Akasha with his son, Prakash
Akasha is an amazing yogi and yoga teacher who studied Kundalini Yoga since he was 11 and had a deep and profound personal relationship with Yogi Bhajan. He also lived in Albuquerque, NM for a few years and had the blessing of studying Ayurvedic Medicine under renowned doctor and teacher, Dr. Vasant Lad. When he was 25, he moved to Bangalore, India and studied Ashtanga Yoga with one of the masters of this practice, Vishwanath, who is the nephew of the late Pattabhi Jois. Here he talks about his upcoming retreat and the unique blend of Ashtanga and Kundalini Yoga:
Q “What experience can someone expect from the retreat you have planned in Guatemala?”
Akasha: A sense of rejuvenation and balance….this retreat will offer you a chance to unwind and focus on your health and your feelings that arise each day. And Hopefully give you the space to lessen the chatter in your mind and just breathe and relax.
I was blessed at an early age to meet Yogi bhajan and was taught the importance of waking up in the early morning and cleansing both body and mind. Through these simple techniques were able to balance our systems each day. I truly believe these practices give each of us an opportunity to experience our divine self/teacher and remove the blinders so we can live balanced and free to treat each situation as something new rather than layering it with unresolved past issues .
Q. Does someone have to be familiar with Sadhana, Kundalini yoga or the Ashtanga Series to attend?
Akasha: Each morning we will guide you through a kundalini set and practice the Sadhana meditations given by Yogi Bhajan during the early morning and then take a short break and rejoin to practice the Ashtanga series. Depending on the students attending we will offer 1 or 2 Ashtanga Vinyasa Classes each morning. A simple Beginners led class and a more experienced class for students that are familiar with the Primary and secondary series.. There will also be unstructured time each day for exploring the surrounding area and enjoying solitude or one another’s company.
Q. “We understand the healing power of Kundalini, but please explain why you’ve added Ashtanga to your daily practice and how it will benefit others?”
Akasha practicing Ashtanga Yoga
Akasha: I have always been drawn to physical practices and forms of meditation in motion. Kundalini yoga, kriya’s, martial arts, swimming, running and sports. In my late teens running and martial arts filled much of this space and I wanted to dive deeper into the physical asana’s I just didn’t know exactly how or where to begin. The funny thing was that fate soon helped me find this practice. When I was in my early 20’s I injured myself and was unable to run and practice many of the martial arts and kundalini sets that I had previously loved doing I even found sitting and performing some of the kundalini asanas and kriyas to be very painful for my knees and hips and I wasn’t sure how to strengthen and bring myself back into alignment. While studying with Dr Lad I was introduced to Ashtanga by another yogi. It was 1992 and Alan Finger listened to my caseJ and mentioned that I watch this video by Richard Freeman well I was blown away when I saw Richard doing Ashtanga Primary Series. It moved me. I thought wow here is way I can deepen my asana and spiritual practice and focus my mind on my breath. Shortly after seeing this video I moved to India and within a year or so I had the opportunity to begin my Asthanga Studies with Pattabhi Jois’s nephew, Vishwanath, a wonderful teacher living in Bangalore. During my first year of practice my injury in my knee and hip healed along with many other unrelated physical injuries in my body. I also became much more aware of my breath and how it affected my nervous system in a positive manner. I was better equipped to balance and some situations reshape these bodies and calm my reactions to my thoughts and my mind.
I have seen in myself how both of these Yoga Practices which are complete in themselves transform and support one another in a self practice. Both Ashtanga and Kundalini offer a place for your spirit to shine through the 8 limb path using Asana( body), breath (nervous system) concentration and meditation (mind) to bring balance and healing to your body stystems.
Q. “Tell me why Guatemala and this particular place?”
Yoga Room at Retreat Center
Akasha: Actually it’s funny I began looking for a place to do a retreat last summer outside of the US and I truly believed the universe would offer us a space. So a week or so after I began projecting this idea we offered a workshop in Birmingham and my dear friend and business partner, Terri was speaking to another Teacher from Atlanta and how she had just returned from conducting a wonderful yoga retreat in Guatemala at Villa Sumaya. She mentioned how conducive the environment, climate, and people were during her yoga retreat and to top it off they served incredible vegetarian food. After hearing this we did a little more research and realized that this place has and is a magical and healing place for many and would be an ideal place for our retreat.
You can see more details about Akasha’s retreat – registration info, pricing, etc. here: Ashtanga and Kundalini Yoga Retreat
[Note from Karan: Some of you might recognize my son, Prakash, with Akasha in the top picture - Akasha is not only an amazing yoga teacher and father of an amazing child, he is also my ex-husband. We are wonderful friends, and I consider him one of the best yoga teachers I've ever met - and he has an incredible understanding of diet and health that he incorporates into all aspects of his teaching and life.]
Posted by hargobind 
retreat per month. Every year, we have a booth here and I am endlessly inspired by the chanting, yoga, meditation, yogi tea, fun people, white tantric yoga and the serene environment.
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Karan
dittakhalsa
devaskhalsa
