March was another very exciting month at Agama - Koh Phangan!

We began the month with a gorgeous and powerful commemoration of Mahashivaratri, which was led by Claudiu Trandafir, the leader of our Spiritual Heart retreats, in Swami Vivekananda's absence due to a visa run. Many beautiful shaktis dressed in the color of Tripura Sundari prepared the hall over several days and held the sacred rituals of Shakti prior to this Great Night of Shiva. Meditations on the aspects of Shiva lasted from 22:00 until about 2:00 or 2:30, but a vigil was kept all night by some of the most devoted and energetic of attendees.

In the same week, we rented our fourth Yoga hall! Actually it is a whole resort, Daylight, situated on a freshwater lake on the edge of a pine tree and palm forest just beside Bovy, our oldest home on Koh Phangan. Slowly we are remodeling this resort, upgrading the boathouse to a Yoga hall so that we can open the restaurant (yogi kitchen-based), and outfitting the few rental units, one perhaps to become a kaya kalpa retreat house. We have asked one of our old students, Yogesh, to come and manage the resort, to which he agreed, and in the meantime we held our first event here, the March yang spiral, standing in the grass under open skies. It was a very strong meditation.

In the second week of the month, our beloved senior teacher Monika led a very successful Mystical Belly Dance Workshop for 32 enthusiastic women. It was a fantastic week of shakti togetherness, exploration, self-discovery, and transcendence over personal limitation. A highlight of the week was the transfiguration evening of all the participants with 32 Shivas - these meditations and dances were very profound for everyone. The women's week-ending finale of seven dances formed the feature performance at the 1001 Arabian Nights Party held at Green Hall. The party, with tarot card readings, a kissing booth, aphrodisiac h'ors doeuvres, massage, games, and a bindi bar, was a big hit. Many people danced into the wee hours….

Two days later, the Revelation of the Spiritual Heart Retreat began again (it is held each month, beginning on the 18th, until 1 August), and many of our students and teachers joined. With the addition of Claudiu and these retreats to Agama, more and more of our students have discovered the joy and depth of a strong meditation practice, which is a very welcome trend here. Claudiu additionally leads the daily morning meditations by the lake at Daylight when he is not in retreat. During the weekend of the retreat, we also celebrated Easter with a late-night meditation Saturday on the Resurrection of Christ in Akasha and another meditation at noon Sunday on the Christ-like Sphere of Consciousness.

This last weekend of March brought the graduation ceremony for our Winter 2008 Teacher Training Course participants, a very happy (and very long!) occasion (the final ceremony stretched until almost 1:30 am!). After all certificates, sashes, and prasad were handed out, we were regaled by jokes, readings, poems, songs, dances, and an ensemble number by the TTC men and women (a humorous song to the tune of "Summer Nights" from "Grease"). This was a wonderful class of graduates and we wish them all the best in their new directions!

And last, but certainly not least, today - after years of hope and dreams - we launched the Agama Yogic Healing Center! Swami Vivekananda led a consecration to Ganesha and meditation for the success of the center with a group that packed its front room and flowed out the door. To begin with, the center will offer Yogic therapy and homeopathic consultations with Mihaiela plus chiropractic treatment sessions three days per week. Additionally, in a separate room we are preparing to open a parapsychological lab in which our students can request brainwave therapies (with the use of brain machines), radionic treatments, and other alternative therapies under the direction of Claudiu, a former professor of Parapsychology. Despite its humble beginnings, we continue to have big dreams for the center and hope eventually to actualize some of the grand scale and potential of Yogic, natural, and alternative therapies through donations of equipment and expansion funds.

A reminder about our spring workshop schedule here on Koh Phangan for those who may wish to join us. Progressive discounts apply to multiple workshops and to multiple retreats:

1-5 April: Tantra 1, with Swami Vivekananda

18-27 April: Revelation of the Spiritual Heart Retreat (10-day silent meditation retreat), with Claudiu Trandafir

20-30 April: Teachings and workshops by Swami Vivekananda and Mihaiela Pentiuc: Tel Aviv, Israel

29 April-3 May: Tantra 2, taught by senior Agama teachers

2-4 May: Tantra 2 Weekend, with Swami Vivekananda: Istanbul, Turkey

5-9 May: Parapsychology 2: Clairvoyance, Developing a Photographic Memory, and Practical Methods for Awakening Kundalini, with Eugen Birgaoanu with assistance from Swami Vivekananda

12-16 May: Tibetan Yoga, with Swami Vivekananda

18-27 April: Revelation of the Spiritual Heart Retreat, with Claudiu Trandafir

19-23 May: Complete Femininity (women only), with Mihaiela Pentiuc

19-23 May: Vira Training (men only) with Swami Vivekananda

Email info@agamayoga.com or call +66 (0)89 233 0217 for more information.

If you have the opportunity to study and practice with us, we hope to meet you soon here on our island, surrounded by lush nature, beside the majestic sea, looking out toward the gorgeous western sky....

Blessings, love, and wishes for spiritual prosperity,
Lori for all of us at Agama Yoga