The Tao of Training Life
When we dedicate ourselves to a life which sporadically halts its own momentum to turn inwards,
When we prioritize our own awaking enough to set externalities and obligations aside,
When we invest in practice life, retreat space, and training time…..
We find more of ourselves.
We find home.
This is literally a loving act- a willingness to attend.
How hungry we are for others to admire us, care for us, adore us.
It feeds us!
Imagine giving that to your Self.
Then, when we leave retreat
We have more to give.
Once we’ve made the decision to go on retreat,
Or When we enter into our “practice life”
it’s essential to witness any resistance or aversion you have.
It’s a whole body event- the tightness, the dryness, the constriction.
So we study this. It’s not good or bad- it’s a trailhead.
& if we suppress or segregate certain emotions,
It allows us to more easily suppress or segregate others.
We are studying the art of living.
Then we breathe different, when we know how to care for our so called “afflictive” emotions.
It is not their absence that shows us we are doing well.
It’s how we meet them.
So, the central theme: become curious
At the time of the Buddha he & his monks took every rainy season, during monsoon time, to take retreat.
Seasonally, they took time away to train the heart.
We build upon our inner ritual here, enrich our connection to the inner world on retreat, so that we can find it wherever we are.
Retreat time is a time to become present for your own life
An invitation to be with this body- listen and learn from it .
The body is constantly showing itself to you
Kali Basman
International yoga teacher Kali Basman enriches the paradigm of Yin Yoga to integrate distinct aspects of Self into an innate wisdom practice to awaken a rich inner life and radiate with ritual. Her offering honors Yin Yoga as a tool to surrender to our intrinsic wholeness.
On the textured path of mindful healing, Kali is celebrated for her integration of the 5 Elements and Chinese Meridian Theory with self-inquiry, embodied Anatomy, Buddhist Philosophy of Equanimity, and sharp intellect.