Yoga retreat in Al Marmoom awakens participants

Sport360 staff 18:12 04/02/2018
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  • The Live Awake Sound Healing and Motivational Yoga Retreat, organised by the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), under the Dubai Government’s Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve initiative, proved a great success with participants from far and wide taking part.

    Inspired by Sarah Blondin’s Live Awake Project, the retreat helped participants reconnect with themselves through the use of sound and meditation in the sprawling desert.

    HE Saeed Hareb, the Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council, was in attendance, along with Nasser Aman Al Rahma, Assistant Secretary General of DSC, and Ghazi Al Madani, Director of Sports Tourism at DSC.

    Speaking at the event Hareb said, “Al Marmoom Desert Conservation Reserve is one of the best places to practise yoga, given its tranquillity and idyllic setting. It is one of the largest natural reserves in the region with an area of 40,000 hectares, which is about 10 per cent of Dubai’s total area.

    He continued, “The Dubai Sports Council is working to organise a number of sports activities in Al Marmoom. This Yoga Retreat is the start and will be followed by the Dubai Tour, which passes through this area. We will continue to organise events in Al Marmoom throughout the year to promote sports tourism in the area and put the Reserve on the sporting map of the region.”

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    “Our plan is to organise more than 20 different sports events in Al Marmoom, ranging from cycling to running and yoga,” added Al Rahma. “There will also be a weekly training course for cyclists, which is open to all segments of the society, the young, old, men and women.”

    Training sessions will be held on Fridays and Saturdays, from 7am to 9am, with 200 people expected to take part, along with classes on Monday and Wednesday evenings, from 6pm to 9pm, which are likely to attract 150 people.

    The Yoga Retreat opened with a sound meditation activity, based on Blondin’s “Loving and Listening to Yourself”. An energising yoga session, focused on heart-opening, before the participants got lost in the beats of Tibetan sound healing meditation. Renown yoga instructor Neha Duseja led the session.

    “Personally, Sarah Blondin’s Live Awake Project has had a significant positive impact on me,” said Elisa Fausto, the woman behind the initiative and founder of Inspire Yoga, Pilates and Fitness. “It’s about living awake – not just going through the motions and realising that there is no emptiness in your life.

    “I think the reason an individual feels empty is because they haven’t been listening their inner voice. Our aim, through this retreat, is to help each and every one to tune in with themselves and find contentment.”

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