Things We Love: Five Pointed Star - Life on Star Island Yoga Retreat

“What is your heart’s longing?”

“What is your deep heart’s longing?  Not a want or a craving, but something more profound…”

Candle lanterns flickered in the old stone chapel as sea-winds howled all around us.  It was 9 pm, and we sat in silent meditation on wooden benches, minds swirling with our own thoughts, questions and expectations about this weekend. The wind whipped crazily around the walls and then burst the wood door open.  Someone got up to latch it against the elements, and we resumed our communal reflection.  There was some unspoken old magic in this place.

I didn’t know what I longed for. 

It was my first time on Star Island, and I was anxious about leaving my young children for so long.  Four days and three nights—the longest I’d ever been away from my girls, ages four and six.  I wanted to let go of guilt and live fully in the moment for this yoga retreat—but part of me kept wishing I’d brought my family with me.

Ten miles off the coast of New Hampshire, Star Island is part of the magnificent Isles of Shoals.  We’d arrived by ferry boat, traveling an hour from Portsmouth.  There’s something about a sea voyage that helps the mind make transitions.  My mother told me how she went by ocean liner to England in 1967, to live with my father in Oxford.  Nowadays you hop on a red-eye flight and you’re in London six hours later, but it took her five days to cross the Atlantic on the Queen Elizabeth 2, plenty of time to reflect on her journey, to separate from her old American life and make room for the new.

Likewise, the boat trip to Star helped me drop my daily rushing around.  It opened me up to the raw beauty of the seascape.  I live in landlocked Vermont, and love the woods and hills and river valleys.  But living on this sea island for three days sparked my imagination.  I felt a new connection to the ocean, to the sky, to the sunrise each morning at 6:15 am.  What a miracle to greet the SUN!  Ethereal peachy-pink clouds streaked the horizon over the gray-blue Atlantic Ocean as I walked the path around the island.  I circled the sprawling old Oceanic Hotel where we slept in twin beds, sharing simple rooms with new friends, fellow yogis. 

The weather was gorgeous.  High pressure, bluebird skies, strong sun and northwest wind.  The food was delicious and abundant.   I found myself ravenous from all the yoga and the hiking out on the rocks in the fresh sea air.  And the delight of eating food that I hadn’t shopped for or prepared was unspeakable.

Scrambled eggs with salsa for breakfast.  Cream-of-wheat with brown sugar. Freshly-baked breads and muffins and chocolate-chip cookies.  Macaroni and cheese with roasted cauliflower and broccoli.  Big wooden bowls of salad with homemade dressing at every table, shared family-style with new friends.  Laughter and spirited conversation at every meal.

For three days I did Rasamaya yoga, Iyengar yoga, and partner yoga massage. I tried an amazing creative class called Mark-Making and Movement with artist and dancer Kim Bernard, who had us finger-paint with shaving cream on big plate-glass windows!  I taught vinyasa flow every day to a strong, focused and fun group of students.  I could’ve tried aerial yoga, but found myself too tired. Plus, I realized that my heart’s deep longing was to lie on the south side of the island in the afternoon sun, sheltered from the wind, reading a novel and napping.  What luxury, to rest beside the ocean!

I returned home renewed and full of new appreciation for my family.  Thank you Star Island.  Thank you teachers and students and friends.  I will return next September.

-- Diana Whitney

Diana Whitney is a yoga teacher, freelance writer, and mother of two in Brattleboro, VT.  She blogs at www.spiltmilkvt.com and teaches vinyasa yoga classes, workshops and retreats at www.coreflowyoga.com.