A long yoga week in Cyprus

retreat
A LONG YOGA WEEKEND IN
CYPRUS
Over the Easter
break Elaine Kelly
visited ZENING
Resort, a simple
yet beautiful
destination for
those seeking
relaxation, joy and
inner peace
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C
yprus is a beautiful island, only a 4-hour flight from Dubai.
It’s perfect for a long weekend, especially to escape the
heat of summer. When the marketing team at ZENING
Resort Elia Village in Latchi, located on the far northwest side
of the island, invited me to come and check out their yoga
resort, I thought a long weekend in April would be perfect.
Friday – April 10
My husband and I landed in Larnaca on the Emirates 330 flight,
which was totally full, and entered the new, efficient airport to
collect our rental car. I highly recommend this as it’s a 2-hour
drive to the resort and taxis are very expensive. We drove
towards Limasol and then on to Paphos, with the coast on our
left and mountains on the right. There were olive, orange and
lemon trees heavy with fruit and tall spindly conifers on the
hilly limestone land that reminded me of one continuous golf
course. Like Oman, the buildings are in various skin tones, all
with terracotta tiled roofs upon which sit two solar panels that
retreat
Eden Pool Bar
is by the main
swimming pool
heat the water tank on the roof. As we passed
Paphos, the hills became steeper as we drove
over the grey stony mountains and then down
towards the coast listening to Radio Sunshine
playing old hits such as Sweet Caroline by Neil
Diamond and Jail House Rock by Elvis Presley.
As you enter the town of Latchi on Chrysouchou Bay, there is a large red wooden ship on the
left opposite the marina that marks the entrance
to ZENING Resort. If you could, it’s best to fly
into Paphos, but from Dubai, this is not an option.
The wellness resort is about 15 years old
and was recently purchased by AJ Goyal, who
has lovingly begun to refurbish the 135 holiday
studios and one-bedroom apartments set on
35 hectares of grassy and tree-covered land
overlooking the bay.
We entered the reception and were warmly
greeted and offered hot mint tea with apologies for the cold weather. We were instructed
to leave our car at the reception parking area
and were driven to our room at the top far end
of the resort. We had a one-bedroom apartment with living room/kitchen and newly
renovated bathroom. Extra blankets were in
the wardrobe. We received a yoga bag with
soaps and creams, a pair of flip-flops and some
yoga leggings, which was a lovely touch. We
enjoyed a late lunch in the restaurant overlooking the coast – a delicious village salad
with home baked bread – and then took a drive
into town with our umbrellas and raincoats.
The coast is rugged with mud-coloured
sand. There is
evidence of many
T he a p a
new developrtments
ments as you
drive along the
coastal road. We found a
hotel/bar made of traditional limestone and snug-gled up next to the fire, and chatted with the local
expats who run a dive centre and a property management business. They told us about the big event of
the year, the Easterbonfire at the local church.
Easter is the most important festival of the year
and the entire town attends the midnight service to
celebrate the resurrection of Christ. That evening
we enjoyed a delicious buffet of fresh organic foods
including several vegetarian options. We crashed early
to be up in time for the morning pranayama class.
Saturday – April 11
I woke at 6.00am and stepped outside onto our porch.
It was dark and cold and the first signs of light appeared
over the hills in the east. I had an amazing hot shower
and dressed for yoga leaving my husband to continue
sleeping. As I walked down the hill, birds darted around
chirping loudly as the light of day became stronger.
I was the first to arrive in the yoga hall, a large space
with wooden flooring and a big East-facing window.
I started my practice, and then the teacher, Ravindra,
arrived. He greeted me, and lit incense and candles. We
were 4 people for the 7.00am pranayama class which
started with yogic breathing, followed by Ujjayi and Kapalabhati. We finished with Nodi Shodana and then rested
for 10 minutes till the 90-minute Hatha yoga class started.
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retreat
Soma Restaurant
is situated on the
top of a hill
Ravindra is from Haridhar in India and was
invited to teach here by the owner, whom he met
while teaching in Dubai at Bikram Yoga in TECOM.
He has been practisting yoga since 1991 and has
a master’s degree in Human Consciousness and
Yogic Sciences. He offers several yoga teacher
trainings a year, which are UK YRT certified.
Daily activities include a morning pranayama
followed by a 90-minute Hatha yoga class, another
yoga class at 11.00am and yoga theory at 3.30
and meditation at 4.30pm. There are also fitness
classes and Pilates, all included in the room rate.
There are 3 pools, bicycles and a small outdoor gym.
In the evening there are group activities and movies,
so you can be as busy or as restful as you like.
After lunch on the terrace we headed to the
Veda Spa for a therapeutic massage. The therapy
rooms all overlook the gardens and pond teaming
with fish so you can enjoy the sound of the waterfall
as you lie being massaged. Irina, my Russian therapist, gave me a strong yet soothing massage.
After the massage, we went down to the sauna and
steam rooms, which are brand new. There is a heated
indoor pool and a relaxation room lit with candles for
reading or meditation. We climbed the 40 steps back up
to the restaurant and helped ourselves to a fresh mint
tea, and then walked back to our room for an afternoon
nap in preparation for the midnight church service.
Dinner is buffet style and includes soup, salads,
delicious local olives and a selection of hot dishes.
There was a movie on in the reception library so
we walked down with some newly made friends
and settled in next to the open fire to watch Crazy,
Stupid Love munching on fresh popcorn.
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dra
Yog a instructor Ra vin
India
is from Ha rid har in
LOCATION
ZENING is in Republic of Cyprus in Polis
Latchi area, within easy drive from the
Larnaca and Paphos airports. The resort
is located in a unique energy zone of
Akamas – an area also known as Aphrodite’s
Playground. For more information on ZENING
go to www.zeningcyprus.com
At 11.00pm we drove
to the small village to
join hundreds of welldressed Cypriots at
the church in the town
square. There was a
huge bonfire where
many people gathered and kids
let off bangers. Every one carried a large
unlit lampada (candle) and there was a
general feeling of excitement in the air.
A few minutes before midnight the lights
in the church were extinguished and the
choir sang the story of the three women who
arrived at Christ’s tomb only to find it empty.
The lights were switched on again and the
priest called the congregation to “take from
his candle the light which never dies”. The
flame was passed from person to person
until everyone was holding a lit candle. Then
the fireworks and the bangers went off,
and the night sky was alight with colours.
We were greeted with the words “Christos
Anesti” and invited to take a dyed red egg
and some cake made from raisins, cheese
and sesame seeds. You tap eggs with others
and the one with the unbroken shell wins!
Sunday - April 12
I was too sleepy to make it to pranayama
so I started with yoga instead, a strong
Ashtanga-inspired class with around 10
ladies. Breakfast is my favourite meal of
the day and today it was just about warm
To really
enjoy the place
visit from MaySeptember when
the weather
is warmer
enough to sit outside on the terrace and eat overlooking the
sparkling blue waters of the bay below. By the time I finished
breakfast it was time for the 11.00am yoga class, which was
better attended and a little less strenuous.
We joined friends on the terrace for lunch and sat chatting for a
few hours wrapped in our sweaters. The afternoon was spent reading
and writing, and I joined the meditation session at 4.30 for an Osho
meditation seated in couples humming to ourselves, which was really
soothing. After dinner there was a quiz and movie in the main reception again. I managed to stay awake till 10.00pm but then found myself
dozing on my husband’s arm with the warmth of the fire by my side.
Because the resort is so affordable, it’s a great long weekend yoga
break away from Dubai. While there, definitely hire a car to visit the
surrounding villages. To really enjoy the place visit from MaySeptember when the weather is warmer.
ELAINE KELLY has spent the last 25 years
in the health and fitness industry and is the
founder of Yogafest ME, the largest free body
and mind festival in the Middle East. Contact
her by email: hello@yogafest.me
SPARTAN
DECOR
Deluxe Nirvana Studio
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