Sattva Summit 2019
“I am home,” I said to Surat my driver, as we turned into the driveway at Sattva Retreat Center while a feeling of ease traveled throughout my body.
Surat picked me up from the airport in Dehradun after traveling for 12 hours… A journey that included showing my Visa for the first time when leaving Dubai, arriving in the international Terminal 3 in Delhi and taking my first bus ride in India to Terminal 1. The various sounds of the horns, the flashing of the dippers (lights), the scent of air mixed with smoke, the cars stopped in the middle (to me) of the road on that ride, welcomed me back. I spent six hours in the Delhi airport where a layer of smoke was visible inside, before boarding a plane for a short one-hour flight up to Dehradun, during which I slept for the first time in 36 hours.
Surat drove me to the airport when I left Rishikesh last year and it was fitting that he was picking me up and bringing me back to a place that I have held in my heart since I left. I had been dreaming of having a roadside chai and we stopped alongside Ma Ganga to enjoy a warm chai in a paper cup that some of us use or used to rinse our mouth out after brushing our teeth. We sat under a tin roof with the sound of rain falling while we sipped the hot, made for us, chai. Monkeys were in the tree above our car and a cow wandered up to eat the scraps and trash left near the road.
I knew where we were, I knew the turn that Surat would take before he took it, sharing, “oh, we are going to go over the bridge now,” as he smiled and drove on. I hold such a fond memory of Sattva that I have a clear vision in my mind on how to get there. Sattva was the place that provided the space for me to connect with myself, to fall in love with myself and I was on my way back there, to experience more (as I type now, over a week later, tears rise up in my eyes, I have immense gratitude for the space that Sattva is and all that is provides for me and many other folks on a similar journey). I had an opportunity to write a reflection piece on my time at the summit last year. The piece was published in SF Yoga Mag and describes my feelings and emotions as well as a bit of history of Sattva. Here is a link to the piece titled Coming Home to Ourselves.
There was a theme to the summit this year, Cosmic Consciousness. As Sattva described:
“The tuning of the nervous system to acquire that level of receptivity and refinement where one can experience the infinity of nature and the cosmic Self.”
The Summit was designed to have a variety of options each day to deepen our practice and nurture our souls. I sought the familiarity of waking each day with mediation, spending time reflecting by the water and welcoming the morning sun crest over the Himalayan Mountains. I joined the 200 other yogis in the Brahmanda Hall for a morning Journey which consisted of kriyas (yoga of electricity), kunadlini (yoga of Shakti), asanas (poses or postures, what many of us know as yoga) and bhakti (yoga of love) lead daily by Anandji, Gurmukh and the Sattva Master Teachers. After our two hour practice we would gather to nourish our body through food. I enjoyed eating my first meal of the day, alone in a hammock in silence reflecting on my morning. After we would gather for Satsang (wisdom talk) by Anadji and Sadhviji from Paramtath Niketna (Their names are Anand and Sadhvi – we add the ji at the end as a sign of respect and honor). The afternoon provided space for choice. Over the seven days I chose attend a mediation class, a yoga flow class titled Cosmic Womb of Mother Ocean, Conscious Conflict Resolution gathering, slow grounding Sattva Himalayan flow class, a discussion on accessing your Intuition and one on Abundant Living. At night there were opportunities to do a yin class, a yoga nidra, a guided partner journey, to watch the first three episodes of The Road to Dharma and two cultural experiences with local musician and dancers- the Garhwali Folk Dance of Nanda Devi with Punjabi Dancing and Krishna Lila Dancers.
Grateful for Julie Kling who captured this beautiful moment of PURE JOY!
I had an opportunity to return to the Goddess Temple, to the Temple where the Pandit Madhawanda placed a blessing on my wrist upon my visit last year. I was excited to return, to see him and to express my gratitude, as the day that I sent emails inquiring about volunteering at orphanages and schools here in India, my thread fell off. I see it as a sign that I am on the right path and was looking forward to expressing my gratitude and sharing that I am following my path. After many steps up and sounding the bell to announce my arrival at the temple, I was greeted by a young Indian woman, she was intrigued by the amount of visitors to the temple and inquired with me where I was from and what we were doing. We introduced ourselves to one another and I learned her name is Vandama. As I made my way inside the temple, I walked towards the Durga Alter and there he was, the Pandit. Tears filled my eyes. I rushed back to gather my phone to show him the picture of us from the previous year. He welcomed me in and invited me to sit. I handed him the gratitude card I wrote and showed him the picture. I cried. He smiled. We embraced and shook each other with joy for a long while! He offered me another blessing and a kautuka or kalava (the red and yellow string).
from top left: me and Pandit Madhawanda, my new kautuka, sunset and the stairs to the Goddess Temple, Vandama and me, the final steps and entrance bell to the Temple, benches and the Temple, a tree overlooking the Mango (Aamdi in Hindi) Village, and the Pandit and I from 2018.
As a group we gathered to do 108 rounds of the mantra for Durga, Om Dum Durgyah Namiah and we learned about Durga and how Goddess Temples are on top of Mountains (more on that later if you are interested). I found a quiet spot to reflect and write and then heard Vandama say, “Sara, you are a teacher, I respect you very much.” My first thought was, how did she know I was a teacher?. She shared that the Pandit asked her to read my card to him and in the card I wrote that I am back in India this time to work with women and children. Vandama shared that she too is a teacher, working with children at Ramama’s Garden (one of the places I inquired with to volunteer). We exchanged information vowing to be in touch. The experience at the Goddess Temple was powerful and the story behind it is so deep, I am grateful beyond words can express for the experience and what it will continue to bring to me.
The idea of finding words to describe or to capture the essence, energy and vibration that I experienced at Sattva has been in my mind since I left. Yes, I did yoga. Yes, I had deep and wonderful experiences on my mat and in the space of Sattva. Yes, I saw and met beautiful people. And it is so much more beyond that. I decided to return to my journals to pull out a few threads that I wrote while there to give a glimpse into my perspective and experience. Most of the thoughts and reflections shared here are mine. If it is not mine, I will reference who said it after the thought.
I am noticing that it is work to focus on my third eye and do the breath of fire at the same time. When I think, I get off focus. It is better to trust the flow, process rather than think about my breathing. Funny…. Trust the flow and process and get out of my own way. My body knows how to breathe; I am asking it to explore breath in a new way.
We describe ourselves through the context of our experience.
If you are going to understand something you have to understand it now, for you to understand it is now or it is potential. The only moment is the present moment, for once you get to the next moment, you are there. You can only now say, I am here. - Anandji
The universe sends us people as opportunities to learn. - Sadhviji
I heard a group OM while gathered on the riverside. This is the first time I have heard that sound without being a part of creating the sound. It is a beautiful, low vibrational sound.
Trust is the union of intelligence and integrity- Gurmukh
I laughed and laughed and laughed today when I struggled to do mantra, mudras, breathing and eye movements all at the same time. I could not get out of my head and have my left brain talk to my right side and my right brain talk to my left side at the same time. I will remember this humble moment as a huge marker of the beginning. While some is coming to me with ease, I clearly have not gotten out of my head and I know that I am to step out of my way, to not over think….. Oh lovely day, I will move through it with LOVE!
Do not confuse your ego with individuality, we do not recommend having a healthy disease. – Anandji
Another powerful Journey this morning with the Sattva Master Teachers, I literally kicked my ass! Breathwork, kriyas, asanas and JOY, LAUGHTER and FUN! This experience asks us, me, to look within, to tap in to know my truth, to slice and cut through the ego, stories and identity that defines me, restricts me, confines me. I am so much more than I know. Go to the unknown, possibilities are waiting for me there. In the unknown, possibilities await.
I am a cosmic sneeze.
To be a visionary requires inner education.
Our mind is not the problem. It is the improper use of the mind that is the problem. –Anandji
Be yourself. Don’t conform. No excuses. People will adjust. It is the law of attraction. When you are abundant, you learn not to conform, you are in your truth.- Bhavini
Be with what is fully, totally, absolutely, for you are invincible. – Anandji
I have responded to the call of service. I have shown up and I am reminded to BE PATIENT, to see what I am meant to do. All will arrive as it is meant to be. Tune in, turn inward, listen. It will be revealed.
So I ask myself, how have I integrated my experiences at the summit… I am willing and dedicated to be with myself, to have the courage to look deep within, to look at the stories I have told and tell myself, the identities I have encased around myself, as well as what and who I have allowed to define me. I have committed to that as well as a sense of trust. A deep knowing that I am on my path and all will be revealed to me when I am ready. I write this last phrase a lot, and it is my truth. I am being guided. I am honoring the call, the messages and acknowledging the opportunities to learn, to see, to let go, to release all that constrains, hold and binds me, that which continues to limit me…
In light, with love, joy and a HUGE hug,
Sara
Here we are, the Sattva family celebrating the culminating journey and a universal prayer; Lokah, Samastah, Sukhino, Bhavanto - MAY ALL THE WORLD BE HAPPY! Dhanyewaad Daniela Botur for capturing this moment.