Authorized and Certified Ashtanga Teachers Visit the Philippines

One of the more popular posts of this blog got to be the "Philippines: An Ashtanga Country."  With five ashtanga teachers (three authorized and two certified) coming to conduct classes, workshops and retreats in the country this 2011, ashtanga in the Philippines is definitely growing.  To know about the difference between an authorized from a certified ashtanga teacher, read here.

Govinda Kai, my lovely friend Tesa's teacher, will hold mysore classes on July 26-27 and August 1-4 at Bliss Yoga Manila.  The weekend in between (July 27-31) will be a yoga retreat in Nasugbu.  Details are posted in Tesa's blog.

Also on the first week of August, Jessica Blanchard will be teaching mysore and led classes at Yoga Manila Ortigas (August 1-7).  She will also conduct a weekend workshop on ayurveda and will be available for private consultation for the duration of her stay.  The details are posted here.

Honda Bay

Last day in Puerto Princesa.  Mia had been telling me to visit the Underground River National Park but it's a whole day event and I only had Saturday to visit interesting places around the city aside from restaurants and dessert places.  After the lunch at Saigon, Hudson, another colleague from the psych dept, informed us of their plans of going to Honda Bay and asked if we'd like to tag along.  And so we did.

First stop, snorkeling.

Passed by Starfish Island.  Got its name because of the abundance of sea stars.

 Second stop, the Snake Island.  

"If the Starfish Island is full of sea stars, does it mean the Snake Island is full of snakes?"

"Then why are we stopping here and staying for more than one hour?"

Apparently, it got its name not because slithering snakes rule the island but because of its shape.

Took a walk and explored the island.

On our way back, we passed by another island.  Wasn't paying attention to the names as I was exhausted from the sun, sand, and swimming... I happily dozed off.

For yoga, healing, detox retreat in Palawan, visit Bahay Kalipay.

OM

Govinda is back!

Tesa's teacher Govinda Kai is back in town to do a series of workshop and a week-long retreat.

***

The Practice of Ashtanga

A 6-Day Workshop and 4-Day Retreat with

Ashtanga Yoga Certified Teacher

Govinda Kai

August 21-26, 2010 Workshop (Bliss Yoga Manila)

August 28-31, 2010 Retreat (Tali Beach, Nasugbu)

RETREAT

August 28 Saturday Retreat Day 1 – Morning Mysore style practice followed by Unlocking The Secrets Of The Mind -- Our understanding and awareness of, or lack thereof, our own minds holds the power to radically affect the quality of our lives. During this session, we will talk at length about this mysterious part of ourselves, including questions such as "What is the mind?", "Where exactly is the mind located", "How does the mind work?", "How can I improve the quality of my mind?" and other relevant topics related to the mind. Perhaps one of the biggest first steps to a much deeper and more powerful yoga practice and life is to begin to understand the mind. This session will be a first step to move your understanding in the right direction.


August 29 Sunday Retreat Day 2 – Morning Mysore style practice followed by
The True Role Of The Guru Or Teacher -- In this modern age of yoga practice, the role of the teacher or Guru is often misunderstood or under appreciated. Yet, in traditional yoga practice in India, the role of the teacher or Guru is given the greatest importance. In this session, we will delve into why the role of the teacher or Guru is given such great importance. There is a hidden key to the more profound depths of practice that is held within the kind of relationship that we build with our teacher or teachers. What we will discuss will shed much light on your understanding of yourself, your practice and of life. Both teachers and students alike, will learn how to build a much more powerful practice through the relationships that we form with both our students and our teachers.


August 30 Monday Retreat Day 3 – Morning Mysore style practice followed by Making Magic And Real Love Through Family And Community -- There are few other places in life where we express our highest aspirations and deepest fears than in the way that move within our families and communities. More emotionally and spiritually evolved people almost always express themselves through building and facilitating strong, honest and loving families and communities around themselves. In this session, we will explore some of the elements that can help us to reflect ourselves more clearly through our relationships with our families and communities. United we rise, divided, we fall. Let us all begin the process of being agents of unification and empowerment. By transforming your relationships with your family and community, you transform your relationship to yourself and to God above.


August 31 Tuesday Retreat Day 4 – Morning Mysore Style practice, followed by Who Or What Is God? -- This question is perhaps one of, if not the most, asked questions on the planet. Why do we have such an enduring hunger in our hearts to know the answer to this question? We will watch a film on this subject together and then engage in some lively conversation to explore the deeper meanings of this search of ours.

To Register:
Fee is Php 30,000.00 for 4 days inclusive of room (twin sharing) and 2 vegetarian meals.
Early Bird Discount (Register by August 5) is Php 27,000.00
Required Reservation fee is Php 9000.00, non-refundable.

Retreat will be held at 58 Outlook Drive, Tali Beach Resort, Nasugbu, Batangas.

For Details and Inquiries please email tesa.celdran@gmail.com or call/sms to +639178300293.