Journey of Discovery

(as featured in AlgarvePlus Magazine)

A retreat is a place to go to and withdraw for a little while. It’s an opportunity to step out of the ordinary and connect with yourself. Sarah Shannon goes on a retreat every year and, as a yoga and meditation teacher, hosts retreats in the Algarve, Portugal

SOUL SEARCHING

Six years ago, I was searching for something like a retreat. A place to gather with other women, hear their stories, feel inspired, connect with my body and gather feminine wisdom.

I was a dissatisfied corporate lawyer working long hours in an Irish law firm. I was in my early thirties and searching for meaning and passion in life. I was looking for my tribe but I didn’t know where to find them. I wasn’t aware of retreats then, so, I had to go find what I was looking for. I went travelling on my own, backpacking in Asia for a year. On this journey I learnt ways to listen to my heart.

And yes, I was spurred on by our friend Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat, Pray, Love; and yes, I was hoping to meet a Javier Bardem type-character in a beach bar in Bali. Among these desires however, something important was happening; I was going off to experience and embody the practices and tools that I now share on my retreat.

Wild & Free is the name I give to this collection of spiritual tools and practices that I have gathered. My retreat here in the Algarve is a space for women to connect with themselves and each other. The tools are yoga, meditation, self-inquiry, journaling, cyclical wisdom and cacao ceremonies. These methods and practices helped me find my purpose, my passion and they helped me to create a life that I love.

LISTENING TO MY HEART

On my journey I started a simple practice of writing in a journal. At the back of my journal, I left one page blank and wrote at the top “Things That I Like”. If I noticed something I liked or was interested in, I wrote it on this page. It was blank for the first few weeks. You remember I was an unfulfilled lawyer and I had used socialising to distract myself. I was embarrassed to put down “beers” or “parties” so the page remained blank until I could find something I felt was newsworthy to put down.

The first word that appeared was yoga - then incense, spiritual books, nature, sea swimming, sunrise, sunset, Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Sunday, singing bowls and mantra music. The page was filling up and I was beginning to see myself as a fascinating woman. A woman who had a lot of interests (and who also happened to love a beer and a party). The world was opening up and my interests were taking me all over Asia. I was meeting new people and going on extraordinary adventures; like when I went on a ten-day silent retreat in Malaysia and hiked up a volcano in Indonesia with torn runners and no hiking experience.

I had finally got to know myself at age 32. I had created a strong bond between me and my heart. We were fearless and we had got a taste of what it felt like to follow my desires.

I had learnt an important lesson - to always listen to my heart. I wrote this quote from Rumi - the ancient Persian mystic - in my journal,

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.”

and, I vowed to create space and rituals in my life to maintain this connection to my heart.

BUILDING COURAGE

 I was in Kerala in India staying in an ashram (like a retreat place but the schedule is very strict and you can’t leave the grounds). I had borrowed books in the ashram that I used to read in the sun. A woman I knew sat down beside me. She was curious because I was scribbling notes and reading two books at the same time. She asked me what I did for a living. I said I’m a corporate lawyer and I had never felt so silly in my life. The gig was up. The truth was right in front of me. I didn’t want to work as a lawyer; I was interested in so many things and none of them were law. Three months later I left my career and started as a yoga teacher.

I’ve learnt that these life realisations happen when we create space in our lives. When we take time to listen and connect with our heart. I have also learnt, with relief, that once the realisation comes the hard work is usually over. The hard work is the suffering, pain and discomfort that brings us to the point of knowing. Once the realisation comes, it’s time to act and that takes courage.

THE WILD WOMAN

I developed courage through my yoga and meditation practices. They brough me routine and discipline and made me strong. I developed courage by facing my true self. I call her the Wild Woman because she is wise and loves to run free. I make space and time to be by myself and quiet so I can connect with her. I use cyclical wisdom from my menstrual cycle awareness and the moon cycles to understand her. I have fun and enjoy her through cacao ceremonies, creativity, gathering with other women and having a laugh. I use this tool box, which is full of these practices, every day in my continued excavation dig of my inner Wild Woman and I share these things on my retreats.

I was yearning to move away from city life into nature. Having spent childhood summers’ holidaying in Portugal, I decided to move to the Algarve last year. Using the same process as when I left my law career, I listened to my heart that was calling for a new home in a country where I could live near the beach and close to spiritual places and healers; a place with beach bars and places to travel to in a campervan. I used my practices to give me courage and I packed my bags and moved. I found a home here for my Wild Woman, stunning venues where I host my Wild & Free retreats and, I have met a brave man to love my Wild Woman. My heart was right, once again.

There are seven Wild & Free retreats happening here in the Algarve in 2022. The retreat is for you if you are a curious woman and looking to connect with yourself. You don’t need to have a certain level of yoga. Next year I have women in their thirties to sixties booked for the same retreat. It is for women at all stages of life.

 “Thanks to Wild & Free Retreat I am embracing and falling in love with my feminine side.”

Shauna, Wild & Free September 2021.

RETREAT DIARY

Here is a two-day diary from the last Wild & Free retreat for you to get a sense of what happens during your stay.

 TYPICAL DAY

The morning begins in silence at 8am when we gather for a guided meditation until tea and fruit at 8:45am. Yoga is outdoors on the roof or indoors (weather dependent) for a two-hour practice. We practice breathwork and mantra and embodied yoga flow. You don’t have to have lots of experience, just an open mind and curiosity for these practices.

A big brunch is served at 11am prepared by our retreat chef, Algarve Chefs. The food is vegetarian, using local produce as much as possible. After brunch there is free time to relax, get a massage by our therapist in the treatment room, stroll around the local village or go exploring nearby islands.

In the evening we gather for a two-hour restorative yoga practice. Some evenings this is a workshop and yoga, or journaling and yoga. Dinner is at 6pm and then it’s time to relax, chat with women, journal and read in the luxurious house.

SPECIAL DAY

The day begins as usual with our morning meditation, yoga practice and big brunch. In the afternoon we gather for a cacao ceremony where we dress in flowy dresses and gather to drink cacao and feel the benefits.

Cacao is a heart opening medicine and at the ceremony we use it to explore feminine creativity, journaling, movement and heart connection. In the evening, local sound healer João of Kior Sound Healing comes to share a sound bath for deep rest and healing frequencies.

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Sarah Shannon is a yoga and meditation teacher with a focus on women’s yoga. She is a trained cacao ceremony facilitator. On her website you can find details on her retreats in Casa Fuzetta in Olhão and Monte Velho Retreat Centre in Aljezur.