Soul Circus Yoga & Wellness Festival 2018 {Review}

Sat here, on a chilly wet Sunday morning, my mind takes me back to last weekend when the sun was shining down on a small and cosy yoga and wellness festival in the west of England.

Soul Circus Yoga and Wellness Festival returned for their third year at their home in Elmore, Gloucestershire. Easily accessible off junction 12 of the M5, the festival soon takes you away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

The festival, run by husband and wife team Roman Wroath and Ellie Guilding, has grown in size slightly over the last three years but not too much to take away from the intimacy and friendliness of the whole site area. Add to this the fact that the Soul Circus crew and ambassadors are all a smiley and approachable bunch and you've got yourself a warm and welcoming festival suitable for all; whatever your age, yoga background or previous experiences.

Classes run from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and cover a huge range of yoga; Yin, Jivamukti, Vinyasa Flow, Restorative, Yoga Nidra, Klub Yoga, Kundalini, Aerial, Gong Baths, Meditation. There are also talks and workshops on a variety of topics; Out of Body Experiences, Yoga Anatomy, Ayurveda, Shamanism, Breath, Mindfulness, Happiness. Add to this acoustic bands, DJ Yoda filling the main tent on the Saturday, fire shows and classes for the children, and you've got plenty to fill your day. 

Soul Circus have always been vocal in supporting local businesses and providing healthy food for the festival goers. The main food provider this year was the Cotswold Catering Group who set up camp in the Solar Kitchen tent. The food was suitable for vegans, much of which was gluten-free, and a tasty range of curries, pizzas and salads was on offer. Step out of the Solar Cafe and there wasn't a massive choice; TandooriQ fed the meat eaters and a healthy falafel based stall provided further vegan based food. A huge absence was the Ice Green van whose vegan and gluten free ice creams and waffles hit the sweet tooth perfectly - I really hope they'll be back next year! There was, however, Coco Caravan with their amazing raw vegan chocolate bars, from just down the road in Stroud.

Take a few steps away from the main festival arena and you find yourself at the lake. Here I found the Mala Workshop, that I had pre-booked myself onto, with the lovely Helen from Chant Malas. We spent a peaceful 90 minutes lakeside learning how to make the mala. We started with a meditation which led me to choose the colours of beads; green, it's not even a favourite colour but that was what I was drawn to. With some deep breaths and some fiddly knotting I made my final piece. The session finished with another beautiful meditation, with mantra, using the mala beads.

Definitely bring a bit of spending money as there are quite a few stalls to tempt you. I went back to see the lovely Jay from the Hasta Collection and treated myself to the beautiful Om Shanti thumb ring to match the bangle I bought two years ago.

Away from the main arena, the campsite was rearranged again this year; glamping with Tee and Toast were set up at the top of the main camping field with the rest of the space for festival goers to freely pitch their tents. This field also housed chemical-free 'flushing' toilets and showers. In the next field campers in vans could pitch around the perimeter with the rest of the space for cars to park. This field was a further walk from the campsite facilities but in the grand scheme of festivals not far at all. The campsite also homed the amazing Thirsty Elephant for coffees and teas, the only place you could get a proper cup of coffee from. Hopefully next year they can set up both in the arena and in the camping area.

By the end of the weekend I felt revived, refreshed and so so happy. This festival was just what I needed to reboot with a field full of like-minded people.

Thank you to all at Soul Circus - see you next year!

**Early release weekend tickets are on sale now for the reduced price of £125!**

Thirsty Elephant image photo credit @soulcircusfestival
Disclaimer: I received a weekend pass to Soul Circus 2018 in return for previews and reviews of this year's festival. As always, views and opinions are my own.