Leela Retreat

Viniyoga | Inner Work | Interactive Theatre | Serious Play

September 27 – October 3, 2023

Hariprasad Varma

Founder: Yogaśāla & Zensei

Leela Retreat at Nimmu House - September 2023

Curator & Facilitator

Hari is a Facilitator, Leadership Coach, Interactive Theatre & Energy work practitioner, and Yoga Therapist (IAYT) in the Sri T Krishnamacharya-Desikachartradition. He founded Zensei & Yogaśāla and has curated over 20 yoga retreats and numerous workshops across India and abroad in the past seven years. He has a keen interest in blending music, interactive theatre and arts in exploring the principles of yoga as an embodied and self-reflective practice. He has designed innovative offerings such as Rāga Yoga, Pilgrim’s Pursuit, Minna Minni, Buddha Bowl, and Leela in collaboration with artists and facilitators from diverse fields such as storytelling, Indian classical music, writing, and LEGO Serious Play.

He is trained in Yoga Therapy by Yoga Vahini under the guidance of Smt. Saraswati Vasudevan, in Yoga Sutras & Antaranga Yoga under the mentorship of Sri RaghuAnanthanarayanan and has been a student of many senior teachers in the Krishnamacharya-Desikachar tradition such as Srivatsa Ramaswamy, R. Sriram, Jyotsna and Latha Sathish. He is part of the core team of Ritambhara Ashram and regularly facilitates inner work through yoga offerings based on Yoga Sutras and itihāsa-purāna traditions ofBhārat. He is currently completing his internship in process work with the Sumedha’s Academy of Human Context.

Cultural Immersion

Ladakh is the home of Tibetan Buddhism in India. Its people have been receiving travellers since the time of the Silk Route. The Ladakhi, ancient as they may be, are simple and humble people. Warm, welcoming, friendly and honest are the best ways to describe them. The land resonates with this passion through its rich spiritual vibrations. The retreat brings together diverse experiences to explore Ladakh’s land, culture and people with experiences like Monastery Visits and Village Walks.

Yoga

Viniyoga: Introduction to āsana-prānāyāma-dhārana (Bahiranga Yoga) practices in the Sri TKrishnamacharya-Desikachar tradition of Yoga. The teaching will focus on adapting the practice to the needs and abilities of the individuals, with step-by-step progression and application of necessary modifications and variations.

Antaranga Yoga: Inner Work or Antaranga Yoga Through Yoga practices to discover the patterns and stories one recreates in life. Exploring the discovery of greater choiceness and joyousness through embodied practices.

Healing Chants: Introduction to various healing chants from Krishna Yajur Veda & Taittiriya Upanishad that promote healing, relaxation and energy replenishment.

what is Leela?

Leela is the attitude of “Serious Play”. Learning and self-discovery become fun and embodied when the process is filled with a sense of play, fun and lightness. Leela takes you through an experiential and fun-filled self-exploratory journey through a blend of the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) method, Interactive Theatre, Process Work, and Contemplative Dialogue. Leela is an inner work exploration designed by Hariprasad Varma, combining his experience with LSP, Interactive Theatre, Process Work, and Yoga Sutras.

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®

Leela is the attitude of “Serious Play”. Learning and self-discovery become fun and embodied when the process is filled with a sense of play, fun and lightness. Leela takes you through an experiential and fun-filled self-exploratory journey through a blend of the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® (LSP) method, Interactive theatre, Process Work, and Contemplative Dialogue. Leela is an inner work exploration designed by Hariprasad Varma, combining his experience with LSP, Interactive Theatre, Process Work, and Yoga Sutras.

The LSP method facilitates thinking, communication and problem-solving for organisations, teams and individuals. It draws on extensive research from business, organisational development, psychology and learning and is based on “hand knowledge.” You can learn more about this method at www.seriousplay.training.

Interactive Theatre
Interactive Theatre practices bring together powerful, fun and insightful theatre games based on the pedagogy of the Theatre of the Oppressed (TO) was developed by Augusto Boal. Participants get an opportunity to uncover deep personal life patterns through engaging and embodied body-centred practices in these explorations. These practices are accessible, and no prior theatre experience is required.

Process Work
Process-oriented inner work focuses on following the flow of one’s experiences by paying attention to one’s physical sensations, subtler dreamlike experiences, and the most subtle, almost ineffable feelings and tendencies occurring within and around us.