In Patanjali’s 8 Limbs of Yoga, the fifth limb, pratyahara, is often defined as ‘a withdrawal of the senses’. With it’s central location it could also be considered the “bridge limb” – the point where the outer can become inner (and vice versa). With the practice of pratyahara you can cultivate a more intimate relationship to your experience of sensation. (Note: the root word of sensation, along with sensory, sensitive, and sensual, is ‘sense’.)

A less common translation of the word pratyahara ‘to recover our senses’.

In this workshop, asana, meditation, and chocolate are the vehicles which we use to cultivate that recovery of our senses – that sensitivity that we often lose when when we get caught up in the rapid pace of our lives. We will also explore SATYA, a school of somatic movement techniques developed by Tias Little, to further heighten that awareness. Our eyes, nose, mouth, tongue, heart, and whole body will be opened so that we are free to truly take in the delicate subtleties in the different varieties of movement…and, of course, chocolate!

Chocolate is used as a means of directing the our attention inward, and not at all as a gimick. Chocolate (Cacao) is one of the most complex foods on the planet, more than twice as complex as wine in it’s flavor notes! These days the world of chocolate is exploding with innovative new (and established) chocolate makers committed to using the highest quality & flavor cacao beans from around the world. Up until now much of what was known as “chocolate” were really mostly products filled with sugar, dairy, and many other unsavory additives to create the “chocolate flavor”.

Fine chocolate can teach us how to slow down and really taste, savor, and enjoy our present moment experiences, whatever they may be! Combining chocolate tasting with the mindful movement and meditation allows attendees to go deeply inward, becoming more attuned to the smell, texture, tastes of the chocolate and of the infinite subtle physical sensations of their bodies.

(image from thechocolatejournalist.com)