Hello and welcome to my very first post on WORDS BY AIMEE. I was planning to wait until Mercury (the planet of communication) had finished its retrograde this Sunday as I am a solid Astrological believer…but I was so positively giddy with excitement about launching my new writing project that I just could not wait and figured a risk would be well worth the pay off.

On Sunday 10^th March I was lucky enough to be one of twenty gorgeous women attending one of the Central West region’s first ever yoga retreats held at Lazy River Estate in Dubbo. Located 8km out of town in a serene setting beside the Macquarie River, the retreat was an opportunity for aspiring yogis of all levels to reconnect with nature and experience a day of tranquillity.

Yoga Beneath The Vines

The stunning Kym from Yoga With Kym guided the group through two yoga classes and multiple meditations throughout the five hour day. I have attended many different yoga classes throughout Sydney, LA, Byron Bay and Dubbo and I can honestly say Kym is a truly beautiful yogi and human being. My dad first switched me onto Kym’s classes which are held at the ATMA Holistic Centre on Macquarie Street in Dubbo. Kym infuses her classes with warmth, strength and positivity…providing those little extras which are so appreciated including lavender eye pillows, head pillows, essential oil essences and affirmation cards.

Throughout the retreat I picked up two affirmation cards which really resonated with where I am and how my life is sitting right now. The first affirmation card simply read…I am enough! An extremely important message and one that as women we seem to frequently forget, it’s almost as if we’re hard-wired to be tough on ourselves.

The second affirmation card from the Louise Hay deck focused on how a wonderful new job opportunity with plenty of money would soon be coming my way. As I begin the journey of working towards and trying to manifest a successful writing career this affirmation card was an absolute beauty to receive.

Of course no yoga retreat would be complete without lessons from the universe in the form of challenges. While Lazy River Estate was the perfect location with its lush green setting and location beside the river, unfortunately this also meant that there was no shortage of flies and bugs buzzing around us while we practised yoga outside on the deck. Trying to hold complex poses and meditate while flies buzz around your ears is a definite lesson from the universe not just in concentration, but in letting go and accepting things as they are. It is what it is…became my new mantra repeated constantly to myself throughout the day.

While I am an absolute yoga addict, perhaps the most interesting part of the day and certainly the part that resonated the most with me was an inspirational talk by Carol Macrae who is a Reiki Master, Clinical Hynotherapist and Theta Healing Practitioner. Carol has led an extremely interesting life and she took us through her journey, which includes being diagnosed with breast cancer and later bone cancer. Both times Carol healed herself through vitamins, nutritional supplements, diet, meditation, reiki and hypnosis. The overarching message of Carol’s talk was that every challenge we experience in life is a lesson from the universe and a way of putting us on our correct path, so what matters most is not the challenge but how we respond to it. Despite the many challenges in Carol’s life she is happy, engaged and grateful for every lesson the universe has thrown her way…a very inspiring woman indeed.

Now I’ll leave you with a Louise Hay affirmation card for your day, hopefully it will resonate with you as well as mine did with me:

I hope you all have an absolutely beautiful day! xxx

All proceeds from the yoga retreat were donated to the Make A Wish foundation and the Mt Kilimanjaro Charity Climb.