Weekend Workshop Proposal for Weekend of Teachings with Yogi Ashokananda Sacred Anatomy 1 3 Sacred Anatomy The weekend of workshops will focus on practices, techniques and experiential learning to lead you towards greater self-awareness. You will expand your sense of who and what you are with the teachings of Yogi Ashokananda by applying the yoga & meditation disciplines he has developed. Yogi sees the journey of yoga and meditation as one which allows you to see all of yourself; his philosophy of without engaging the vehicle, you cannot make any journey applies to the engagement of the physical, emotional, mental and psychological aspects of self through his practices of yoga and meditation. The spirit or soul, he says, does not need healing as it is already whole and complete; it is the consciousness, the awareness around the soul and the mind which yoga and meditation can help to clear giving you access to the spirit or soul. The aim of the practices is to bring you to the centre of yourself so that you can transform you and your life from this authentic place within you. 1
Agenda Day/ Date Session Time Session Friday, 1 February 6:00pm 8:00pm ATMA Meditation & Satsang Saturday, 2 February 10:00am 12:30pm 12:30pm 1:30pm 1:30pm 3:30pm 4:00pm 6:30pm Himalayan Hatha Yoga AM Practice Lunch Break Himalayan Hatha Yoga - Restorative Practice Chanting, Satsang & ATMA Meditation Sunday, 3 February 9:30am 11:30am 12:00pm 1:30pm Prana Kriya Yoga Practice Pranayama & Science of Relaxation Kriya Meditation Prices book full workshop 195,- EUR book Saturday only 125,- EUR book Sat & Sun 170,- EUR book Sunday only 70,- EUR book individually Please get in contact with us (yoga@colita.net) Location Ballsaal Kuchus Schwulenberatung Berlin GmbH Wilhelmstr. 115 10963 Berlin, Germany The venue is located in Berlin Kreuzberg with a distance of 12 km from TXL airport (Berlin Tegel) 20 km from SXF airport (Berlin Schönefeld) The nearest train station is Berlin Hauptbahnhof. From here you can take the bus line M41 (direction Sonnenallee/Baumschulenstr.) to the stop S Anhalter Bahnhof, which is in walking distance away from the venue. 2
Satsang & ATMA Meditation Friday, 1 February 18:00 20:00 Satsang in Sanskrit means sat ( being, essence, or reality ) & sanga ( association ) Satsang is a gathering of people who have similar aspirations and who will meditate as a group. The group gathering strengthens the magnetism of everyone s association through discussion on a relevant topic. Yogi Ashokananda will lead the discussion and the guided meditation following the discussion. Discussion will include topics of Yoga and Meditation in Life, living it off the mat. Participants are encouraged to share their meditation experience, providing an opportunity for further development of self awareness, understanding and an opportunity for people new to meditation to develop an initial understanding of the sensations experienced through the meditation. Yogi Ashokananda s Atma meditation means meditation of Self or of your soul. It will bring the power of the universe into you aligning your individual self with that of the universe and make you realise the centre of your individual reality. By experiencing this space you will create a multitude of benefits and positive developments in your life. Because you are aligning with universal energy and truth, your individual reality will alter as will your perception of your life, allowing real changes to take place. Atma meditation will renew your energy, heighten intelligence by awakening and altering your perceptions, help you to have greater self-awareness, feel a connection to yourself, to others and to a source greater than you. Each and every one of us is entitled to feel greater inner peace, love, joy and fulfilment, happiness, freedom and success and this meditation will allow you to have access to the source within YOU from which these experiences can develop and make them a natural part of your life and who you are. It will help you to feel a connection to the energy of the universe. 3
Himalayan Hatha Yoga Saturday, 2 February 10:00am 12:30pm This section will allow you to experience the essence and authenticity of true Hatha Yoga with Yogi Ashokananda s signature style of Himalayan Hatha Yoga In this joyful workshop, you will be guided through a Himalayan Hatha Yoga morning practice series, solar / surya, to create lightness, freedom and space within your body. This is an energetic practice which will explore sun salutation series, balancing and seated postures as well as incorporating bandhas (locks), mudras and elements giving you psychological as well as physical strength. Using breath awareness within each posture, you will explore the use of the powerhouses of Himalayan Hatha Yoga. Yogi will close the practice with a deeply restful savasana allowing your body to relax and integrate the powerful changes in your physiology and psychology that you have created through the practice. Himalayan Hatha Yoga is one of the forms of yoga founded and taught by Yogi Ashokananda. It is based on traditional principles of yoga. A strong, yet supportive form of yoga, working through the entire body, cleansing and revitalising through special sequencing with a combination of subtle body exercise. Yogi s teaching style manages to instil a sense of discipline in the mind and body without stress. His expertise and caring attitude towards his students provides a supportive environment where you can develop your practice at your own pace, in a way that is unique to you. 4
Himalayan Hatha Yoga Restorative Practice Workshop Saturday, 2 February 1:30pm 3:30pm This section will allow you to build on the morning s practice experience of Himalayan Hatha Yoga with a restorative practice. The restorative practice will explore a limited number of asanas, using the mind and breath to take you deeper in the posture allowing you to truly let go. Once you let go, the restoration can take place. The restorative practice will include asanas that brings your mind to a state of calm or stillness, lessening the strain on the nervous system, with less engagement of your physical body, the postures will be done either seated, lying down on back or tummy. All the parts of the body are being used in such a way where the mental approach to them means you have less strain on your muscles so that the flow of the blood happens effortlessly and releases the tension from your nervous system. This type of restorative practice will give energy to the body and recharge you. 5
Chanting, Satsang & ATMA Meditation Saturday, 2 February 4:00pm 6:30pm The power of mantra is betrayed in the roots of the sanskrit word, man, meaning mind, and, tra, meaning deliverance, or, projection. Chanting is a pleasure that transcends the senses; it takes us beyond the bounds of time and space. Thus it soothes in a most profound way. It soothes on a cellular level. It merges our finite identity with the infinite, and so dissolves us. The 2nd Satsang over the weekend will follow a similar format to the Friday evening session. The topic will be a continuation from Friday s session and the guided meditation will build upon Friday s session and the practice realised throughout Saturday. Yogi Ashokananda s Atma meditation means meditation of Self or of your soul. It will bring the power of the universe into you aligning your individual self with that of the universe and make you realise the centre of your individual reality. By experiencing this space you will create a multitude of benefits and positive developments in your life. Because you are aligning with universal energy and truth, your individual reality will alter as will your perception of your life, allowing real changes to take place. Atma meditation will renew your energy, heighten intelligence by awakening and altering your perceptions, help you to have greater self-awareness, feel a connection to yourself, to others and to a source greater than you. Each and every one of us is entitled to feel greater inner peace, love, joy and fulfilment, happiness, freedom and success and this meditation will allow you to have access to the source within YOU from which these experiences can develop and make them a natural part of your life and who you are. It will help you to feel a connection to the energy of the universe. 6
Prana Kriya Yoga Sunday, 3 February 9:30am 11:30pm This workshop will allow you to experience the essence and authenticity of true Kriya Yoga with Yogi Ashokananda s signature style of Prana Kriya Yoga. Regardless of your physical strength and ability, Yogi will expertly guide you so that you can experience the layer of your highest consciousness by focusing on the fundamental principles of the practice. In this energetic and empowering workshop, we will go into fascinating detail and experience of Prana Kriya Yoga, covering kumbhakas (breath retention), mudras, kriyas and the five pranas with a focus on the practice of strengthening heart energy. Prana Kriya Yoga harmonises and unites the flow of the physical movement in our bodies (kriya) with its energetic power helping you become aware of your creative potential. This form of yoga is one of the most effective means by which to achieve your goals and aspirations, material, emotional and spiritual, and bring your actions in line with your mental and emotional state. Prana Kriya Yoga has also long been highly regarded among many great masters and yogis to hold the key to slowing down the ageing process. It achieves this by recharging the blood with oxygen and decarbonising it, thus rejuvenating the brain and spinal centre and preventing the decay of tissues in the body. It awakens the hidden energy (kundalini) within you allowing you to transform and free yourself from limiting beliefs and old behavioural patterns that hold you back. 7
Science of Relaxation Kriya Meditation & Pranayama Sunday, 3 February 12:00am 1:30pm Described as "instant therapy without the talking" and a process of clearing the body and mind from the inside out, Yogi Ashokananda s signature active meditation helps release unwanted baggage in the form of your samskaras. Samskaras are the remaining impressions left on your soul from experiences which form your personality. They are the unused emotions that remain in the body and hold your energy which may make you feel lethargic, stressed, anxious and can develop into long term chronic dis-ease. Pranayama is the control of the prana. The breath carries the life force known as prana into each person s body and is considered to be the physical manifestation of this vital energy. As we breathe, prana is the inhalation and apana is the exhalation, and the time between the two is called samana. We will be practicing various forms of pranayama to bring prana to every part of the brain and thereby improving your mental balance and stability. The Science of Relaxation active and transformational meditation gives you the ability to experience true relaxation as the samskaras are released. This meditation is one of the most profound and simplest ways of aligning your higher consciousness with your physical existence. When you are in this state you can experience true relaxation, the source of your inner power and peace. The process takes place in 3 different seated positions and with some dynamic arm movements to move energy through the body, as well as primordial sounds relating to the upper and lower chakras. During the practice, attention is on grounding through the root and second chakras bridging the division between the higher and the very human self, healing any split between spiritual self and material personality. You can explore your full raw personality and see all of yourself clearly in the mirror of your awareness. The result is felt on every level on a physical level, this meditation is one of the best antidotes for depression, stress and insomnia. It is good for balancing blood pressure, for heart problems and positively affects the nervous system. The cardio vascular exercise also takes you to a state of meditation and tranquillity. On an emotional and spiritual level, you will experience renewal and transformation. 8
Yogi Ashokananda An authentic Yoga teacher, raised in India. Yogi Ashokananda is an expert and pioneer as a practising master of yoga and meditation and a speaker on humanity and spiritual philosophy. Yogi has been practising yoga since early childhood when his Grandfather was his first teacher. Over many years Yogi Ashokananda has been fortunate to develop his teaching, experience and education of yoga under some of the great, remote, Indian masters and siddhas. He has taught the teachings of the Bihar School of Yoga, the Sivananda Ashram, hatha yoga and meditation at the Shri Ved Niketan Ashram, Rishikesh and the Yogamaya Ashram in Vrindavan. Now he teaches a number of his own profound disciplines and insights which have their roots in ancient, sacred Indian tradition. Yogi Ashokananda s philosophy and practical methods combine both mystery and attainability and evoke a sense of the jewel like quality of mysticism which is totally relatable to modern society and the lives we all lead today. Meditation/Mindfulness Yogi Ashokananda spent many years in India learning, exploring and developing what he has found to be the most simple, beneficial forms and techniques of meditation. He believes that meditation is one of the most powerful and subtle ways of getting to know yourself, and to understand who are we. This exploration of the self helps you to explore the depth and subtleties of both your human self and your spiritual self; known as swadharma finding the centre of yourself, your self-religion. Yogi s approach to the origins of yoga and meditation is grounded and down to earth, based on beginning with embracing the human self and all that entails. This can help you return to a place within you which is both magical and very real. When you rediscover this place, your life will change around you as your perception shifts and you see through new eyes. It is not about running away from yourself or creating a fantasy, it is in fact the opposite; it is based on staying with yourself, on every level and with every aspect of your physical body as well as your emotional and psychological self. http://www.yogiashokananda.com/ 9