Hridaya Silent Meditation & Yoga Retreat
The word Hridaya is a composite of the Sanskrit words “hrid” and “ayam”, meaning Heart Center.
Join us for this special weekend, giving yourself a unique and profound opportunity to quiet the mind, rejuvenate the body and open the heart. The Hridaya Silent Meditation & Yoga Retreat will be three days spent in noble silence, allowing time to drop the everyday acts of doing and sink into just being.
With daily silent meditation, rejuvenating and relaxing hatha yoga, and daily life awareness practices, this weekend presents a path for the revelation of the Self and teaches how to live a life of stillness, surrender, and joy. This is the path of the Spiritual Heart.
In the Spiritual Heart tradition, we refer to the Heart Center which can be described in three parts: 1) A specific location in the chest; 2) An organ of knowledge through which we can live a more full and open−hearted life; 3) The essence of our being, our True Self. By focusing on the Heart and learning how to settle ourselves in this powerful center, we can drastically change our relationship to ourselves and to the world, giving us more space to be present, rooted, trusting and connected.
Hridaya Silent Retreats are created to intimately understand what meditation is and to feel the amazing inner transformation that it brings. During the retreat, we address broad aspects of the Spiritual Heart, from a variety of traditions, including esoteric Christianity, Sufism, Buddhism, Taoism and Yoga. All religious backgrounds and faiths are very welcome in the Spiritual Heart! The atmosphere will be one of love and strong spiritual support. No previous meditation or yoga experience is necessary as this retreat is designed for beginner and advanced meditators alike.
Using techniques from these vast, mystical traditions and Hridaya Hatha Yoga, we′ll learn how to create the best conditions for meditation including cultivating awareness, mental concentration, meditation techniques based on opening to the Spiritual Heart and how to apply these techniques in daily life. The last day will include practical and concrete integration practices like how to create a home practice and maintain an open heart off the mat. We’ll also practice daily Hridaya Hatha Yoga, which is distinct from other practices as it engages not only the physical body but the entire being. Asanas are performed with awareness, turning physical practice into blissful meditation.
Come for a weekend of true retreat in nature at the beautiful Yoga Lodge at Whidbey. Enjoy walks in the stillness of nature on Whidbey Island which perfectly facilitates the silence cultivated inside. We ask all guests to maintain this silence throughout the retreat, including no electronics, music, phones or other distractions. If you’ve never experienced this intimacy of silence, you will never forget what a gateway it can provide to cultivating more inward and outward love, presence and surrender. We hope you′ll join us for this special weekend dedicated to Hridaya, the Spiritual Heart.
UPCOMING COURSES:
REGISTRATION:
CANCELLATION POLICY
All registration fees include a non-refundable administration fee of $200
Before Oct 1: Cancellations will be refunded, less the $200 administration fee.
After Oct 1: Cancellations will be refunded less the admin fee IF we are able to fill your space.
Your Hosts
Jamie and Grace have a combined 35 years of experience helping to guide individuals in remembering the medicine in their heart through healing modalities of the body- mind-spirit.
Grace Bryant has been a whole life educator for nearly 2 decades, integrating drama, music, movement, meditation and yoga, mindful living, creative play, teamwork, conscious collaboration and leadership. Her Yogic path began in 2005 when her sister dragged her to a Yoga class in Federal Way. She fell in love with savasana and came back just for relaxation.
In 2007, she was inspired to start teaching informally and since then has studied and taught in 6 countries and devoted her entire life to the journey of awakening. Grace recently completed the Hridaya Teacher Training in Mexico and is beyond grateful to have received the teachings of Advaita Tantra and the Spiritual Heart. She believes these teachings can transform the consciousness of anyone who practices them sincerely.
Grace’s favorite classes are those which expand consciousness and also incorporate how to live with more awareness, trust and compassion. She leads classes, discussion groups, workshops, women’s groups, and retreats in the Pacific Northwest and abroad with a focus on living with an open heart. Through her many teachers she continues to unfold into a deep sense of peace and trust and hopes to share this in her teachings.
Jamie Renee Lashbrook is a devotee to and warrior of the human spirit- lover of all creatures seen and unseen. She entered the world of healing with a simple desire to invoke remembrance in you. For you to remember your song, for you to remember, tell and transform your stories of love and pain. For you to feel that undercurrent of truth and wisdom that has walked with you every step of every day even when you have felt your most empty and alone. For you to feel connected deeply to your amazing body and understand the language it speaks. For you to remember Love.
In her private practice she blends Maya Abdominal and Clinical Visceral massage, healing breath work, mentoring, herbal wisdom and ancient healing practices based in shamanism and reclaiming traditions. She is highly versed in the functions of the body and dis-ease; specializing in trauma/stress disorders, digestive and reproductive health for men and women. She engages the wisdom of the body through touch, voice, breath, silence, prayer and the healing balms of the Earth.
Her own healing path is her greatest teacher. She commits to this path daily and finds her greatest healing in nature, in silent meditation, song, community and her family. She brings this all to you when Silence Meets Soma. More information can be found at www.wellbellyhealing.com