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It is an honor to have the opportunity to share with you my passion and joy for life through the power of physical movement and inner awareness. Creating a balanced life through stamina, strength, vitality, bliss and mindfulness is essential to every human being. Together we go places we wouldn't go alone. Follow me on my journey living in Thailand.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Khao Sok National Park Retreat, Thailand
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| www.jungleyoga.com http://muditathaiyoga.com/retreats.php |
Reflections from my retreat into the jungle for 11 days in Khao Sok National Park, Thailand. There is something beyond ones self. Belief and seeing are both often wrong. Be prepared to re examine your reasoning. -Robert Strange Mc Namara  Sitting in stillness we hear everything; layers of sound beyond ourselves, internal voices that want to be heard. Every morning I would awaken to the sound of the jungle - the birds, the geckos, and the wildly loud monkeys. At 7:00am. I would walk sleepily to the yoga shalla for a group ritual meditation. I would move in silence and do nothing but focus on getting to my mediation cushion. There were no mirrors anywhere, no cell phone reception, no Internet. These are some of the many things I feel keep me wired and disconnected from the present moment.   In the West we are shut down from connection with ourselves. This keeps us from feeling our full array of emotions. We can easily go on autopilot and become demented with the mania of sticking to a mindless routine day-in and day-out. When we move through life functioning from this place of simply following the routine, we may experience a feeling of being disconnected, and become both discontented, and fearful of stepping off the familiar path. We become addicted to our behavior. Our habitual way of doing things makes it difficult for us to look at each experience as it unfolds; our habitual way of seeing, often limits our self understanding. The reality is that we cannot always trust our own perceptions. When I am free from distraction and my mind is uncluttered, my whole world is different. I begin to notice everything, I feel everything. Within our daily practice of moving into meditation and then into a yoga practice, all in silence, I can feel my awareness opening to another level of connection. I begin to see a pattern of behavior that is fascinating to me. For 3 months I have been traveling and studying, non-stop. I go from training to workshop, to whatever group activity I can find: Yoga, Thai Massage, Buddhism, Tantra, History. Regardless of the course topics of my studies, there are underlying threads that tie them all together, with wonderful similar spiritual teachings at their roots. I love collective group energy and conscious awareness. It's the coming together as a community, a collective unit, and creating sacred group space that keeps drawing me to the trainings and retreats with excitement. When a group of people come together with clear intention and openness, the energy rises. Each individual becomes an integral part of the whole. We are no longer single energy bodies. By creating a sacred container for the space being held within the group, transformational shifts can emerge. Rituals are created around time, presence and consciousness. We are no longer accountable just to ourselves. We must show up both for ourselves and for the group. By being a part of a sacred community or group of people, deep connections to self and others are formed. This builds inner confidence, consciousness and strength. Many of us feel alone, separated from each other and separated from ourselves, our bodies, minds and feelings. People who have grown up on their own without a solid family connection, can heal and be inspired deeply by becoming part of a collective group with good intentions. Actions performed as sacred rituals, support our feelings. I have grown so much through the act of ritual. When we create rituals around coming together regularly, through the practice of meditation, movement, study, sport, even mealtime gatherings – (really, any activity that gives attention to the present moment), we begin to eliminate feelings of separation, loneliness and disconnection. We begin to feel supported, encouraged and loved. It is this group energy that inspires me to teach yoga and fitness classes. Energy focused on the present moment is empowering for everybody. www.oceanbloom.blogspot.com |
Thai Yoga Massage in The Middle of no Where! Thailand Slideshow: Ocean’s trip from Bangkok, Thailand to Surat Thani was created by TripAdvisor. See another Surat Thani slideshow. Take your travel photos and make a slideshow for free.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Retreat in Khao Sok National Park, Thailand
After a long journey from Phnom Penh in Cambodia, I made it to Bangkok on February 12, at 7:30pm. I spent the night there, near Khao San Rd. The next day I was planning to enbark on another sixteen hour bus ride to Surattani, Thailand. My previous ride from Cambodia had taken nineteen hours. I needed to be at the Surattani airport at 11:30am. the next morning. I wasn't having much faith in the whole bus thing.
I decided instead, to buy a plane ticket that would get me to Surattani in 1 hour. I spent the night at a guest house near the airport. This was a good choice, as I was still feeling nauseous from the last bus ride.
The next morning I took a taxi to the airport. I was a little anxious as I was preparing for this next phase of my journey, since I knew that once I left, I would have no contact with anyone for the next eleven or twelve days. I was going into the jungle where there would be no cell phone reception and no Internet. It would be a real lesson on letting go of attachments.
This is something which I am investigating on many levels. We become attached to everything: food, things, stuff, beliefs, routines. I feel that attachments and addictions are quite closely linked. My desire is to understand how to dissolve attachments that are not serving in a positive way.
I took a taxi to the airport and I was on my way. I met my crew of Jungle yogis at the airport. There were eleven of us altogether. I was the only Canadian. Everyone else was European. We all piled into a van for an hour-long drive to the Khao Sok National Park. From there we traveled on a longtail boat for an additional hour. I was so wiped out that I fell asleep at the front of the boat in the sun. I woke up as we glided into the dock of this beautiful floating guest house.
The energy had shifted from the busyness of the city to the tranquility of nature. I took a deep breath,...
Our guest rooms were wonderful! Little floating huts on the lake. The participants all had private rooms. Our huts had double beds with mosquito netting. There was a little hammock hung on each balcony. I could open my front door and jump right into the lake. It was quite a trek to reach the bathrooms, but a great way to get in some exercise. The bathrooms and showers were up at the top of a hill.
On the main platform was the restaurant. Next to it was the Jungle Yoga Studio.
This is where I would be spending the next 11 days. Each days would start at 7:00am., with thirty minutes of meditation followed by seventy-five minutes of yoga. After breakfast, we would spend six hours doing Thai Massage. This is a beautiful place for learning and receiving. From the yoga space we could see monkeys playing in the distance.
After arriving we had a great Thai lunch and then some downtime, to settle in. In the evening we enjoyed a mellow yoga class to ease into our new space. My body was so happy to slow down after all the moving around. I brought way too much stuff when I left Canada. What we have, we must carry, I'm learning as I go.
I was eager to watch the rest of the film that was in my laptop. My friend had left me his DVD "The Fog Of War", a documentary feature on Robert S. McNamara, Former US Secretary of Defense. I am interested in gaining an understanding our volatile history. We often fight for our right to be different, rather than learning how we are similar. Humans are more similar than they are different, yet we don't seem to focus on that. We alienate each other, our races and our countries.
It was the first time in a long while, that I had been bathed in silence. As soon as I lay down to sleep on my first night, I was out like a light. I slept like a baby.
www.oceanbloom.blogspot.com
I decided instead, to buy a plane ticket that would get me to Surattani in 1 hour. I spent the night at a guest house near the airport. This was a good choice, as I was still feeling nauseous from the last bus ride.
The next morning I took a taxi to the airport. I was a little anxious as I was preparing for this next phase of my journey, since I knew that once I left, I would have no contact with anyone for the next eleven or twelve days. I was going into the jungle where there would be no cell phone reception and no Internet. It would be a real lesson on letting go of attachments.
This is something which I am investigating on many levels. We become attached to everything: food, things, stuff, beliefs, routines. I feel that attachments and addictions are quite closely linked. My desire is to understand how to dissolve attachments that are not serving in a positive way.
I took a taxi to the airport and I was on my way. I met my crew of Jungle yogis at the airport. There were eleven of us altogether. I was the only Canadian. Everyone else was European. We all piled into a van for an hour-long drive to the Khao Sok National Park. From there we traveled on a longtail boat for an additional hour. I was so wiped out that I fell asleep at the front of the boat in the sun. I woke up as we glided into the dock of this beautiful floating guest house.
The energy had shifted from the busyness of the city to the tranquility of nature. I took a deep breath,...
Our guest rooms were wonderful! Little floating huts on the lake. The participants all had private rooms. Our huts had double beds with mosquito netting. There was a little hammock hung on each balcony. I could open my front door and jump right into the lake. It was quite a trek to reach the bathrooms, but a great way to get in some exercise. The bathrooms and showers were up at the top of a hill.
On the main platform was the restaurant. Next to it was the Jungle Yoga Studio.
This is where I would be spending the next 11 days. Each days would start at 7:00am., with thirty minutes of meditation followed by seventy-five minutes of yoga. After breakfast, we would spend six hours doing Thai Massage. This is a beautiful place for learning and receiving. From the yoga space we could see monkeys playing in the distance.
After arriving we had a great Thai lunch and then some downtime, to settle in. In the evening we enjoyed a mellow yoga class to ease into our new space. My body was so happy to slow down after all the moving around. I brought way too much stuff when I left Canada. What we have, we must carry, I'm learning as I go.
I was eager to watch the rest of the film that was in my laptop. My friend had left me his DVD "The Fog Of War", a documentary feature on Robert S. McNamara, Former US Secretary of Defense. I am interested in gaining an understanding our volatile history. We often fight for our right to be different, rather than learning how we are similar. Humans are more similar than they are different, yet we don't seem to focus on that. We alienate each other, our races and our countries.
It was the first time in a long while, that I had been bathed in silence. As soon as I lay down to sleep on my first night, I was out like a light. I slept like a baby.
Thai Yoga Massage in The Middle of no Where! Thailand Slideshow: Ocean’s trip from Bangkok, Thailand to Surat Thani was created by TripAdvisor. See another Surat Thani slideshow. Create your own stunning free slideshow from your travel photos.
www.oceanbloom.blogspot.com
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