Gaby Conn

PRESENCE: A RETREAT INTO KERALA 7th-14th February 2027 It’s happening! I’m really excited to be offering my first yoga retreat, and what better place to do it than my home from home: Varkala, Kerala. This coastal town stole my heart last year, and I’m excited to share all that I love about it with you on this week-long retreat. Think… Daily dynamic morning practice (Rocket + 4-Beat) Inversions + Back-bending Workshops Meditation + Pranayama Yin + Sound Healing Sunset Walks Surf Lessons with some of Varkala’s finest instructors Local temples (and hopefully a temple festival or two!) The turquoise ocean on our doorstep Food that nourishes your body and soul by @nickimerali Bottomless fresh coconuts Access to Ayurvedic treatments A warm, welcoming, and spirited community surrounding you You are welcome to do as much or as little as you want, whatever helps you to feel most present. Link in bio for more info ⬆️ Or if this sounds like something you’d be interested in, just drop me an email at [email protected] . Limited spots available! @paddlecult_ @nickimerali

Every time I step on the mat I am filled with genuine gratitude. For the freedom with which I can move my body. For the fact I can use every inch of it, without limitation. For the fact it is a gateway to pleasure and joy and focus. For the absence of pain or numbness or discomfort. And after many years of mistreating my body - depriving it of food, punishing it with exercise - the yoga practice has taught me with time to respect and honour it, to relish and appreciate that I have been gifted this incredible vessel to move through the world - and the practice - in. And it really is a gift - I did nothing to deserve it, and it could change at any moment. It is not a given or guarantee. So every practice, as I relax down into savasana, I make sure to remember that fact and I make a quiet daily vow to myself to never take this healthy body for granted again. I remember in Bali in 2018, asking a teacher “If we are striving to not let the asana practice become about performance or playing to the ego, then what is the point of all of these super advanced and complex postures?”. His reply is one that stuck with me. He said: “You have been blessed with this healthy, able body, so why not explore and enjoy the breadth of what it’s able to do”. Even if it means just taking a moment every morning to recognise that we can wiggle our toes and bend down to put our shoes one, we can start to acknowledge the body as a beautiful, impermanent thing and to treat it as such. @sivalyx 📸

So 3 months into practicing yoga in India and it’s been a time of learning and unlearning; of pushing my boundaries and also learning when they should be respected; of deepening and refining my own philosophy and approach to the practice; of trying things I don’t like and asking why that is; revelling in what I love and asking why that is; of figuring out what I value in a teacher; of learning some great new adjustments and cringing at others; of diving into tradition and soaking up the ancient wisdom there, of throwing myself into modernised approaches and relishing all the new wisdom there too; of appreciating the incredible teachers I have back home, trusting in new teachers here, and getting even better acquainted with the teacher that is inside me. Thanks again to @clickiopath for capturing part of the journey 📸

Sleepy towns and stiller moments from recent weeks.

My photographic work in Japan has subconsciously taken on a different style and subject. Predominantly a photographer of people, I’ve had to come to terms with the reality that people here are very private and boundaried, and the kind of meetings and opportunities that are normally the foundation of my work at extremely hard to come across or cultivate. So I’ve had to look elsewhere for inspiration: to the shapes and patterns of nature, the shift shaping of light across cityscapes. The very statuesque feel of the trees and flowers here have made them my new muses. And whilst my work is normally a riot of colour, I’ve drifted back towards a black-and-white view, undoubtedly a reflection of my state of mind here - quieter, more introspective, introverted. Being in Japan has forced me to experiment and play with what and how I photograph, to try things out, to turn my lens to things that I otherwise wouldn’t have thought interesting before. I’ve not always been successful - at times I’ve been incredibly bored by my images - but other times it’s been an incredibly fruitful, insightful and illuminating process. So although it’s not what I expected from Japan, it’s definitely pushed me to think, see, and create differently.

It’s strange that, no matter how much you enjoy and relish your yoga practice, how good you know it will make you feel, it can STILL feel challenging to get yourself on the mat. And when you’re travelling, and have no collective energy or inspiring teachers or class cancellation penalty to motivate you, the only resource you have to pull upon is self discipline and that knowledge and trust that once you get moving, the energy will follow. As heavy as it makes my luggage, my extra-long-extra-wide mat is a non-negotiable when I travel. It means that I can cordon off a little space to practice no matter how remote a place I find myself in. So then I start off by telling myself that all the practice needs to be is 10-15 mins of breathing and wiggling in order to set myself up for the day. But, more often than not, once I get going, the mental barriers disappear and I slip quite easily into an extended practice. For some people, the structure of an Ashtanga practice is what they need: a format they don’t have to think about, alleviating the potential paralysis of choice, with a set beginning, middle, and end. Sometimes I also gravitate towards that, but more often it’s the freedom to play, improvise, and explore that is my best motivator. It’s when I eliminate the sense of expectation or obligation that it feels easier to get myself going, and then within that I can make choices to lean into what I like and also sometimes what I don’t like (but I know I need). Neither the structured or the free approach is right or wrong, different minds need different things. I don’t think that hurdle of motivation when it comes to self practice ever REALLY disappears, even for the most seasoned of teachers. But I think over time we just become better at finding the mental tools and approaches that help us to get over it. I have a teacher who disclosed she sometimes puts a podcast on when she does self-practice. For me it’s a coffee (criticise all you want, I want coffee), scraping my hair into the messiest of buns, cat-cow-ing it out, consciously ridding myself of any “should’s” or “must’s” around what the practice should be. And (usually) it’s away we goooooo.

Discovery is seldom linear — perceptions are at play, as is anticipation. What comes to be may be a result of influences, or a new lease entirely. Photographer @gabyconnphotos visit to India follows the latter. After eight months in the country, her discovery came to fore. “Above all, India feels like a country led by the heart — a heart that welcomes strangers as family, that gives freely and shares without expectation, that finds joy in connection. Time and again, I was struck by how readily people invited me into their homes, their communities, their traditions, and their lives, asking for nothing in return.” From Kerala to Ladakh, and the Himalayas to the river Ganga, her idea of India evolved and solidified into a fresh perspective: “There seems to be a real understanding baked into Indian culture that individual happiness is best cultivated by bringing happiness to others — a perspective that feels increasingly rare where I come from.” Travel comes with a nuanced call for a clean slate — Gaby Conn’s travels and photography are a testament.

It promises to be a sweaty, colourful, magical week. These photographs say it better than I ever could in words. Link in bio for more info about my upcoming Kerala Retreat ‘Presence’, 7th-14th February 2027 🌺

Hiroshima | A place that struck me, not only because of its tragic history, but because of its resilience, its resolve, and its profound beauty. #hiroshima #miyajima #traveljapan

Turns out ‘Sweet Juju’ in the earphones and three sweet 7-Eleven mochi will save you when you’re on the edge of a bonk (the cycling kind, not the fun kind) and realise you have no choice but to ride an extra 25km home when you thought you’d just completed what was already longest cycle you’d ever done. 6 islands explored, 7 suspension bridges crossed, and 7 trips to 7-eleven meanwhile to keep the pedals turning. 💪🏻

3 of my greatest loves coming together in one afternoon: yoga, photography, and @hollywillock - a very beautiful human inside and out. Always love getting behind with lens for my friends, and when movement is involved, that’s the ultimate treat. If you’re in need of some yoga or movement shots, and want something a little different, feel free to drop me a message and we can get something booked for when I’m back on London soil 📸 #yogaphotography

Japan is a country full of unfathomable magic and beauty and wonder. You can see that in every one of these pictures. It is everywhere, in abundance. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I’m finding it to be quite a lonely place to solo travel. Of course there’s the language barrier, but more than that it’s a culture of formality and boundaries that are hard to move past, and as a foreigner it’s hard not to feel like you’re always being held at arms’ distance. People here are hospitable and cordial, but so far I’m finding it hard to seek out exchanges that go beyond the surface. Solitude is in no shortage here, and mostly I thrive on that. But there comes a point - no matter how great you are with your own company - when you crave connection, to feel seen and heard and welcome in the spaces that you are, and I guess I’m hovering around that point. It seems somewhat trivial to pit two countries against each other, but navigating this niggling sense of loneliness here, I can’t help but think of India - a place where I don’t think I could feel lonely if I tried. Japan and India are opposite ends of the spectrum in every imaginable way, and whilst Japan is a place or order and boundaries, India is a wave of chaos that engulfs you into its warmth and buoyancy. Wherever you are, you will find someone who wants to invite you into their conversation, their home, their community. I managed 6 months travelling solo in India because connection was never far away, and I think the absence of that here has made me realise quite how special that is. That total openness of heart and culture is a huge part of why I think India will be my forever-love. Solitude is a teacher, and this loneliness I feel pulling at me at moments during my day is something I’m trying to observe with curiosity and a sense of objectivity, rather than allowing myself to wallow in it; its also gifting me the most amount of space and intimacy I’ve had with my own thoughts in a long time, and is fertile breeding ground for reflection and creativity. I’m just praying - for both my own sake and that of my friends - that I remember how to hold a decent conversation by the time I get home.