Another great retreat - finding the connection between the elements and our lives

It is a humbling experience. Imagine having a dream about connecting people and sharing life-skills to bring men into a supportive network of yoga practitioners in the full sense of the word. And then it happens!

Twenty-one men gathered at the beautiful Bodhi Khaya retreat centre between Gansbaai and Stanford in Western Cape Province for a weekend of yoga and meditation. The theme of the weekend was exploring four basic elements: air, fire, water and earth and how these link to our understanding of ourselves and the India yogic system of chakras.

The focus was on the lower chakras which are associated with the main elements and which are governed by the heart. One can take this literally or figuratively. In either form it creates a framework for considering how our body is truly made up of other elements which have come together in such a configuration that it permits us to be alive. And on another level it is a metaphor for how we live, how we balance our habits and attitudes to create an integrated and resilient way of living.

Mid-retreat, the men share their experiences and insights

Chakra Name      Chakra location       Colour      Chakra properties         Element Sound 

Muladhara        tailbone in back          RED    survival, security, safety       EARTH       LAM

Root Chakra     pubic bone in front               courage, confident, anchored

Svadhisthana   Sacrum, testes      ORANGE  creativity, sex, subconscious,   WATER     VAM
Sacral                                                                    energy potential, anger / control
                                                                              hidden dangers, powerful emotions

Manipura       Navel (Solar plexus)   YELLOW  place of ego, passions, impulses    FIRE   RAM
                                                                                good health, personal power clarity, 

                                                                                   self-confidence, spiritual growth

Anahata             Heart                       GREEN    Compassion, empathy, happiness    AIR    HAM
                                                                             Integration, passage between physical
                                                                                              and spiritual life

The weekend involved combinations of yoga and meditation, drawing on the elements in sequence. The meditations were a combination of traditional Buddhist kasina meditations (meditation on an external object and then bringing the visual element and characteristics into a visualisation inside the body) and Tattva yogic meditations (visualisations of elemental encounters in a more narrative form). 

The yoga instructors provided experiences of Ashtanga air yoga, kundalini fire yoga, vinyasa water yoga, yin earth yoga and an integrated hatha practice of alignment and reconnection. 

Paraphrasing the closing commentaries: Good and bad things happen in life. What we choose to focus on shapes how we react and the path we pursue. It is not possible to avoid death, losses, set backs, and some of these will lead us to question how we can go forward. Concentrating on one's own inner light reminds us that through effort, we can transform a painful event into an inspiration, our own suffering can become the foundation for greater compassion for others; a house built on a stone foundation is secure. Through understanding and working on the root chakra, so we lay the foundation for our own lives. Water is a metaphor for the ability to flow, to work around perceived limitations and barriers. Whatever is going on, it is in the 'now' that change is possible and hence returning to the breath is always are point of departure in dealing with any challenge. 

When all is said and done, it is the heart that governs the other levels / chakras. It is through love and our faith in ourselves and others that we transcend life's suffering and return to the fundamentals of what it is to be alive. Loving those near and far, having an open heart to each sentient being is the over-arching framework for a good life that is open to opportunities and full of reverence, gratitude and joy. 

We hope you will join us to share in this dialogue, this practice and this joy.