Margaret Austin Retreat Center - Texas
Raja Yoga Retreat
December 2-4, 2011
Cost: $425 (includes meals, handouts, and accommodations)

View from Yoga Studio at sunset. See the article about this retreat, published in Houston Chronicle

This Raja Yoga retreat is set at the Margaret Austin Retreat Center, between Austin and Houston, Texas. The retreat is a combination of hatha yoga classes, meditation and workshops on a variety of topics. All levels welcome. The retreat starts at 7:00 p.m. Friday and runs through 3:00 p.m. Sunday. Charles has led this Raja Yoga Retreat over 24 times and continues to fine-tune the schedule each year to maintain a pleasant balance of physical exercise, meditation, workshops, discussions, communal meals, and free time. The retreat explores yoga as a lifestyle rather than just an exercise routine. Although Charles is best known as a Hatha Yoga instructor, his favorite yoga and his path of choice is Raja Yoga. "Raja" means "king." Raja Yoga is called the Royal Path. It consists of eight separate areas of practice that penetrate and encompass all aspects of life:

Yamas (5 Abstinences)
Niyamas (5 Observances)
Hatha Yoga (Control of the physical body)
Pranayama (Control of the breath)
Pratyahara (Control of the senses)
Dharana (Control of the mind)
Dhyana (Meditation)
Samadhi (Illumination)

The schedule follows a simple routine throughout the weekend. Hatha Yoga and a guided relaxation is followed by meditation. Then we gather for a meal. Afterwards there is free time, then a workshop and discussion group. Then we repeat the cycle again, starting with Hatha Yoga and a guided relaxation.

The first workshop will provide an overview of Raja Yoga as a way of life. Each subsequent workshop will cover one or more of the eight limbs beginning with Yamas on Saturday morning and finishing with Samadhi on Sunday afternoon. These workshops are highly experiential which is essential for participants to be able to absorb and integrate the information and exercises into their lives.

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Topics Covered

Discussions: Raja Yoga and the Eight-fold Path; Yamas & Niyamas; the Seven Chakras.

Workshops: Pranayama & The Science of Breath; Visualization; Biofeedback; Creativity; Mind-Mapping; Concentration and The Mind/Body Connection.

Hatha Yoga: Six Hatha Yoga classes. Charles will be assisted by Houston yoga teacher Melissa Tatum. Special classes will be offered for beginners and for advanced students.

Meditation: Eight meditation sessions including Working, Walking, Eating, Somatic, Sense Withdrawal, Perfected Master, and Detached Observation.

All levels of students are welcome to attend, and participation in all activities is optional.

A recent yoga retreat included four students with no prior experience, thirteen beginning-to-intermediate-level students, and two yoga teachers. All of the participants found the experience challenging, yet even the absolute beginners felt comfortable and safe as they explored the world of yoga for the first time.

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Hatha Yoga classes will be taught by Charles MacInerney and a guest yoga teacher. We will learn a variety of techniques to engage and deepen awareness of the most subtle sensations and movements of mind and body - first in stillness, then through subtle movement, and finally in more challenging and active asanas.

Students will be encouraged to pay more attention to the sensations and signals of their own bodies than to any external authority figures, including the teachers. One of the effects of this style of class is that students become more self-aware, self-confident, and independent. Charles encourages his students to learn from their own experience, from their own sensations, from their own deep awareness of mind and body, and to trust that awareness over any external authority figures.

While the guest teacher works with the more experienced students, Charles will give a special class on the basics of Hatha Yoga and breath control to ensure that the students who are new to yoga feel comfortable and can build their practice on a solid foundation.

The overall atmosphere will be relaxed, with the emphasis on enjoyment rather than effort. This does not mean that we will not work hard at times. Students will find that they can engage in difficult and even strenuous poses joyfully, without experiencing the physical and psychological stresses associated with joyless striving.

For the adventurous or experienced students, time will be set aside to work on challenging poses and more vigorous styles of yoga, including jumping sun salutations, warrior poses, inversions, balance poses and Pranayama. We will also have fun with special classes to examine the use of music and mantra in Hatha Yoga, a partnership class, and other special classes on request. For a more detailed introduction to the teaching style of Charles MacInerney please click here.

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MEDITATION

During this retreat Charles will teach and then facilitate a wide variety of styles of meditation including: Walking Meditation, Three Variations of Eating Meditation, Mantric Meditation, Vipassana Meditation, Detached Observation Meditation, Perfected Master Meditation, Zen Meditation, Sincere Appreciation Meditation, Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (contemplation), Somatic Meditation, Sensory Meditation, Sense Withdrawal, Flow of Consciousness Writing Meditation, and Inner Child Visualization.

Charles teaches over thirty styles of meditation and will be available to help individual participants to find a style of meditation that suites their abilities, and meets their needs and expectations.

As the retreat progresses, most students will find several different styles of meditation that work well for them, and serve very different purposes. Some calm the mind, some are physically relaxing, some shine light upon the workings of the unconscious mind, and some take participants deeper into the world of physical sensations.

After each meditation there will be opportunities for questions and discussion. For more information about meditation please click here.

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WORKSHOPS

In addition to being a yoga teacher, Charles is also a professional public speaker and trainer. He frequently works with companies including Apple, 3M, IBM, Motorola, and has twice been the keynote speaker for Seton Hospital's Cardiac Rehabilitation Conference.

Over the last 10 years he has developed and refined a wide variety of workshops, all sharing a common theme - helping participants find balance in their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs and to integrate all of these components into their life, rather than compartmentalizing them.

During the retreat Charles will be offering workshops on Improving Balance, Concentration (Dharana), Creative and Healing Visualizations, Breath Control (Pranayama), Self-Discipline (Yamas & Niyamas), The Mind/Body Connection, Mind-Mapping and other topics as they come up.

For more information about topics Click Here, or visit his business web-site at http://ExpandingParadigms.com

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MEALS

Meals are a highlight of these retreats. All meals are vegetarian and delicious! Charles usually likes to cook the Friday evening meal and Saturday breakfast.

The subsequent meals are catered.

Meals are served in the dining room, which has wonderful natural lighting from skylights and large windows on 3 sides with wonderful views of the surrounding meadows, woods, and bamboo gardens.

During meals, students quickly make friends, and find themselves engaged is wonderful conversations.

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FREE TIME

The entire weekend should be thought of as free time.

All yoga classes, meditations, workshops, activities, and even meals are optional. Sometimes a nap in one of the hammocks is more therapeutic than a yoga class.

Bring a book to read or your journal to write in. Set off to explore the surrounding countryside. For those who just need some down time, this is your opportunity to relax, and for those who want to try everything, there will be more than enough scheduled activities to keep you engaged.

Runners enjoy the small country roads surrounding the property. Often, students bring their own hammocks which prove to be one of the favorite activities during the weekend. In addition, there is a newly finished maze to practice walking meditation.

We will have two registered massage therapists on staff who will be offering their services at the special retreat discounted rate of $70/hr. Half hour sessions are also available for $35.

For those students who would like to receive a massage but do not want to miss any of the retreat workshops and classes, special appointments may be available on Friday afternoon, prior to the start of the retreat, or Sunday after 3 p.m. following the close of the retreat. Contact Charles to set up an appointment.

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FACILITATOR

Charles MacInerney has studied yoga and meditation since 1971 and taught since 1989. He has worked with over 12,000 students from Austin and around the world. He teaches classes on Yoga, Meditation, Posture, Visualization, Breathing, Balance, Creativity, Concentration, and Biofeedback for a variety of businesses, corporations and institutions. As a professional public speaker he regularly presents at national conferences.

Charles presented at the Second & Third Annual Southwest Yoga Conferences where he worked with a group of 25 yoga teachers from Canada and the U.S. showing them how to use yoga to reach at-risk-youth. Then he modeled his program for them, working with a group of 30 teenagers from a program for first time offenders. Later in the conference he was selected as a panelist to answer questions about his collaboration with Seton Hospital where he works on site teaching yoga and meditation to cardiac rehabilitation patients. The following year he presented on Devotion in the Workplace and served on the board of advisors for the conference.

Charles was featured in a story on yoga retreats in the Houston Chronicle in 2010, has been quoted in the Yoga Journal in artlicles featuring his Yoga & Writing retreats in Mexico, on creativity and Yoga, on Yoga & Women's Heart Disease, and in May 2004 he was featured in the Ask Our Expert Column.

Charles has led approximately 150 yoga retreats since 1993, including 20 retreats in Mexico, 10 in Guatemala and 5 retreats in Costa Rica. For more information about Charles, please see his Biography.

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REGISTRATION

I hope you will be able to join us for three days and two nights of Raja Yoga, meditation, vegetarian cooking, creative visualizations, biofeedback, mind-mapping and more. Limited registration is accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, so register early to ensure a space at the retreat.

Cost: $425

Registration is limited and this retreat often sells out early, so be sure to register ASAP.

To register by credit card: please email charles@yogateacher.com with your contact information and specify which retreat you are registering for. Then click on the "Pay Now" button below. Fill in the amount you are paying in the box marked "Unit Price" and click "Update Totals" before proceeding to pay. If you have any difficulty, please let me know.

To register by check: please make check payable to Charles MacInerney, and return with your:

Name
Work & Home Phone Numbers
E-Mail Address
Mailing Address and Zip Code

and send to

Charles MacInerney
Expanding Paradigms
5803 Westmont
Austin, TX 78731.

If registering for more than one person, please include their contact information as well. To check on space availability or other information, please send e-mail to charles@yogateacher.com

Fee includes: Lodging, meals, classes, workshops, handouts, and materials/supplies.

Fee does not include: Travel expenses and massage therapy.

Refund Policy: Registrants who have paid in full are entitled to a 75% refund with a minimum of 7 days notice of cancellation. The remaining balance of 25% can be applied towards a future retreat.

More Info: A complete information package (including maps, instructions, lists of what to bring and what to expect, etc.) will be provided a week prior to the retreat or to find the same information on-lne, click here.

J. Flatten - Texas

"It has been weeks since I attended Charles MacInerney's yoga and meditation retreat, but I still feel deeply affected by it. Charles always speaks from his heart. And his heart is so wise, so sweet, and so funny! Everything about the retreat was extraordinary."

Terry Masters - Owner/Director of Master School, Texas

"Combining the physical limbering of Yoga genuinely stretched my creativity. I touched parts of my talent I was not able to reach before."

Ron Seybold - Editor of a professional newsletter, Austin Texas

"The mindset that the retreat promoted and created stayed with me during subsequent weeks, making me more open to others and myself..."

Carol Mackay - Professor of English at the University of Texas, Austin

"My self consciousness and inexperience with yoga did not matter a whit. I found a quiet slow pleasure in the movements."

Gayle Miller - Artist & Writer, Austin, Texas

"As an M.D., having practiced medicine for 25 years, I have become acutely aware of the critical importance of integrating body, mind and spirit if one is to achieve wholeness and lasting health. This body-creative mind experience was a wonderful opportunity for me personally to work toward the goal that I have long tried to stimulate in my patients but have often not been able to achieve myself. This workshop was for me a magical experience and indeed a sacred endeavor."

Dr. Don Charles Wukasch - Thoracic Surgeon, Houston Texas.

"Even with no experience, I felt completely at ease in the same room with others who had been involved in yoga for years. I left the weekend with confidence, energy, and a new group of friends!"

Ruth Kline - Austin, Texas