Author: Susan
I never thought about one day I would enter into the temple and stay in there for two days, just for purely doing yoga.
Temple and yoga, this combination, sounds interesting but somehow feels they are meant to be together. As a city girl, it was not easy for me to image what kind of the life it would be in the temple, tiring, boring or…? Until I’ve discovered by myself…..
Thanks to YEJO Circle, I was “assigned “the mission to the temple yoga retreat during weekend as a leader with another group leader Zoe.
I never thought about one day I would enter into the temple and stay in there for two days, just for purely doing yoga.
Temple and yoga, this combination, sounds interesting but somehow feels they are meant to be together. As a city girl, it was not easy for me to image what kind of the life it would be in the temple, tiring, boring or…? Until I’ve discovered by myself…..
Thanks to YEJO Circle, I was “assigned “the mission to the temple yoga retreat during weekend as a leader with another group leader Zoe.
On the night of Sept 8th, my first group leading to the temple officially started. Driving on the highway, we were getting farther and farther from the 24/7 lights-on city. Around 2 hours later, we finally reached the temple, it was 10pm already, everyone seemed quite curious about this small temple also a bit excited for tomorrow’s “brand new life”. As we were staying in the temple, we strictly followed the schedule of local monks, straightforward itinerary basically, wake up at 5am, lunch at 11am and dinner at 5:30pm. Sounds unbelievable huh, I had exactly the same feeling, but rules are rules, take it as a part of life experience and try the best to enjoy.
Waking up from the dream at 5am sharp, the darkness was still surrounding the temple, when I opened the door to step out the room, the freshness and peacefulness were covering my whole body, that I never really felt before when living in the busy city.
After simple preparing, we were about to have our very first yoga session at 5:30am. Coach Swadesh suggested us to bring our mattresses outside the classroom in order to obtain more fresh air and allow our bodies close to the nature. We were meditating outdoor and feeling the breeze gently touching our faces. Listening to the teacher’s instruction, we were stretching our arms, legs, bodies, we saluted to the sun again and again….. Nonstop flow yoga was difficult for me as a beginner, to be frankly, I was exhausted and my muscles were a bit shaking due to the sourness. One hour and a half morning yoga session was a challenge for most of us, but I was glad that all of us made it eventually. No doubt, my body was tired, but somehow, I was feeling incredible fresh, it was just like a machine and when you put oil on some old parts, they started working smoothly again.
During the spare time, we were free to take a stroll in the temple, chatting with the local elder people, reading books, even having sunbath on the bench. The life pace was extremely slow there, but the amazing thing was you didn’t feel the time passing slowly or feel bored, instead, the vibe made you feel you could finally involve yourself in doing something and focusing on it. The inside relaxing through from the body to the mind, that you could never ever obtain through weekend hanging out or drinking with friends in the big busy city.
The night chanting was one of the most fun parts through the whole yoga retreat from my perspective. Our night chanting turned out became a music sharing session. We played and sang the songs which were standing for our own countries. Through the music, we got to know each other deeply, there was one moment I even felt that we were no longer participants, leaders or coach, we were just a group of old friends and having the special retreat in the temple. I believe that was another meaning YEJO wants to deliver to everyone.
After simple preparing, we were about to have our very first yoga session at 5:30am. Coach Swadesh suggested us to bring our mattresses outside the classroom in order to obtain more fresh air and allow our bodies close to the nature. We were meditating outdoor and feeling the breeze gently touching our faces. Listening to the teacher’s instruction, we were stretching our arms, legs, bodies, we saluted to the sun again and again….. Nonstop flow yoga was difficult for me as a beginner, to be frankly, I was exhausted and my muscles were a bit shaking due to the sourness. One hour and a half morning yoga session was a challenge for most of us, but I was glad that all of us made it eventually. No doubt, my body was tired, but somehow, I was feeling incredible fresh, it was just like a machine and when you put oil on some old parts, they started working smoothly again.
During the spare time, we were free to take a stroll in the temple, chatting with the local elder people, reading books, even having sunbath on the bench. The life pace was extremely slow there, but the amazing thing was you didn’t feel the time passing slowly or feel bored, instead, the vibe made you feel you could finally involve yourself in doing something and focusing on it. The inside relaxing through from the body to the mind, that you could never ever obtain through weekend hanging out or drinking with friends in the big busy city.
The night chanting was one of the most fun parts through the whole yoga retreat from my perspective. Our night chanting turned out became a music sharing session. We played and sang the songs which were standing for our own countries. Through the music, we got to know each other deeply, there was one moment I even felt that we were no longer participants, leaders or coach, we were just a group of old friends and having the special retreat in the temple. I believe that was another meaning YEJO wants to deliver to everyone.
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Having the Yoga temple retreat is not just about to learn some new yoga postures or new yoga breathing way, however it is a unique opportunity to grow up together with our participants, inspiring yourself to seek for balance and harmony between the soul and the world, and expand the different possibilities of the way you choose to live. It gave me time to think and release the invisible stress from the normal life. A true relaxing journey, and new energy filled in my body. Well, I don’t want to leak more, keep some mysterious and discover by yourself.
