Previous to this retreat, I
have been associating Kunselling with a sort of holiday-retreat place, but no
more! This week
of Vajra Dance/ Mandarava practice led by Cindy Faulkner was Intense! We had a full schedule,
starting at 6:30 am with
Mandarava chudlen, followed by an hour of Yantra Yoga.
Breakfast
consisted of whole oat groats that had been in the slow cooker all the previous
night, with stewed fruit, after which we resumed our practice in the Gompa;
this time it was the full Mandarava practice, and then out onto the mandala we
went for the dance of the Song of the Vajra...times 3!
Lunch and all meals were
cooked and served by the wonderful Thomas Beaver and his lovely assistant
Marie-Neige. We were offered the kind of food that is typically eaten while on
a Mandarava chudlen diet; mainly grains and pulses with spices, but little
salt, and no garlic or onions. We were also encouraged to eliminate caffeine,
sugar and alcohol, which, speaking for myself, was of great benefit!
Marie-Neige made a fresh tisane each day with herbs from the garden, such as
Lemon Balm, Rosemary and Mint, as well as lots of fresh lemon and ginger.
After lunch was our 2 hour break, and then we were back in the Gompa for another Tun, including tsalung, and another Dance on the mandala. Cindy made the impossible seem possible, and while I still have a ways to go with my Kumbhakha training, the week's practices gave me a taste, of each of the tsalung exercises, as a basis for me to build on.
For me, it was a wonderful
week of saying yes....yes to showing up to all, or most of the Tuns, and yes to
a "pure" diet. As a result, I feel like a new person;
detoxified and with more inkling of how to do Mandarava practice. Dancing as
often as we did, I think I now even have the whole Dance of the Vajra under my
belt....now to relax with it all and integrate it into my daily life!
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