Welcome Weekend

To become a LYT you have to at least visit Yogaville for a Welcome Weekend. Most LYT's have visited for the weekend, enjoyed the stay so much that they decided to come back and fully immerse themselves for a month or longer. Before deciding to become a LYT I had never been to Yogaville. I heard of it from several friends in the DC Cancer Community and they all had great things to say about the experience. I decided to jump right in sight unseen not really knowing what to expect. 

Every weekend in Yogaville is "Welcome Weekend" where visitors can get better acquainted with the grounds and the "Integral Yoga way of life". I spent my first weekend here like most visitors excited about this new peace seeking adventure. Even getting up for 6:20 am meditation was exciting and cute. Look at me! I'm a zen master! Even though I fidgeted and basically nodded off through most of it, I thought it was pretty awesome. I got to tour the LOTUS temple (which I will discuss later) and hear the history of Swami Satchidananda and Yogaville in general.

Getting ready for my first Satsang

The view of LOTUS from Nataraja shrine

Nataraja shrine on the Hill

First LOTUS pics at Night

totally planned my outfit to match LOTUS

The grounds are amazing. It's surrounded by 650 acres, bordering the James River on the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It's not hard to see the draw as far as being surrounded by beautiful environment. Even in the barren winter it's lovely. The whole goal of Yogaville from their own words... "Here at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, you will have the opportunity to connect with like-minded people seeking to live easeful, peaceful, useful lives. Our mission at the Ashram is to practice, live, and impart the Integral Yoga teaching of Sri Swami Satchidananda. Our goal is to experience supreme peace and joy and to share that peace and joy with one and all."

View of the James River

Me..blocking the view of the James River

The Welcome Weekend allowed me to not be completely blindsided by the LYT program. I even had the opportunity to meet some visiting DC yogis. I instantly bonded with some folks and happily exchanged information so that when I returned we could connect.

Inside LOTUS..family love

By Sunday afternoon I was pretty tired. All of the "Weekend" folks were packing up and heading out, including my new buddies from DC. There was a huge part of me that wanted to hitch a ride back. My mind was telling me that they were lucky. They were going to be able to go back to their cozy little places in the city, maybe grab a burger on the way home and sit in front of the TV with a glass of wine. Me? I looked down to realize that my real work was just about to begin as my bowl of kale laughed at me.