Finding Your Voice & Finding Your Tribe

Waiting to board the ferry to Inis Mór last weekend, I laid down a few ground rules for myself. I was travelling to take part in a 3-day yoga and voice retreat. Having booked it back in June I was giddy with excitement setting off on my long-awaited break. I swore that I wouldn’t waste any time there. That I’d use my free time to go walking and see parts of the island I’d missed on my last trip. I also reminded myself that I wasn’t there to make friends, I’d carved out this time because I felt in need of reconnecting with myself. The last 18 months have been a trial we’ve all endured but the cracks for me were showing. Holding onto hope for so long is exhausting, bracing your heart against despair takes its toll and this retreat presented a chance to refill my well.

At the Ferry terminal in Rossaveel I saw a girl siting waiting. Her bright colours, air of anticipation and solo passenger status told me she was very likely booked onto the same course as myself. I noticed three other women with a similar spring to them, but I resisted investigation, time enough, I told myself. Of course, when we got off the Ferry in Kilronan to meet our hosts, we gathered in a circle and admitted we had all clocked each other.

In total there were 7 of us booked to do yoga and explore finding our voice. After a welcome at the kitchen table over scones and pots of tea and later by the fire it was immediately evident that not only had the universe gifted me time away, but the heavens had also thrown in half a dozen mighty women to enjoy it with.

Regular readers will know that I have found yoga earlier this year and am happy to report that it has remained a daily practice. I felt that if I had to categorise my level, I’d be intermediate by now. Well, that was my first surprise, because ability to balance or twist is nothing if you haven’t taken the time to get to know your breath.

Monika, our yoga teacher, led us in early morning meditation followed by a mindful silent walk to the beach. Doing yoga in the open air is wonderful, you really feel the elements. Standing on the shores of Inis Mor, with the Atlantic waters below and the wild landscape all around provides a powerful metaphor for life. Monika explained that in yoga the earth symbolises the body, solid and rooted. The sea provides an image for our breath, coming and going, changing rhythm to support our body’s needs. We watched the incoming waves fill up rock pools, just like the breath restores calm to the body. She used the sea to show how calm seas are easily navigated, just like emotions. Choppier waters can cause us to lose balance, that is when we need to be the captain of our own ship and use our breath to steer our vessel.

Back home for breakfast and then it was time for our session with Deirdre, our voicework coach. Deirdre is a powerful singer and songwriter, through movement and chakra voice resonance she got us opening to our true voice. The throat is a passage to the heart which needs to stay open if we want to express our truth.

I got thinking about how mask wearing has afforded me the opportunity to take a break from being always on, constantly smiling at others like a show pony. I think the young people call it ‘resting bitch face’, if it allows me be truer to myself it may be something positive that I take from the pandemic.

So much for my ground rules. I mentioned I might slip off to find the Worm Hole or Pol na bPeist, one of the others asked if she could go with me, and suddenly we were a band of 5 heading out to explore. I had, unsuccessfully, tried to find this landmark the last time I was here. The combination of teamwork, laughter and perseverance brought us to this fascinating part of the island. Just finding it felt like a real adventure, imagining what it is like when the Red Bull Cliff Divers come is mind blowing.

Sometimes you get a perfect day, where with no effort, events unfold and take you along with them. That was how it felt when we walked back to the beach and swam together, singing, exploring new sounds we had created. Making a heart connection with new friends feels a bit like falling in love.

We agreed we’d all have lunch the next day in the gorgeous Café Teach Nan Phaidi. Their famous crab salad was finished when we arrived but I had a fabulous goat’s cheese salad, washed down with Guinness. We got a table for 7 outside in the sunshine, it is the kind of memory that I know I’ll draw on often throughout the winter.

Another swim, this time with more of us, not all had brought swim gear, one got in in her underwear, another in her nightwear, and another in a pair of borrowed togs. We all agreed it looked great on her, as we were getting out and she was deep into a story we couldn’t figure out which of us should interrupt to tell her that her boobs had come out to say hello. It seems while some of us were there to open our hearts, and voices, she went one step further and allowed her swimsuit to open too!

If I am making the weekend sound frivolous, I’m doing it a disservice because while the laughter was plentiful the soul work was intense too. We did powerful meditations sending blessings out far beyond ourselves to the whole world.

I had promised to bring home Man of Aran fudge to the páistí, but the shop wasn’t open. Instead, I picked up some island produced goats’ cheese, seaweed pesto and dulse flakes which we’d enjoyed during our meals. I was leaving feeling truly nourished in every sense.

Saying goodbye at the Ferry was like a scene from the end of Irish college, creating a Whatsapp group through hugs, tears and promises to stay in touch.

If you feel in need of a break like this, to get off the mainland and get some perspective on life, I can heartily recommend Deidre Ni Chinneide’s wonderful workshops and retreats. New dates coming soon to her website www.deirdrenichinneide.ie/about she works on the island in partnership with yoga teacher Monika Schluderbacher, who you can find on: www.earthseaskyyoga.com

Deirdre’s nephew is none other than singing legend Dermot Kennedy (she maintains it’s from her he gets his singing talent). He recorded his song For Island Fires and Family at her home on Inis Mor, you can check out his video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EfE4W60VoA