On the spiritual path we may have the notion that our heart needs to be fully open in order to go deeper in our insight and understanding. This may be reinforced by inspiring stories of those who have lived selflessly and who have given of their heart to all that they meet.
However what if we feel our heart is too complicated?
Tutor(s): Swami Satyadaya
In such turbulent and difficult times, it can be a challenege to keep our hearts open. Yoga, and all mystical traditions, teach us that a fundamental aspect of the spiritual path is the awakening of compassion - for both self and others. The gift within this is that we do not have to wait until we are an idealised version of our self; we begin right now as we are. This also applies to the world outside of us: we can awaken compassion to life as it is, to others as they are. One of the most important steps to take on any spiritual path is to learn to be kind to ourselves as we are in this very moment; coming to terms with those places where we may be at war with our story or our current experience.
Slowly, with patience and with practice, we can face many of the challenging knots that bind the heart. When we come to peace with our story and our own hearts, we find that any tendencies to be harsh towards others, or to judge too quickly, start to fall away. We don’t have to try to be more accepting of life; it arises spontaneously. We become compassionate rather than have to try to be compassionate.
During this online course we will work with specific practices aimed at awakening compassion for self and others – pracrices used could include Metta (loving kindness), Tonglen (receiving and giving) and the Taoist practice of the Inner Smile. We will also practice asana, and yoga nidra to support the process of awakening the heart
Click here for a sample tonglen meditation from Swami Satyadaya from a previous Kind Heart course.
Feedback from a previous course:
Thank you so much for a nourishing, caring and inspiring course.- Anuraga
You gave me a safe space to feel and heal. It will be very beneficial to take practices home to work through and continue this healing
Further information
The course will be delivered via zoom and the sessions for both days will be at the following times:
8-9.30am, 10.30-11.30am, 12-1pm, 2.30-3.30pm and 4-5pm all U.K. times.
All the sessions will be recorded and made available to all participants in both video and audio formats. They are offered as a helpful resource following the day, and also for those who need to miss any of the sessions during the day.
Bookings will close at 5pm the previous day.
