Where to start? After a somewhat whirlwind week leading up to the Integral Yoga workshop weekend in Antibes, a mind-blowing 2 days in the company of Rowan, here I am at the beginning of a new week and feeling a little bit out of sorts as I try and take it all in.
This was the first ever Integral Yoga workshop to take place in the south of France. It was challenging to say the least to try and rouse sufficient interest and support in the event, when so few people in this area know what Integral Yoga is all about. After phoning all my friends and acquaintances, sending endless emails, FB posts and pitching it to just about everyone I bumped into (apologies to all) we ended up with a cosy group of 9 for the first day. And what an interesting day it turned out to be. Rowan expertly used the framework of yoga to explore and guide us through multiple layers of consciousness, conditioning, spirituality and the human experience and how this carries through from everyday life onto the yoga mat. The day was composed of listening, open discussions, practical sessions, and finally in the evening the magical biadanza where amazing things happen through music and movement. On Sunday the group increased in size and the day’s activities included raja yoga and the practical uses of this incredibly rich philosophy, powerful yet subtle insights and refinements to our yoga practice though more practical sessions, pranayama (breathing practices), guidance with meditation including helpful tips, and finally closing the weekend with a beautiful Puja centred around gratitude.
There’s some kind of alchemy around Rowan. He seems to have an innate talent at leading people into finding an openness within themselves, and it simply blows my mind. Or maybe that’s just my experience of his teaching, but one thing I can say for sure is that by Sunday night everyone was shining incredibly brightly.
Rowan plans to return to the South of France later this year, so stay tuned for more news on the next workshop. It’s a rare opportunity not to be missed. And if you can’t wait till then, he’s organising a yoga, music and dance festival in the south of England from 6-9 June called Colourfest: http://colourfest.co.uk/
For further information on Rowan, please visit his website: http://rowancobelli.com/
I would like to extend a huge thank you to Rowan for sharing so many insights with us all, and to everyone who supported the workshop. We couldn’t have done it without you.