Summer Retreat:
Three yogas of tao: sit, stand, walk
a rainbow of practice, the clear light of source
Dates for 2025:
June 11th - 15th
9th July-13th
20th July - 24th
6th August - 10th
20th August - 24th
use the button below to reserve/enquire.
prices range from 575€ per person for a shared room, 750€ for a single room with en suite bathroom. 650€ for private bedroom with adjoining shared bathroom.
Actually, there are five, but three covers most of the affair. In practice, sitting, standing and walking meditation are three yogas - where mind and body harmonise and where extremes of acceptance and rejection are let go naturally, effortlessly.
This is the principle, arriving at yoga’s spiritual element in a harmonious association with sitting, with standing and with walking. In practice, the walking meditation - from the tradition of ba gua, eight trigrams circle walking- includes all kinds of postures - neigong or qigong- that will be familiar to yogis of any persuasion or tradition. The standing meditation is the doorway to effortlessness; the sitting mediation is where we find tranquility and shelter, where the heart can open. The open heartedness is then taken into the standing and the moving and then returns to sitting so there is a constantly evolving practice that grows in time with the practitioner.
All three yogas allow natural reorganisation beyond any personal aspiration.
This is the essential point of the spiritual aspect of any yoga: the spiritual dimension is non personal, it allows our natural higher intelligence to function unobstructed by personal preferences.
These are some of the things that will be explored in the summer retreat. It’s a theme Ram has taught for many years at the Zen dojo of Lyon in France, at the London School of Capoeira and elsewhere and continues to teach on his short 4 day retreats at Tourné in Occitanie.
These summer retreats will provide an opportunity to explore the different modalities of tao, what is here called the three yogas of tao. It’s nothing new, it’s simply the container that is different. All authentic yoga practices point to the same doorway. Here’s an opportunity to glimpse it and maybe pass through it. At the same time, there will be laughter and time to explore nature and maybe a glimpse at the fourth yoga….
The practices
Tao Yoga
Classic hatha yoga postures executed in distinctive taoist flavour: gently, rhythmically. Relying on the body’s higher intelligence, tao yoga form flows effortlessly. Glimpse how movement and effort returns naturally to the source of stillness.
Qigong
Experience forms from a wide range of Buddhist, taoist and more recent hybrid tradition that will move energy, enliven the mind and generate energy for meditation or any of life’s pursuits.
ba gua
A bridge between moving and sitting meditation. Ba gua practice, even at its most basic, provides strong support for body-mind concentration. it energises the body when circle walking, it balances left and right sides of the brain and can improve brain function.
meditation
Stillness, movement, awareness. practices without object [dharmata/mahamudra] with a foundation established on taoist pranayama [breathing].
Features of the Rainbow Practices
introduction to the walking meditation of ba gua
Learn the basics of ba gua walking. Integrate qigong elements into the practice.
standing postures
standing still reveals inner movement in the mind and energy flow. Standing meditation is a key element of all yogas.
moving forms
science based research in western medicine has shown that learning new movements or exercises can help brain function. So many ancient exercises support this. All the yogas in the rainbow practice support this potential improvement.
relax - a key to longevity
a relaxed yogi lives longer, is subject to less stress even in challenging circumstances. the rainbow practices encourage gentleness as a means to arriving at more efficient movement or stillness. learning to deeply relax opens body and mind.
smoothness of movement, smoothness in stillness
smoothness of movement reveals increasingly deeper pathways. everything learnt int he rainbow practices is learnt outside of thinking- it is learnt through innate higher intelligence.
feeling limitations, gently releasing them
feeling limitations in the body, emotions or our energy is the first step to relasing them. All the Rainbow practices allow a gradual feeling of limitations and eventual release as a natural process.
Maturing, accumulating. Step 7
Ensuring accumulated energy does not transform into impetuousness or excitation-tao and compassion
Mental Clarity. Step 8, the end at the beginning
Living in reality
Enjoy a summer Tao meditation retreat
Book your place or inquire now-places are quickly claimed! Be sure to mention ba gua retreat in your message-we will get back to you within a few hours to let you know if places are still available. Subscribe to our occasional newsletter to receive details of seasonal retreat programme.
Traditionally referred to as the nine palaces, this collective practice is an example of temple dance.