Start Date: 04 May 2012
End Date: 06 May 2012
Time: 9:00am
Place: Sukha Wellness Center
Anatomy of the Koshas: Pathways to the Body’s Intelligence
with Brenda Proudfoot
May 4 – 6, 2012
Costs 275.00, 250.00 before April 15th
Friday, May 4: 600 – 8:30pm
Annamaya Kosha: The Stability of the Lateral Sheath
The annamaya kosha is the outermost layer, representing the physical realm. A cadaver still has this layer. The outer body is a layer of protection for the vital organs and nerve centers. When we fall, we will fall on the outer leg, hip or arm. The outer body also corresponds to the earth element and with stability and strength. This practice will bring “eyes to every pore of our skin” (B.K.S. Iyengar) through emphasis on standing postures.
Saturday, May 5: 7:00 – 8:00am
Pranayama and Meditation
As an entry into the pranamaya kosha, we will spend time in reclining and seated pranayama as we move toward seated meditation or dharana (focus) and dhayana (continuous meditation).
Saturday, May 5: 9:30am – 12:30pm
Pranamaya Kosha: The Vitality of the Dorsal Sheath
Prana is the energy that permeates the universe at all levels. In the internal body prana animates the circulatory, digestive, nervous and endocrine systems. Prana is often translated as breath and breath is a great starting point to pranic awareness but prana is not limited to breath. The prana kosha also protects the internal body through the powerful muscles of the back body. In this asana practice we will explore how to move more clearly into the back body.
Saturday, May 5: 2:00 – 6:00pm
Manomaya Kosha: The Clarity of the Front Sheath
The mind is the sheath of internal awareness. At this level things get very interesting as we begin to probe the workings of our thought processes and our individual and collective consciousness. Patanjali tells us in the second yoga sutra that yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. When we do this, he says, we are then able to sit in our own true self, in splendor. This seems a daunting task but in this class we will work with both satya (slow rhythmic movements that with the sensory/motor system) and asana to seek some of the clarity we all have inherently in our minds.
Sunday, May 6: 9:00 – 11:30am
Vijnanamaya Kosha: The Wisdom of the Spiral Sheath
This is the layer of discriminating intelligence and integration. B.K.S. Iyengar describes this as a journey from a chattering brain to clean instinct to reach the clarity of intuition. Intelligence and intuition might be described as sensitivity in the body. The spiral sheaths link various parts of the body together, such as the neck linking to the ribs, to the waist and to the pelvis. When the spiral sheaths are balanced, one finds a greater sense of equilibrium and shamatha (calm abiding).
Sunday, May 6: 1:00 – 4:00pm
Anandamaya Kosha: The Bliss of the Core Sheath
Ananda means joy or bliss. This is the innermost sheath or deep core. It is spoken of by some as the place of the Divine. Physically it is the midline of the body, the sushumna and the spinal cord. Perhaps it is the place of our quest and we sometimes find a moment of perfect balance and harmony between right and left sides, or between tapas (fiery practice) and ishvara pranidhana (surrender to radical openness) so that we reside in the sushumna.
LODGING for the Retreat:
The Avila Village in is just steps away from the Sukha Wellness Center. Special pricing is available for retreat attendees as well as access to the Avila Bay Athletic Club.
Standard Rooms $142.00
Hot Tub Rooms $164.00
1-800-454-0840
www.avilavillageinn.com
