Dear Reader,
I’ve landed back in beautiful Crouch End which, apart from being a bit smellier, hotter, noisier and dirtier than Wales, is rather wonderful. I’m appreciating the nature we’re so blessed with and the diversity of people and cultures that infuse our community with so much richness… I feel a surge of creative inspiration as soon as I’m immersed in a sea of people of all colours. In London, we are blessed with a population which hails from all over the globe. So many different backgrounds, perspectives, styles of music, cuisines, clothing, dancing and ways of having fun. This is what I miss the most when I venture beyond this great city.
However, there is much to be said for being in a quiet, remote and beautiful place in stillness. Mandala Yoga Ashram sits upon a hilltop in a remote part of Wales near the Brecon Beacons. Here, there is a calmness that is elusive in the city, a deep feeling of safety and ease. The buildings and the land feel saturated in nurturing, warm and loving energy. This is the direct result of all those who have worked and gathered here over decades, in the sincere search for peace, truth and Divine connection.
Each day I’d spend some of my free time with a wild rabbit who would sit just a couple of metres away nibbling the lush, verdant grass as I lay relaxing in the bright sunshine under a tree. When I’d get up to leave s/he’d just stay put, gazing at me with a wide, large eye for a long moment, before resuming dining on the grass once more. In a place so filled with kindness, love and spiritual support, even the wild animals have an increased trust in their fellow humans.
Another difference is that the community of the Ashram is so small, that we can all relate to and support one another with relative ease. We know our place within the whole. We are required to contribute to the community through the daily practice of karma yoga. In essence, this means completing kitchen, household, garden or maintenance tasks, with an attitude of mindfulness and devotion. There are very clear shared values in the Ashram. The most apparent of which is kindness, to ourselves, to each other and to the Earth. This takes away so much of the stress that we might experience in a broader community, where it can be confusing to work out where we fit in, what gifts we can offer and how we can relate authentically to others.
Our connection deepened as we went into the silence. It was akin to setting sail in a small vessel, to take a sacred journey over an ocean that required all of our focus, determination and open-heartedness to navigate. We felt each other as we progressed further into the darker, deeper places within, some of us with trepidation and resistance, some with bold fearlessness, all supporting each other. We were guided by our breath, supported by our daily chanting and reassured by working with yoga practices that connected us to the heart centre. These yogic tools enabled us to face and befriend our shadow parts, to truthfully look at the parts of our lives that needed healing, cleansing and nourishing. Finally, we worked to ground ourselves back into a new way of being with ourselves and with each other.
It’s lovely to think of my fellow retreat folk back in their lives at home continuing the journey that we started together in the Ashram. The ripples of the work we did flow far beyond that remote hilltop in Wales to Scotland, England, Turkey, Spain, France and further afield as the waves of peace ripple outward to connect all beings. The vital work of creating harmony within goes on incessantly in many spiritual circles and communities throughout the globe. The inner work that humans do contributes to peace in our relationships, families, workplaces, communities, and nations. Indeed, this work nourishes the whole of humanity.
In my own humble way, I’m hoping to contribute to establishing peace, kindness, acceptance, joy, bliss and wholeness on our beautiful Earth. I’m sure many of you reading this will feel the same. The task seems enormous, but there are many of us and the work we do inside ourselves to create more balance and wellbeing radiates outward like the light from many individual candle flames. The emanation of embodied peace is felt by all beings. One example is the embodied peace of Nature. We can clearly feel the effect that Mother Earth, the plant and animal spirits have on our being as nourishing and grounding.
Yoga enables us to cut through our socialisation and acculturation. It addresses and transmutes the trauma we carry and the worries we play and replay in our minds. Yoga helps us to get back to embodying peace just as Nature does, for really we are Nature, prakriti. There is no division between us and them, this and that, Self and non-Self. We are all One. We are all Divine. We’re journeying through life to learn how to be love and radiate peace. Our nervous systems are hardwired for tranquillity, it’s only when we are in a peaceful state that we can repair our tissues, regain our health, think clearly, love deeply and enjoy states of bliss. When we are in anger, fear or judgement our bodies are prepared for fighting, running, manipulating and striving for our own gain. We lose that sense of the Wholeness of Life and as such, we suffer greatly, our whole world suffers greatly.
So I’d like to remind you that the practice of yoga is really about so much more than self-care, it’s about care for all of Life. All we do is keep practising and clearing the layers of confusion, despair, worry and fear and underneath we find that we are all not so dissimilar to the rabbit nibbling the grass enjoying the gift of Life and trusting in the qualities of kindness, love and peace.
I hope you enjoyed the article… let me know what you think in the comments… have you been on a Silent retreat, what was your experience? If you have any questions, I’m very happy to answer them!!
This week ahead there are Zoom classes on Monday 8am (free Meditation); Tuesday 6:15pm (Holistic Somatics) and Saturday 10:15am (Holistic Yoga). All times are BST (British Summer Time). You can book these using the button below, wherever you are in the world.
There are no in-person group classes until September, I’m really looking forward to seeing you in real life again. My plan is to run a new in-person Holistic Yoga Class on Wednesday late morning, as well as a new Zoom Holistic Yoga on Monday evenings. The Monday Holistic Somatics will resume as before. Also in October, I’m planning an in-person back care course specifically for sacroiliac pain and hip pain.
Watch this space!
With love and good wishes,
Julia xxx
Wisdom of the Ashram