I cannot believe that we are half way through the year and our first retreat in Cyprus has been and gone already! Sarah and I were joined by 14 clients on this retreat. We all had a fabulous time.
Everyone was up and raring to go each morning for a 7.30am Intuitive Pilates class, set on a beautiful terrace overlooking the sea. We had Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement® and Child’Space Developmental Movement Exploration® classes in the afternoon. There were lots of laughs as we explored how a bean bag could affect or influence your movement and breathing, and how you could equalise the function of your nostrils through various ways of vocalising.
During the day everyone did their own thing, sometimes in small groups, sometimes alone, exploring the coastline and nature park or enjoying the sun by the pool and sea.
We had a day trip into the mountains, where we visited a halloumi farm, olive farm, honey farm, had a traditional meze lunch at a village restaurant, and enjoyed free time in the village of Lefkara. On the way back we visited the monastery of Agios Menas.
We had a celebration dinner on the Friday night, as well as a birthday celebration for a client who had a big birthday coming up! It was a complete surprise for the client and the chef surpassed himself by creating a delicious coffee and pistaccio birthday cake!
On our last night we had a special trip to the Famagusta Cultural Centre, where students of my mum and dad organised an exhibition in honour of my father who was instrumental in bringing ceramics to the Cypriot secondary school education system in the 1960s. He and my mum re-introduced glazing to pottery at the Technical School of Famagusta. Prior to this time, pottery was largely terracotta since the art of glazing died out after the Venetian period. The event was opened by the Mayor of Famagusta in-exile (the city is in the occupied sector). Thirteen students were present and exhibited work alongside my father’s and mother’s work. They presented my mum an award in his name, honouring the role he played and the inspiration he gave them to become successful potters and artists.
It was truly a wonderful, powerful and emotional event and I was so happy that my clients were able to join me and my family from Cyprus and the UK.
I’d like to thank Danny, who came on the retreat with his wife, Deb, and who kindly produced the photo montage above which captures highlights of the event.
The feedback has been phenomenal, with clients saying they have learned something about themselves and had transformational experiences, returning home feeling rejuvenated, motivated and ready to keep moving. We are looking forward to the next retreat!
Next year’s retreat is currently being planned and dates will be released soon.
Spaces will be limited so if you’d like to be on the waitlist, please email Sarah at info@isministudios.com to be the first to hear!
Best wishes
Ismini
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