Hi Readers,
The last week was spent in a yoga retreat roughly an hour outside of Cusco, the previous capital of the Incan Empire, in a small “eco-farm,” in the Peruvian Sacred Valley. Here, the mountains rocketed into the sky in every direction, blanketing us in cool mornings of wet grass and chilly nights. By mid day, however, the sun would shine with a noticable strength, and taking off my shirt was acceptable at this time 😀
To fully immerse myself, I removed my watch, my only real connection to the outside world, as all internet, communications, and (nearly) all electricity, were absent. Dinners were lit by candle light at a knee-high community table, and though the vegan food was intriguing and delicious, constantly sitting criss-cross applesauce started to abuse my unyeilding hip joints.
Every morning began with Noble Silence (absense of words and direct eye contact) until we finished our meditation practice in the Spiritual Meditation Room. This was followed by two hours of yoga, lunch, spiritual classes, more yoga, and dinner. I came into the experience head on, ready to absorb as much information of the practice as possible. Meditation calmed us, the yoga was strenuous, and the classes highlighted their deeply engrained philosophy of peaceful living and the connection between the Spiritual, Emotional, and Physical bodies within us.
Though a few us got sick during the week, I think we all got quite a bit out of the experience. We strengthened ourselvses physically and experienced an alternate philosophy that I, personally, had never completely acknowledged. The week shed light on the potential of alternate means for achieving a healthy lifestyle. It enlightened us, among other things, to a deeper sense of spirituality, to recognize the good in eachother, and of course, to respect Pachamama, Mother Earth.
For quite a while I was stuck in a a bit of a fevered state, so photography was not my highest priority. However, I did take a photo of the exquisite massive boulders that littered the center of the farm, the inside of the spiritual room with two of our teachers, and the leader of the exhibition, Chitanya.
Chitanya was a charismatic, highly respected persona. All three teachers had beaming smiles, but his seamed to radiate even in darkness. His english was broken and he spoke few words, but when he did speak, the room instantly grew silent.. every time. The leaders were happy and patient with our sometimes complete lack of experience, and knowledge, of what is their entire way of life, and were even happier to educate and share their perspectives.
Thanks for reading! Robbe (Also Known As Roberto, here) Verhofste