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The Kaliyoga concept is very simple: every person has unique characteristics, some positive and some not so positive. Sometimes we feel separate and unfulfilled and yet sometimes we feel completely connected to the world e.g. when we are touched by unconditional love, whether this is through another person, or a pet animal or through music, art or poetry. The flow of opposites is a dual relationship that is like the two sides of a coin, though this is only an appearance: on closer inspection we see clearly that the coin is whole and the notional division is created by our socially conditioned mindset. Kaliyoga is a retreat where you come to relax and enjoy the strange discovery that all is one, all is well and all is as it should be and always has been.
The goals, principles and effects of yoga were first compiled in writing about 2000 years ago by Patanjali, the renowned Indian philosopher and teacher. He is recognised today as the root teacher and philosopher of Yoga. His life's work is a small book called 'The Yoga Sutra', that continues to be the map and compass for all aspiring yoga students.
In the west, Yoga is mainly practiced for physical fitness and mental relaxation. With regular practice these valuable attributes are considered by many to be not goals, but by-products, for yoga is essentially a path to deep self-knowledge.
The techniques of Yoga are designed to remove the obstacles to enlightenment, to self-realizaion, to liberation, to salvation. Yoga does not pretend to be a religion, though its practice is deeply in harmony with the essence of all spiritual philosophies. At its core lies the very essence of human nature and in the crucible of your yoga practice there is an open invitation to breathe your way back into that essence.
For thousands of years humanity has been perplexed by philosophical questions, such as: 'Who am I? What is my purpose? What happens after death? I have everything money can buy, yet I still want more - but will I ever feel at peace? Why can't I stop my mind thinking? I am a loser and nobody loves me, so I can never be happy'. Such worries as these have never been answered by science, nor settled by philosophy alone.
Lau Tzu, the father of Taoism, teaches: "At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."
So, why do we remain ignorant? Why do we fail to experience Lau Tzu's truths? Patanjali explains it to us in one simple sentence: “The central act of ignorance is false identification.” Patanjali is saying that although we are primarily human beings, we are also human doers. We are beings who act. It turns out that our constant identification with acting totally undermines our awareness of the unbreakable connection with the supreme intelligence of our very cells, our very life source.
Patanjali recognised that in order to remove false identification and to find out what's hidden at the centre of our inner world, a different form of enquiry would be necessary. The science of self enquiry that he developed is YOGA. It is outlined by his eight-fold "astanga yoga" philosophy: yama: sensitivity, honesty, openness, focus, generosity
niyama: purity, equanimity, passion, deep investigation of the self
asana: by awakening the body’s intelligence and releasing it from its conditioned limitations, mental confusion is gradually and safely deconstructed.
pranayama: the lifeforce is harmonized by establishing the breath beyond duality, relaxing the mind and cleansing the body’s systems.
pratyahara: the mind experiences non-duality during meditative internalization - 'I am not my mind'.
dharana: the mind becomes internalized in meditative concentration.
dhyana: the inner activity of the mind is understood in meditative contemplation.
samadhi: the mind becomes absorbed in its transcendental nature which is revealed as universal supreme source consciousness.
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