Community
28 February, 2024
Idyllic spot to practise yoga
“LEAN into love in the midst of madness.” This is the instructor’s message as the yoga class finishes. Mats are arranged in rows on a grassed, beachfront area in beautiful Palm Cove.
The grassy area sits under a canopy of palm trees. The waves whoosh rhythmically on to the shore as the yoga poses flow, the palm fronds flap a little in the sea breeze and the birds overhead sing.
If the yoga participants’ minds wander, they can gaze out to an expanse of smooth, yellow sand and the rainforest coastline towards Cairns. Ahhh … is there a more idyllic spot to practise yoga?
Beth Hartig came to Australia from England on a working holiday visa in 2012. She met her partner in Western Australia and followed him to Palm Cove, instantly feeling at home and loving the warm weather.
She did her 200 hours teacher training in India – the birthplace of yoga – and, in 2014, she established Hartig Yoga: https://hartigyoga.com
Two and a half years ago, Ms Hartig added yoga retreats of up to five days. During COVID-19 lockdowns, she also added an online arm to her business.
Nine times a week, she or another equally passionate yoga instructor, takes yoga practice for up to 25 people – mainly women but men too. In peak times, participants are a 50/50 mix of locals and tourists.
“Surrender,” is the theme of one practice, “Life happens for you, not to you.”
Monday morning class is all about a gentle reset to the week – “Do not rush into your week … reset before you start running into your week.”
Then there’s a message that particularly resonates: “Empty the noise from your mind.”
Ms Hartig started yoga herself with a video that she was given at age 16. She maintains that it is never too late to start yoga, never too late to retrain muscles and to become more flexible.
The classes reaffirm body positivity. There is no judgement here – just continuous messaging about only doing what is comfortable for your body, that yoga is not about suffering.
Ms Hartig said that the participants’ bodies would never again be what they are today.
Palm Cove in October is perfection. The skies are endlessly blue, the sun perpetually shining with the temperature hovering around 30 degrees. The water temperature is 26 degrees if anyone feels like a dip after yoga practice. The verdant green of the lattice of palm fronds against the sapphire blue of the sky is breathtaking. The wave noise – somewhere between lapping and crashing – adds a soothing, regular, background beat.
There can’t be a more idyllic spot to practise yoga.
