7 Day Yoga retreat at Namaste Yoga Farm in Gokarna/India.

Yoga-Retreat Schedule:

15th – 22nd December 2013

19th - 26th January 2014

23rd February - 02nd March 2014

16th - 23rd March 2014

Travel to India for the experience of a lifetime. This 7-day retreat takes you on an authentic journey to the spiritual home of yoga, Gokarna, known as the “Brahmin town”. Set in the lap of the Arabic ocean along four beautiful beaches, you will have an opportunity to deepen your spiritual practice while immersed in the rich cultural and spiritual traditions of India.

Highlights include:

1. A complete immersion in group living at Namaste Yoga Farm in an area of Gokarna known as Kudle beach2. Opportunity to deepen your yoga and meditation practice in a quiet and intimate setting3. Twice daily yoga classes, 2 hours morning and 2 hours afternoon4. Visits to historic pilgrimage sites like temples and caves5. Seeing dolphins on a day trip with a boat to Half Moon beach and Om beach and stop in Gokarna at the local markt.

Namaste Yoga Farm is located on a hill-top overlooking the Arabic ocean only 3 min walk down to Kudle beach. The stunning, clear, star-studded night skies also providing an attractive allure. This organic venue with its small live-in community, draws its powerful energy from the strong, raw elements that converge on this powerful, magical spot. Yoga is practiced within a lovely 900 square/foot deck in the garden, complimented by the sound of the ocean. Morning meditations will be held close to a Banyan tree, as the day begins. Climate allowing for temperatures from night to day of 22-32 degrees approx. Gokarna’s, glorious beaches are one of the reason to visit, with prices and visitor numbers both lower than up the coast in Palolem. Gokarna is about 200km north of Mangalore (7 hr by bus) and 56km southwest of Karwar on the seashore. Gokarna is a pilgrim town, one of the most important in South India.

Tour Leaders & Teachers

This unique retreat experience gives you an opportunity to study with international teachers and still enjoy the consistent connection and support of your tour leaders.  In addition to leading asana classes, your tour leaders will help you understand Indian customs, rituals, and beliefs – and develop an appreciation for the teachings of yoga closer to their source. This journey is an adventure and a retreat – but also a genuine pilgrimage towards the center of your true self.  It is our great pleasure and privilege to bring you with us on this journey and help you have the experience of India you have always dreamed of.

There is a variety of individual accommodation on offer, at various prices. Starting with beautiful, volcanic stone huts in the plantation garden with shared bathrooms, and cheaper budget bamboo huts. A few single options are available with a supplement charge.

·         Euro 350, 7 days/Person in a bamboo hut. All inclusive

·         Euro 500, 7 days/Person sharing a cottage with private Yoga deck, shower/WC. All inclusive

·         Euro 750, 7 days/Single person in a cottage with private Yoga deck, shower/WC. All inclusive

Namaste Yoga Farm in Gokarna/India offers work exchange from November 2011 to April 2012

Our kitchen is full vegetarian serving non active nutritional yeast, tofu, himalayan pick salt, shilajit, homemade cheese & curd, spirulina and much more to produce delicious dishes. In case you want to do yoga, live and eat in exchange for 3 hours work then please contact me asap by email:info@spiritualland.com-www.SpiritualLand.com

The art and science of relaxation

Relaxation is an art, for there are various practices which one can develop and utilize to bring about relaxation of mind and body, transforming life into an expression of well-being. Relaxation is also a science, for it is based on solid scientific facts.

Relaxation sounds easy-one merely closes the eyes and sleeps. But, in fact, for most people relaxation, deep relaxation, is very difficult. While resting their minds are in a state of turmoil and their bodies are continually tossing and turning and the muscles twitching. The biggest obstacle to overcome is for people to actually take active steps to bring about relaxation, to develop and use the various techniques that are available. Because most people can not relax, in the real sense of word, they will find that their whole lives will change by just being able to relax. It is such a simple thing, but I can bring wonderful results.

Relaxation is essential to everybodys life. By relaxation we mean a release of tension in both the mind and body for a period of time to allow complete rest and revitalization. This is the whole reason for sleep, but because of the tension-filled lives that most people now lead in the daytime, sleep no longer performs its functions properly. Many people find that they don’t relax even during sleep-they continue to worry and try to solve their problems. This does not lead to the rest that the body and mind require. People wake up in the morning still exhausted and this state remains throughout the day. It is a vicious circle-for they again go to sleep that same night with the accumulated tensions of the day as well as the exhaustion that has accumulated from numberous nights of insufficient rest during sleep. It is no wonder that when the week-end holidays arrive many people spend much of their time sleeping-they need it! It is for this reason that modern man needs to know systematic techniques which specifically induce relaxation. Sleep is still necessary, but it needs to be supplemented with techniques that quickly and efficiently remove worry and stress.

It seems to be a contradiction, but it is nevertheless true that those people who can easily relax can do more work, can enjoy life more, need less sleep and tent to have smoother social relationships in all spheres of life. Now you might ask. “what about lazy or lethargic people, they are completely relaxed, yet not working?” actually this is something different. A lazy person is someone who is either full of so many mental disturbances that he is unable to direct his willpower towards some activity or achievement, or his mental makeup is such that he is reluctant to do anything. This is different from relaxation. A person who can truly relax is able to recuperate mental and physical power and focus it in one direction if required. This is in fact will-power, the ability to direct one’s whole being without distraction. Relaxation leads to strong willpower. Tension leads to dissipation of energy and attention in all directions.

We want your life to be an expression of joy. The way is by cultivating the ability to relax under all conditions and all times. Everything you practice in yoga brings about relaxation and a through revitalization of body and the mind, weather it is by means of postures, breathing techniques, meditational practices or whatever. Yet there are some special techniques which are very simple, which specially bring about relaxation in a short period of time. These we will discuss in another topic.

Thank you for listening and remember….the point is to introvert. Working on your body is great and you look really good, but there is more then postures and gymnastics.

Ok I stop now………the next headline will be ”mechanics of tension” and “physical manifestation of mental tension”