April 2nd 2017

Reflecting on reflections
Its taken some time since the last retreat to actually sit down and put pen to paper..But despite the intense business of life and the catch up that comes with being away for a weekend, everything still resonates as strongly as it did the day we left Glengarriff..  In fact i think the second week after the retreat was a little more powerful in terms of everything just landing with me..

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The places we teach and hold our retreats are such an important element for us, each have special qualities for different reasons. For our recent retreat at Linden House, Glengarriff....as i look back at all the photographs, i notice reflections everywhere..in the still water outside as we looked out of the practice room, reflecting in the many huge windows, in the black marble table placed at the window.. It makes me think about how important it is to take time out of our busy lives..to reflect. To reflect on what we are doing with our body in this very moment, how we are walking or what we hear when we are in noble silence, what we are eating, how it tastes, where it may have come from, how it softens in the mouth and mixes with other flavours. How the mind feels when we are brought into the present without needy distractions of daily life and how we may bring this feeling back with us to be present in our daily life..

Photo by Sharon Greene at Bothar Bui, Yoga and Drawing Retreat Sept 2016

As i observe the reflections i am also reminded of the balance that yoga brings to the mind and body, how we work both the left and right side in asana practice, the balance that brings and how it further facilitates the freer movement of prana throughout the body, how the breath feels smoother and how it feels like it moves deeper into every cell of the body, what is known as Ida and Pingala, left and right come into balance. As we looked out over the sea we saw a small island with a tree, perfectly mirrored in the stillness of the bay, how beautiful it was to watch and made us strive to find our own stillness and balance as we held each pose. But in life, as in the weather, as in the postures we hold, the clouds come by, the reflection disappears, the sea wobbles and so does the body and mind..  nothing is perfect, everything is in flux, always..but as we have had a glimpse of this stillness and balance we know we can find this deep within so long as we don't strive for perfection and continue to practice, gently observing the thoughts as they come and go like clouds moving over a blue sky, in the words of the late and learned Patabis Jois "Practice and it will come"..
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Morning table at Linden House, photo by Mark Jennings

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Our fabulous chef Mark Jennings took the above photograph very early one morning, perhaps while we were all in practice of the table at the window, it made me think how significant this was that he had taken this photo. We practice noble silence from the Friday evening after dinner until lunchtime the next day at every retreat. this means that we take breakfast in silence. While i lived in an ashram in India while i was training in 2005 we ate all meals in silence. the value of this practice  is difficult to describe without having experienced it. It truly allows us to value what we are eating all the more, we engage fully and completely with what we are eating, slowly and mindfully. We eat less as a result as the sensations become such a big part of the experience, as much as the taste and the act of 'doing'. I recently watched an amazing documentary on Netflix, one of the chef's table series,  It tells us the story of a Korean Buddhist nun and the ‘temple food’ that she grows, forages, ferments and cooks. Of how the making of food is like a meditation to her. By omitting onion, garlic and spices in her vegan food it becomes what is known in yogic terms as ‘sattvic’ , a quality that is "pure, essential, natural, vital, energy-containing, clean, conscious, true, honest, wise......“Monks need to eat food that makes them feel calm and serene, and these pungent spices make our bodies feel way too excited”!..

Sattvic or non sattvic diet, the food we eat and the reflective manner by which we should eat it can become part and parcel of our inner peace and well being, this almost brings me to the next piece i wanted to write about..gratitude..
OM namah Shiva