Retreat
– Sinai 2006
Withdrawal from society,
from the hustle and bustle, from sudden intrusions, and from everyday
responsibilities, lets one stay with himself, look inward, inside
his own being. This is the time that a person dedicates to advanced
practices and his spiritual development. If one does not follow
the rules of safety these practices can be dangerous for one's
body and mind, this is why the safe, protected and protective,
quiet environment and atmosphere are highly favorable for the
practitioner. As a result of intensive practices the practitioner
gets to a higher stage of consciousness and efficiency.
It was not our first
and certainly not our last time in Sinai. Realizing that we were
free of temptations naturally occurring to a man at a new place
such as to see as many sites as possible, to have a bus tour to
A, to have a boat tour to B and so on, and on, and on… A year
ago we found a perfect place for retreat at a southern part of
Sinai peninsular, in a nature reserve Ras Abugolum, not far from
a hut of a fisherman. We stocked up on water, grains, nuts, and
dried fruit and off we went.
But indeed withdrawal
from the society, the journey to the inner selves was launched
here, at home, in Israel, with a medical fast intentionally started
on the night of the full moon. Medical fasting not only cleanses
and restores the body but helps one to distance from troubles,
calms one down and helps one to understand reality in a wiser
way.
Our bungalow was
at the very edge of the shore, just in three meters from the sea.
All 12 days we were listening to the whisper of the waves and
the wind. A strong, hot wind is a normal thing in this region.
The temperature reached up to 51 C – that sort of extreme was
a good shake-up for our pampered organisms. We believe that comfort
is good only to the extent that it protects a human being from
unnecessary expenditure of the life energy on survival, letting
us direct our life energy to the development of the human being.
If the human being squanders his life energy for nothing the result
will soon be illness and degradation.
For 12 days our sight
rested on the same picture: Arabian mountains in front, the sky
- blue at the daytime and full of stars at night, and the Sinai
mountains just behind. It was always there but never the same.
Depending on sun or moon, transparency of the air and the strength
of the wind, the colours, light, glimmer, glitter, and ripple
on the water were changing constantly, transforming the place
to unrecognizable.
All 12 days we had
the same regime, in harmony with nature. We slept outdoors. Even
before the sunrise we rejoiced at the approach of the Sun. At
that very time, when the Sun is hidden behind the horizon, but
its light is already filling the sky, the power of our star is
felt particularly strongly. After the morning cleansing treatment
we performed a set of asanas, pranayamas and meditations to open
energy channels, to set a connection with the nature and tantric
vision. Then - a nice cup of morning tea. After that reading,
writing articles for our sites (Igor for his judo club “Sakura”
and I for the “Yoga House”). I was practicing and writing down
new techniques. Then was time for meditation, therapeutic treatments
such as: hot stones applications, hot sand baths. We also did
all sorts of massages to each other. Let's say it was time for
healing. I have to add here that Igor is a doctor and I am a masseur.
During the retreat we did a deep joint cleansing by the bay leaf
decoction. It's a very good treatment, but we don't give the recipe
here because it is most effective after medical fasting and liver
cleansing. The treatment itself is very simple, but as you see
requires certain preparation. After the treatment – a cup of tea,
then we went snorkeling. We not only admired the beauty of corals
and fish, but also did pranayamas in water and free diving. The
place where we stayed was the epicenter of the earthquake which
happened in 1969 that caused deep cracks and holes. Now covered
with corals of all kinds, all shapes and all colours, these cracks
and holes have turned into canyons, caves, grottos, tunnels full
of colourful fish of all kinds and sizes as well as squids, octopuses
and even turtles. After swimming, being well cooled after the
day's heat we did the advanced sets of asanas, pranayamas, psychoenergy
practices and meditation followed by the deep relaxation at the
end. The relaxation fell at the sunset. The colours were turning
from the pastel into darker ones, the stars were getting brighter,
the night was coming and with that we could feel the infinity
of the Universe and the connection to the each atom of the infinite
space. Then we cooked dinner, ate, talked, rested, shared ideas,
drank herbal tea. I have to mention here that during the retreat
we observed partial mauna – silence. There was a strict ban on
empty talking, and we shared thoughts during the tea breaks. Before
going to bed we had a walk with pranayama. Upon return we took
our mattress out right under the stars and went to bed. That was
time for yoga of dream and sleep. These practices teach us to
be conscious even while dreaming. It was quite difficult to practice.
During the night one has to wake up couple of times to perform
some pranayamas and visualizations. Some times I rolled down to
an unconscious state even before completing the exercise.
Yoga – the union
with the Highest Reality and Tantra - liberation from the limited
perception of the Reality is the source from which we derive our
health; this is what educates our body, consciousness and soul.
Working with the link consciousness-body, we understand that the
body is the coarse manifestation of consciousness and consciousness
is the subtle manifestation of the body. Practice of yoga made
us much freer on one hand and much more conscious on the other.
We have many ideas and plans as well as strength to fulfill them.
We came back from
Sinai on the night of the new moon, thinking of the kids, the
house, the students and looking forward to sharing the experience
we had got.
"Yoga House" - 0546-455-230
