|
Mukteshwar
Yoga Retreat – A Report
"Feel
your sitting bones press on the floor as you stretch your legs
in front of you and flex your feet inwards. Raise your arms
and inhale deeply, straightening your spine… and exhale…," the
simple yoga practice became so much more pleasurable and meaningful
when it was done out on the patch of green overlooking the Himalayas.
This
was the beginning of the five day yoga retreat starting June
21, 2006, in Mukteshwar, Uttaranchal, by Studio Abhyas.
Led
by well-known yoga exponent Navtej Johar, the workshop included
17 participants who were systematically led through a series
of yoga-asana vinyasas and offered experiential insight into
the practice of different pranayama techniques, in order to
further understand and establish the body-mind link through
refined, mindful breathing. In the words of yoga guru, T.K.V.
Desikachar, "The breath is the intelligence of the body." And
asana and pranayama offers you methods to intuit and hone this
intelligence.
According
to T.K.V. Desikachar, Yoga is so much more than mere physical
postures. Sound, breathing exercise, meditation and personal
attitudes are as much a part. In keeping with this thought and
the tradition of the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, the group
also practiced Vedic Chanting, which further constitutes a form
of pranayama that finely amalgamates not only body, breath
and mind but also involves hearing and sound.
During
the four night stay in Mukteshwar, some camped in tents at Camp
Purple while others preferred to stay at the adjoining Somerset
Lodge, a two-hour drive from the nearest railway station of
Kathgodam. The participants packed in nearly 26 hours of yoga
practice. Interspersed by nature walks and treks to the remote
parts of the leafy jungle around and bon fire dinners at the
end of the day, the workshop proved to be a rejuvenating and
bonding experience for all!
Each
day, first one-and-a-half hour session of yoga asanas would
begin sharp at 7 am. After a healthy breakfast of fruit juice,
toast, eggs and porridge, the participants would be back on
their yoga mats at 10.30 a.m. to study Yoga Sutras to gain further
insight and inspiration for their practice. This would be followed
by pranayama session with the focus of incorporating the tenets
of the Sutras into their personal practice. Each participant
was further asked to make a resolve to independently practice
pranayama at 4 p.m., wherever they might be.
Post
lunch breaks were spent luxuriating in the fruit orchards around
by some, listening to the sounds of the exotic birds amidst
plum and apple trees, while others chose to use up their newly
revived pools of energy going on treks and walks up the hills
with a healthy dose of rock climbing and rappelling thrown in.
The
evening sessions began at 6 p.m. with another series of yoga
asanas that further helped align the already stretched-out body,
coaxing it to further refine the breathing patterns and become
even more mindful of practice. To understand and experience
the pleasure of stringing body, mind, breath, hearing and sound
together, Navtej ended the practice each evening by leading
the group through a forty-five minute session of Vedic chanting,
which included the powerful Gayatri mantra that engulfed every
one with a meditative calm.
Bonfire
dinners, stargazing plus mid-night walks through thick jungles
for some enthusiasts to catch the sound of the leopards in the
engulfing wilderness, summed up the days which had made early
risers out of us: sunrays cajoling us awake, peering through
windows and tent flaps around 5.15 am each morning.
The
yoga retreat was indeed a refreshing and rejuvenating break
from the hectic lives we lead in the cities. It left us begging
for more! More nature! More health! And More yoga!
--
Dr. Mona Mehta
|
