Breath is life – life is breath!

En retreatdag med yoga og meditation.

Kom og vær med når Helen Stephenson underviser en retreatdag den 10 Oktober via zoom

Scedule:
Saturday 10-16

Breath is life, life is breath!

This practice day is experiential and everybody is welcomed to join us.

On this day I focus on enhancing our breath awareness through various methods such as mental/physical touch, visuals, gentle sound and movement.

Normally on Insight meditation retreats and in a lot of literature you are given the following areas to focus your awareness to establish mindfulness of breathing.

• At the upper lip, around the nostrils and insight the nose
• The chest area
• the belly, around the naval
• the entire body

When I attended my first Vipassana retreat, more than 42 years ago with the late Ruth Denison, I struggled to feel comfortable around my breath, I sat with a lot of pain. Looking back, I know now, that I had a lot of tension in my body; tension that had built up over a long period and that had helped to control painful feelings. As I sat on retreat, these deep holding patterns in my body showed up and I experienced them as physical discomfort, pain and restrictions around my breathing. It was through having body centred therapy and my continued yoga and meditation practice that these holding patterns dissolved and with them my emotions could heal.

Based on my experience, it is my intention to help you find comfort with your breathing and within the body, so that a sense of well-being can arise. I am very grateful for the teachings of my yoga teacher Sri S. Rajagopalan, who was never interested in the “circus” type yoga (although there is obviously nothing wrong if you enjoy folding yourself into a pretzel), but in connecting us with this deep sense of comfort, peace and ease. From this place I teach and share what I know. As most of you know, I am also a Pilates teacher and attend regular classes in the Feldenkrais method, which combined together creates my unique way of teaching mindful movement and yoga.

The schedule will be fluid, as I prefer to work with what shows up. It will include periods of guided breath meditation, guided movement meditation, silent sitting and a variation of the Body Scan mediation. The focus throughout will be to find space for the breath to be, space within the body and awareness of the space around us. Awareness of space is the experience of stillness, peace and a palpable sense of a loving presence and connection. There will be time to ask questions and to share experiences to help you nourish and stabilize your own practice. Be assured that we will have a coffee break in the morning and in the afternoon. I am very much looking forward to our shared day together.

much love, Helen