Day Retreat at Cullen Bay - Balancing Your Chakras

This day retreat is for you if you want to unblock your body’s energy and let in an abundance of wealth, love, vitality, and meaning to your life.

Chakras are our energy centres. They are the openings for life energy to flow into and out of our aura. Their function is to vitalize the physical body and to bring about the development of our self-consciousness. They are associated with our physical, mental and emotional interactions.

When energy becomes blocked in a chakra, it triggers physical, mental, or emotional imbalances that manifest in symptoms such as anxiety, lethargy, or poor digestion. A well-tuned asana practice can free up energy and stimulate an imbalanced chakra, paving the way for that wonderful internal shift for which yoga is known. With just a little bit of coaching, you can tap into the chakras as a potent way of harnessing and shifting your energy in the direction you want it to go.

Chakra Dancing

Chakra Dancing is a well-being movement practice. It uses spontaneous dance, to specific chakra-resonant music, for the purpose of healing and to tune-up your whole energy system.

The purpose of dancing for our chakras is simple, it will help you to more fully embrance your soul.  Each of the seven chakras have their own unique vibrational frequencies as you dance to this music you will experience a joyful affirmation, an awakening and discovery of your authentic self.

But even going at a much deeper level, this dancing meditation experience is about healing and balance. By surrendering to the music of each chakra,  we dance from the inside out and find ourselves awakening and healing ancient hurts; expressing – often for the first time –  long-blocked emotions; and opening ourselves up to levels of spiritual connection higher than we ever thought possible.  This is a 'rhythm for your soul'.

There is no right or wrong way to move your  body. It’s a journey of self-discovery. 

Dancing the seven chakras is like dancing  into seven different worlds, seven different components of your whole self, each with their own lessons, meanings and stories.  As a  practice, it helps you to feel more balanced, more joyful, and to radiate your own true colors out into the world.

Meditation

No matter what your age, meditation is one of the easiest ways to improve your health. Research at the Medical

College of Georgia found that meditation lowered blood pressure and reduced the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Additional studies have demonstrated meditation can reduce chronic pain, decrease levels of stress and pain in

cancer patients, and reduce symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia.

Other studies have indicated meditation may reduce the levels of cortisol, a hormone that in high levels can weaken the immune system and slow down healing. Results from a small study conducted in 1998 with patients suffering from psoriasis lesions indicated meditation can speed up the body’s natural healing process. Some studies have even suggested meditation can help in the prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Carole is a qualified Meditation Teacher. Her teaching methodology is to ‘keep it simple’ starting at the basics and then progressing at an achievable pace.

We will be focusing on Loving Kindess Mediation for this Day Retreat as it ties in well with the Heart & Lung Yin Yoga practice.

This meditation technique will enhance your feelings of unconditional love towards other people. It will also help you to love yourself. WHY? Because it reduces:

• Feelings of judgement and condem-nation
• Increases a sense of compassion, connection and open-heartedness.
• Plus you will radiate a sense of peace, calmness, love, happiness and comfort to everyone around you.

What is a Sound Therapy/Bath?

Sound Baths are an ancient form of deep meditation that includes various ambient sounds played by an instructor. Your instructor, during a sound session, uses a variety of different traditional instruments to create repetitive sounds. These sounds are notes at different frequencies that help enhance and guide you through your whole meditative experience.  While most people lay down in savasana (a yoga pose where one lays flat on their back) on mats with pillows or blankets during the duration of the sound bath it is up to the particular individual on how they would like to practice their meditation.  Here is what we believe to be the best benefits of sound baths.

Heals your body by reducing stress and anxiety

The sounds created by the particular instruments used during a sound bath are meant to activate the alpha and theta brain waves which are associated with deep meditative and peaceful states. When one is able to access these brain states it develops a more conducive space for healing the body, heart, and respiratory rate.

Additionally, new research has been done on the benefits of binaural beats, which is when two tones at slightly different frequencies are played together, and its effects on anxiety levels and mood states.  One study by Padmanabhan, Hildreth, & Laws found that binaural beat audio has the potential to decrease acute pre-operative anxiety while another study by Le Scouarnec et al. discovered that listening to binaural beat tapes in the delta and theta range may be beneficial in reducing mild anxiety.

Impacts the human nervous system and decreases blood pressure

One previous research, Landry, J.M., studied how Himalayan singing bowls, which use similar healing vibrations used in modern sound baths, in meditation practices could enhance certain physiological and psychological effects.  This study measured blood pressure and heart rate before and after exposure to a Himalayan singing bowl meditation session and found that exposure enhanced both blood pressure and heart rate responses. Listening to the various vibrations and frequencies in a sound bath have the potential to help restore and enhance one’s respiratory system.

Helps tune out your thoughts and tune in your meditation

The healing sounds and vibrations created by the various instruments helps give you something else to focus on other than your thoughts which enhances and improves your meditation.  While there have been multiple scientific studies proving the healing benefits of meditation it can sometimes be very difficult for individuals to completely clear out their mind and concentrate. However, by having the added benefit of different sound frequencies surrounding you during your meditation you can clear out your thoughts and focus your mind on the sounds and vibrations, making it easier for you to clear and reset your mind.

Allows you to open up and reconnect with one’s self

Since this is a deep form of meditation, sound baths can allow one to completely reset their body and then reconnect with their own intentions.  Much like regular meditation, sound baths have similar benefits of allowing one to free their mind of daily thoughts and nerves while also restoring their body and stimulating their mind to take on the next day. The healing sound instruments produce vibrations that help to promote not only the expansion of your consciousness but also your inner peace.

Makes you more relaxed, balanced and focused

The environment created in a sound bath class provides a soothing and safe space to relax and rest.  Since you are lying in savasana, a comfortable and restorative pose, it allows your body to become more relaxed and balanced as well as helps to realign and connect your mind and body.  This deep meditative process includes active breathwork and listening. Combining deep breathwork with the soothing sounds and healing vibrations from the collection of instruments completely envelops you into a relaxing experience where you can let your mind go, recharge, and then refocus in on your daily life after the session.

Sound baths can be a great help for anyone who wants to hone into a moment of relaxation and meditation.

Special Breathwork Practice:

This is going to blow your socks off and leave you with a surge of pulsating energy......

Itinerary:

10:00  Welcome Juice & Opening Circle

10:30  Chakra Dancing, Yoga, Breathwork & Guided Meditation

12:30  Sumptuous & Nutritional Lunch

1:30    Make 'n Take a Chakra Essential Oil Face/Body Spritzer

2:00    Afternoon Tea/Snack

2:15    Special Chakra Breathwork

3:15    Sound Healing Journey

4:00    Closing Circle

What to Bring/Wear

Suitable yoga attire, yoga mat, drink bottle, towel & 'time just for you'

Our Food for your Soul meals on this retreat are sattvic - meaning it brings peace and enhances the wellbeing of the body, mind and spirit. Your meals will be colourful, beautiful in flavour with aesthetic appeal and plentiful. We believe food should be sustainable, pure and real - supporting and nourishing your body and mind to cleanse and heal.

I hope to have the opportunity to share this amazing day with you at Cullen Bay.

Om Shanti

Carole x