January 7, 2016–A perfect 72 degrees and crystal blue water greeted us as we stepped into our own zen paradise at the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas on Paradise Island. 97-year-old yoga master Tao Porchon-Lynch was invited to this garden of eden to share her wisdom and I joined to assist.
Sivananda provides an immersion into the practices of a yogic lifestyle with a daily schedule of yoga, meditation and philosophical study that starts at 5:30am and ends at 10pm. Located a five-minute boat ride from Nassau, the Ashram shares a pristine beach with the large Atlantas Paradise Island Resort–an interesting juxtaposition of luxurious decadence and spiritual discipline. The daily vegetarian meals at 10am and 6pm were lovingly created by volunteer Karma yogis and simply delightful, particularly the homemade bread. I thought I may detox a bit but that was not happening.
They put us up in a garden room–a quaint cabin with two single beds and private bathroom. As Tao unpacked, she laughingly revealed a carry-on case almost entirely full of high heels making note that she was prepared for Ashram living. That’s a modern yoga master!! Since Tao was scheduled on the program the second evening, we got a chance to explore visiting the Boutique and taking in the beauty of the grounds.
On the evening of the 8th, it seemed like the entire Ashram of 200+ people came out for Satsang. My original yoga training was at Integral Yoga Institute in New York which is the lineage of Swami Satchidananda, a student of Swami Sivananda–so I felt right at home. In the Sivananda tradition, there is meditation and chanting before the main discussion. Our Conversation with a Master talk was the featured event and as usual Tao set the place abuzz.
View all pictures from Day 1&2 in the Bahamas on Tao's blog. Be sure to spread the light by sharing this link and these hashtags: #ThisIs97 #TaoExp #TaoPorchonLynch.
If you haven’t already, order Tao’s long-awaited autobiography, Dancing Light: The Spiritual Side of Being Through the Eyes of a Modern Yoga Master, which has received endorsements from notables such as Dr. Deepak Chopra, Rodney Yee, Colleen Saidman Yee, David Swenson, Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum and many more!
Find out more about Tao at www.TheTaoExperience.com.
Contributed by Teresa Kay-Aba Kennedy of www.IAmPowerLiving.com and www.PowerLivingMedia.com.
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