Guidelines for Reflective Walks

On Sunday morning, on the last day of our retreat, we have been given a set of guidelines for the early morning walk. As the rain started to pour, however, we were forced to spend that time in the garden instead. In any case, we can always refer to these guidelines for future walks.

* Enjoy and take notice of the scenery around you.
* Choose one particular object that strikes and resonates with you.
* Look at the strength, beauty and quality of that object and see how it applies to you.
* Think of ways to connect to that object.
* Stay in silence as much as possible.

By taking note of these, we will have a more purposeful meditative reflection while we enjoy the opportunity to go for a walk.

Yoga and Health Workshop

Yoga and Health - European Tour July 2010

With three specialist teachers
Dr N. Chandrasekaran - Saraswathi Vasudevan - Marc Beuvain

Deepen your knowledge and experience of yoga and its applications for physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Venues and Dates:

Brussels, Belgium: 10-12 July
London, UK: 14-16 July
Turin, Italy: 19-21 July
Aix-en-Provence, France: 25-28 July

http://www.marcbeuvain.com/home-accueil/home-english/special-event/
Please quote my name when you register! Thanks!

Chanting with Nikki Slade

Last night after a stressful trek to Triyoga for the chanting session, James and I finally made it albeit 20 minutes late. Northern line execs thought it was a great idea to close the Edgware branch to do their engineering works on a Saturday night. On top of that, we were herded into replacement buses, which came every 5 minutes... yeah super!

There were loads of people there, must have been about 60-70 sitting on the bolsters and a few of us on chairs! I have been meaning to come to one of Nikki's sessions but Saturday evenings have always been a problem getting out of the house. People were swaying to the sound of tambourine and drums, clapping their hands or simply enjoying the sound of it all. Nobody cared how well or how badly we sang. At the end we were treated to chai tea. Lovely!

Here is a sample of one of the chants we did:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTRHOqnGvMM&feature=related

It was an incredible experience. I never liked chanting; I thought it sounded freaky. Somehow in the past year or so I began to like the sound and started to have more confidence in making and hearing my own sound. I even started teaching my class to chant OM.

If you ever get the chance to attend a chanting session, please try it. Even if you don't want to chant yourself, just listen and feel the energy of the room. Surely you will feel something deep in you that is so pure.... you will feel so free.