If I had more time, and money on my hands, I would be a confirmed workshop Junkie. I honestly cannot pass an advert, delete and email, or resist picking up a pamphlet that offers a course, a workshop or a retreat. I attend as many as I possibly can, as they honestly do feed my thirst for experience, and knowledge. Last year I attended the most incredible writing retreat. The year before, I attended an amazing yoga retreat, led by our daughter, Kerri. And, last weekend, I attended 3 days of yoga workshops at the Source in Cape Town.
I was so looking forward to attending this event, as I knew it would be amazing. But, even so it was so much more than what I expected. The venue has a calm, open feeling about it, and Renee and Bryan, the co- founders of The Source, welcome all their guests with open arms. We mainly attended the yoga workshops, but parallel with these ran numerous Pilates workshops. I understand now, why people fly in from all over the world to attend this event.
The Conscious Movement Conference
I learnt so much from all of the incredibly knowledgeable facilitators and lecturers. I caught up with special old friends, and met wonderful new friends, all on this spiritual journey. The tables were laden with the most delicious, healthy food, which we indulged in each day. We listened, we talked, we ate, we drank, we exercised, we shared ideas, and all left with feeling incredibly calm, content and fulfilled.
Here is a little more info, on some of the amazing workshops that I attended.
I didn’t attend any of Renee Watson’s workshop, but I know people that have done the Pilates instructor qualifications through her, and they speak of her extremely highly. I believe that she has a background in dance, now teaches Pilates and various forms of movement.
Bryan MacDonell is a dialogue facilitator, and I attended a dialogue, titled, how do conscious people speak to each other. The time flew by as we chatted, and debated away, and then he put us into a deep relaxation. After this we barely had a word to say, and what struck me most was that what every said was authentic and truthful. I would so love to attend some more of these. Us, Life Retreaters will be doing one as well, so we will give you some feedback. Bryan, like myself has studied A Course In Miracles.
The first workshop we attended was run by Jim Harrington, and what a way to start our day. Jim’s belief is that “anyone that can breathe, can do yoga.” Kerri is doing another yoga teachers training course with him, which she began this week, so she can be our own private yoga instructor. Jim is not only a yogi, but also surfs. He has been practising, and studying yoga all over the world for over 20 years now. The main message that I got from this workshop, is that we need to be in tune with our bodies, and move them in ways that are beneficial, and not harmful to us.
Dr Brent Anderson came all the way from Miami, USA to lecture. He is entertaining, inspiring and extremely knowledgeable. His last lecture was called, “Pilates, the modern day pill for pain.” Which left me with loads of food for thought. Once again, it is so extremely important to be aware of our bodies, and how we move them.
I got myself a pain ball after my workshop with Dominique Beaumont. It was called, “Open hips, open heart.” We spent a lot of time massaging the dreadful little ball into all our sore joints to release them, and then quite a few stretches on foam rollers. At the end of this miraculously, most of the people in the class managed to do the perfect back-bends. I wasn’t one of them sadly, and I am going to blame that on old age.
I am not sure of the lady’s name, that seemed like a peaceful little fairy, but we did a relaxation yoga class with Tibetan singing bowls. The relaxations certainly worked, as Kerri fell asleep in yoga positions twice during the workshop.
I am going to make an appointment to see Tony Wynne sometime soon. What an inspiration this 75 year old man is. He told us how when his life was falling apart, aged 54, that he prayed for guidance, and was given the gift of seeing Auras. He hypnotized us, and explained how to heal Chakras, which are our body’s energetic systems. I would love him to do an aura reading for me.
On Saturday morning we were there by 7 to do a meditation session. Our guide explained everything to us, and then led us through a full hour of meditation. He had lived in India for 27 years, doing yoga and meditating. I was really apprehensive about doing a full hour sitting, in one spot, since I have only ever meditated for a maximum of about 30 minutes. The first 30 minutes were tough, as my leg kept getting cramps, but towards the end I felt so comfortable, and at peace that I could have stayed there for a lifetime.
A genuine Thai massage, is always one of my favourite treatments. The lady that did it had such strong hands, and really worked into all my stiff muscles. She also did cupping on my back. The use little suction cups which apparently draw out all the toxins, and relax the muscles.
There were loads of other things that I never got to do, like the singing bowl meditation, the sound journey, the play workshop, Tai chi, TRE and the list could go on and on. Well, that is a good enough excuse to attend the next one. Plus, they run “mindful Mondays”, where they have mini workshops on many of these similar topics.
To top it off, we had a little cheese and wine party. What more could a girl want?