Italy – Meditation, Sutra & Asana with Gregor Maehle

Meditation, Sutra & Asana with Gregor Maehle

Course Details

3rd – 9th September 2022
booking close ??? unless booked out beforehand

Yoga in Salento
Via Stazione 116,
73010 Zollino (LE) Lecce
ITALY

Course Overview

Bookings for this event officially close on the 3rd August. If you are trying to book after this date please check with us what rooms are available. This event can be done stand-alone or as part of our  European Teacher Training. Meditation, Sutra and Asana with Gregor will take place on the 3rd – 9th September 2022 at Yoga in Salento, Italy. 

This six-day retreat will include a Led Ashtanga class on the first morning and Mysore-style classes on subsequent mornings. The afternoon classes will predominantly deal with the meditation technique described in Gregor’s book Yoga Meditation, Through Mantras, Chakras and Kundalini to Spiritual Freedom, which he considers the most powerful and transformative meditation technique available. Gregor will also spend time on chanting and discourse on the Yoga Sutra and the practice of Tantric Meditation. Each full day will comprise of 6 hours, 40 minutes of tuition. Vegan breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets are included in the price. Transport is not included. There are various accommodation options. 

A breakdown of the subjects in detail:

Guided and Mysore-style asana classes

Here Gregor will analyse the many intricate anatomical details of the majority of the postures of the Primary Series, while maintaining as much pace as possible. The focus will be on breaking down the various phases of entering and exiting the postures into their constituents. Performing postures safely while understanding which anatomical actions will get us deep into the asanas will prevent unnecessary energy expenditure. Through inducing precision this format also achieves that conditioning and emotions lodged in bodily tissue are released, preparing us for the higher limbs of pranayama and meditation.

The Mysore-style format will give students the opportunity to integrate the information learning in the Led class and also for Gregor to give individual attention to student’s needs.

Tantric Meditation

Gregor teaches two meditation systems side-by-side, yogic and tantric meditation. Similar to our asana and pranayama practices so also yogic chakra-Kundalini meditation is very structured. While yogic meditation is a very transformational and powerful technique, some students struggle with its rigor and demands for concentration and visualization. If we experience a lot of pressure in our lives and minds the simple but effective tantric meditation techniques can be useful.

Here we learn meditation techniques from an ancient text called the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra. Many of today’s popular meditation techniques were already introduced in the Vijnana Bhairava. Most of these tantric meditations are much simpler  than yogic meditation and require less effort. There are also many different techniques to choose from. Here is a sophisticated approach that offers a great variety in case a particular technique doesn’t work for a student. This makes this system very adaptable to individual needs and preferences.

During demanding and stressful times, emphasis on these meditations can create more headspace and nurturing. During other times when more certainty and inspiration is available, this can then be invested into the transformational power of yogic meditation. Hence the two systems work excellently side by side and can easily be integrated with each other.

Yogic Meditation

Different to Vedantic or Buddhist meditation, yogic meditation contains the same structural elements as yogic postures and breathing and was designed to form together with those an integrated whole. Meditation is the method of bringing your mind into a receptive state
 so that you can receive higher knowledge that is already there. Yogic meditation is a collection of scientific methods to bring about such awareness. To accelerate spiritual evolution yogic meditation employs many means amongst which the prime ones are mantra, mudra, bandha, chakra-visualization and Kundalini-raising techniques. The yogic chakras are representations of evolutionary brain circuitry with the lower three chakras representing our reptilian, mammalian and primate ancestry respectively. By understanding the chakras and skillfully meditating on them yoga offers the opportunity to activate higher brain centres and propel the evolution not only of the individual but of society as a whole. Kundalini-raising techniques consist of a combination of all other yogic means to raise the life force (prana) to a level where meditation is easy and spiritual insight becomes spontaneous.

Yoga Sutra, and Sanskrit chanting

“The Yoga Sutra entered my life 39 years ago and since then it’s been a constant companion. It took me a long time to completely understand it but once this had happened it ended all confusion I had about yoga. Understanding the Sutra gave me complete confidence in how to apply my practices diligently and that I would succeed in due time. The Sutra changed yoga for me from a faith and hope-based system to a science with predictable and repeatable outcomes. It is exactly this confidence and certainty that I would like to pass on to my students. The workshop will be interactive, with ample time for participants to ask questions.”

The Yoga Sutra is the operating manual of yoga. It is only when we understand the why’s and how’s of yoga that we will practice with confidence and beyond doubt. In this class we will chant selected stanzas in Sanskrit and a detailed commentary based on Gregor’s four decades of practice and study will be given. The commentary will retain the depth of the ancient treatises but will be fun, relatable and applicable to modern urban life.

To download a prospectus and application form please click here.

Training Modules

The training consists of the following modules :

• Pranayama, Yoga Sutra & Asana with Gregor
• Anatomy, Adjusting and Asana with Monica
  
• Meditation, Sutra and Asana with Gregor
• Teaching Skills and Asana with Monica

You can find upcoming dates by clicking here.

After this the cycle will start again with either Pranayama or Anatomy , which will probably take place in September 2023. We endeavour to deliver two European modules per year. For more information on booking conditions please click here.

Future modules may or may not take place at this same venue. Due to availability of suitable venues we may not always be able to stick to the above schedule but we will do our best. Each module can only be booked on its own (i.e. you cannot book the whole training in advance) and we cannot guarantee the price of future modules due to possibly fluctuating seasonal accommodation prices. We will do our best, however, to achieve comparable pricing.

When booking you need to first pay the  deposit and fill out our application form. Should your application be denied the deposit will be refunded immediately. Final payment (includes accommodation) due 3 months prior to event. For events during 2022 due to COVID uncertainty, in case of lockdowns and border closures we will refund deposits.

Accommodation

You can then choose your accommodation option payable directly to Yoga in Salento.

Accommodation prices include 6 nights and daily room cleaning, 5 vegan organic brunches, 6 vegan organic dinners, 1 vegan organic breakfast on departure day. Transport is not included. There are various accommodation options.

• Twin-share accommodation w. ensuite bathroom €588
• Twin-share accommodation w. shared bathroom €528
• Triple accommodation w. ensuite bathroom €486