tofu bakes. A mix of home made breads include spelt and rye; fruit and nut; and wholemeal poppy seed.
Most people come to Burren's retreats alone - making friends, and like-minded people, is a certainty. Meals are taken around two tables in the kitchen, and are relaxed, sociable occasions.
There are plenty of other opportunities to get to know fellow guests during the organised trips. Almost every day, taking place after brunch and before afternoon yoga, Dave organises a three or four hour trip out into the Burren and to the surrounding beautiful coastline.
Out and about
In the six days I was at Burren, we went walking along beaches, forests and hillsides; visited ancient chapels; and shopped in craft centres and nearby towns such as Kimvara.
Group activities vary according to the weather, and the group's wishes - but the programme is optional and guests are at liberty to relax at the centre if they prefer.
I found myself wishing for a little more free time during my first couple of days on the retreat - if you are seeking solitude, or are looking for a total chill-out to go with the yoga, the Burren experience isn't for you.
However, as the week neared its end, I fully appreciated the value of the trips. Dave's knowledge of the local area - walks, places to eat, secret spots you wouldn't otherwise find - made for enjoyable, informative jaunts, sometimes combined with breathtaking views.
Though the meditation and yoga programme stayed constant, we had the middle day free - and luxuriated in lounging around the centre: gazing out of the huge window in the lounge, sipping endless cups of tea (herbal or caffeinated!), or opting for a luxurious massage performed by Laura, an outstanding local massage therapist.
Ambitious plans for expansion
Dave clearly has a sharp business sense, and is keen to see Burren Yoga evolve with the times.
He admits that lack of space, and a limited number of bathrooms, are challenges: the rooms sleeping eight people (though often only inhabited by four) were tight for floor space, despite luxuriously comfortable mattresses and Egyptian cotton linen.
I was glad to have paid an extra 120 euros for a single room - and light sleepers, or those who value their own space, may wish to book early, and pay the supplement.
To this end, Dave is cooking up ambitious plans for a brand new building housing a light-filled yoga studio; a quiet room; a large dining room; and accommodation for up to18 people in single, twin or triple, en-suite rooms.
If planning permission is approved, the centre will morph into one of the most impressive residential yoga spaces in Europe.
However, Dave is wary of the uncertainty surrounding being granted planning permission, and is keen not to jump the gun. If the plans go ahead, he will inevitably face the challenge of keeping the homely, personal touch that makes the Burren experience so memorable.
Whatever happens, the quality of yoga and meditation teaching will remain unusually high - and to yogis seeking some serious on-the-mat immerson, twinned with adventures into the Irish landscape, Burren Yoga will continue to hold a powerful draw.
For a full list of retreats being held at Burren over the next few months, click here.
.jpg "Baddha Konasana - Bound Angle Pose")
