The practice of meditation is a cornerstone of the science of Yoga and all mystical traditions. At the heart of this retreat is a focus on your direct personal experience and transformation - the week will be about your jounery towards the very centre of your being.
Tutor(s): Swami SatyaDaya, Tulsi and Swami Krishnapremananda
The ultimate purpose of the practice of meditation is to render us receptive to insight. Insight, that unshakeable deeper ‘knowing’, into the fundamental level of our being, so that, even if only momentarily, we identify with our essential nature – Pure Consciousness.
One of the most effective methods of developing receptivity is to cultivate the experience of spaciousness, the vast stillness that underlies all of the activity that we assume ourselves to be – thoughts, feelings, emotions, our history etc. Yoga and meditation stress to us, in the kindest way, that there is nothing wrong with these phenomena; just that if we wish to go deeper we must attune to that which is ‘hidden from view’ by all that activity.
It is through this recognition of spaciousness and the process of insight that we may encounter “the peace that passeth all understanding.’ This is not a peace that we can cling too or pretend is present in our being but a peace that is revealed at the very core of our being and that, even if experienced momentarily, will alter the fabric of our lives and understanding.
Throughout the retreat we will explore numerous practices that offer the potential to opening the door to insight. We will use simple but effective meditation techniques (some from the Vigyana Bhairava Tantra) as well as reflection on passages from ancient texts, both from the Yogic tradition and others, that challenge us to question our assumptions about who and what we are fundamentally.
Supporting our meditation will be daily hatha yoga, morning chanting, Yoga Nidra, satsang and Kirtan. This will be a wonderful opportunity for those who wish to take precious time to deepen their meditation practice and to take time to explore the very depths of their Being.
This retreat will include many aspects of the 3rd week of the meditation training course that was scheduled for June 2025.
