On retreat with Sally Parkes

YA editor Lucia Cockcroft heads down to Arundel for a weekend of yoga and wellbeing with London-based yoga and pilates teacher, Sally Parkes.

It 11pm on an unseasonally warm, starry October night - and four of us are treading our way to the garden of Marsh Farm House with blankets wrapped around our shoulders. It's tricky to see our way, so we hold onto the cloaked person in front, giggling softly.

Once there, we stand like rabbits in the headlights - only right now, the headlights are the stars: hundreds of them, blinking away in the autumn darkness.

The back of the house looks majestic and impressive, and I can just make out a sprinkling of real rabbits darting back and forth. Behind them, a solitary horse looks on.

It's the end of the second day on a retreat held by London-based yoga teacher, Sally Parkes, deep in the Sussex countryside. Arundel is a few miles away; Brighton accessible in about 40 minutes by car.

In tune with the tone of the rest of the retreat, the atmosphere is relaxed and receptive; chatty but not overly-so.

Although it's late, our bellies are pleasantly full with the outstanding vegetarian meal we have just eaten - a delicious spread of home made parsnip bread, salad, beetroot smothered in goat's cheese, wild rice and roasted vegetables. All washed down with a homemade dark chocolate mousse.

The morning began early, but not ridiculously so - we took to our mats in the large lounge at 8am for a dynamic, ashtanga-based practice before breakfast.

There are ten of us on this retreat - a mixture of Sally's regular students and keen (but not necessarily experienced) yoga practitioners escaping for a weekend focused on yoga, pilates, treatments, good company and excellent, wholesome food. 

It's a pretty winning combination, and by the end of the first evening - we arrive on a Friday in time for a gentle yoga session at 5pm - I forget about the less-than-pleasant M25 and an engrossed in another world; precisely what being on retreat is all about.

Yoga with a taste of Pilates

Sally Parkes has been teaching in London and Worthing, Sussex for ten years, She discovered yoga after completing a degree in Sports and Exercise Science, and was immediately hooked.

She says: 'After my first class, I knew I wanted to teach make yoga my life. It was completely different to other disciplines I had tried as it worked the body in such an effective way that it helped rid me of existing lower back pain and regular head aches, as well as helping me sleep better.'

On a more subtle level, she noticed she felt calmer and more positive.

Her initial training was with the British School of Yoga; she then went on to study Ashtanga yoga in Thailand, and to gain a Yoga for Pregnancy and Yoga for post-natal recovery qualification with the Sitaram organisation.

Unusually, Sally's training extends to pilates with the Pilates Institute, and an unusual twist to her weekend yoga retreats are a couple of pilates classes slotted in.

To my surprise (as a fervent yoga person and perhaps guilty of perpetuating the 'yoga versus pilates' divide) I enjoyed the two pilates classes.

According to Sally, as the ten of us had done a reasonable amount of yoga before, the class was quite strong, with lots of core strength work and a focus on strengthening the whole body.

As I found with other pilates classes I have taken, however, there just isn't that sense of release and fulfilment I always feel after a yoga session; so my convertion to pilates has some way to go! However, Sally's thorough knowledge of both systems is a real enhancement to her teaching.

She is an encouraging, knowledgeable teacher, who peppers her instruction every now and again with a light touch of humour, so things never feel too serious.

In my experience, ashtanga - because it's such a strong practice - can be taught stridently, with little instruction from the teacher to modify poses where necessary, and rather a bullish approach.

Not so with Sally's approach, whose soft, clear voice talked us through the postures with expertise and patience.

A dynamic practice, twinned with Yoga Nidra

The first morning class was largely Ashtanga-derived, without the half vinyasas. The second 8am session could be described as dynamic flow, with a good balance between fluidity and holding the poses for long enough to really sink into them.

I especially appreciated the focus on hip openers such as Happy Baby and Pigeon.

On both Friday and Saturday evenings, after dinner, Sally led a 45-minute Yoga Nidra (literally, yogic sleep) class - a lovely counter to the morning's dynamic yoga and pilates sessions.

Sally's soothing voice lulled us into a state of deep relaxation by encouraging us to soften and release each part of the body in turn.

The inclusion of Yoga Nidra ensured a balanced feel to the retreat - often, our western take on yoga is dynamic and yang, with a tendency to neglect the soft, yin side of the practice.

In reality, however, learning how to fully relax has never been so crucial - and Yoga Nidra is increasingly recognised for its ability to effectively reduce symptoms of anxiety, stress and insomnia.

I would have liked to have seen, however, a short meditation and/or pranayama practice included somewhere in the weekend schedule - perhaps as an early morning option before the dynamic yoga session began.

The schedule wasn't all about yoga, however. On Saturday afternoon, Natalie Smit-Ash from Tri-holistic in Worthing offered a range of treatments that included facials, reiki and massage.

I choose the latter option, and emerged half an hour later in a state of other-wordly bliss. Nat's touch is gentle and expert; and I could smell the lavender essential oil on my skin hours later.

Her approach to a full body massage typically involves lots of effleurage (sweeping, gliding movements) and deeper tissue work in and around areas of increased tension in the shoulder or mid back area. I emerged feeling utterly chilled out.

As retreat venues go, Marsh Farm House is comfortable and homely without being luxurious. The absence of a dedicated yoga space is manageable as the lounge (with furniture removed) is large and warm.

The bedrooms - a mix of doubles, singles and three or four sharing - are big-ish and characterful; the spacious kitchen and dining room welcoming.

With a group of this size, it's impossible not to meet new people, and a friendly, relaxed atmosphere extended throughout the course of the weekend. So much so that, when the time came for us to reluctantly go home on Sunday afternoon, there was talk a-plenty of meeting just-made friends on future retreats.

Sally Parkes runs regular weekend retreats, costing £225 inclusive, at Marsh Farm House. For more details see www.sallyparkesyoga.com. You can email Sally at sallyparkesyoga@hotmail.co.uk or call her on 07967 388363.