Yoga & Ayurveda Retreat
with Alex Duncan, Frances Yates & special guest Gandharva Sauls

Dates: THIS EVENT HAPPENED IN SUMMER 2003, click here for current events.

Cost: £350

Overview

This week-long retreat will give you the opportunity to experience the benefits that come through living in tune with our own nature and the nature of our environment. Come prepared for daily Hatha yoga classes, delicious organic vegetarian food (prepared according to Ayurvedic nutritional principles), a series of light-hearted yet informative talks and discussions on the practical aspects of Ayurveda, plus the opportunity to absorb a complete lack of urbanisation! Although the Ayurvedic system is vast in its scope, it is only necessary to understand the fundamental principles in order to put it into practice in everyday life.

Aims

This retreat has been designed for everyone who wishes to improve their quality of life through a modern, de-mystified introduction to the wisdom of practical Ayurveda, which is not, as Atreya Smith puts it in his excellent book 'Practical Ayurveda', "An endless stream of curries"! Rather, it is a guide to how to live: in balance with our own energies and the energies of the universe we inhabit.

During this week, you will be guided towards a deeper understanding of your own nature. You will complete a self-assesment questionnaire which, combined with talks and discussions about the doshas, will help you determine your unique Ayurvedic constitution, or prakriti. Once you know this, it is simply a matter of cultivating awareness and a willingness to experiment. By tuning in to your own nature and the nature of things and events around you, you will start to observe in yourself a deeper understanding of how life works. As a result, you become totally responsible for your own health and well-being. Instead of blaming others for how you feel, instead of passing the buck, you become empowered through actively changing that which can be changed, and accepting that which you cannot. Health, longevity, and spiritual well-being are all possible. All we must do is accept total responsibility for ourselves, then follow our hearts. For more information about Ayurveda, see our extranet.

Guest talk: AYURVEDIC SECRETS OF HOLISTIC LIVING—Ancient Techniques For A Modern World
with Gandharva Sauls

Ayurveda is the science of how to live a long, healthy life. Recent research suggests that our health is determined by more than physical factors - happiness in career, relationships, an understanding of our spiritual nature, and the capacity to sustain a meaningful life purpose play a large part in determining how healthy we will be. In this workshop we will learn about the eight fields of living, 1) Spiritual Life; 2) Desire Nature; 3) Career; 4) Dharma; 5) Relationships; 6) Creative Play; 7) Mental Health; and 8) Physical Health, and how disruption in any one can adversely affect our longevity.

You will Discover:

• how to utilize the strength of your spiritual nature to enhance longevity.
• how to become non-attached to your desires.
• why healthy relationships can add years to your life.
• how a stressful job can subtract years from your life.
• why a strong play nature is crucial for health
• the best mental stress reduction technique.
• the Ayurvedic way to balance the physical body.

Alex Duncan

Although I have no formal qualification in yoga, my whole life has been a sort of gentle apprenticeship into the discipline of yoga. My mother (Frances Yates) claims that she used to take me along to the British Wheel of Yoga teacher training weekends in 1975. I would have been about 1 year old. By the time I was in my teens, I was starting to use yoga in day-to-day life. I remember my grandmother (now 80 and still teaching yoga) showing me some breathing techniques to use before my exams. But it wasn't until I left home and went to Glasgow University in 1992 to study electronics & music that I began practising regularly.

I have attended Hatha Yoga classes on a regular basis and taken part in workshops with teachers like Peter Sterios & John Evans. My own Hatha teacher, Fiona Morton, studies with Shandor Remete (founder of Shadow Yoga), whose style of yoga I have been working with for nearly 2 years.

Another teacher who has featured prominently in my yoga education is Muz Murray (Mantra Master). I find the combination of Hatha Yoga and dynamic Tantric Chanting, both effective and enjoyable.

Most recently, I have been studying Ayurvedic Nutrition (at the European Centre for Vedic Studies) with Atreya Smith. I find that Ayurveda provides an ideal bridge between practical daily life (staying healthy and happy) and the spiritual discipline of yoga.

I teach for the pleasure of knowing that by sharing my experiences and offering guidance, I might help those on a similar path.

Read more about Alex at:
http://www.ayurvedaworkshops.com

Frances Yates

I began practising and studying yoga over 25 years ago, and trained to teach the discipline with the British Wheel of Yoga in 1975. I subsequently trained and qualified as a Registered General Nurse, and later as a massage therapist. This progressed to study and a qualification in craniosacral therapy with the Upledger Institute UK. With this experience, I am able to give valuable advice on new ways to look at posture, breathing and relaxation techniques.

Read more about Frances at her own website: http://www.francesyates.co.uk

Gandharva Sauls (special guest)

Gandharva is a Certified Ayurveda/Multi-Dimensional Counselor, and co-director of The Ayurveda-Yoga Institute Of New York and New Jersey. He has over thirteen years experience in holistic health and has certificates from The American Institute Of Vedic Studies, The Ayurveda Holistic Center, The New U, The Wise Earth School Of Ayurveda, and The Integral Yoga Institute. Gandharva is on the teaching faculty of The Integral Yoga Institutes, The New York Open Center, and the Alternative Medicine Program of Bergen Community College. After years of meditation and prayer Gandharva was given the sacred esoteric knowledge of reading the life blueprint of a person, which outlines their strengths and challenges in every area of life - from physical to spiritual.

Read more about Gandharva at:
www.ayurvedayogainstitute.com