Heart to Heart – Prana Purification and the Chakras

This Yoga retreat will focus on the chakras and creativity! If understood and mastered, PRANA, the vital principle of the universe, can become a powerful way to unlock your full energy potential. It infuses the different energy centers (CHAKRAS) in your body and will lead to a purification process of any mental or physical blockage, leading to inspired creativity.

“Each of the seven chakras has its own unique characteristics. When the chakras are awakened, they help us transform our lives and ignite our inherent enthusiasm by releasing negative emotions, managing our desires, developing creativity, restoring our personal power, and connecting us to Self and world. Gaining access to the chakras allows us to become the master of our own happiness. ” – Pandit Rajmani Tigunait

Two powerful traditions, two amazing teachers, one goal: to transform our hearts and minds to benefit all living beings. Through yoga and meditation, we can transform and enhance our lives and come to a sense of freedom incomparable to any other experience! In this retreat we will overcome our limiting mind patterns, release our energy blockages and start on the deep path of self realization. Wake up your true creative nature!

Our two incredible teachers will demonstrate how their different traditions can complement each other and can bring your body and mind into deep unity. They offer fresh and inspiring ways of teaching the old traditions and make it accessible for everyone to transform their life. Vipassana Meditation and Yoga have long been proven to offer powerful ways for healing, purification and awakening. Together they offer a unique learning and growing experience!

Located in the beautiful nature of Northern Thailand, this retreat will take you on an incredible journey where Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama, nutrition and sustainable living form a holistic approach to life.

You will also have once in a lifetime opportunities like darkroom meditation, sleeping in a Thai monastery for a night, celebrating Buddha day with the Thai community and other authentic cultural experiences.

Reconnect your heart with nature and find your inner truth and authenticity! With radical simplicity and being in deep connection with mother earth, we can transform our separate way of living.

   Daily schedule

 

The schedule will vary day to day and can be adjusted to suit the needs of the students.

  Teachers

Swami Atma Jnanananda Giri

Swami Atma Jnanananda Giri is a homeopathic doctor from Kerala, who studied meditation techniques from the great Himalayan master Swami Veda Bharati. He completed the Yoga & Vedanta course from Sivananda ashram and studied Vedanta under the great Acharya Swami Dayananda Saraswati.

He deeply is in love with the environment, reminding us of the healing power of highly charged natural places. He has very humble way of being, leading with love and compassion.

Swami teaches Yoga, Meditation and Yoga Nidra both in Rishikesh and internationally.

He will share his wisdom about yoga and yoga philosophy, such as the Bhagavat Gita. Talks about the great yogis will inspire you to see yoga is a path to help you find balance in the most difficult situations. Swami Atma sees yoga as tool to help you let go of stresses and strains and also to help you understand the purpose of life. It is a path of complete liberation that leads to a calm and peaceful mind, full of joy and happiness.

Venerable Dr. Ajahn Somchai Kantasilo

Venerable Dr. Ajahn Somchai Kantasillo, Abbot of Wat Po Monastery, Director of the Sangha College of the Mahachulalongkorn University, Khon Kaen, is a very innovative dharma teacher and initiator of the Mindfulness Eco Project.

He became a novice at the age of 15 and since then he stayed ordained. On his path he became a disciple and the successor of Long Po Poh, one of the great monks from the forest tradition. His teachings express his deep wisdom and knowledge of the scriptures and meditation practice. His wish is to support his disciples to wake up to their full potential.

His teachings include retreats in nature, with very basic facilities to create a feeling of being closer to the environment. This can create a humble and strong mind. Being able to let go of comfort from the outer world helps us to turn inward and find our true nature, a liberated heart and mind. He goes beyond the “I, me, mine” self-centred thinking of the modern world, as it creates stressed feelings of separation and competition.

Christian Carow

Christian Carow was the owner of a successful marketing company, worked as an consultant and was an assistant in group psychotherapy before he decided to change his life very radical. He became a monk for one year in the Thai forest tradition under his teacher Ajahn Somchai Kantasillo. He has also studied alongside leading meditation teachers like Jack Kornfield, Thich Nhat Hanh and Fred von Allem.

Since 2006 he has led meditation retreats in Thailand and Germany. He is the co-founder of the Mindfulness Project, a modern community, where he integrates Psychology, Neuroscience, Meditation, Yoga with new ways of holistic living. The project provides a unique learning experience for thousands of volunteers from around the world and has been life changing for a lot of them. His goal is to find a modern approach to contemplative practices in order to impact the personal, social and economic dimension of people towards a more fulfilling and sustainable life.

Anja Carow

Anja studied Sports and Biology, and in 2008 she became a Yoga teacher in the Himalayan Institute Germany (BDY/EYU 670 hours). Her love for yoga let her enjoy three more 200 hour TTC´s about chakras, as well as one 300 hour TTC with the focus on alignment.

She is a passionate meditation practitioner, practicing Vipassana Meditation since 2003. The inner call to dive deeper into the practice let her ordain for eight months as a nun in Thailand in 2010. She is the co-founder of the Mindfulness Project in Thailand, a powerful and transformative holistic community project. And since 2012 she teaches Yoga at the Mindfulness Project in Thailand.

During the annual Vipassana retreats at Wat Po, Khon Kaen she is teaching yoga, as well as in yearly workshops in Germany. Since 2017 she is grateful to invite Swami Atma to the Mindfulness Project where she teaches the asana classes during the yoga retreat.

Her yoga classes are journeys to the power within. Inspired by tantric teachings, she is using asana in combination with myths, mudras, bandhas, and mantra. Yoga for her is a path of wisdom and liberation. A path to awaken the full potential of our hearts and minds.

 

 

 

  The location

The Mindfulness Project is located near Khon Kaen in the northeast of Thailand. We are a monastery project which uses ancient philosophies in conjunction with modern scientific developments in the fields of integrated agriculture, green building, alternative energy, and recycling. Our aim is to create a revolutionary system of sustainable living.

We are now one of the most ambitious projects in Thailand, transforming the hearts and minds of the people who come here!

For most of the year, we run a volunteer program which provides a unique learning experience to our volunteers. They get to experience yoga, meditation, psychological teachings, nutrition, health awareness, natural building, permaculture, and so much more. We offer radical simplistic living in deep connection with nature.

Unique earthen buildings are in the making and gardens are developing in this two year old site.

What people say about the Mindfulness Project:

“I had the time of my life here!” , “I am traveling for 8 months now and this was by far the best experience I had!”

  Accommodation

The Mindfulness Project is in its early stages, so the facilities are quite basic but comfortable! We have open air dorms where you will sleep in close connection with the environment, next to our gardens and ponds. Enjoy waking up to the beautiful sounds of nature!

We have flush toilets and open air showers. Mattresses, bed sheets, pillows and mosquito nets are provided. Beds in Thailand are typically quite firm and are placed directly onto the floor. The yoga will be in a beautiful outside setting in nature.

  Food

We provide large and nutritious, locally-sourced organic vegetarian meals (including vegan/gluten-free options). The Mindfulness Project is known for it’s extremely delicious and healthy food. This will boost your immune system and put you on a path to re-invigoration!

We can accommodate most food intolerances. Please let us know in advance!

  Additional Offer

Healing Journey 14/10/19 – 18/10/2019

Swami Atma is a natural healer and naturopath. Together with him, we will visit one of the most amazing palliative care and healing temples in Thailand, Arokhayasan temple. Learn about natural forms of healing and detoxing, as well as seeing pranayama and Yoga Nidra being used for healing. On this journey you will not only be a bystander. We encourage you to bring in all your creativity and skills. This can be teaching an easy dance, making music, painting, singing together, games, role play, etc.

Arokhayasan temple is the last station in life for some people, but is full of life energy. It is run by the Abbot Luang Ta, who has cured himself of cancer with meditation, praying and natural Thai herbal remedies. Laughter, jokes, music, arts, and healing arts are all part of the treatment. If you are deeply interested to share your love from heart to heart, you are most welcome to join our activities at Arokhayasan.

After breakfast on the 18th October the journey will end.

Individual transport can be arranged to the bus terminal or airport, to get to Bangkok (at own cost).

  What is included

Yoga retreat

• Twice daily Yoga
• Daily Pranayama
• Daily Yoga Meditation
• Yoga Nidra
• Daily Vipassana Meditation
• Dharma talks
• Satsang
• 1 night at the local Thai temple
• 1hr Meditation in the Darkroom
• 1 Evening Chanting at Buddha Day at the temple
• 1 Thai Massage 1 hr
• Simple accomodation
• Vegeterian and Vegan Food
• Lemon Water Detox Drink in the Morning
• Pick up from Khon Kaen on the 5th October at 2 pm at the Roma Hotel in Khon Kaen
• Retreat ends at 6:00pm on the 13th October at Wat Pho Monastery in Khon Kaen
• Collective Transport to the Temple in Khon Kaen
• Donation for the temple

Healing journey

• Meeting in the Mindfulness Project at 2pm on the 14th Oct followed by introduction, group activities and dinner
• 15th Oct after breakfast, transport to Arokhayasan
• 3 Morning Yoga Classes
• 2 times Yoga Nidra
• 1 Satsang, possibly about Yoga Nidra and Self healing
• Accommodation at Arokhayasan
• Food at Arokhayasan
• Activities with patients
• Dinosaur Museum
• Donation for the Temple. All patients receive treatment on a donation basis. This allows everybody in need to come and get treatment

  What is NOT included

• Transport to Thailand and to Khon Kaen
• Transport from Arokhayasan to Bus terminal or Airport in Sakhon Nakhon. You will get all the support to arrange transport however.
• All bank transfer fees

  Costs

The course fee is on a sliding scale from 350 – 390 Euros. We want to give you a possibility to adjust the payment to your financial resources.

We ask you to pay a 200 Euro deposit to reserve your spot. The deposit is non-refundable.

The rest is payed at the beginning of the course.  Please note that the money transfer fees (like Paypal) will be charged in addition.

The costs for the Healing journey is 150 Euros and can be booked separately or in combination with the retreat.

 

Cancellations

We can only refund payments up to one month prior to the start of the retreat. After this date, all bookings are final.