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Just as death of the physical body is<br />
inevitable, coming into the light of truth is<br />
also unavoidable with abhyasa - devoted,<br />
consistent practice. Yin Yoga has helped me<br />
examine myself and the different layers of<br />
my being, courageously shedding off<br />
untruths, embracing shadows with<br />
compassion, shattering continuously, dying<br />
constantly unto my own self so I can, in<br />
this lifetime, constantly transform and be<br />
born again.<br />
Retreat<br />
The Power of f Silence<br />
Amy Doffegnies<br />
The technique you are learning here is called the art of living, and life can<br />
only really be lived in the present. S.N Goekna<br />
The cultivation of awareness that comes<br />
with the yoga practice, both Yin and Yang,<br />
ultimately allows us to observe the<br />
impermanence of life and its contents.<br />
And with this knowledge comes the death<br />
of ignorance, a movement from the unreal<br />
and constantly changing to the real and<br />
unchanging. And when this ignorance –<br />
avidya – dies taking with it the fear of death<br />
itself – abhinivesah – we are closer to resting<br />
in peace with that which is unchanging and<br />
immortal, that elusive something more.<br />
Dona is a Manila-based<br />
stress management<br />
consultant, yoga<br />
instructor, student at<br />
the Institute for<br />
Integrative Nutrition,<br />
volunteer for the Art<br />
of Living Foundation, a<br />
wife and a hands-on<br />
mom. She co-founded<br />
OneSpark,Co., the<br />
holistic partner of organizations in igniting<br />
and aligning their human capital through<br />
integrated, innovative, and fun wellbeing<br />
and team development programs.<br />
dtesteban@yahoo.com<br />
Ominous? Life changing? Stunning? Excruciating? So did it live<br />
up to expectations? I found its message essentially affirmative,<br />
helpful and loving. I came away believing the technique is a real<br />
tool to enhance one’s ability to encounter everyday life. Vipassana<br />
blew open up my faculty for awareness and responsiveness - to<br />
myself, the world around and other human beings.<br />
The word Vipassana has become synonymous with a mysterious<br />
vow of silence and an intensive 10-day schedule of disciplined<br />
meditation. This 10-day course has proven to be the experience<br />
people find most unimaginable about my year spent in Asia.<br />
Amused whispers ripple throughout my friends as the first<br />
question people seemed to ask upon my return became ‘How did<br />
you not speak for 10 days?’ Funny, I thought, and touching in a<br />
way- that 10 days without communication strikes such universal<br />
fear in people’s hearts. Perhaps it is surprising then; that I came out<br />
of Vipassana feeling more responsive to the power of<br />
communion with others than ever, even in relationships that were<br />
nurtured in silence.<br />
‘The participant learns how to free the mind of the tensions and<br />
prejudices that disturb the flow of daily life. By doing so one<br />
begins to discover how to live each moment peacefully,<br />
productively, happily.’<br />
I will not attempt to detail what Vipassana course entails here, as it<br />
is in its very nature an experiential practice, structured over a 10-day<br />
period. I entered it with a vague understanding of what I was<br />
undertaking …I knew I would not be able to speak for 10 days, or<br />
read, or write, or do anything but meditate. I was pledging to get<br />
up at 4 am every day for hours of meditation. And I also knew<br />
several of my most trusted friends had done Vipassana, and hated<br />
every minute.<br />
Still, Vipassana, as taught by S.N. Goenka, draw in a steady flow of<br />
anybodies, from hippies to high flyers, year round, in 90 countries<br />
the world over. With trepidation I entered it seeking a bit of an<br />
antidote to the mania of the city. Frenzied but happy, at the start<br />
of Vipassana, I was more than ready for an injection of peace and<br />
mindfulness. For what a friend once described as a heavy handed<br />
grounding and a boatload of peace.<br />
My journey to the Centre in New Territories of Hong Kong<br />
comprised the strangest taxi ride of my time here. The driver spoke<br />
animated English through a massive smile…until I told him<br />
specifically where I was going. Unsuccessfully, he tried to mask his<br />
alarm. Upon arrival my new friend avidly helped me out with my<br />
bags and kissed me on the cheek…as if a blessing. His worry was at<br />
once affecting and absolutely alarming. Suspicion of the course<br />
seems oddly widespread.<br />
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