Everyone looked at me rather strangely when I told tem I was joining a circus in Greece. Well, this is no everyday circus: There are no clowns; well, there are, but none with red noses and painted faces; no acrobats, but we do fly and practise acro-yoga; no tents, except for the tents of the brave souls that decided to be one with nature and rain instead of staying in a room); no animals, other than Valentine, Stella’s dog who manipulates all our mats and the mountain goats……
The “Circus” comes from the Greek word Kiklos which actually translates into Circle. The circus is actually a sangha, a community of yoga teachers, massage therapists, energy healers and what some might call “New Age Hippies”, who have gathered together to practise with each other, learn from each other, sing, dance and just have fun!
It was started by the disciples of
Asokanda, A German monk that brought Thai Massage to the west by marrying this ancient practise with modern day methods and techniques. Asokanda did not teach massage as mere bodywork, but as a holistic practise using the pillars of yoga and meditation.
So, here I am, in an eco-lodge in the mountains of Crete with 19 other circus members and 6 senior teachers. The knowledge of all these people put together is extraordinary; Osteopaths, physiotherapists, yoga teachers, martial arts experts, zero-balancing therapists…….. And we also get visiting friends and teachers that come and share their practise.
The “Circus” comes from the Greek word Kiklos which actually translates into Circle. The circus is actually a sangha, a community of yoga teachers, massage therapists, energy healers and what some might call “New Age Hippies”, who have gathered together to practise with each other, learn from each other, sing, dance and just have fun!
It was started by the disciples of
Asokanda, A German monk that brought Thai Massage to the west by marrying this ancient practise with modern day methods and techniques. Asokanda did not teach massage as mere bodywork, but as a holistic practise using the pillars of yoga and meditation.So, here I am, in an eco-lodge in the mountains of Crete with 19 other circus members and 6 senior teachers. The knowledge of all these people put together is extraordinary; Osteopaths, physiotherapists, yoga teachers, martial arts experts, zero-balancing therapists…….. And we also get visiting friends and teachers that come and share their practise.
Me with teacher Itzhak!
The practise is quite intense. We start the day at 6am with Vipassana meditation followed by yoga at 7am. There is a short break for breakfast after yoga then we do massage from 10.30am till lunch break at 1.30pm. Siesta is till 4pm then we re-start with yoga and massage till dinner break at 8pm. Some evenings there is meditation or chanting from 9pm to 10pm. In any case, we are supposed to observe the “Noble Silence” from 10pm till 8.30am. I guess it should not be too difficult to do since it is sleep time, but I have been rather naughty…. Chatting to my room-mate, Kathy, till wee hours of the night. Ya, it’s late when we sleep at 11pm.
Well, that’s all about the circus for now!
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2 comments:
namaste!!
i soo amazed that such a great event took place in magical greece and i was not having this amazing experience!do you now if it will happen again in greece?
thank
many blessings
maria
Yes. it was really amazing.
maria, you should contact Takis of the Sunshine House in Greece to find out more. The circus will be in Laos next month and maybe in Spain in June and Bali in Sept. I don't know about plans for Greece though. Let me know if you need any help. Metta.
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