MAUI LUXURY
YOGA RETREAT
January 16 - January 26, 2015
What a blessing to have gathered back home, on the N. shore of Maui with all of you. Our yoga retreat was a dream. The tibetan singing bowl gently woke us to gather on the ocean bluff for sunrise and sunset meditation and yoga asanas. While each have their individual experiences, something special occured for us all on some level...in our relationship with ourselves, with each other, with the land, & life in general. From this place where we quieted our minds, we were afforded an alternate sense, perceiving the earth, the ocean, the sun, the wind, and the essence of the island in a far more expansive and soul nourishing way.
It often takes awhile for the recalibration to kick in considering that most of our lives, we spend dictated by the work week, clocks, and often other peoples agendas but here, the only dictates were meditation, the full path of yoga, transforming conversation, eating food as medicine, & just being present, awake, & in awe of the beauty around and within us.
The land welcomed us...shiva lingas carefully placed in the fountain, stone slabs from India surrounded the pool, and an ancient Hawaiian burial ground protected by towering bamboo guided us to the grass cliff line. The MANA or spiritual power of our retreat was already before us needless to say. We, with open hearts and coming in community, simply needed to step foot.... Every step being, as Lynn reminded us, a mindful step, "...like massaging the earth...". What a gift, to slow down enough to feel such a newborn connection to the island of Maui, a pinnacle piercing the pacific with its vast mountain beneath. A pyramid, surrounded by nothing but ocean blue...and the color blue it was...the aura of the earth...a powerful place to be....feelings of Lemuria...swirled through...
All of us journeyed from Sonoma, CA and most everyone having worked with me, Prema Devii on this ancient path of yoga for 3-6years in yoga asana classes, as private clients, in workshops, and retreats.
Sunrise and sunset yoga asanas on the ocean bluff was a tropical dream, the ocean air vital with life force as well as the lush plant life around us.... To take appropriate care of the body as the temple vehicle for conscious development was of course, a highlight...to make it a priority...crucial to the path! My mission and way of teaching is to instruct and guide according to yogic wisdom and philosophy, to return back to yoga's original purpose and essence. In our discussions the conclusion being that it is a lifestyle, a path for fulfilling our highest potential!
Moreso, that it is a path of self-empowerment in human form through spiritual refinement. We each are the diamond gem and such gems like all gems, require our attention and mastery that we may shine in our multifaceted greatness, capable of capturing and reflecting the highest transmissions from source...
The most prized gift of the retreat was hands down, the meditation dome. Secretly nestled through the bamboo path, our beautiful and powerful guest, Jol Miller offered his didgeridoo sound healing. What a treat it was for him to return once again to this "womb pod" as he described it and serve as "a catalyst" for healing. A womb pod it certainly was! The resonant sound vibrations made within it were out of this world and transported us to the deep, nourishing womb of our own creation, and that of the universe. To add the aboriginal, primordial sound of not just one but, two didgeridoos played by Jol, all we could say was..."Wow!". To have your cellular body vibrating for 20+ minutes was an experience you must have...how sound helps in the maintenance and activation of conscious development let alone health and healing, remains to be part of our technological future sent from our highly civilized past! ...Sound is a powerful medicine and through the ancients we understand that it was sound that created the universe...
Om
creation, preservation, destruction, rebirth...
_/\_
To the deep sound of the universe within and without...
and to those sharing the teachings of the masters and wisdom keepers...praises!!!
Connecting to the earths electromagnetic frequency is the most important thing to do after yoga practices so as to seal the practice in and fortify the recalibration that occurs between the mind and body. When at your own passing, how will you direct your consciousness? Mindfully directing your attention, your energy is the path of yoga...the power and bliss attained through sustained effort toward the infinite source...
The path of yoga is eight fold:
1-Refinement of the Yamas
in ones thoughts, words, & actions
a-intend no harm
b- intend goodwill
c-rid oneself of clutter & that that is unnecessary
d-direct ones energy appropriately honoring all as divine
e-avoid taking what is of another
2-Refinement of the Niyamas
in ones thoughts, words, & actions
f-cultivate balance through contentment
g-maintain purity
h-be of selfless service
j-maintain healthy pursuit of knowledge
k-give reverence to the mystery, the source of creation
3-Yoga Asanas/Postures
4-Pranayama (breath control)
5-Pratyahara (sense withdrawal)
6-Dharana (concentration of the mind)
7-Dhyana (meditative flow of thought waves)
8-Samadhi (state of union, bliss, deep joy)
As a yoga teacher, there are specific tools & techniques to learn for each limb that bring the mind/body complex into greater and greater refinement by the individual. Enhanced energetic alignment, purification, and balance are a few powerful benefits. When experienced as an ancient, spiritual technology meant for us to master being in human form, these benefits can enable people to rise above the drudgery and self-inflicted suffering inherent within daily life.
The yoga asanas for example, allow us to clear our electrical plumbing and harness higher levels of life force energy. With more concentrated energy and proper direction of that energy, ones dharma or life purpose is in greater reach...self-actualization being one main sign of a prosperous journey through yoga. Without the full practice of the yogic path, such is often wasted, recklessly employed, or altogether misunderstood in its application toward conscious/spiritual development. We cannot negate the employment of earnest seeking, dedicated discipline, & a humble, soulful attitude toward all beings lest we continue to chase after our own tail or be tossed heretofore distracted and never really going anywhere in this lifetime...
Om Gum Ganapatayei Namaha
Remover of obstacles...Om Ganesha
Gathering for yogic discourse every morning, we explored yogic ethics and their application in our lives and how to live more in line with our highest visions of ourselves. The honesty and sharing of our personal trials and tribulations toward becoming better human beings was the wealth, the treasure of our time together. Refreshing and meaningful in scope, contemplative in depth, and real to life....this is what it was all about...thank you!
shakas
in the womb of creation
red sands beach
group excursion and picnic
Yoga asanas are powerful postures that with proper breath, conduct energy where there is depletion, remove excess or negative accumulation of energy, nourish & invigorate internal organs and body systems, stimulate deeper layers of detoxification, and make us feel so damn good every time. The difference marked by our balanced left & right brain hemispheres, awakened neural pathways, emotional equilibrium and much more. As an Ayurvedic yoga therapist having hundreds of clients, I continue to be amazed at the profound implications yoga has for humanity as we hold to its roots and teach from its heart...a far reaching ancient science that will propel us toward a higher caliber civilization....so much more than the mere fitness craze and trend it has become today!!!!
Holding space for the internal work of meditation, confronting the noise within and cleaning house...what seeds have you allowed to sprout. Take hold of how you experience your life in this time! Whose interpretation or persuasions have you allowed to become your own?; Who are you really, at the core of your being?; How will any of this be known without sitting with ourselves and becoming responsible for how our mind functions?
To our 2x daily 30 minute meditations....
true, spirit warriors doing the work of directing awareness within and cultivating peace & contentment by residing in that sacred place in the heart!!! To the temple altar, may we continue to find refuge within ourselves where the lotus blossoms and the diamond shines.
Ahhh, much needed healing work of Hawaiian Lomi Lomi to help integrate mind, body, & spirit... Thank you Ho'omana Spa up in Makawao. To Jody Mountain especially for rooting our retreat to ancient Hawaiian spirituality. Her beautiful opening chant, tea leaf cleansing, and demonstration of the healing practice. In Jody's words, "We must embrace all aspects of our being as part of our OHANA (family)!" This includes parts of ourselves that we may not like, our anger, our insecurities, our guilt...every part needing our attention and love.
To prepare food as medicine with my spirited and amazing work trade group was the most special magic and creativity. From talking of spices, herbs, super foods, and ethnic meal preparations, what feasts we had...vegetarian, organic, non-gluten, home made, highly nourishing meals. We celebrated Asian, Mediterranean, Indian, Italian, American, & more and brought it up higher with superfood smoothies and raw veggie juices. Then to eat as ritual in communion with each other is the highest spiritual celebration for me, thank you for the effort and love you all put in!!!
When we eat in this way, in yoga we call it eating SATTVICALLY. This is eating food so as to create within the mind/body system, a more sentient way of being, a way that makes one more sensitive to subtlety and less stuck in the stiff, constrictions of more crude living. In other words eating food that is live with life force, fresh, highly nutritious , prepared with the healing intentions and appreciation, the mindful intake of the food on these levels...such is sattvic. What a difference it makes in regards to improving how we function. Like a car, the quality of the fuel affects how well it functions. If we can proportion our diet and life to at least 80-100% sattvic, this will prove to empower you on the yogic path...leave some room to cut loose and celebrate is my advice, less you come into imbalance with self-righteousness or judgement. In which case all yogic ethics are not honored anyway and a complete unraveling of the path begins...the slippery slope...beware...
We closed as is appropriate, with an Indian feast and our honored guests who offered service in the form of KIRTAN from the Bhakti Yogic Path...devotional path of the heart opening to the love of creation...singing, chanting and bringing the vibrations to the place of communion and togetherness. Thank you Neeraja Parsons and friends. Beautiful to tone in the dome with you :)
For those interested in joining me for a return to the islands, I offer level 1 for those new to Transformation Through the Heart of Yoga & Food is Medicine...Eating is Ritual. For those who would like to take it to level 2, join me for retreat in our next tropical location to be announced.
Call to Register:
Prema Devii
E-500RYT, M.A
808-269-2638
