First trip to Netherlands! Facilitating a Yoga Teachers' Retreat: From Asana to Subtle Energy Body

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This August 2024 I was invited to facilitated a retreat for Yoga teachers by Abha from Zweiersdal Bijscholingen. What a pleasure it was for me to accept. 

I had wished for many years to visit Netherlands, but never found the opportunity to do so. Definitely this was a wish fulfilled for me to be able to see the beautiful Netherlands and the icing on the cake, to facilitate a retreat for other teachers to continue their spiritual exploration. 

Zweiersdal is spacious, well-appointed and highly spiritually energized. It was the perfect space for this Yoga teachers' retreat allowing deep sessions of spiritual exploration and comforting, nurturing space for sacred social gathering. It's location in the charming town of Oosterbeek is ideal, as the town atmosphere is lively yet gentle. I enjoyed the short walks in the town for the few days that I stayed.

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At this retreat my goal was to support a deeper exploration of Yoga, to allow the participants to experience their subtle energy and their ability to work with it. 

The current paradigm of modern yoga has become very much physically focused - with great attention given to yoga postures and not much understanding of the spiritual depth. In this retreat we explored asanas (yoga postures) as a bridge to working with your subtle energy and accessing the spiritual power of Kundalini.

​Working with the awesome spiritual power of Kundalini requires preparation, wisdom and guidance. But in the Kundalini Mahayoga tradition, that Kundalini Shakti is a great blessing that will begin guiding you on your spiritual path. 

It was very fulfilling for me as a guide, to hear the energy experiences of my fellow teachers as they began working with the inner process. For every day of the retreat we explored a range of practices - kirtan and mantra chanting, yoga postures and breathing, meditation and contemplation. And the results were phenomenal. 

What a blessing for me to work with such strong spiritual souls, who are seeking to use Yoga as it was meant to, for their spiritual growth and the uplifting of their students. I enjoyed every minute of being in the retreat, engaging with group, and fulfilling my role in supporting the transmission of this sacred spiritual science. 

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Subtle Energy Awareness
​is the new frontier. 

Just a few pages from the retreat workbook.

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Our group!

Closing satsang on final day of retreat.

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some words from the group... 

Everyday we asked for some feedback to ensure that the needs of the group was being met. Here you can see some comments from Day 1-3. On the final day the participants were presented with certificates of completion and we had the closing satsang. 

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My stay in Netherlands was quite short... just about 9 days.. and I really did go just to facilitate the 4-day retreat and had to come back to my commitments here in Trinidad. BUT I did get to see the area around where I stayed. I am not much of a picture taker... but here are some that I took. Enjoy seeing this slice of Holland through my lens. 

Ved's Highlights from his trip:
1. Nature, flowers, and gardens in this area of Netherlands is very beautiful. I can sense the deep appreciation of nature. 
2. Scooter ride through the forest! I got to spend about 4 hours riding through the forest on a super-quiet electric scooter. Loved every minute. 
3. Some fruits and vegetables from Abha's garden... what a blessing. 
4. An amazing selection of ... cheese.. mmm creamy goodness. 
5. Visiting Gauranga's music shop and workshop space... amazing to see the work with the instruments.

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Special thanks to my hosts Abha and Gauranga. 

Do check out the studio, Zweiersadal Bijscholingen, with their upcoming classes and workshops.

As well as Gauranga's music shop.