Inspya Yoga Blog

Hi to all our yoga friends

2012 started with a wonderful retreat in India. This year we are bringing you 3 retreats. India will be followed by our usual Bali retreat and then our first Italian retreat in October. In between Lance and the team will be conducting trainings in China and Malaysia and workshops and intensives in Germany. Switzerland and Austria.

Lance will also be conducting general classes in his home town of Byron Bay during the months of February and March. Welcome home Lance.

Hi Yoga Friends,

Well no doubt about it -time does actually fly. With the Byron Bay teacher training course almost winding up we are now getting ready to hit Asia and Europe with our team. Next port of call -Malaysia.  This year we are visiting as many countries as there are months in the year -spreading good yoga practice throughout east and west. If you can't join in one of the many TTC's then you can catch Lance on one of his workshops. Check out our events page for his movements. 

Or perhaps you can join us in Bali for our yearly retreat. Last year we passed through Bloo Lagoon in Padangbai on our way to the Gili Islands.  We loved it there so this year we will stay there and do our daily practice by their glistening pool and within a whiff of the scrummy breakfast bar. The food at Bloo Lagoon is great and the villas are 5 star. The resort is perched on a hill overlooking the harbour and the villages around it will make interesting sight-seeing in between our sessions. The resort also has in house massage to help you get through those "Lance" classes. Can't wait.

For more information please go to: Bali Retreat 2011

Namaste, Cathy.

Namaste Everyone,

This is my first INSPYA blog entry – ki jay!

I would like to write about the recent Yoga Teacher Training Course @ Y+ in Shanghai.

At present I am on board a train from Shanghai to Hangzhou, from where I will fly to India for six weeks of research and worship of Mâ. The display tells me that this train is moving at an astonishing speed of 350 kilometres per hour – I’m both awed and slightly concerned.

China has certainly come a long way in terms of technological advancement and the skyline of Shanghai at night is like something out of ‘Blade Runner.’ But what intrigues me much more than any fancy machinery is the open-heartedness of our students here, which has made Shanghai one of my favourite teaching spots in the world.


Imagine opening your first early morning Prânâyâma & Meditation class with a sung version of the Gayatrî Mantra, accompanied by your guitar, and then realizing that about ¾ of your class is crying and sobbing with emotion. I could not have wished for a better and more touching start…

The following weeks were filled with precious moments like this and such a beautiful feeling of Sangha and being one big family of 42:
•    33 students (all women this time)
•    6 assistants (all students from former TTCs here)
•    3 teachers (Lance, Jean and I)


Our teaching formula has been tried, tested and refined over the years. Lance at the helm with his amazing skills of making students feel safe and confident enough to explore new frontiers; Jean with her deep therapeutic knowledge and nurturing femininity; and me with a strong focus on philosophical and self-inquiry in traditional and playful ways.

Most evenings Lance and I were going to the gym of our hotel to recharge the body after 10 hours of teaching, then winding down in the sauna and tub – hmmmmmm…


Time flies by in this almost retreat-like set up with a daily routine and lively exchange. Every now and again this routine is broken up by a special event, like a dinner with friends, an outing or a bhajan circle.

This time round we also started a very exciting new collaboration with the Department of Performing Arts of a major university in Shanghai. Lance taught a beautifully experimental class about connection and then we brought the theatre and TTC groups together for an evening of bhajans and storytelling. While I retold some purânic stories, some students performed these tales of Indian gods and goddesses impromptu – such talented actors. I almost died of laughter!


The last week had a more serious feel as we went through the final practical teaching assessments. Supported by our assistants and guided by our feedback from their teaching sessions, all students passed this hurdle.

After a very emotional ‘heart-sharing circle’ and graduation ceremony, which made the Oscars® look pale, all that was left to do was to party – which we certainly did (with awareness of course)…   


I am now sitting in the departure lounge of Xiaoshan Airport, feeling blessed that I can earn my livelihood with what I love most and that this path is filled with so many beautiful beings – Sai Tien Shanghai!

Phil
20-Dec-2010




 

Finally, after a 5 hour arduous ferry trip from Bali, we had arrived on our island paradise for what was going to be a yoga retreat and a much needed break. Well at least that's what I thought. It seems the powers that be had other ideas. The island looked idyllic and the white sands were postcard perfect, but behind the facade there lurked a story of sadness and neglect. It was only day two when I plucked up the courage to walk over to where the occasional bark and whimpers were coming from. There they were, in separate concrete pens –shut off from each other and the rest of the world – ready to try and push their boney faces through the wire that was their tiny window to the outside.  Their eyes said it all. The original owner had long left the island, leaving the local Moslem workers to care for these young golden retrievers. True to their faith –they had no contact with the dogs except to place their curried rice left-overs in the pens each day. Their pens only cleaned when one of the non-moslem workers had the time or the inclination to do it. Sadly –that was not too often. Our first request to walk the dogs was refused but after my friend Rebecca and I almost became a nuisance, they caved in. We quickly made up some make-shift leads and took them to a secluded part of the island. The male who's named was Oscar, turned out to have bad mange and runny eyes, the female, Odelia had a bad hip. Both were suffering malnutrition and muscle wastage due to lack of exercise.  Our daily routine had turned into walking the dogs, cleaning out their pens, and after a kind fellow traveler came back with dog food from the main land, making sure they were fed. The question in my mind was "what was going to happen to these dogs when we left?"  One look in Oscar's eyes and the answer was clear –we were going to get them out. What followed was nothing short of a saga that reminded me of many a hostage crisis I had seen on the news or in a Hollywood movie. This plot had everything, cultural diplomacy, language barriers, payoffs, bribes, negotiation (mostly between Rebecca and I and four culturally diverse males) some shake your hand, some don't. Some can touch dogs, some can't.. But we found it was acceptable for women to cry in front of some…so we did. Finally the deal was sealed over the phone to the owner, who was on his end of the mobile phone in Jakarta, or was it Singapore? We never did find out. One thing for sure, he wasn't on the island any more. Several hundred green bills exchanged hands and we left screeching with joy heading straight for the pens where we immediately released the prisoners. The dogs spent the night on my verandah staring at me through the window.  They were intent on celebrating all night long. Little sleep was had by all, my brain working over time about what needed to happen next.  I was about to run up my phone bill to the tune of $700, but none of that mattered –we were on a mission and lives were at stake. Next day, 5 of our party took the dogs to Lombok on the boat, where we settled them in with a local vet. Dr Gde was to become my best friend over the next month as was the amazing Karin of the Jakarta Animal Aid Network. Back home in Australia I was in constant contact with the vet and Karin. As I write this, the dogs are in Jakarta at the JAAN shelter and in the loving care of Karin. Soon they will be off to their new home in Germany. Freedom at last –in Jakarta with their carer jakartaanimalaid.com