Respite Time; The Essence of Shabbat and Yoga
December 14-16 • Kripalu Center, Stockbridge, MA
To register call Kripalu Center 800-741-7353

{ ADDED BONUS: Friday night candle lighting and songs around the table (6:00 in the dining hall) and Saturday evening Kirtan with the Kirtan Rabbi, Andrew Hahn who will lead call and response Hebrew Chanting and Havdalah. }

In this weekend of rest, learning, and renewal, we will use the practice of Yoga and the essence of Judaism to merge individual consciousness with universal consciousness for a graceful Shabbat experience, signifying unity, peace, and freedom.

This enriching and empowering retreat is delivered through the vehicles of yoga, mediation, story, wisdom, and chant. We will use the weekly Torah portion Vayigash as a focus for our attention. Shabbat, an ancient Jewish weekly celebration, is a sacred period of respite, a time to step back from the way things are in order to envision the way we would like them to be-for ourselves, our relationships, our work and our world. Aryeh Kaplan in his book Jewish Mediation, describes the four steps demonstrated in the traditional Jewish service: Action, Speech, Thought, and Nothingness. These steps will provide us with points of connection and exploration with Patanjali’s eight limb’s of yoga.

We can observe these steps daily, but both the Torah and Patanjali agree that it is by stepping away from our everyday lives that space is created for deeper connection to the divine.

“Respite Time” is an opportunity to move ourselves beyond the world we live in for a glimpse of the world we want to live in. Ghandi reminded us to become the change we wish. Shabbat, an ancient Jewish weekly celebration is a sacred period of respite, of stepping back from the way things are in order to allow ourselves to daringly envision the way we would like things to be, for ourselves, our relationships, our work, our world. This enriching and empowering experience is filtered through the venues of yoga, meditation, story, wisdom and chant…

What does it mean to move ourselves beyond the world we live in? To become the change we wish? To step back from things the way they are? And what does Yoga, Meditation, story and chant have to do with Judaism and Shabbat??

In preparing for each weekly session, I study the weekly Torah portion, and choose an insight, or actually the insight chooses me. Through focused attention on the weekly portion we are uniting with Jews around the world who are looking into the same portion and deriving meaning and inspiration from it. Through weaving this insight into our practice we are weaving ourselves closer to each other, to G-d and the spiritual dimension, as well as relating it to how we live today, and how we can grow beyond who we already are (which is what the Torah asks us to do). I have found that many Jews have a built in gene for debate and that is how many Torah study groups are conducted. This is not a Torah study group. That is not my area of expertise, nor is it the intention of our time together, but rather to draw an inspiration, intention, or a meaning from the weekly portion. There are several insights that can be drawn from each weekly portion, but this isn’t the venue for debating which one is right, but rather acknowledging that the insights we receive become even more clear and valuable to us as we practice, and move deeper into the spiritual dimension. The inspiration may be one you had not heard of before, and stepping back from your already perceived ideas is an opportunity to look at a new insight, allowing you to ultimately go beyond, though you may use your own insight as you wish. Judaism is a practice, and without that there is just an inheritance of Judaism, or a going through the motions, or better yet, for some, have someone else go through the motions for us. What does it mean to practice?? Practice is something that moves us to the divine spiritual dimension, through integration of the levels of who we are and observing our relationships to ourselves and our environment. This is the essence of Yoga practice and Jewish practice. How do we do that?

Aryeh Kaplan in his book Jewish Meditation speaks about the 4 steps that are clearly demonstrated in our traditional service, which is also a mirror for our daily life, and aspects of these are included in Respite Time as a doorway to sacredness and deeper spiritual attunement. The first step is that of Action, where we are first attuning to our body, and we are still involved in our body and can use tools of yoga such as body scanning, and the combining of breath and movement. The scanning can be done comfortably seated in a chair or resting on the floor. Sometimes other movement or positions are included that are appropriate to the group, but this is not exercise or a yoga class, rather moving if you feel comfortable to do so and adaptation is made so all can participate. It is not the specific movement that is most important but the attuning to breath and sensation to deepen our awareness of it, moving in ways that are appropriate and accessible for each person. It is through the body that we are able to receive the blessings and gifts of creation from G-d, and through which we receive sensations which are also gifts to teach us about our relationships to ourselves and our environment. This is reflected in the first part of the traditional service, where we acknowledge the sacredness of our body and the sacrificial system of offerings made to G-d.

The second is Speech, and becoming aware of how we are communicating with the divine. Speech is the bridge through which we integrate our physical and spiritual nature and our relationship to G-d. Speech is also connected to the breath, which is a doorway to deeper consciousness. We practice breathing techniques, Hebrew mantra, and chanting, and pay attention to the subtleties of breath, and the articulation of words. No previous experience or knowledge of Hebrew is necessary. Through the absorption of the vibration of an ancient, and spiritual language such as Hebrew the communication is happening. In the traditional service this is done through our psalms and praises of G-d.

Then the level of Thought is where we grasp the power of the divine. Thought is the hand that holds the divine experience. As we focus our attention on the divine, we become quiet and still, the voice of clear insight emerges and then we listen and observe our relationship to ourselves and our environment. In the traditional service the level of Thought includes the Shema, that tells us to listen and it’s blessings which tell us how to serve G-d. All thought can be filled with G-d’s Unity and Love, yet the Spiritual is still absent when in pure thought. Thought can move us into deeper intimacy with G-d, but we are still oblivious to the sea of spirituality around us.

The level above thought is Nothingness. When thought is turned off it is the ineffable experience of the divine. The realm of pure experience is beyond thought. When we arrive at a state of meditation, we enter into a realm that transcends thought which is a more expanded level of consciousness. We are not reading words on a page, or thinking about the words, rather we are experiencing them. This is the highest level of the soul called Chayya, which means awareness of the divine, or life force. The Amidah, which is the oldest Jewish meditation, is still kept as a meditation in the traditional service.

Kaplan goes on to say that this is where most other traditions stop and where Judaism and Yoga go beyond. In the Torah it says that for Jews, this level of practice is still not enough and in Yoga it is not enough to have satva. It is not enough to just have the spiritual experience. We must also have appropriate action, rajas, and bring our experience into our life daily for profound spiritual effects and this level of practice, Kaplan named the Descent of Influx. It is through the observance of Shabbat, when we step away from our lives as they are all week that creates the space and opportunity for deeper connection to the divine. This is what refreshes and renews our faith and gives us the energy to integrate and thus transcending us, moving ourselves beyond the world we live in to become the change we wish by stepping back from things the way we know them to be and having a glimpse of ourselves and the world the way we wish it to be, and these are the tools of Yoga and also the Practice of Judaism.

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My mission at A Life of Balance is to empower people through the practice of Yoga and Ayurveda, so they can find their inner balance and ultimate joy. My vision of health and journey to wellness takes into consideration the total lifestyle and constitution of the whole person to support health and welllness by learning to live again in the most natural way possible, according to nature, to access our hightest intuition and truth, unlocking the human healing potential. Thank you for your committment to a life of balance. Your results are my deepest joy. I am grateful for the opportunity to witness your continued success, unfolding and seeing you live again with ultimate joy and ease of well being.

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