ALCHEMY OF ASHTANGA

(A mostly transformative retreat)

19th-21st FEB 2021

PRESENCE HOMESTAY, AUROVILLE

ALCHEMY OF ASHTANGA IS A TWO AND A HALF DAY JOURNEY DESIGNED TO CATALYZE AN INTERNAL SHIFT THROUGH A SET OF PRACTICES AND PHILOSOPHIES THAT SEEK TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN THE EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL, ANCIENT AND MODERN, IN  A HOLISTIC AND TRANSFORMATIVE WAY. 

RIDING THE WAVE OF BREATH THROUGH THE OCEAN OF ASHTANGA YOGA WE WILL DIVE INTO THE DEPTH OF OUR SPIRITUAL HEARTS TO REVEAL A CHILDLIKE CURIOSITY FOR THE WISDOM OF LIFE TO MORE SPONTANEOUSLY UNFOLD AND GUIDE US ON OUR SACRED JOURNEY.

THE RETREAT CREATES A POTENT VESSEL THAT ALLOWS AN INDIVIDUAL, REGARDLESS OF LEVEL OR BACKGROUND, TO DISLODGE ENTRENCHED PATTERNS OF THOUGHT,AND REVEAL A PROFOUND UNDERSTANDING OF WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT LIFE IS WHISPERING TO THEIR SOULS.  

PROGRAM

SCHEDULE

FRIDAY

3:30 PM : ARRIVAL

4:00 PM : BASICS OF ASHTANGA & BREATHING

5:00 PM : GATHERING OURSELVES - INTENTION SETTING

6:30 PM : CHANNA AND CHAT - DINNER

7:30 PM : TALK ON ASHTANGA AS A TRANSFORMATIONAL SYSTEM

SATURDAY

6:30 AM : YOGA PRACTICE AND PRANAYAMA

9:00 AM : CHAI, CHUTNEY AND DIGESTIVE JOURNALING

10:30 AM : THE OCEAN AND THE WAVE, ADVAITA AND ASHTANGA

12:00 PM : HRIYADAYA YOGA MEDITATIVE HATHA CLASS

1:00 PM : LUNCH AND THE REST

3:30 PM : SPHERE OF SINCERITY -BREATHING FIRE IN THE HEART

5:00 PM : BREATHWORK - BREATHING FIRE IN THE HEART

6:30 PM : CHAPATI AND CURRY

7:30 PM : DISCUSSION AND CONTEMPLATION ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE SPIRITUAL HEART

SUNDAY

6:30 AM : YOGA PRACTICE AND PRANAYAMA

8:00 AM : RESTORATIVE YOGA NIDRA

10:30 AM : TOOLS TO APPLY ADVAITA IN ASHTANGA

11:30 AM : HRIDAYA YOGA MEDITATIVE HATHA CLASS

2:00 PM : LETTING SILENCE SPEAK : SHARING FROM THE SOUL

3:30 PM : THE END IS THE BEGINNING

Course Fee

Please note the course fee is for the Retreat only and doesn’t include accommodation. If you wish to stay at another location other than Presence a list of alternative accommodations for all budgets can be made available. If you stay in Auroville, you may pay the course fee alone to reserve your spot.

Rs.7500/-

Accommodation & Rates

Presence is a minimalist styled, ecologically respectful homestay with the necessary amenities for comfort and offers you the serenity of nature with easy access to everything of interest. This spacious retreat surrounded by a garden is the quiet break you’ve been longing for.

Presence offers you a space to relax, in the midst of plants and trees and chittering birds. It also is a space to revitalise yourself: start the day with asanas, pranayama and meditation in the Meditation Hall on the terrace, go for a swim in the sea close by or to the Pool even closer. It is a space to be creative: read, write, draw or paint, listening to the appropriate music in the large open salons or on the open terrace above or in the garden. It is a space to discover and explore two of the most extraordinary “dreams” of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo: the Ashram and Auroville. It is also a convenient base to get a whiff of nostalgia of France in the distinctive air of Pondicherry.

Know your teacher

John was 20 years old when he first discovered yoga. He took his first Ashtanga classes in 2007 in Japan. John has taken three 500-hour teacher training courses over the years in different styles and has studied with several senior Ashtanga teachers. He has been to Mysore, India, to practice with Sharath Jois. Along with Sharath Jois, John continues to study the advanced series A and B of Ashtanga yoga under the guidance of two certified teachers, David Gariggues and Sharmila Desai.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Full refund on course fees will be possible 2 weeks prior to the start of the course. After this time no refunds will be granted.

Should the retreat need to be cancelled for reasons related to Covid-19, a full refund will be honored.

Testimonials

MAYA

“The retreat beautifully blended the practice of Ashtanga with the philosophy of Advaita. To be honest, I thought two days was too short of a time for anything to happen. 

Despite us all being beginners it was organized in such a way that it was accessible to all of us while being very intense and transformative.  The physical practice made us more receptive for the philosophy.

John’s teaching is very simple without losing the abstractness of the philosophical content. I had no expectations within two days but reached internal states I’d never experienced before. Now that I’ve experienced Yoga in the retreat it is something I want to maintain as a life practice. The retreat gave me a new filter from which to look at life through which makes life far more easier and more meaningful to me.” 

SHIVA

“I’ve never experienced anything like this before, so I told myself to go in with an open mind, and it was brilliant. I’ve never done yoga in my life, and I thought “eh, yoga, who’s going to do that”, but after doing Ashtanga for the first time, I was like wow, this really requires skill.

Presence made me feel like I was in my own house, and the aura was absolutely fantastic and I found the whole experience truly serene!

If you’re having second thoughts about trying it out, just do it! You guys have to come here and experience it”

ASHA

Alchemy of Ashtanga was definitely a significant juncture that gave me immense courage to look at details of life whether or not I wanted to.It unfolded in a manner that I was not prepared for, but then I deep gratitude for it all.

John is very precise, compassionate and extremely committed to the practse and philosophy of yoga and it’s transmitted without compromise without compromise.

A part of this experience will continue to pulsate through each of us, and this has been the most impactful experience of 2020 in my life

No matter what you’re going through, or where you are there’s something for you!