Join Matt and Holly Krepps for a clear and insightful teaching designed to delve deeply into and clarify the nature of bandha and its relationship to practice.

Event hosted by Wesley Pilcher and held at Caracalla Day Spa
5715 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, Ar. 72207, 501-280-0866

There are five essential techniques in the practice of Hatha Yoga, each of which is essential for the full and conscious embodiment of its potential. Of those five, Bandha is the technique of integration. The study of bandha cultivates a unique sensitivity to the feeling of actively bringing things into relationship, and harmonizing their interaction.
The practice of Bandha is, in its essence, embodying the feeling of being integrated. In Hatha Yoga, integration takes place on physical, mental and emotional levels, and traditional practice is organized to address each of these major areas.  Without integration, practice lacks this overall integrity, and as such cannot bear its intended fruits. 

    *   How do we embody Bandha on a structural level?

*   How is it a manifestation of the breath rhythm?

* What is its affect on attention and feeling?

 
Saturday  9a-12p:  Bandha and the physical body: Guided instruction on how-to apply this technique; Asana sequence designed to embody Bandha on the structural level.

Lunch 12p-2p

Saturday  2p-5p:  Bandha and breath; Integration in Pranayama. Saturday includes a look into the GorakshaPadhatti, one source text of the Hatha tradition’s instruction on the practice of Bandha.

Sunday  9:30a - 12:30p:   Bandha and advanced postures; a playful inquiry into the stabilizing force of integration in action; and an open discussion/Q & A session.
(Don’t let the reference to advanced postures make you shy in any way - modifications are possible!)

Cost: $55 per session, or $135 for entire workshop
To Register Contact:
Holly at: info@circleyogashala.com  or
Wesley Pilcher at: maitri.pilcher@hotmail.com

The Multifaceted Nature of Compassion

Please join Matthew and Holly Krepps at Jane’s House of Yoga for an inquiry into the nature of compassion and the mechanisms involved in its cultivation.

Of the many blessings that the Yoga tradition has helped to cultivate and emphasize, Compassion is the most fundamental. As a disposition, it is the common basis for the great triad of Yogas: Jnana, the path of discernment; Bhakti, the path of devotion; and Karma, the path of selfless service.

It can serve as the foundation for these because it is more than knowledge, more than emotion, and more than action: it is the unification of each of these as a giving of one’s own heart in relationship to another’s suffering.

The ability to sustain compassion in relation to a broadening circle of relations can bedeveloped, and this has positive consequences for our own personal spiritual growth, and our overall health, especially in relationship to immune response and the many problems that result from chronic stress.

 

The sessions will include posture practice, breathing exercises, and meditative visualization, all focused on cultivating a felt connection with the physical, emotional, and mental facets of the heart.

Saturday morning session 9a-12p: Backbending and the shoulder girdle; loving kindness
meditation; neural plasticity and Compassion.
Lunch 12p-2p
Saturday afternoon session 2p-5p: Restorative asana; heart-based pranayama;
imaginative, creative visualization and Compassion.
Sunday morning session 9:30a - 12:30p: Backbending and the pelvic girdle;
Empathy: the grand Compassion experiment.

Cost: $55 per session, or $150 for entire workshop
To Register: (636) 255-9642 - www.janeshousestudio.com

March 30th - April 1st

Facilitated by Mary Horne, LMSW, RYT

In the Hindu tradition, the term upuguru means that whatever is happening in this moment may be one’s teacher if one is able to open to the lessons that the circumstances present.   Mindfulness practice invites this moment-by-moment presence that opens to the “whatever” is happening now.

In the Mindful Presence retreat at Circle Yoga Shala you will be guided in various forms of meditation that create the opportunity for moment-to-moment awareness.

We will practice sitting meditation, walking meditation, and eating meditation as well as the moving meditation of yoga.

Though all of the meditations are at their essence loving-kindness meditations, we will also practice a more focused visualization that specifically invites directing loving kindness toward oneself and others.

This workshop is appropriate for those new to the practices of meditation and yoga and will offer all participants an opportunity for extended periods of silence and a time to simply be by oneself, and with oneself, while also in community.

“Who is it that can make muddy water clear?  No one.
But left to stand, it will gradually clear of itself.”  Lao-Tzu

Mary began teaching mindfulness practices in 2004 as part of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program created by Jon Kabat-Zinn.  Since then, she has been teaching the 8-week MBSR on a regular basis.  She has been a student and practitioner of yoga and meditation since 1996 and has had the good fortune to study yoga from Erich Schiffman, Doug Keller, Doug Swenson, Shiva Rea, and Bryan Kest and most especially Matt and Holly Krepps.  She recently completed the Circle Yoga Shala Yoga Teacher Training at the 200 hour level.  She currently teaches MBSR to veterans with PTSD through her position as a social worker and therapist at the VA and will soon be offering yoga to women veterans through the VA.   She has given numerous presentations on mindfulness to varied groups and has taught mindfulness & yoga to students aged 7 to 75.

Logistics:

Arrive on Friday anytime after 3p and in time for dinner at 7p.

Depart on Sunday anytime at or after 3p.

Retreat Cost:  $195 for Teaching and Meals  --  The meals will be deliciously and expertly prepared from the highest quality organic foods available to you from our farm and the surrounding neighbor’s farms. (Breakdown of cost of meals -- Friday: $12 dinner;  Saturday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch, $12dinner; Sunday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch)

Lodging: Lodging is separate and must be added to cost above – Accommodation choices are below.

Individual Dormitory Sleeping - $60 ($30 a night)

Individual Private Sleeping - $80 ($40 a night)

Couples - $140 ($35pp/$70 a night)

Camping - $20 ($10 a night)

Bring:

Clothes for yoga and meditation

Journal

Shoes for hiking

Layered clothes: long sleeves, jackets, etc. (the temps can still be chilly at night this time of the year)

Personal hygiene items including any medicines taken and/or sometimes needed: inhalers, EpiPens, etc.

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This beautiful retreat is being rescheduled.  Keep checking for updates on this offering.  In gratitude.........

Join Christopher Sean Rice, a licensed massage practitioner (LMP) & educator in Seattle for an Ayurveda and Yoga Retreat

Circle Yoga Shala is excited to join with Christopher to provide this unique opportunity.  Imagine spring in the Ozark Mountains creating community and connections
in a rejuvenating & nourishing environment.

What to Expect:
• Nourish your being with yoga & meditation - focused onrevitalizing the vital energy of being called Prana
• Learn daily & weekly wellness rituals that support excellent digestive health and immune support
• Hands-On Learning to feed your soul with the more suitable foods for you & your family
• Herbal & aromatherapy for harmony in the mind, body and spirit
• Inspiring talks on devotion, trust & gratitude
• Get out into Nature and awaken your senses
• Make simple remedies for seasonal ailments & prevention

Gather with us for a hands-on learning
weekend!

Take Advantage of Early Bird Registration Before 21March2012.

Registration for Ayurvedic Program - $375, after the 21st $425

Registration for Lodging (price include 4 night, 4 day stay):

Dormitory - $100, after the 21st $120

Individual private room - $140, after the 21st $160

Couples private room - $240 ($120pp), after the 21st $280 ($140pp)

Camping is also available for $10 a night (no early bird discount)

Ayurvedic meals will be made using the freshest and finest organic ingredients from the farm and its surrounding neighbors, and prepared by Matthew Krepps of Circle Yoga Shala.  Meals provided will be an evening dinner on Wednesday,  3meals/day Thursday - Saturday & a brunch on Sunday.

Meals: $136 pp (covers all meals)

Arrive - 4PM Wednesday, 18April
Depart - after brunch Sunday, 22April

For Questions: email Christopher at cs@wildsuntherapeutics.com

 More about Christopher:  In his studies with Dr. Vasant Lad at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, NM he realized his niche in translating the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda into everyday wellbeing and offers a unique perspective on wellness integration. To read his fascinating full bio (he has roots in  Arkansas and the Hot Springs bathhouses), visit:  www.wildsuntherapeutics.com

To Reserve Your Space: info@circleyogashala.com

Maha Bhoga Yoga Excursion

(Translation:  The Great Enjoyment!)

Bring your  hiking shoes, swimming suit, and yoga gear for an Enjoyable Outdoor Ozark Yoga Adventure (whew!).

The weekend will include a daily yoga class, canoe trip on the Upper Buffalo River,

hiking excursions to amazing natural wonders within minutes of travel time to their trail heads from the shala,

meditation in the caves of Lost Valley State Park,

expertly prepared meals from the shala's gardens,

and a weekend of joyous celebration of

each other - community - authentic relationships in yoga.

Fees - Per Person:   Guided Tours, Yoga and meditation instruction, All meals Total:  $225 (Lodging added separately--see options below)

To reserve your space a $75 (non-refundable) deposit is to be mailed to: HC 70 Box 544, Jasper, AR., 72641 no later than 7 days prior to event.  We are limited in space and your reservation potentially keeps others from coming.  We are grateful for your understanding and support of this business detail.

Lodging :

Individual Dormitory Sleeping - $60 ($30 pp/night)

Individual Private Sleeping -  $80 ($40 pp/night)

Couples -  $140 ($35pp/$70 night)

Camping - $20 ($10 pp/night)

Logistics:

Arrive on Friday anytime after 3p and in time for dinner at 7p.

Depart on Sunday at or anytime after 3p.

Bring --  yoga gear, hiking shoes, personal hygiene needs including medical, swimming suit, water bottle, layered clothing, sunscreen

Massage Therapist Available on site for sessions:

$60 1 hour, $90 1 1/2 hours

(First come, first serve--book in advance)

To reserve your space:

info@circleyogashala.com

Limit 12 persons

HORSE SENSE:  Reconnect with Self through the spirit of the horse

5/25 – 5/28/12

The Memorial Holiday Weekend

Come and meet our five-year old Friesian,  Zwarte Diamonte!

Translation - "Black Diamond"

In today’s world of concrete blocks, asphalt and shops, what was once natural to us has become a strange land: mysterious and separate from us.

We invite you on a journey to step into mystery and convene with nature by aligning with the Spirit of the Horse allowing you to tap into your own True Spirit.

In this unique offering, we blend the Yoga and Horse worlds together and through experience reveal how they support each other in having a felt connection to the joy, peace, and passion that is always inside us, albeit sometimes dormant.

Yoga is a path of transformation, and an invitation to have a felt connection with your inherent wholeness.  Through yoga’s technique of asana, understood as posture, we place ourselves in a new and strange territory to reveal something about our disposition and possibly our relationship to the whole.  Utilizing the senses in a new way, we free them from mechanical functioning which in turn frees us into present awareness revealing our true essence.

To be in relationship with the horse also requires presence.  It asks us to step out of our habitual tendencies and thought processes and communicate in a new way. 

Larry and Michelle French of 3L Horse Ranch, and Holly Krepps of Circle Yoga Shala will facilitate these three eventful days.

Larry is a Horse Whisperer from our own great state.  He started riding at the age of 3, started working with horses by 10 yrs of age, spent 20 years as a bareback rider in rough stock rodeos, and now teaches others about themselves through horse communication. 

"I have been on a horses back since I was a small child.  When I was a teen, I would travel for miles to learn all I could about the horse.  The Magic and Mystery of the horse has and will always be my passion."         

Larry French

To see his complete bio and watch his interactions with these amazing creatures visit: http://www.3Lhorseranch.net

Retreat Fees: $425 (For Friday - Monday Instruction in Horse Sense and Yoga) Meals and Lodging Fees are separate,  See below.

To reserve your space a $150 (non-refundable) deposit is to be mailed to: HC 70 Box 544, Jasper, AR., 72641 no later than 14 days prior to event.  We are limited in space and your reservation potentially keeps others from coming.  We are grateful for your understanding and support of this business detail. (If you have missed this deadline, please contact us directly to check on available space!)

Lodging:
Private room for individual: $120 ($40pp/night)
Private room for couple: $210 ($35 pp/night)
Dormitory (sleeps 4): $90 ($30 pp/night)
Camping (access to showers, etc.): $30 ($10 pp/night)

Fresh Organic Meals: Totals: $94  
Daily Costs: Friday $10, Saturday $32,  Sunday $32,  Monday $20 

Trained horses will be provided -- not necessary for you to have your own, or to have EVER been around a horse!

The yoga will be accessible to ALL - even if you've never done Yoga! 

(Experienced practitioners will still benefit from practice.)

Bring:  clothes for yoga and riding, boots, hiking shoes, personal hygiene needs including medical (epi-pens for allergies), swimming suit, water bottle, layered clothing, sunscreen, etc.

To reserve your space email me at: info@circleyogashala.com

Don't Wait-- We'll fill up fast on this one!

Basic Schedule:

Friday
Arrive by 3p and no later (if possible) than 7p
7p-8p Dinner
8p-9p Welcoming/Introduction Discussion (Overview and Focus of Weekend)

Saturday
7-8a Breakfast Buffet
8:30a-10a Yoga, Pranayama (Breath), Meditation Practice
10a-12:30p Horse Sense
12:3p-2:30p Lunch
2:30p-3:30p Free Time
3:30p- 5:30p Return to the Horse
6p-7:30p Dinner
8p-9p Wrap-up and Processing of the Lessons Discovered About One's Self.

Sunday
7-8a Breakfast Buffet
8:30a-10a Yoga, Pranayama (Breath), Meditation Practice
10a-12:30p Horse Sense
12:3p-2:30p Lunch
2:30p-5p Free Time: Swimming at the Upper Buffalo/Steel Creek Bluffs or a hike
5:00p- 5:30p Return to the Farm
6p-7:30p Dinner
7:30p-8:30p Restorative Yoga to prepare for bed

Monday
7-8a Breakfast Buffet
8:30a-10a Yoga, Pranayama (Breath), Meditation Practice
10a-12:30p Horse Sense
12:30p-1:30p Lunch
1:00p-3:00p Return to the Horse
3p-4p Wrap-up and Processing

-ALSO-

A Massage Therapist Available on site for sessions:

$60 1 hour, $90 1 1/2 hours

You've Been Asking For A Cooking Retreat And Here It Is!

We'll begin on Friday evening with a beautifully prepared meal from the Shala's organic gardens. You will get to prepare the meals for the rest of the weekend with expert guidance from Matthew! Our vision for the weekend is that you engage with every stage of creating a beautiful meal: from the gardens to the table.

What to expect:

• Garden Time: Pick the food you'll eat.
• Anthropology: When was fire used? What's the role of cooked food in human evolution.
• Cooked and Raw food: How both affect health.
• Techniques: What does it mean to saute', to roast, to braise?
• Knife Skills: Dice, Chop, Mince -- When, why & how?
• The Krama of Cooking: from inspiration, to recipe, to preparation, to table: it’s all in the sequence.
• Eating as a Spiritual Practice: Food and relationship.

But more importantly: expect to cook, to eat, and to celebrate.

Fees (Per Person Pricing):

Workshop/Cooking Instruction: $150

Lodging:

Individual Dormitory Sleeping - $60 ($30 a night)

Individual Private Sleeping - $80 ($40 a night)

Couples - $140 ($35pp/$70 a night)

Camping - $20 ($10 a night)

Meals: $62 total - Breakdown of meal cost:

Friday: $12 dinner;  Saturday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch, $10 dinner; Sunday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch

For Total Cooking Retreat Cost: Add teaching fees, choice of sleeping accommodations and meals.

To reserve your space a $75 (non-refundable) deposit is to be mailed to: HC 70 Box 544, Jasper, AR., 72641 no later than 7 days prior to event.  We are limited in space and your reservation potentially keeps others from coming.  We are grateful for your understanding and support of this business detail.

Logistics:

Arrive on Friday anytime after 3p and in time for dinner at 7p.

Depart on Sunday anytime at or after 3p.

Bring:

Personal chefs knife (10" to 12" blade)

Personal hygiene and medical items (toothbrush, lotion, inhalers, EpiPens, etc.)

Hiking/outdoor shoes

Bathing suit

Comfortable clothes for yoga and meditation

Each day will also include morning yoga and evening meditation.

A massage therapist will be on the property and available for appointments during free time.

(Book in advance--1st come, 1st serve--Rates: $60 1 hour, $90 1 1/2 hours)

Email us to reserve your space: info@circleyogashala.com

Workshop Limit: 12 persons

_______________________________________________

CHICKPEA TO COOK A Rumi Poem

A chickpea leaps almost over the rim of the pot where it’s being boiled. “Why are you doing this to me?” The cook knocks him down with the ladle.

“Don’t you try to jump out. You think I’m torturing you. I’m giving you flavor, so you can mix with spices and rice and be the lovely vitality of a human being.

Remember when you drank rain in the garden. That was for this.”

Grace first. Sexual pleasure, then a boiling new life begins, and the Friend has something good to eat.

Eventually the chickpea will say to the cook, “Boil me some more. Hit me with the skimming spoon. I can’t do this by myself.

I’m like an elephant that dreams of gardens back in Hindustan and doesn’t pay attention to his driver. You’re my cook, my driver, my way into existence. I love your cooking.”

The cook says, “ I was once like you, fresh from the ground. Then I boiled in time and boiled in the body, two fierce boilings.

My animal soul grew powerful. I controlled it with practices.

and boiled some more, and boiled once beyond that, and became your teacher.”

This is So Exciting -- Our Hands-On Garden Program Begins in April with a

3-Part Series!  Each can be taken separately, too.

This was an amazing weekend!  Thanks so much Ryan for your expertise in gardening and in teaching!  April 27th-29th:  Seed Starting, Direct Sowing, Transplanting, Irrigation, Soil Building, Propagation, Garden Design, Mulching and more-

NEXT UP:  July 6th-8th:  Summer Gardening--"It's Hot!  How to Maintain Your Zeal" also Pest Management and Harvesting

September 14th-16th: Fall Gardening and Getting Ready for the Winter - Winterizing is Essential to Abundant Spring Gardens

Meet Your Facilitator,  Ryan Norman

Ryan began his study of organic agriculture at Dripping Springs Garden, soon after graduating from Hendrix College. He later traveled to Oregon where he worked with draft horses and helped run a Community Supported Agriculture Program. In 2010 he returned to Fayetteville, AR where he worked for the University of Arkansas Division of Horticulture Department.  During this time, he helped to successfully organize and build the largest community garden in the city at Walker Park.  He currently runs a school garden program in Harrisburg, AR. as part of the Delta Garden Study, the largest school garden research study in the nation.  At the school he installed and manages a 9,000 sq ft raised bed garden, hoophouse, rainwater harvesting system, vermi-composting bins and a small laying hen operation.  Ryan is a passionate farmer and community organizer, and is committed to feeding communities though mindful, efficient practices.  

Retreat Costs:  $214  for Teaching and Meals  --  The meals will be deliciously and expertly prepared from the highest quality organic foods available to you from our farm and the surrounding neighbor’s farms. (Breakdown of cost of meals -- Friday: $12 dinner;  Saturday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch, $12dinner; Sunday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch)  

To Reserve Your Space, a $75 deposit (non-refundable) is to be mailed to: HC 70 Box 544, Jasper, AR., 72641 no later than 7 days prior to each event.  We are limited in space and your reservation keeps others from potentially coming.  We are grateful for you understanding of this business detail.

Lodging: Lodging is separate and must be added to cost above – Accommodation choices are below.

Individual Dormitory Sleeping - $60 ($30 a night)

Individual Private Sleeping - $80 ($40 a night)

Couples - $140 ($35pp/$70 a night)

Camping - $20 ($10 a night)

July 6th-8th Logistics:

Arrive on Friday anytime after 3p and in time for dinner at 7p.

Friday:  Dinner at 7p and Open Discussion to set the context for the weekend

Saturday:   7:00a-8:30a Breakfast Buffet,  8:30a-8:50a Meditation (optional),  9a-12a Hands-on teaching/instruction time in our gardens,  12p-1:30p Lunch,  1:30p-3:30p Back to the gardens!,  3:30-5:30p Free Time to rest, hike, swim,  5:30p-6:30p Restorative Yoga Class (optional),  6:30p Dinner,  8p-9p Open Discussion: Pest management, Q&A

Sunday:   7a-8:30a Breakfast Buffet,  8:30a-8:50a Meditation (optional),  9a-12p Garden Instruction, 12p-1:30p Lunch,  1:30p-3:00p Wrap-up

Depart on Sunday anytime at or after 3p.

Bring:

Gardening clothes/gloves

Clothes for yoga and meditation

Journal

Shoes for hiking, and a swimsuit if desired

Personal hygiene items including any medicines taken and/or sometimes needed: inhalers, EpiPens, etc.

To reserve your space for this retreat and/or any of the upcoming retreats:

info@circleyogashala.com

My own life journey led me into a 12-step program almost twenty years ago, and shortly after that, I began a parallel path with yoga.   I still constantly marvel at the depth of the steps, and how whenever I come across an ancient text of perennial wisdom, like the yoga sutras, I can correlate a step to the particular passage(s).  On the surface, the steps often strike people as juvenile, controlling; a last resort for the “bottom of the barrel” folks who are too inept to function on their own. Or even, the steps are viewed as too much like church.  And on the surface, this may be so.  What the steps are not is one dimensional, concrete, fixed in time.  I have found them to be alive, organic, always changing, and forever tunneling you deeper and deeper into the well towards truth: what is real and that which is unreal.  They are timeless, and always slightly veiled of their profundity. They are not for the weak at heart, or one who does not wish to know the truth of their own reality, for no other reality really exists.  To work the steps long term, and inquire into the depth of them that transcends time and space, is a path of a Warrior and the journey into Adulthood and beyond.

Holly Krepps

"Yoga is surrender to the projections of the mind, then the true nature of the self can manifest.  Otherwise there's identification with mental projection." Yoga Sutras,  I-II

The 12- steps of recovery, as well as the Yoga Sutras are useful to all who wish to be free from the delusion and fear that results from ignorance and habitual behavior in light of seeing the mechanical nature of the (s)elf.   The steps provide a practical and daily practice to the wisdom and understanding invited by the yoga tradition.  Together they inform, deepen and enliven each other while staying true to their original context.  They offer equal opportunities to wake up to one's true Self.

April 13th - 15th, Series 1:  Surrender to the Divine/ Steps 1-3

July 13th- July 15th, Series 2:  Disease of Perception -- Know Thy Self/ Steps 4-9           

August 31st - September 3rd, Series 3:  Jnana, Karma and Bhakti Yoga/ Steps 10- 12

All (3) retreats will be facilitated by Holly

_____________________________________________________________________

"The action of Yoga is passionate inquiry into the nature of the self, and surrender to God."      

 Logistics:

Arrive on Friday anytime after 3p and in time for dinner at 7p.

Depart on Sunday anytime at or after 3p.

Retreat Cost:  $214 for Teaching and Meals  --  The meals will be deliciously and expertly prepared from the highest quality organic foods available to you from our farm and the surrounding neighbor’s farms. (Breakdown of cost of meals -- Friday: $12 dinner;  Saturday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch, $12dinner; Sunday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch)

To reserve your space a $75 (non-refundable) deposit is to be mailed to: HC 70 Box 544, Jasper, AR., 72641 no later than 7 days prior to event.  We are limited in space and your reservation potentially keeps others from coming.  We are grateful for your understanding and support of this business detail.

Lodging: Lodging is separate and must be added to cost above – Accommodation choices are below.

Individual Dormitory Sleeping - $60 ($30 a night)

Individual Private Sleeping - $80 ($40 a night)

Couples - $140 ($35pp/$70 a night)

Camping - $20 ($10 a night)

A sliding fee scale is also available to those who need it.  Please contact Holly directly at: kreppsholly@gmail.com

Bring:

Clothes for yoga and meditation

Journal

Shoes for hiking

Personal hygiene items including any medicines taken and/or sometimes needed: inhalers, EpiPens, etc.

To reserve your space for this retreat and/or any of the upcoming retreats:

info@circleyogashala.com

MOVE GENTLY INTO THE STORIES WE ALL CARRY THROUGH SELF-INQUIRY, TALKING CIRCLE, ART, PLAY, MOVEMENT AND IMMERSION IN NATURE.

Facilitated by Holly and Cheryl McCord

Carried by the Wisdom, Power, and Support of Your Sisters Allow Old Stories to Blossom Into Newness and Reflect the Essence that Lies Beneath!

From Cheryl:  "I believe it is not enough for us to only know and express our stories, it is also time for us to become willing to change our stories by moving fully into them: taking them apart, forgiving, accepting, and understanding what and how we create these stories within ourselves.   Our life stories, our everyday stories, these are personal creations from each one of our own individual life experiences.  Therefore the only person who can move through them to explore and change them is YOU.  This can be done more easily while being supported by others and experiencing their stories and changes as well.  It allows us to move more fully in our ability to create from a safe and nourishing place." 

For the last six years Cheryl has been a massage therapist and is now a returning college student with studies in creative writing, publications and drawing.   She also facilitates a  woman's talking circle once a month in Conway.  She has been honored to sit in many talking circles during her lifetime.   Sitting in Circle allows us the space to speak honestly and openly from our heart in a richly supportive atmosphere.

The weekend will include many facets of deep discovery steeped in laughter and divine play!

Logistics:

Arrive on Friday anytime after 3p and in time for dinner at 7p.

Depart on Sunday anytime at or after 3p.

Retreat Cost:  $225 for Teaching and Meals and any Art created which you take with you. The meals will be deliciously and expertly prepared from the highest quality organic foods available to you from our farm and the surrounding neighbor’s farms. (Breakdown of cost of meals -- Friday: $12 dinner;  Saturday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch, $12dinner; Sunday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch)

Lodging: Lodging is separate and must be added to cost above – Accommodation choices are below.

Individual Dormitory Sleeping - $60 ($30 a night)

Individual Private Sleeping - $80 ($40 a night)

Couples - $140 ($35pp/$70 a night)

Camping - $20 ($10 a night)

Bring:

Clothes for yoga and meditation

Personal Journal

Shoes for hiking

Layered clothes: long sleeves, jackets, etc. (the temps can still be chilly at night this time of the year)

Personal hygiene items including any medicines taken and/or sometimes needed: inhalers, EpiPens, etc.

To Register:

 info@circleyogashala.com     

Spiritual Nutrition:

Yoga Sadhana and the Enneagram

Since human beings began to intuit our place in the Universe, we have sought the essentials for igniting the fires of passionate living, developing a higher level of connection with the Divine, and promoting deep insight into our essence. Traditionally, those seeking this level of transformation immersed themselves in practices that promoted purification and self-reflection within a community committed to devoted, daily practice, or Sadhana. The Spiritual Nutrition retreat creates the opportunity to immerse yourself in this ancient situation, and to be supported in your spiritual journey by utilizing the ancient systems of Ayurveda – the science of the body, Hatha Yoga – the science of the mind, and the Enneagram – the Wisdom Mirror.

The Enneagram is an ancient psychological typology that is attributed to the Sufis – mystics who sought realization of Divine Unity, but possibly goes back even further. A simple and yet profound aid in the process of self-reflection, the Enneagram maps nine common manifestations of the human ego, and the unconscious, mechanical behaviors that accompany each of those types. This method of psychology is unique in that it assumes release from suffering and ignorance can only be successful if the illusion of the ego is seen clearly, and if that vision leads to a remembering of one’s home in Eternal Being. The Enneagram is an invaluable tool that helps students customize spiritual practice so that self-reflection and effort addresses their unique blind spots.

Together, we will engage this devotional psychology of the Sufis, along with traditional Kriya, Yoga posture practice, Pranayama and Meditation to focus the power of the life force into the higher centers of the body-mind, creating a new level of self-investigation, and a new feeling of wholeness and liberation that can only take place within a strong body, and a unified heart and mind. Eat meals created from seasonal, locally gown food; drink herbal teas specifically engineered for the purposes of mild cleansing, and nourish a deep state of calm where sensitivity to the flow of life force in and around the body-mind can be honed and actualized. Then share yourself with the world.

Facilitated by: Matthew and Holly Krepps

Schedule:

 Arrive on Friday (no later than 7p, if possible) – Dinner Provided

Saturday all day workshop and activities – Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Provided

Sunday workshop and activities conclude at 4p – Breakfast and Lunch Provided

 All meals are organic and from our gardens, as much as possible.

Each day also includes delicious snacks, and fresh, made-from-scratch herbal teas whose composition is designed to enhance the techniques being practiced.

Retreat Cost:  $214 for Teaching and Meals  --  The meals will be deliciously and expertly prepared from the highest quality organic foods available to you from our farm and the surrounding neighbor’s farms. (Breakdown of cost of meals -- Friday: $12 dinner;  Saturday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch, $12dinner; Sunday: $10 breakfast, $10 lunch)

Lodging: Lodging is separate and must be added to cost above – Accommodation choices are below.

Individual Dormitory Sleeping - $60 ($30 a night)

Individual Private Sleeping - $80 ($40 a night)

Couples - $140 ($35pp/$70 a night)

Camping - $20 ($10 a night)

Bring:

Clothes for yoga and meditation

Journal

Shoes for hiking

Layered clothes: long sleeves, jackets, etc. (the temps can still be chilly at night this time of the year)

Personal hygiene items including any medicines taken and/or sometimes needed: inhalers, EpiPens, etc.

To reserve your space:

info@circleyogashala.com