Macalla Farm

Location :

Clare Island retreat centre, Ballytoohy Beg, Clare Island, Co. Mayo
Added by Jopie, at 14 August 2017

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• Francesca DR

  04 October 2017

  I have been 10 times to Macalla Farm, mainly for yoga, but also for enjoying the peace and quietness and the fabulous food. Ciara and Christophe are extremely knowledgeable teachers and helped me from day 0 of my yoga practice. They are real professionals and I have met very few people like them in my life. Macalla Farm is an ideal place for yoga, meditation and to rest your mind. I warmly recommend it nad I look forward to my next visit!

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• ZMaryT

  21 August 2017

  Macalla Farm on Clare Island - an oasis of beauty, colour, flavour - a feast for the senses, recharging of the body and refreshment for the mind.
  
  This August Bank Holiday was a return visit for me to take part again in a yoga retreat - and I left after the weekend - as with previous visits - with the feeling of fullness - not only from the delicious food, but filled with positivity, refreshed from the time out, my body nicely tired from stretching, yoga postures and walking, and my mind rested and calm.
  
  The weekend of meditation and yoga was beautifully melded by the hosts and teachers Ciara and Christophe. The classes were held in the purpose built spacious studio within their family home. Sessions are complemented by delicious and wholesome vegetarian dishes using produce from the surrounding farm and prepared in the inviting kitchen and eating space. The farm offers plush graze for the friendly goats, milking sheep and ducks with polytunnels blooming and filled with a wide assortment of healthy produce. The stunning vista from the windows extends down from the colourful companion planting of poppies and borage intertwined with rows of thriving vegetables populated by swallows and thrushes, blackbirds and robins, bees and hoverflies, through fields with grazing horses, past mature woodland, down to the tidal jagged coastline and across the sea to the summit of Croagh Patrick on the mainland.
  
  The silence of the morning meditation sessions having being continued from the evening before and extending until the brunch meal offered a rare opportunity for peacefulness and serenity to one's nights and early mornings - a welcome break from the everyday hustle and hum of technology that can distract us so much- the short walk to the studio from our cottage accommodation was accompanied only by the gentle hum of early morning bees on the blue hydrangea and red honeysuckle. Being on an island lends itself to a feeling of escapism - a sanctuary surrounded by water where one can breathe deeply and relax.
  
  Ciara and Christophe exhibit a humility, peacefulness and patience that is much appreciated on a retreat. They are tolerant, encouraging and compassionate with their teaching. One doesn't have to be a Yogi or even have prior experience in practicing yoga. This course brought together complete beginners who had never meditated or knowingly sat in a yoga pose with more experienced practitioners of yoga – and all levels were catered for in a seamless manner.
  
  In between classes the weekend allowed for time to relax, to explore the island, to dip into the sea, to track up the mountain, to hike down to the famine potato fields, to visit the ancient Abbey, to discover the castle of Grace O Malley, to walk to the lighthouse and peer over at the dazzlingly high cliffs, to hear the cry of the sea birds and take in the sunset over the watery horizon. I have filled up my eyes on the myriad of colours along the hedgerows with bright oranges, vibrant purples, hazy honeyed swaying grasses - under the changeable elements from the hottest sun to blustery stormy winds and rain – whatever the scene the island remains beautiful.
  
  I look forward to my next visit.

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