I SAT IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE WOODEN PEW with my hands crossed in my lap and started repeating Hail Marys out of habit. It’s practically impossible to go to Malta, a tiny island country just 50 miles south of Sicily, without visiting more than a few of its 359 churches. And, apparently for me, it was also impossible to sit in one of the country’s most beautiful cathedrals and not pray, despite it having been more than 20 years since I’d gone to church regularly.
It did feel a little weird to pray, in a church, to a Catholic God while on a yoga retreat. But in fairness, this wasn’t a typical yoga retreat. I’d traveled to Malta with Perillo’s Learning Journeys— a company that specializes in spiritual travel—on a week long trip focused on wellness, gastronomy, and culture. Rather than the typical twice-daily yoga and meditation sessions offered on most retreats, we were encouraged to practice on our own—and then experience the kind of oneness with Source that happens off the mat: the divinity you feel when wandering around cobblestone streets, say, or eating just-baked bread drenched in exquisitely fresh olive oil.
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