Yoga and Meditation Retreat
in Emmental, Switzerland - August 2003
Facing the Alps
Report by Rowan Newby
I had never been to Emmental before I went on yoga retreat there. I suppose I was probably expecting clean countryside, slopey roofed houses and perhaps a view of the Alps. And cheese.
Well, that’s pretty much what I got when I arrived – only more beautiful. The hills surrounding the retreat house were mouth-wateringly lush and gentle. They rang with the harmonies of the neck-bells of dairy cows softly chewing the grass around slopey roofed farms on the other side of the valley. The cheese was heavenly.
But you couldn’t see the Alps. That was, until after Satsang early the next morning, when they were unveiled from behind the cloud. Their sharp shapes and huge, snowy crags glowed pink in the sunrise, and it was hard to believe they were real – partly because of their ethereal beauty – and partly because the cloud kept hiding and revealing them throughout the week. It was if they were a figment of a poetic imagination.
Getting up for morning Satsang was what I was least looking forward to on this retreat. The 6am start for meditation, chanting and a spiritual talk (as well as an evening session) is a normal part of a Sivananda Ashram regime. It was a bit of a shock to my system, but it was worth it – not just to see the Alps. Dawn and dusk are believed to have the best energy for meditation, and in such a beautiful, tranquil place, it’s not hard to feel that. It’s far easier to experience stillness when you are in that setting, meditating and practising regularly, and with others. I guess that’s what retreats are all about.
Face Italy and point your top hand to France…”
This retreat was organised by my friend, Maria Steiner, who is an AYA affiliate teacher in Basel, Switzerland. It was a very intimate, homey affair as it took place in her grandfather’s large country house. I felt immensely proud to be Maria’s friend as she is a wonderfully warm and talented person. As she taught yoga, cleaned, organised and cooked delicious vegetarian dishes, she would gleefully sing bits of Sanskrit chants to herself and slip between the five modern languages she speaks. Almost anyone from the western world (and further) could have come to this retreat and Maria would have given them the same fluent, happy welcome.
Even though we were small of number, there was indeed an international flavour to the retreat – with the UK, France, USA, Turkey and Argentina being in some way represented – as well as Switzerland. The wonderful weather allowed the asana classes to be taught on the terrace – and Maria took great delight in being able to say “face the Alps” to do the triangle pose, whilst Swami Atma preferred “face Italy, and point your top hand to France…now change sides and stretch out towards Austria….”
Everything on the retreat is optional and there is plenty of free time too, but it was nearly full attendance at all the classes and Satsangs – that’s the way you really get the benefit. In just ten days of two asana classes a day I couldn’t believe the flexibility I regained, being able to get into positions I hadn’t reached for a good ten years. Others there were beginners and made just as much progress in different ways. But even without that physical achievement, the retreat would still have given me a great deal – some quiet, some time to think, some time to not think and plenty of opportunities to learn from Swami Atma’s spiritual teaching.
“he can repeat Monty Python sketches, tell great one-liners and devour sizeable quantities of Swiss cheese!”
Perhaps the most exciting thing about the intimacy of this retreat was being able to get to know Swami Atma. I’ve been taught by Swamis before, who mostly seemed quite serious, distant people. I think I was slightly overawed by their orange garb and striking choice to renounce possessions and family. So it was really good to see that while Swami Atma is clearly and admirably devoted to a life of Sadhana (yoga practice), when he chooses, he can repeat Monty Python sketches, tell great one-liners and devour sizeable quantities of Swiss cheese!
This joyful accessibility made it so much easier to ask him about the Vedanta philosophy which he embraces and teaches. Satsangs were sometimes thoughtful talks, but they were often debates in which we all joined in and asked questions. Being surrounded by such breathtaking scenery made me particularly engage in the question of “Maya” – the great illusion. Could it possibly be that these mountains weren’t real, that this physical world is just a divine trick, while all that is real is God? I could accept that God may be more real, but those mountains looked pretty solid to me… But then at times they seemed not to be there at all….
So whilst I did some such philosophical musing, I also did a great deal of giggling…Both at the dinner table and in the Satsang talks, this retreat was filled with Swamiji’s jokes and with laughter. In fact, I can’t remember when I laughed so much in one week. We had to temporarily stop an asana class as I started an uncontrollable ripple-giggle effect, which spread to the whole class, including the teacher. I kept finding myself uncharacteristically chortling for no particular reason at any time of the day. Swamiji even had to cut short a meditation as I had a completely inappropriate attack of sniggering when a local brass band struck up nearby. It was, of course a release of the stress of western life – I had truly relaxed on this retreat – but it was also the lovely company, and most importantly, it was simply that yoga makes you happy.
“if you practice yoga, it works…”
“An ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory,” was one of the famous sayings of Swami Sivananda, who sent his disciples to bring this form of yoga to the west. The few ounces of practice I did on this retreat reminded me very concretely that yoga makes you clear-minded, content and relaxed. It might even change your life…. I was sure that I could never be a very pure yogi but found myself agreeing with Swami Atma’s reassuring assertion that it doesn’t necessarily matter if you don’t believe every last detail of the Vedanta teaching – if you practice yoga, it works.
