The class was led by a warm and happy girl, Chelsea. Her practice was all about opening the heart and lungs to breathe, gentle stretches and twists that loosen the body in a natural way. The class was great, set in a soaring timber frame construction, cork floors with window seats and natural daylight. I left questioning myself as to why I didn't practice more, it makes you feel so good, so strong. Happy to be with my sister in this spiritual place. Gone were the demands of my three young children, the cleaning and taxi driving and cooking and tending to the busy schedules, gone too were the chaotic thoughts that fly by, crashing into each other, gone. Just stillness.
Designed to nourish the soul, Ratna Ling is run by volunteers, there is a daily sunrise practice of Tibetan yoga (kum Nye). They also provide all the basics such as wi-fi for keeping in touch with work or family, (or not) as the needs be.
We ate on a sun-filled patio over looking the redwoods and hills. The food was fantastic and you couldn't help but feel refreshed and rejuvenated and wanting to return for more. There is a stillness to the air, a peace. They have a binary to reproduce the Tibetan works that are being destroyed over the last 40 years by the Chinese. It has heart and it has silence, it really pulls you in and you find yourself wondering how you could volunteer, just to be there, to sit, to breathe to stretch or to simply think, or not, to clear your thoughts, on a weekly/monthly basis. Ratna Ling offers an olive branch of peace in your mind.
Peace within our minds is the only true refuge. - Tarthang Tulku
The Parson Jones, the tallest tree in the Armstrong woods.
Visit Ratna Ling at www.ratnaling.com - and check out the pictures.
No comments:
Post a Comment