Bhakti yoga has always been one of the central paths of the yoga tradition. It is translated variously as, for example, the yoga of the heart, or the yoga of love and compassion. Yet it is not sentimentality, nor wishful idealism. It is a practice of offering the energies of the heart to the Divine*, whether perceived in nature, or in a teacher, or subtly present within All.
Tutor(s): Swami Krishnaprem, Swami SatyaDaya and Tulsi
Bhakti arises when we can sense, or trust, that there is a greater Intelligence behind all that we can perceive through our senses and our mind. Furthermore, this Intelligence is conscious, ever-present, and we can cultivate a personal relationship with It through the heart. In the language of metaphor, bhakti starts to make sense when the wave begins to feel its innate connection with the ocean.
While bhakti can find expression through religion, it can also happily flower independently of all religious faiths – as our own unique personal connection with what we feel to be sacred. It offers us a means of offering our emotions, both our good and difficult experiences, towards the Sacred.
Bhakti, when it flowers within, offers us a refuge, a freeing of the heart and an inner sense of trust in What Is.
On this retreat you will be encouraged to embrace the spirit of bhakti in and through your experiences over the 4 days, supported by a range of practices, including asana, meditation, pranayama and yoga nidra.
Speak to Him, thou, for He heareth,
And spirit to spirit can speak.
Nearer is He than breathing,
Closer than hands and feet.
Lord Tennyson
* Divine, Consciousness, Cosmic Intelligence, Universal Mother/ Father, the Sacred, the Whole… these are all terms pointing towards That which is essentially beyond words, concepts, or beliefs. Whichever name/ term resonates with you is absolutely fine.
