Yoga

Yoga is the general word used to describe physical, spiritual and mental practices that originate from India thousands of years ago. The aim of yoga is to attain enlightenment and complete peace in the mind, body and soul permanently. You may have heard of the 6 school of hindu philosophy, yoga is one of them. Yoga is usually practiced in Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism because of their beliefs about peace, the soul and state of mind. However, yoga can be practiced by anyone to help de-stress, clear the mind, and create a positive mental attitude as well as physical health.

The actual term “Yoga” dates all the way back to 400BC in a Hindu Scripture called the Katha Upanished. In this scripture, yoga is defined as being the “steady control of all senses, which along with cessation of mental activity, leads to the supreme state.” Which means that the practice of yoga will eventually build up, leading to your bodies purest and best possible state/outcome.

Although yoga is an old, spiritual practice, the goals of it are to attain good physical postures, a clean and healthy spirit, decrease health problems, take away any stress, and strengthen the body and spine. It is also used in physical therapy as a way of retaining and re-gaining physical health. Therefore, yoga is now a practice that anyone can perform, without it being a religion or a belief, just to purely improve your body and mind.

Switzerland Yoga Retreat

Our retreat, located in one of Switzerland’s leading hotels, the Alpina Gstaad, which is located in the Alps of Bernese Oberland, blends 5 hours of yoga and meditation every day. We offer healthy meals and a free massage in our well-known and award winning Six Senses Spa™. Come re-energize and reconnect your heart and mind!

We will show newcomers to yoga and old hands how they can utilize Hatha and Kundalini Yoga to improve their lives. This form of yoga uses aerobic energy to improve energy levels within the body, self-awareness and the chakras. You will become open to feelings and how to use them for better internal and external control of your life. The training is based on Shastras, or scriptures, from ancient times that will help participants learn how to create mental focus in the practice of yoga. 

This approach will create a harmonious blend of physical and mental energy and open up spiritual connections. While the training focuses on the practices, you will be enlightened with the theories as well for better understanding of why this yoga method works so well.

We offer a 3 day or 7 day package to suit your preference. The Alpina Gstaad management team encourages guests at other local hotels and locals to participate in the retreat, too. We limit groups to 12 participants to allow for a more intimate setting and to give each member of the group individualized attention. Plan to arrive Monday, 24 June 2013. The first day of the actual retreat is Tuesday, 25 June. 
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The Meditative Styles of Yoga

Yoga and meditation go hand in hand with each other for a number of reasons and those who practise one often also have some experience practising the other. If you practise medication already but have never tried any form of yoga, it is definitely something worth considering. Whilst meditation is all about inner wellbeing, positive energy and clearing the mind, yoga does much the same but also provides you with physical exercise that can help to improve your overall health and increase your flexibility.

With the two being so closely related anyone who is familiar and has practised mediation before will probably have ahead start when they are introduced to yoga. Breathing is very important as in order to complete the moves and routine properly you will need first to have good breathing techniques. It is also about control and the feeling, thoughts and energy that occur through yoga. A deep state of medication is also known to provide a feeling of control and understanding of oneself and our surroundings. Certain schools or courses such as asianyogaholidays.com offer classes or more commonly retreats that allows you to spend a few days combining both practises in order to promote good health and wellbeing.