Yoga - a make-up of exercise, nature and camaraderie

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Lifestyle

Wed, November 29, 2023 | 14:07

Healthcare

Yoga - a make-up of exercise, nature and camaraderie

Posted : 2018-10-05 07:56

Updated : 2018-10-07 10:44

An image of the outdoor yoga studio at a retreat in Casteo Giorgio, Umbria, Italy/ Courtesy of a participant

By Kim Ji-soo

Every layman's discipline has its heyday. All types of yoga, and yoga-inspired pilates, are highly popular in Korea, as people living in stress-filled times seek to alleviate stress and seek unity of body, mind and spirit. For yoga devotees, going on a yoga retreat is an ideal holiday, one that removes oneself from the mundane and the familiar, to lunge into hours of yoga every day.

South Korea's Jeju Island boasts a few yoga retreats, but that is still too close to home, or the familiar and the mundane. There are retreats to choose from in India, the birthplace of yoga, as well as the United States, Portugal, Thailand and Cambodia.

One yoga retreat took place in the Umbria region in Italy, which I took part of. The promises of Italian sun, food, the pastoral landscape and yoga tempted this yogi.

Italy or Rome is about a 12-and-a-half-hour flight away from Seoul. The Umbria region is about two hours north by drive from Rome, Lazio.

There are some winding roads and picturesque landscapes to tackle and digest before arriving at the yoga retreat in Castel Giorgio in the province of Terni, Umbria. In some cases, the road was curvy enough as to require motion-sickness medicine. However once past the winding roads _ there is an appreciation of how the natural terrain was maintained instead of bulldozed over to make for a smooth path _ the terrain suddenly became flat featuring provincial Italian landscape, Castel Giorgio.

A picturesque farm was the abode for five days. Being in a place of apple trees by the roadside, bugs of all types invading your bedroom, chickens crying, was all unfamiliar at first but only at first. Good early September climate meant brilliant sunlight that seemed to disinfect just about anything yet was warm around one's body, clear blue skies and freshly made pasta. Staying on a farm meant veggies and fruit straight from the land.

Good air, fresh produce and yoga three times a day is a combination that calls for immersion in oneself but also in the natural surroundings.

Scenes from the yoga retreat / Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo

The yoga program itself consisted of 30 minutes of meditation (or core) at 7 a.m., followed by a 90-minute vinyasa flow class before lunch and deep stretch yoga just before dinner. Meditation was a novel concept. But after 30 minutes of meditation, time flowed away as a quiet stream flows downhill. A stillness.

It may have been something close to mindfulness, which the Mayo Clinic News Network described recently as "a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you're sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment." Practicing mindfulness means conscious breathing _ in my case through the nostrils _ as well as guided imagery and other ways.

Core and vinyasa flow combined were intense, where the muscles in your abdomen, legs and back all come into play. Once when struggling with the issue of firming the muscles, one yoga mate who was also a yoga teacher explained how "when the leg is extended/straightened in a pose, gently or firmly press the quadriceps or the thigh muscle downward into the thigh bone." Such one-point tips helped along the way. Then the stretch yoga took place at 5 p.m., to help wind down.

The sun shines on the outdoor dining table at the retreat./ Korea Times photo by Kim Ji-soo

There was usually abundant homemade Italian food and wine waiting for us during the five-day retreat, which allows us yoga practitioners to get through the grinding classes.

After days of yoga, the body felt more restored in balance, rather than stronger. A sense of being centered came over, making one ready to face the daily mundane grind waiting back home.

Added on to it were immersion into the natural surroundings that we were in, sense of wellbeing and camaraderie among the yoga devotees who took part in the retreat. Nearly 20 women from different parts of the world gathered, and ended up sharing life stories.

Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization recently announced the 2018 "Must-go Wellness Attractions" in Korea. Wellness tourism is currently booming, relating to sites that focus on health and healing. Up from 25 in 2017, the list features 33 attractions this year including the National Center for Forest Therapy in North Gyeongsang Province, and Osulloc Tea Museum & Innisfree Jeju House in the southern island of Jeju. Soon, a yoga retreat in Korea will hopefully be added.

janee@koreatimes.co.kr