Yoga - since its creation - has always been taught in a one-on-one setting. The teacher would assess the needs, aspirations and constitution of the student and give them the personal practice that would connect them to their innermost truth. This innermost truth of the individual is unique to that person, and each person’s yoga practice will ultimately be an individual practice, guided closely by authentic teachers and teachings.
A yoga retreat is a rare opportunity to discover what it is to live a yogic life of awakening. It is a time we remove ourselves from our ordinary life and create a new possibility of coming out of our conditioned minds, our emotions, and our body. From early in the morning until well into the evening, we will be immersed in the sacred path of yoga in all its forms. It is an intensive process that will change the way you see your life.
We call this retreat “The Body” because the physical body for most is the doorway into the process of yoga alchemy that transforms your body, heart and mind. This training prepares your body to become a sacred temple dedicated to fully awakening.
This retreat is a 100-hour training - which can be followed individually or in combination with the 200-hours Basic Teacher Training - to support your integrity, commitment, dedication and knowledge of yoga. It is a special opportunity for those who are interested in deepening their own yoga journey, as well as for those who want to learn how to properly build their own yoga Sadhana (yoga self-practice).
The practices are based primarily on the traditional Vinyasa Yoga method based on the teachings of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, the 'founder of modern yoga' who was the teacher of many influential teachers like Indra Devi, K. Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar, T.K.V. Desikachar and A.G. Mohan. His method will be explored and opened to include many other elements from the body of Hatha yoga practices. Elements of Ayurveda will also be added to include a more therapeutic and balancing effect of the practices, allowing for a broader view of yoga on all aspects of life.
Invaluable benefits you will gain from this training:
- A cleansing of the temple of body and mind
- A clearer understanding of yourself
- Alignment with your life towards awakening
During this retreat, our experienced teachers Katiza Satya and Kevin Sahaj draw from several wisdom traditions to offer you 100 hours of practices ranging from asana, pranayama, meditation, chanting, rituals, and philosophy. Together with The Heart and The Mind programs, The Body presents the core of their Sva Dharma teachings. Under their guidance, you will immerse yourself fully into the process of yoga, experiencing directly what it is like to live and practice full-time.
Program
We start this 10-day retreat in a unique way - with mauna (silence). It is a way to go beyond the surface – beyond names and forms, social, cultural or psychological boundaries. You will receive teachings and practices in silence, allowing yourself to let go of critical thinking, questions and other habits of the mind. Knowledge is a fruit of learning, while wisdom is a fruit of practice. Through silence, our mind reaches a certain clarity, and you will be ready for deeper learning and practice. We immerse ourselves into meditation, pranayama, philosophy and a balanced asana practice, going deeper in concentration and breath awareness, allowing and trusting inner alignment, exploring subtle body, purification, basics of Ayurveda, basic anatomy knowledge, setting the stage for the meeting of the inner alchemist and the inner healer within our selves.
These 10 days are the sacred ground for your “yoga practice laboratory” where the alchemy takes place. This is where we start the process of deconditioning the mind which is deeply entangled in the body tissues. We start to trust again in the body intelligence, its nature and connection to the subtle body. Wisdom and trust of how to be in the body rises spontaneously. Together we create the environment where the sacredness of our own body can be experienced again, like a newborn child.
Typical Daily Schedule
06:00 Morning wake-up
06:30 Meditation and Pranayama
07:00 Asana Yoga practice
09:00 Light breakfast
10:30 Lecture
11:30 Q&A
13:00 Lunch and free time
16:00 Lecture
17:00 Tea break
17:30 Deepening the practices
19:00 Dinner
20:30 Meditation, chanting or Yoga Nidra practice
21:00 Bedtime
Curriculum
Asana: The Vinyasa yoga method based on the teachings of Tirumalai Krishnamacharya will be your main practice and map for this training. You will also focus on specific asanas and how to approach them in different ways. You will be taught alignment, breath, bandhas, inner and outer focus and suitable variations for each asana, learn the sanskrit name and the benefits of each pose.
Pranayama: We will teach the true meaning of Prana and the natural breath. Preparations for pranayama, together with some of the most classical techniques (such as Kapalabhati, Nadi Shodhana, and the Nine Purification Breaths) will be covered.You will build a personal practice of pranayama to incorporate into your daily practice.
Kriyas: Kriyas are cleansing and purification practices that prepare you for deeper yogic experiences. You will be introduced to some of the basic yet powerful kriya techniques and incorporate them into your daily practice routine.
Physical and Yogic Anatomy: We will explore the physical body in a very practical way, and introduce you to the subtle bodies: the yogic anatomy of chakras, nadis, vayus and koshas, helping you to more fully understand the process and benefits of yoga.
Yoga Philosophy: Foundational philosophy will be mostly based on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, with a particular focus on the 8 limbs of yoga. You will learn how to apply this in your yoga practice, in your teaching and, most importantly, in your everyday life.
Ayurveda You will be introduced to the Science of Ayurveda and you will receive a solid foundation on the pillars of Ayurveda, e.g. the three doshas, your own natural born constitution (prakruti) and your current imbalance (vikruti).
Concentration and meditation: From the beginning of the course, you will be introduced to meditation. During the course, you will be given different techniques to practice formal meditation. You will come to understand what meditation is, and how the other aspects of our practice are traditionally used to to prepare ourselves for moving deeper into meditation. You will learn how to guide others in basic meditation.
Mantra: You will be introduced to the importance of Bhakti Yoga and Vedic chanting, learning some of the most important mantras and sutras to connect to the divine through sacred sound.