Advanced Yoga Practices (AYP) Residential Retreat, Southern Germany
Kundalini Awakening
Working with Pranayama and the Subtle Body
7-day retreat: 8th - 14th June 2024
Taught in English
This retreat will take place at a beautiful dedicated retreat centre near Kempten in Southern Germany.
The centre is located in the foothills of the Alps. We will be the only group in residence at the centre at this time.
LAN is available in all the rooms and wifi in the yoga hall.
The Yoga
The focus of the retreat will be on the cultivation of inner silence, peace-fullness, bliss and Self-Realization.
We will be increasing to four sitting practice sessions each day and two asana sessions. In the evenings there will be teachings on the philosophy of yoga.
Language
The classes on the retreat will be taught in English.
Topic
During the retreat we will be looking at the process of kundalini as it unfolds in the body. We will also look at various pranayama practices and at how these work with kundalini to create an effective and stable spiritual awakening.
We will look at the following forms of pranayama during the retreat:
- Spinal Breathing Pranayama
- Alternate Nostril Breathing
- Heart Breathing
- Kapalbhati
- Dynamic Jalandhara Bandha
- Yoni Mudra Kumbhaka
- Spinal Bhastrika
Some of these are advanced forms of pranayama, but more basic forms of pranayama will always be available for people who are new to yoga, or who prefer that.
No previous experience of yoga is necessary to attend this retreat.
Practices
Teachings on the retreat will also include:
- Deep Meditation – especially looking at the process of brining the mind to stillness and silence and the cultivation of the witness.
- Spinal Breathing Pranayama – looking at the purification of the subtle nervous system.
- Samyama – looking at the practices of samyama and cosmic samyama, and at how these relate to transcendence.
- Asana practice – building a daily posture practice routine.
Full instructions in practice will be given. The retreat will be led in English and will be suitable for people of all levels of experience.
All yoga classes and meditation sessions are optional, so you can take the retreat at your own pace.
Teachers
Tristan Dorling
Tristan began the practice of yoga in 1985 at school when he was 16 years old. At the age of 19 he travelled to the Himalayas to live in a Mahayana Buddhist monastery. This was really his first introduction to the higher teachings and to the spiritual life. He had his first awakening experience a year later after a meditation retreat in a Buddhist cave monastery in Thailand…
Michael Seidl
Michael began meditating in the Kriya Yoga tradition in 2001. He initially oriented himself to the teaching letters of Paramahansa Yogananda, but later expanded his practice independently by studying books and sources from the Internet. In 2014/15 his path led him to AYP and a year later he experienced the Kundalini awakening.
In 2019 he completed his yoga teacher training at AYP. The yoga he teaches is based on the AYP system. It is therefore holistically oriented and includes bhakti yoga, mantra meditation, spinal breathing, samyama, mudras & bandhas, advanced forms of pranayama, jnana yoga and tantric practices. Influential teachers in his life were Paramahansa Yogananda, Yogani, Ramana Maharshi and Tristan Dorling.
Food
The food served will support a yoga and meditation practice and is mostly plant based. We can cater for vegetarian and vegan diets, and gluten free diets, if you let us know in advance.
The food is healthy and light and is lovingly prepared with quality ingredients.
There will be two meals served each day (brunch and dinner). In addition, fruit is provided in the mornings.
Cost and booking
Per person:
- One bed in a female shared room (max three people): £725 per person (Available)
- One bed in a male shared room (max three people): £725 per person (Available)
- Double room (2 sharing): £765 per person (Available)
- One bed in a twin female shared room: £765 per person (Available)
- One bed in a twin male shared room: £765 per person (Available)
- Single room: £830 (Fully Booked)
Prices are in pounds sterling (British).
The price includes accommodation for 6-nights, food and all the yoga and meditation sessions. Bed sheets and towels are provided. The price does not include travel insurance.
A non-refundable deposit of £100 is required to secure a place on the retreat, with the balance paid 2-months before the retreat starts.
Twin room
Single room
Getting there and away
We will be staying in the village of Niedersonthofen. Full travel instructions will be sent out to everyone coming.
The nearest train station is Martinszell/Allgäu. People can be collected from there by car for a fee of 10 Euros per car (not per person). (We will try to co-ordinate lift-shares if we can).
A taxi from Kempten train station costs around 30 Euros and from Immenstadt costs around 25 Euros. There are also busses from the train stations to Niedersonthofen.
The nearest airports are: Memmingen, Salzburg, Stuttgart and Zurich in Switzerland.
What to bring?
Bring some good walking shoes/ boots, as there are plenty of good walks in the area.
Please bring a yoga mat. (Meditation cushions are provided).
You will need to bring your own slippers to wear in the house.
Retreat schedule
Saturday 8th June 2024
16:00-17:00 arrival
17:30 dinner
19:30 evening meeting followed by silent period until 09:15 the following morning.
Sunday 9th June 2024
06:30-08:00 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
08:15-09:15 pranayama, meditation, samyama
09:30 brunch
10:30 – 15:30 free time/ walking/ personal practice/ bhajans
15:30 – 17:30 asana pranayama, meditation, samyama
17:30 dinner
19:30 evening talk/ questions and answers followed by silent period until 09:15 the following morning.
Monday 10th – Wednesday 12th June 2024
06:30-08:00 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
08:15-09:15 pranayama, meditation, samyama
09:30 brunch
10:30 – 14:30 free time/ walking/ personal practice/ bhajans
14:30 – 16:15 asana pranayama, meditation, samyama
16:30 – 17:20 pranayama, meditation, samyama
17:30 dinner
19:30 evening talk/ questions and answers followed by silent period until 09:15 the following morning.
Thursday 13th June 2024
06:30-08:00 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
08:15-09:15 pranayama, meditation, samyama
09:30 brunch
10:30 – 15:30 free time/ walking/ personal practice/ bhajans
15:30 – 17:30 asana pranayama, meditation, samyama
17:30 dinner
19:30 evening talk/ questions and answers followed by silent period until 09:15 the following morning.
Friday 14th June 2024
06:30-08:00 asana, pranayama, meditation, samyama
08:00 – 09:30 Clear the bedrooms
09:30 breakfast
10:30-11:30 farewells and departure