Kundalini Photos from Sotantar's workshops
June 2006
It all began in June 2006 when Sotantar visited Ireland while on his way to the UK where he was playing the Gongs and giving Gong Baths.
We had a small workshop here at the Burren Yoga and Meditation Centre and everyone loved the Kundalini Yoga class and the Gong Baths.
Sotantar's dedication to Kundalini yoga and to the Gongs came across during the class, and his teaching was inspiring.
From time to time he gave individual healing and sound therapy sessions using the Gongs and sometimes the Tibetan bowls.
At the end of the class he gave a Gong Bath for everyone, some of the time we were sitting feeling the vibrations course right thought our whole being, and some of the time we lay down and relaxed while the Gongs continued to give out their amazing vibrations which can be felt by the body as well as heard.
Weekend workshop at Burren Yoga September 2006
And then in September 2006 Sotantar returned from California to teach a weekend's residential course at Burren Yoga.
The workshop began on Friday eveing with an amazing vegetarian meal by Paddi the chef who used to run Seventh Heaven restuarant in Galway city for over 12 years.
And then Sotantar introduced the group to Kundalini and how we would be working for the weekend.
The timetable was as follows;
Timetable for the weekend
Friday
| Time | Activity |
|---|
| 5:30 - 7:00pm | Arrival & Registration |
| 7:00pm | Dinner by Paddi |
| 9:00 - 10:00 | Introduction about Kundalini and this weekend |
Saturday
| Time | Activity |
|---|
| 5:00 - 7:00am | Optional Kundalini sadhana class |
| 7:30 - 9:00am | Kundalini Yoga class to balance chakras |
| 9:30am | Breakfast |
| 11:00 - 3:30pm | Outdoor trip into the Burren |
| 2:00pm | Lunch at local cafe |
| 4:00 - 5:30pm | Kundalini Yoga class to Develop intuition and Selfawareness |
| 5:30 - 6:30pm | Optional individual counselling |
| 6:30pm | Dinner |
| 8:30 - 9:30pm | Gong bath Meditation |
Sunday
| Time | Activity |
|---|
| 5:00 - 7:00am | Optional Kundalini sadhana class |
| 7:30 - 9:00am | Kundalini Yoga class for Essence of the Self & Heart Center |
| 9:30am | Breakfast |
| 10:45 - 12:15pm | Basic techniques for healing in Kundalini Yoga group healing meditation |
| 12:15 - 1:00pm | Optional individual counselling |
| 1:00pm | Lunch |
| 2:00pm | Depart |
The photos below were staged on the Saturday afternoon to give newcomers an idea of some of the practices and the environment.
These only give an idea of some of the classes.
The practices began reasonably gentle, and then each person was allowed and encouraged to work at the pace and level they were ready for at that time.
Some people worked quite gently with themselves as they were beginners to yoga, while others used very strong 'breath of fire' and very strong vigourous movements working to rouse and stir the kundalini energy locked deep within us.
Sotantars clear instructions and respectful energies allowed those beginners in the class not to feel out of their depth, and to continue to practice gently if that is where they are at.
Some of the postures were quite simple, but when one held the same posture for 2 or 3 minutes, that's when one's will power was increased as one reached within to hold and maintain the posture.
And while Sotantar held some of the postures such as the Stretch pose a lot longer than the rest of us..... it was ok to feel that we could just collapse if we had to ;-)
At the end of the postures and breathwork, we were brought into a feeling of spaciousness and rest.
Gong baths
And then Sotantar started to work with the sound therapy aspect of the Tibetan bowls.
He had a number of Planet gongs including Mars, Venus and Jupiter.
At times he would work with one person for a while, guiding the energies into various parts of the person and moving the gong over and back across the person and their energy field.
He also worked with the group as a whole and the energies of the gong often built up and up, into a creshendo which sounded incredible to the ears.
And again he went back to working with individuals who needed a little more work in particular areas.
His focus and attention to detail paid off, as did all our own good efforts, and the feeling of liberation and exhuberance was easily felt by all at the end of the class.
And possibly merging the Spanish blood and the California love of life, he helped this exhurerance spill forth inot a circle dance where we got a chance to move and dance like never before ;-)
At the end of the weekend workshop, the changes in people's faces reflected some of the inner shifts they felt, and Sotantar reminded people that the process of shifting energies would continue for the following 40 days.
A few of the course participants were so impressed with his teaching, that they decided to travel to one or two of his afternoon session which were planned for Galway, Limerick, Dublin and Cork over the following week.
Exploring the Burren to find locations for our outdoor trips for 2007
Over the following few days, Sotantar had time to visit some of the magical places in the Burren where he plans to hold some outdoor Gong sessions in Summer 2007.
We started off by visiting the hermit's cave, where Saint Colman McDuagh spent over 15 years meditation in the 9th Century.
The cave is about 1 mile from the centre, and the feeling of energy is very clear and with a high vibration. Sotantar feels that the energy in and around this cave area, is meant for healing.
From the hill of the cave, one overlooks a range of Burren Hills and in the distance one can see a round tower which was built a number of years after Saint Coleman established a monastery there.
So our next stop was to visit the round tower and place where over 7 monasteries were built trhough the ages.
Hey ! This energy feels good ;-)
After this we went past Ballyvaughan to Black Head where the burren rocks slope all the way down to the Atlantic.
Sotantar chose a large erratic boulder on which to stand as he wafted the sound of the gongs in all directions.
playing the gongs outside in Nature is a very different experience, and this place of rock, hills, grass and sea with vast open skies and fluffy clouds is very magical. I cannot describe how this felt.
Sotantar sent out healing energies in all directions as he swung the heavy gong apparently effortlessly over his head in a large circle.
And then out of nowhere, a bus load of people arrived and wanted to join in to the fun, so they formed a circle and began to dance to the sounds of the gong.
Sotantar always in the present moment, led the group in their celebration of the Burren, the gongs and life itself.
And not suprisingly, this will be one location where we plan to hold one of the outdoor gong sessions in June 2007.
I wonder if next June, will another bus load of people will stop by to see what is happening as we lie on the rocks, and bask in the Burren air and the sound of the gongs.
Kundalini yoga class in Galway
After the weekend, Sotantar gave a workshop in An Seomra Yoga which is run by Aisling Battersby in the heart of Galway.
Kundalini yoga class in Limerick
And later in the week travelled to The rainmaker Studio in Pallas Green in County Limerick. This studio is run by Breeda Ryan.
From Left; Paudy, Sotantar, Breeda Ryan and Dave. And in the back is Jim one of Sotantar's who travelling all the way from California with his daughter Kaley to experience Sotantar's workshop in Ireland.
Kundalini yoga class in Dublin
After that, we made out way to Dublin to the Yoga Room, on Merrion Road which is run by Ciara Cronin.
And great to see some of the faces from the previous weekend's workshop at Burren Yoga.
Kundalini yoga class in Cork
And then on to Cork to the workshop organised by Jai which was held in the Unity Yoga studio.
Below is Jai and Sotantar.
And some of the group of yoga teachers and kundalini yoga practitioners from Cork.
Its been a pleasure to spend the time practicing with Sotantar and also in visiting a few of the yoga studios around the country.
- Dave
Sotantar's courses at Burren Yoga in 2007
Sotantar's next course will be a weekend in March 30th - April 1st
and also a 7 day workshop July 6th - 13th.
Procedure how to book is described at
How to bookWe have only 15 places avaialable on each course, and only 3 single rooms, so you are advised to book early.
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