May 20th to 27th, 2012
There usually are 1 or 2 cancellations each year.
This annual retreat has been very popular in the past, and has sold out early.
This retreat is designed for students who have been practicing Yoga for at least one year and want to deepen their understanding of the practice. Prior experience in Yin Yoga is not required. You do not have to desire to become a Yoga teacher, but you are expected to have a passion for Yoga, and to have been practicing yoga for at least one year. The facility is limited; the maximum number of students we can accommodate is 20. To register please send us a deposit of $200 (see the Fees section below for more details).
To look at pictures from past retreats visit Milla’s web site (and many thanks to Milla for the wonderful work!)
Retreat Outline
Your whole Body & Mind
Yin Yoga is a unique way to deepen your yoga practice and touch tissues rarely worked in a more active yang styles of yoga. Yin Yoga targets the deeper connective tissues of the body; the ligaments, joints and especially, the mind.
At first Yin Yoga can seem quite boring, passive but quickly it becomes quite challenging due to the long durations of the poses. Yin and yang tissues respond differently to being exercised. Once you have experienced Yin Yoga you realize that you have been only doing half of your yoga practice.
This 60 hour Teacher Training Retreat will provide;
- Knowledge of the Philosophy and Practice of Yin Yoga
- Understanding the practical benefits of Yin Yoga
- Learning the difference between Yin and Yang styles of Yoga
- A complete exploration of the key Yin Yoga asanas
- A Daily (but optional) morning sadhana practice including meditation, yin and yang yoga, chanting and more
- Practice in teaching Yin Yoga classes
- Understanding Physical Anatomy from the bones outward including
- The Limits to Movement
- The Difference between Tension and Compression
- The Physiology of Our Connective Tissues
- Understanding Energy Anatomy including
- Qi (chi), Prana & the Meridians Lines
- The Western View of Energy Medicine
- Understanding Mental & Emotional benefits of Yin Yoga including
- The Eastern Views of Meditation
- The Western View of Relaxation and the Pysche
- The Historical and Philosophical underpinnings of Yoga
- A Yin Yoga workbook
It will be very useful for participants to have viewed some of Bernie’s Yin Yoga classes as show on MyYogaOnline, and it will be essential to bring a copy of YinSights with them on the retreat. YinSights will be referred to often.
The Sea-to-Sky Retreat Centre
The retreat will be held at the beautiful and rugged Sea-to-Sky Retreat Centre (SSRC) just south of Whistler, B.C. The SSRC was founded in 1993 by Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. The site is secluded on 40 acres on the east side of Daisy Lake in the beautiful British Columbia coastal mountains. The centre was been hosting a range of events since 1995 including group and personal retreats for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists.
Accommodations
The SSRC main lodge includes three bunk rooms and a loft providing up to 14 individuals with comfortable shared accommodations. Central facilities include two fully equipped modern kitchens, four bathrooms and complete laundry. There are more rooms in the retreat house and individual cabins. A couple of single accommodation rooms may be available for an extra fee. (Let us know if you wish to have a private room and we will check to see if this is possible for you.) There are spaces for the rugged individuals who would prefer to camp on site. Sorry, commuting to the centre is not an option.
The Pavilion
All activities will be conducted in a beautiful pavilion situated a short walk away from the lodge, amid the trees. We will be setting up an extension to the pavilion to allow for the maximum number of attendees. All teaching activities will be held in the pavilion and we will start the day at 6 a.m. with morning sadhana and end each day with “story time”. Bedtime is 9 p.m.
Directions to the Sea-to-Sky Retreat Center
The Centre is located 3 km off the Province’s major North-South route, Highway 99, the ‘Sea to Sky Highway’. Driving north from Vancouver on Highway 99, the turn off for the Retreat Centre is about 33 km past Squamish. You may see a sign just after the turn off saying that Whistler is 23 kilometers away. If so, you have gone just a bit too far. The turn off is hidden and you will come across it rather suddenly. It is about 2 kilometers past a sign announcing Black Tusk Road. Just after that you will cross a tiny bridge over Rubble Lake. The turn off is 400 meters past that. It will go to your right (east). Once off the highway follow the road for another 750 meters. (You will pass one private road and then you will see another rough road 300 meters further on, on your left.) A sign for the SSRC will be posted on a tree but it is easy to miss. Awareness and attention will be rewarded. Follow this final road slowly to ease the strain on your kidneys as you drive. Daisy Lake will be on your left (west). The SSRC is about 2.5 kilometers down this road.
You may call the Retreat Centre at 604-932-1677 for more detailed directions. You may park briefly in front of the main lodge to unload, but please be sure to remove your car to the parking area after checking in at the office. If you are planning to take the bus, again check with the SSRC web site for information on that. If you would like to car pool or need a ride, let us know and we will try to coordinate rides with other participants.
What to Bring?
The SSRC is remote and self-contained. It is an environmentally-conscious centre so power is not always available. While the basic necessities are available you should bring the following items.
- Yoga Blankets (for shavasana) and/or bolster
- Towels
- Special food or medicines if you have any unique requirements
- Flashlight
- Some sort of timing device (a digital watch with a count down/up time works well)
- Yoga mat
- Meditation cushion or bench
- Depending upon the weather, some people go swimming in the lakes around us
- Warm clothes
Food
The fee includes three meals a day and the accommodation. The food is vegetarian but not vegan. If you have any special dietary requiremens please let us know ahead of time. Feel free to bring anything special you want. There will be no alcohol but there will be coffee for those who require it. There is no smoking in any of the buildings, but a special place can be provided.
Instructors
The retreat will be lead by Bernie Clark.
Bernie has been a student of Zen Meditation and Yoga for over two decades. From 1998 to 2005 years he was a senior teacher at Vancouver’s Prana Yoga & Zen Centre where he taught Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga, Power Yoga and Yin Yoga. Today he teaches at Semperviva Yoga Studios in Vancouver where he leads weekly yoga and mindfulness meditation classes and courses. Bernie has conducted many work shops and seminars on Meditation, Anatomy, Yoga History and Philosophy as well as Yin Yoga intensives and Teacher Trainings. With a successful background in high tech business, a science degree and a broad interest in comparative religions and psychology Bernie’s teachings cross many boundaries. His classes are known for their fun and playful exploration of the body, mind, heart and soul.
Bernie’s exploration of Yin Yoga began when Saul David Raye introduced him to the practice as part of Saul’s Advanced Thai Yoga Therapy Practitioner Training. From this first taste Bernie was hooked and began to study with Sarah Powers who lead him to Paul Grilley.
Diana Batts
Assisting Bernie in the retreat will be Diana Batts. Diana took her first yoga class during high school, moving between stacks of books on the floor of the local school’s library. Since then yoga has become more than a part of life but a path to life. Diana’s teaching combines the quiet meditative work of yin yoga with the moving breath of vinyasa (flow), inspired by the yoga of B.K.S. Iyengar and Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’ Ashtanga Vinyasa and teachers such as Sarah Powers, Paul Grilley and Shiva Rea. Diana encourages each student to practice with an open enquiring mind in a safe and supportive environment. Diana has been teaching Yin Yoga since 2004 and will be leading the morning sadhana practices.
Schedule: Start & End times
We will start the retreat with a Yin Yoga class on the first day at 4:00 pm. We ask participants to arrive sometime between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. (Please do not arrive earlier because the staff won’t be ready to greet you yet.) We will end just after lunch on the last day, 1:00pm. However many people need to leave before 1:00 pm that day to catch flights etc, and that is okay: you can leave anytime on the last day.
Our typical day will begin at 6am! Nice and early – a great way to stay focussed. There is an optional (but highly recommended) morning sadhana practice for two hours, followed by lunch. All of our meals will be eaten in noble silence. A morning session will follow breakfast until lunch time at 12:15. We will meet up again at 2:00 pm for our afternoon sessions leading us to dinner at 5:15. You will be free until our evening session and meditation at 7:00 pm. Lights out at 9:00 pm when noble silence begins again until the next day. One afternoon will be a “Lazy Afternoon” where you can be on your own to explore the rugged beauty around us, go for a hike, a swim (a cold swim however) or just chill in the retreat centre. The days will be full!
Fees
The fee for the full retreat is $1,600.00 (Canadian) which includes taxes! This includes all meals, accommodations and a special workbook, so it is a pretty good deal – don’t you think?
Cancellation Policy and Deposit Dates:
Your reservation for the retreat will be secured when you submit the deposit of $200.00 Cdn. The full payment will be due April 20th, 2012. If you need to cancel, there will be a $100.00 handling charge. Cancellations will not be accepted after April 15th, however if you do need to cancel we will try to find a replacement for you. If we can find one, your fees will be refunded, less the $100.00 handling charge.
To Register
There are two ways to register for the retreat: you can email us at [email protected], or call us at 1-604-734-3524. Payments can be made by Canadian cheque, Pay Pal (by sending the funds to [email protected]) or by money order. [Make out any cheques to Bernie Clark.] If you need to pay by credit card, this can be done via PayPal, however because the credit card companies charge extra for that service, there will be a 3% surcharge for anyone paying by credit card. All mail should be sent to
YinYoga.com
1093 West 7th Ave
Vancouver, B.C.
Canada
V6H 1B2
For PayPal payments, send the payment to [email protected]