WHY DO A RETREAT?

The retreat experience is something special and profound.

Among the many opportunities it offers, one is very close to my heart and that is to be able to enter into a dimension dictated by the essential. 

In other words, it gives us the opportunity to immerse ourselves in what we need at that precise moment, allowing us to exclude for a while the superfluous, what we can also do without or what we burden ourselves with.

Without so many distractions, it gives us the opportunity to live in the moment, that famous much talked about 'here and now' state.

In the company of ourselves, our fellow travellers and the nature around us.

It is a breath of fresh, regenerating air. 
Of sharing. 
Full of surprises.

It is not a total loss of contact with the world, but I would say it is more a reduction of the many external stimuli, allowing us to enjoy more of the less and the essential, directing our attention only there, giving us renewed energy in return.

It is also an opportunity to do some sorting.

When we see that the wardrobe at home no longer closes because of how much stuff is in it, what do we do then? We sort.

Some we give away, some we sell, some we throw away.

And we keep what we know we will really need.

The wardrobe has space again and we...we even find that old blouse or trouser that we had forgotten about in the course of time, but which we really liked!

So also through the Retreat we create space, in our minds, in our joints, in our relationships with others, rediscovering with a renewed look the old forgotten and experiencing the new in a dimension of welcome and good company!

WHY IS YOGA GOOD?
DOES IT HELP REDUCE STRESS AND CAN IT HAVE A PREVENTIVE EFFECT?

The human being is something very complex.
We are made of matter yes, but also of thoughts ideas, emotions, and if we wish, also of spirit. 

We can therefore identify 3 fundamental planes that make up our existence as human beings.

The physical plane, made of matter, consisting of muscles, bones, organs (such as the liver, stomach, pancreas, intestines, brain.....) blood vessels, lymph vessels, nerves. Which co-ordinate into systems and apparatuses and work together as one big orchestra.

The mental plane: co-ordinated by the brain and the nervous system, which not only co-operates with the physical body, but also gives life to ideas, thoughts, emotions and states of mind.

And the least concrete plane of all, the spiritual, for which it is said there is a need to believe, to have faith, precisely because it is not tangible.

Yoga embraces all these aspects.
It is a physical practice (the most common and best known in the West).
But it is also a mental, philosophical practice.
It is a spiritual practice.

It is rare to find other disciplines that truly touch so deeply on all these aspects that are part (willingly or unwillingly) of the human being's life.

That is why we can say that fundamentally, yoga is good: it considers the human being in all his 'planes', in all his facets, and it has the means, the tools (tried and tested for centuries and by thousands of masters who have dedicated their lives to doing this) to go and work on precisely all these aspects.

Here we will deal mainly with the physical aspect, with matter, but we will also touch on meditation (which concerns the more mental aspect).

You will see, however, how, even through work dedicated mainly to matter, one can still begin to touch the other two planes, the so-called subtler bodies of the human being.

Words such as acceptance, resilience, inner fire...may come to you even during the 'trivial' execution of physical exercises that in Yoga are called Asana.

Asana, from Sanskrit, sitting. A whole set of seated positions, but also standing, lying down, upside down....

So it goes without saying that it can be said that yoga helps reduce stress and can have a preventive effect.
When we work on the aspects listed above, we are working on maintaining health.

Yes, because even health is not something that remains unchanged indefinitely: it needs to be cultivated and cared for.

WHY IS YOGA A SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE?

Yoga is a sustainable practice precisely because it is a practice that can be repeated throughout life and at all ages.

It is a practice that was created and developed to help the human being, so it is yoga that adapts to the person and not the person to yoga.

This means that the yogic practice can and must be adaptable to each person's needs.

Especially when entering a therapeutic field such as yoga-therapy.

WHEN CAN YOGA BE HARMFUL?

The question that arises even before that is: but then, after all these nice things, this hype about yoga, how can yoga be bad for you?

Yoga can do harm. But when?
When it is practised badly.
Like all things.

So it is not yoga in itself that can hurt, but it is how it is practised, how it is interpreted, how it is transmitted!

It's lack of practice, lack of information, it's abuse and so on, as in all things, that can lead to problems.

It is essential to be aware of what you are doing.
And one way to cultivate this awareness is through constant practice.

Do we practice incorrectly? The result will be 'problematic'.
If we practise consciously, correctly, healthily, and pay attention to perceiving what signals the body and mind are sending us, and accept them, we will have increasingly positive results.

But this also requires training.

Nobody is born learned!
But everyone can learn.

Good practice ;-)

OF THE SERIES: PREVENTION IS BETTER

We certainly cannot have everything under control.

At the same time, however, we have been given the opportunity to think, to reason, to CHOOSE.

For example, we can choose to try to actively act on our health.

One of the many teachings of yoga is called SAUCHA.

It is the first point of the NYAMA (from the 8 branches of yoga handed down by Patanjali).

SAUCHA speaks to us of care and cleansing, of the body and the mind.

The aim, here too, is nothing other than to stay healthy and Saucha teaches us that, through care and cleansing of body and mind, we contribute to maintaining a healthy body that lets its immune system work undisturbed and lets the vis medicatrix naturae work (a concept, by the way, handed down to us by Hippocrates... All in all, in ancient times, east and west of the earth did not have such different visions of health).

As it happens, one can actually say that the immune system goes hand in hand with the lymphatic system.

In fact, to use an expression once bequeathed to us by our grandparents, they are just like 'shirt and ass'. :-)

So by working on the lymphatic system, with stimulation and cleansing practices, we help maintain an efficient immune system.

What are some of these stimulation and cleansing practices?

For example, ASANA. Yes.

Asanas not only affect the motor system, strengthening and making the muscles stronger and the joints more mobile and well-oiled.

The Asanas also act as a pump for the lymphatic system, which also needs a little help from the flowers because from within it sometimes gets clogged and jammed, creating stagnations full of 'waste', i.e. toxins.

Another example is the PRANAYAMA, i.e. the control of the breath, which teaches us, among other things, how to make the best use of the breath and direct it consciously to where oxygen is needed, also helping to get rid of toxins.

And also yogic and ayurvedic practices such as JALA NETI, nasal showers with water and salt, ARISTA, tongue cleansing with a tongue cleaner or the 'very tasty' OIL PULLING, i.e. washing the mouth with sesame or coconut oil.

All of these practices help to rid us of the bacteria that have been lying dormant in our noses and mouths and skim them off before they continue their journey down the oesophagus and trachea..... arriving where it is most difficult to flush them out.

So, what did the title say? Prevention is better ;-)