Whitsun retreat in yoga and meditation
As a student on the Whitsun retreat you will participate in a living process which gives you the opportunity to discover new dimensions in yourself. The retreat is a process in which all aspects are equally important. Only participate on the retreat if you are prepared to follow the whole retreat.
Everybody is welcome to join the retreat as it is designed for both the beginner and the more advance student.
The Whitsun retreat include:
Classical yoga and breathing exercises
We work step by step. By using your body in different yoga exercises and poses, you will rediscover it. You will develop more sensitivity towards your body, alleviate tension, build-up energy and gain well-being. Your breathing reflects your state of mind, whether you are calm, impatient, groggy, nervous, restless, etc. With the breathing exercises you can transform any state and gain contact with your inner surplus energy, the psychic energy.
Deep relaxation
Yoga teaches you to find the balance between being active and resting. You will learn how to be more at peace with yourself while being active and more attentive while relaxing. On the course you will learn simple relaxation techniques for use in daily life, and also Yoga Nidra – a thorough, deep going relaxation technique.
Yoga Nidra is among other things a method for exploring the borderline between consciousness and unconsciousness. You will become more aware of – and learn to relax - the different dimensions in your being. By doing this you will rediscover the ability to rest in yourselves. You will also learn how to make a resolution which you can rely on. You discover and stabilise your attention and ability to stay alert, both in actions and while going into deeper contact with your inner life.
Meditation
You will be introduced to two different meditation techniques on the Whitsun retreat: The Source of Energy and Inner Silence.
The Source of Energy meditation cleases and clear up in in the body and mind by using a peculiar breathing technique and concentration on the chakras. Energy stored in tensions and an unclear state of mind are realeased and transformed into a state of resting calm and spaciousness.
Inner Silence meditation begins with a fundamental training of your awareness. You learn to accept disturbances and thoughts. By doing that your mind will calmed down making it possible to be more creative. The essence of Inner Silence meditation is a transforming experience of the silence from where we experience everything else - that of being one with oneself.
Talks, Satsang and Mauna (stillnes)
In the evenings we have classes with talks and Satsang: «Confrontation, accept and change», «Yoga in daily life» are examples of themes. Some evenings we practice Sufi-dance or Kirtan, a kind of singing-meditation.
In addition you take part in practical work (Karma yoga) every day. One or two times we will have Sauna with bathing in the sea.
A course day may look like this:
|
From |
To |
Activity |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
6.00 |
- |
6.30 |
am |
Awakening yourself, toilet, nose cleansing |
|
6.30 |
- |
7.00 |
am |
Concentration techniques |
|
7.00 |
- |
9.00 |
am |
Physical yoga and breathing techniques |
|
9.00 |
- |
9.30 |
am |
Breakfast: Fruit, porridge and tea |
|
9.30 |
- |
10.45 |
am |
Karma Yoga - practical work |
|
10.45 |
- |
11.30 |
am |
Yoga Nidra deep relaxation |
|
11.30 |
- |
12.15 |
am |
The Source of Energy Meditation |
|
12.15 |
- |
4.30 |
pm |
Lunch and free time for taking a walk, canoeing, sauna etc |
|
4.30 |
- |
5.30 |
pm |
Short yoga program, breathing exercises etc. |
|
5.30 |
- |
6.00 |
pm |
Inner Silence Meditation |
|
6.00 |
pm |
Supper |
||
|
8.30 |
- |
10.00 |
pm |
Lectures, meditation, Sufi or Kirtan (mantra-singing) |
|
10.00 |
pm |
Good night! |
The tearchers
Bjarke Jørgensen and Audhild Naustdal.
Practical information
Location of the retreat: Ask Retreat Centre, a beautiful setting by the sea on the island of Askøy, 2 miles north of the capital of Bergen. Accomodation in single, double or multibed room in the Alexander Cottage, the Cottage and the Alcove. We will do Yoga and meditation in the Yoga room or in the Pyramide.
Cancelling your booking: Cancellation must be done in writing either per mail or email. When cancelling later than 1 month before the course you will have to pay NOK 750. Later than 14 days NOK 1.200 and later than 1 week before NOK 1.800. If you cancel the booking after the start of the retreat you will have to pay full price. Cancellation due to illness: Attach medical certificate or doctors statement which verifies your illness, and you don’t have to pay for the retreat.
Read more on the page about Practical Information and the page on Location and arrival.
Conditions of Participation
Be prepared to accept the following:
You are required to attend all classes / activities at the scheduled times – willingly come 5 minuttes before the agreed time!
Only eat the food served at the meal. Do not smoke on the school’s premises.If you must smoke, then take a walk alone.
During a retreat you take a break from your usual influences and impressions. You retire for a periode to gain an overview and get some peace to do what you have come for: to work with yourself.
During a retreat you will not read newspapers, watch TV, use your mobile for talking or SMS or recieve visits. Leave your mobile telephone, minicall, CD-player, audio player, clock radio, computer and anything similar at home or turn it off during your stay. Inform your family and friends that it is not possible to contact you during the retreat. If an emergency arise in your family they can contact you through phoning the retreat centre at phone +47 56 15 15 00.
Do not persuade others...
...to come with you on the course, not even your partner, unless they themselves are completely motivated to participate. Come for your own sake.
Come because you want to discover and work with yourself.
Welcome to the retreat!
Inspiration and more reading
On yoga poses:
Yoga - article from Bindu no 3
Not a word about sweat and effort; with yoga it is a question of well-being built on other principles.
Yoga and the finer energy - article from Bindu no 4
Even though the «small wind and tension releasing exercises» is the first programme you meet on our courses, it is not just for beginners, it has also a deeper effect. Pawanmuktasana, as it is also called, is viewed from a knowledge of the vital energy, known as prana in India and Chi in China.
On breathing exercises, articles from Bindu no 13:
Why hold your breath?
The yogic breathing exercises have a thorough and precise effect.
Plenty of oxygen
The doctor was nervous: Is there a lack of oxygen when I do breathing exercises and hold the breath? So he investigated the matter.
Breathe through your nose!
This provides more oxygen to the blood, strengthens the immune system, and is also beneficial for the heart.
An EEG study of the brain during Nadi Shodana
An improved balance in the brain makes you clear, optimistic and extrovert.
About Neti, Nose Cleansing:
Read more about Neti, Nose Cleansing in Bindu no 3.
About Shankprakshalana, Intestinal cleansing:
Read more about Shankprakshalana in Bindu no 8.
On Deep Relaxation, articles from Bindu no 11:
Meditative deep relaxation
A short introduction to Yoga Nidra.
Pictures of the brains’s activity during Yoga Nidra
A new chapter in research on meditation, it was called, when the scientists published pictures of yoga teachers doing Yoga Nidra. The research was done with one of modern medicine’s most advanced instruments - the PET scanner at The State University Hospital in Copenhagen.
Tantra and Yoga Nidra
Swami Janakananda writes for the first time about the knowledge and methods in Tantra which lie behind Tantric rituals and which make Yoga Nidra so uniquely effective and deep - about Nyasa, Chakras, consciousness and the resolution in Yoga Nidra.
What on earth do they use it for
People’s very different experiences with Yoga Nidra...
On meditation and relaxation:
The Twilight Hour - from Bindu no 6
Did we have a living meditation tradition in the North? Did grandmother meditate? Maybe, without knowing it was meditation - she called it something else.
On Inner Silence Meditation:
Harmony between the experiencer and the experienced - from Bindu no 8
An article about the Tantric meditation Antar Mauna (Inner Silence) - and its ancestors and cousins. A pearl of a meditation - the most basic and advanced at the same time. It opens with methods that make you independent in relation to influences - inner as well as outer.
On the ability to experience - from Bindu no 3
«Say the troll’s name, and it disappears», goes the old fairy tale. The teacher’s foremost task is to awaken the student into being able to experience - perhaps the most releasing and curative ability we possess.
On The Source of Energy Meditation
The meditation The Source of Energy - from Bindu no 4
Using meditation over a longer period of time can have an enduring beneficial effect on your brain activity. One who meditates regularly experiences a lasting relaxing effect in daily life.
Psycic energy - from Bindu no 5
Energy is more than a discovery in our technical age. «Prana», «Ki», «Mana» - the psycic energy has been known through all times. Now it is being discovered by us.
Whitsun 2011
June 10 - 13
Times: The retreat starts Friday evening at 6.30 p.m. and ends Monday at 1 p.m. The retreat is intensive - but you still have time to enjoy the countryside, go for a walk, reading, etc.
Bring with you: Comfortable loose clothes for yoga, bedclothes, water proof and solid footwear.
Course fee
The retreat costs NOK 3.600 (NOK 3.060 for students, youth 15-25 years old, unemployed and couples) and includes teaching, board (vegetarian food) & lodging. Single room can be booked at an additional cost. As there is a limited number (and they get booked early) please contact us per email for further information.
The teachers: Bjarke Jørgensen and Audhild Naustdal.
Important - read:
1. This page!
Download
Download our brochure about the Whitsun retreat in Acrobat PDF formate.
Enrolment
We run small and intimate retreats with up to 12 participants. Reserve a place in good time, courses often fill quickly. Enrolment is done in our web shop which accept secure payment with VISA and MASTER credit card or email us your name, address, phone, mobile, birthday and which course you would like to participate on. After registering your enrolment we will email a confirmation to you. After enrolling we will email you a confirmation with further information on how to get here by car or bus from Bergen.
