Creating Space

7:00pm 12 June 2026 - 12:30pm 14 June 2026

Cost: £63.00

Venue: Samye Ling

Bookings for this course (and guest accommodation) will open on 10th April 2026.  Please send an email on 10th April or after, giving your details to bookings@samyeling.org. 

This popular weekend explores a wider aspect of being than that offered by the thinking mind. 

Using a variety of traditional yoga practices we will explore the yogic paradigm of the Pancha Koshas which serve as a way of opening up not only to physical and mental aspects of our being, but also energetic, intuitive and spiritual aspects. In daily life we tend to over identify with particular aspects and disregard others. This creates stress and can deny us the potential for joyful living and personal growth. This weekend is designed to create space! 

The Pancha Koshas (the five sheaths): 

Anna-maya kosha (Physical) – The vehicle through which we experience life; requires a balance of activity, rest, and wholesome nourishment.

Prana-maya kosha (Energetic) – The energy body that animates us, continually nourished by the life force within the breath.

Mana-maya kosha (Mental) – The mind stream of thoughts and feelings, including the conditioned beliefs that influence our behaviour.

Vigyana-maya kosha (Intuitive) – The realm of insight and creative inspiration often obscured by mental activity.

Ananda-maya kosha (Blissful) – The realm of joy, compassion and wisdom, accessible through the practice of presence. 

There will be an even balance of breath work, movement, relaxation and meditation. This weekend is open to everyone so the posture work is slow and gentle and therefore suitable for complete beginners and those with conditions for which strenuous exercise is not advised. 

Preparations 

Breath Work: To steady the nervous system through breath awareness, abdominal breathing, viloma, and anuloma viloma. 

Movement: To release tension and inhabit the body through joint releasing sequences, hip opening series, spinal movements, as well as back and abdominal strengthening. 

Relaxation: To access a state of conscious rest via Yoga Nidra (a withdrawal of the senses leading to conscious sleep) and Yoga Nyasa (directed awareness synchronised with the breath). 

Practices 

Meditation: To view our internal experience exactly as it is using the meditative techniques of Kaya Sthairyam (body stillness) and Antar Mouna (inner silence). 

We can develop an appreciation for each of the koshas and our capacity to care for them. In doing so, we open to our natural capacity for presence, creativity, compassion and joy. Leave feeling restored, with a renewed motivation to prioritise your own self-care for the benefit of those you care for. 

Complete beginners as well as more experienced practitioners and teachers are all welcome. 

The course begins after supper at 7pm on the Friday. Saturday sessions will be 10.00 am to 12.30 pm and 3.00 pm to 5.30 pm with breaks. Sunday will be 10.00 am to 12.30 pm with a break with the course finishing in time for lunch at 12.30 pm. 

NOTE: Please bring comfortable layers of clothing so that you can move freely yet remain warm. The joint releasing movements can actually lower body temperature. Please bring your own mat, sitting block or cushion and a blanket. 

Johnny can be contacted at www.jgyoga.co.uk