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| Leaving The Sanctuary |
Today
is my last day of a 3 day 'retreat' at The Sanctuary at Had Tien beach on
Koh Phangan. At the end of this wonderful 3 month family retreat to our
small quiet island, I have managed to create 3 days completely for myself.
I have never taken time solely for myself like this before, but for many
years have been attracted to the idea. My goal: to carry on
with some more yoga, to learn a bit about meditation and take time for
reflection.
Note:
it is not an organized retreat in that sense of the word, just a personal
one.
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| The transport in and out of Had Tien |
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Tien is accessible by boat (or a very difficult 4WD track) and The Sanctuary is known for its
yoga & meditation, various resident healers, very good vegetarian
& seafood restaurant and fasting programs. I am not fasting,
although many people here are - something for next time perhaps. As I
arrived by boat I had a sense of being transported far away, even if it was only
30 minutes or so from where our house is.
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| My balcony |
The
whole place is built from the beach up a hill over the rocks and amongst the
jungle. I have a small simple bamboo bungalow with a thatch roof, a comfortable
bed, a chair, a mosquito net inside and a hammock outside. The bathroom
has a warm shower and a western style toilet, is accessed over a small bridge
and one wall is a large rock. The accommodation options range from more
basic than that, to more comfortable, depending on your preference.
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| Where the healers reside... |
As
well as yoga and meditation, I have also had the opportunity to keep an open
mind and try some things I have never experienced before, such as a
transformative breathing class, and an astrology session. The astrologer
woman was fascinating to see in action, just observing how she can see so much
for all the signs of the zodiac just from one map. And while I didn't
find particular meaning for me right now in her horoscope, I did learn that I
need to know my time-of-birth to fix once and for all whether I am a Libra or
Scorpio ! Anyone who is interested can ask me about transformative
breathing, it was a completely new experience for me and there were clearly
some real enthusiasts of this process in the group.
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| My glorious regular yoga location in Sri Thanu |
I came to Thailand hoping to continue my fitness with yoga (my inclination to run was soon overcome by the heat, and various stray barking dogs chasing me) and I have
been to a number of classes while we have been here. Low season has meant
that the classes aren't always reliably running and the instructors change
regularly, but the upside of this is that it has expanded my experience of
styles and techniques. Some of the teachers would end with a led meditation. As well as Hatha and Ashtanga, one style taught at
the Sanctuary is Yin yoga which I had not come across before. This
emphasizes the length of time spent in each pose, essentially aiming to focus
on breathing and to meditate in each pose - so a good opportunity for
practicing what I have been learning. It is still quite hot, so every
class feels a bit like what I imagine Bikram yoga to be like, so I have not
been tempted by that particular style.
I
hadn't been to yoga for about 3 years after injuring my back, so have been careful in
getting back into it. I have been learning from the different instructors
some tips for not doing that again. However a couple of weeks ago I did
re-injure it in the same place in another Ashtanga class - so may need to steer
clear of Ashtanga. Fortunately, regular Lek massages have helped significantly
in the recovery.
When
we arrived on this island, I was completely unaware that Koh Phangan is known
for its meditation, as there is a very old local temple Wat Khao Tam where the
monks have taught meditation for many years. Because of this, many
private centers for yoga and meditation have also grown up in various spots
around the island. At the Wat they now run 10 day retreats where there are many hours of meditation each day with no talking and no technology allowed - definitely for the experienced meditator
and not a mere beginner like myself! I looked into doing something more
organized, but didn't find anything that suited the dates I had available.
My
interest in meditation stems from wanting to train myself to be more 'present',
rather than have my mind constantly running ahead to the next things to be
done. The mental challenge of quieting my mind is as big as I
anticipated, but I now have some tools for helping with this. What I
hadn't anticipated was the physical challenge for sitting for long periods of
time virtually immobile - although I have learned a little about walking
and lying meditation as well.
My
first experiences of meditating were with 'our' wonderful massage lady Lek.
She has just built a small house which she uses solely as a place of
meditation. She goes there morning and night and after hearing I was
interested to learn, one evening invited me along also. I followed behind
her motorbike in the dark to an area just outside of Thong Sala and she showed me her very small meditation house. I hadn't realized it would
just be us there. She took me though her preparatory Buddhist rituals and
how she meditates and I followed suit, in my own way. Her gift to me is a
mantra which means 'kindness and love from the heart'. It was a truly
meaningful introduction to the practice of meditation and one that will remain
with me forever.
It
didn't take too long as a first attempt, and shortly afterward a group of
invited friends and her meditation teacher turned up. It turned into what
I would describe as a seated Buddhist prayer meeting, starting with lighting of
bunches of incense, which continued to waft through the room for the evening,
then continued with beautiful musical chanting, punctuated with intermittent
bowing to the shrine set up along one wall. It was an amazing experience
to be a part of, and would have been even more meaningful if I could have
understand a single word! Several days later I was chatting to another
(Thai) woman who had been there who told me it was mostly actually in Chinese
so she didn't understand a lot of it either ! For me, it eventually
became a sort of endurance event for how long I could remain seated on the
floor barely shifting and so, after more than one hour, and having observed a
few people coming and going, so ascertaining this would be acceptable, I made
my own exit.
A
few days later Lek invited Mike, Annabelle and Matthew to come for a visit
also. She showed us around her garden, opened a coconut for a snack, and
we all took part in the incense lighting. She enjoyed teaching the
children a little bit of meditation also. and we stayed for just a few minutes
of the prayer session, which was all the children could really manage.
Seeking
to understand a little more about meditation than I could access through the
language barrier with Lek, I have read a simple but great book called One Step
At A Time by Phra Peter Pannapadipo which explains Buddhist meditation, from the
very basics and in the context of the Buddhist faith. He is actually English
but has chosen life as a monk (Phra) in Thailand so explains it in an easily
understandable way, from an informed Western perspective.
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| View down to Had Tien from the top of the hill |
At
The Sanctuary, I have also had the opportunity to take part in some guided
meditation sessions and ask some questions related to my own experiences in a
session with an experienced meditator - a lovely intuitive American woman named
Tammy.
So
from these teachers I have had a chance to learn, and have had some time on my
own for practice. I am not sure I am making great progress, but am
enjoying, and persisting with the journey. I hope I can keep with it when
we return.
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There are a host of alternative practices on offer.
On occasion I have found myself seeking to find meaning in the phrases uttered, such as:
- breathe through your middle eye
- your hips are the crucible for your organs
- find the part of you that is always there
I am not sure that I was always successful.
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