YOGA AND THE PRACTICE OF AHIMSA (NON-VIOLENCE)IN COMMUNICATION

YOGA AND THE  PRACTICE OF AHIMSA (NON-VIOLENCE)IN COMMUNICATION   A weeklong retreat with Ceri Buckmaster and Vidya Heisel   Conscious and skillful communication that comes from a place of kindness and compassion is not always easy, and rests upon the ability to sense into the internal world of another person, practicing this compassion with yourself, and also revealing what is going on inside you. Non-violent communication (NVC) is a skill which can be learned.   This week will teach you the foundations of NVC, which were developed by Marshall Rosenberg who drew on the humanistic psychology of Carl Rogers and the nonviolence of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, and give you the tools you need to transform the way you listen and communicate with others.   This training will be combined with Yoga, great food and relaxation.   Ceri Buckmaster has been facilitating groups for over 20 years. She works in Sustainability and Community building with organisations, museums, schools, community groups and individuals.  All her work promotes self-care, care for the other, and care for ‘us’ and our environment. She is currently Certifying with the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC). http://www.ceribuckmaster.co.uk   Vidya Heisel, the Director of Suryalila and Frog Lotus Yoga is a Master Yoga Teacher who has been practicing and teaching Yoga for 40 years.   Schedule 8.00-9.30am More dynamic Yoga Class 9.30-11.30 Breakfast 11.30-1.30 Session on NVC skills with Ceri 1.30-4.00 Lunch and free time 4.00-5.30 NVC skills  Session with Ceri 5.45-7pm Relaxing Yoga   On Wednesday and Friday there will be a free afternoon and different optional excursions will be offered.   Learning Nonviolent Communication can:

1. help you experience feeling understood and energised. Have you ever had the experience when someone totally gets you, and you feel safe, energised and grateful for being understood? This is EMPATHY affecting your nervous system, coursing through your body. It’s caused by someone seeing and acknowledging your reality. You can achieve it again and again through certain strategies of listening and presence. It’s game-changing.
2. help you get clearer about what you need, and help you to express specific, doable and clear requests to draw up contracts and set boundaries.
3. help you have the real conversations you need to have in your life so you can act sooner to end frustration.
4. help you acknowledge the things that are blocking action and acceptance and change your relationship to fear. We dig down underneath our habits to understand our needs, so we can know what longings, dreams and values inform our reactions to other people.
5. give you the tools to step into an empowered and empowering connection with yourself, others and the world around you.

  Nonviolent Communication and Yoga: how they fit together We will explore how Nonviolent communication gives specific form to Patanjali’s Eight limbs of Yoga. For example, the First Yama, Ahimsa (A-himsa = non-harming), for which the English translation is Nonviolence. ‘Nonviolence’ is the complete absence of violence in word, thought and action. It is a state of natural compassion. Gandhi also used the term satyagraha (the second Yama, literally truth-force), which for him meant ‘holding to the truth in every situation’. Nonviolence is more than just the absence of violence, it is walking firmly on the path of love and truth. KEY PRINCIPLE The essence of nonviolence is keeping our heart open to finding solutions that work for everyone, even when we are in opposing positions, and no matter what else is going on around us. We will work with situations that are going on in your life. We will explore ‘Tools for Tense situations’, strategies that provide you with a lifeline in challenging circumstances. Sessions will involve empathic listening and lots of support to more fully connect to and express feelings and needs, and you will come away feeling all zingy and zesty from having a boosting dose of empathy that will support you in your daily life. The practice of Nonviolence communication gives specific, practical form to the core commitments in Yoga. No prior experience of Nonviolent communication required. The training will cover the material of a Foundation training in Nonviolent Communication, providing you with the basis for further study and exploration.