WELCOME TO THE ACADEMY SATSANG!
How the Academy Satsang Began
The Academy of Natural Health Satsang began in
February 2006. It was conceived in answer to the
wishes of former students who desired to continue
and deepen their connection within the Academy
family community. An additional purpose of the
Satsang has been for it to become a vehicle to raise
funds for a scholarship designed to support future
students to train in holistic massage with the
Academy, who would not otherwise be in the financial
position to be able to do so. Facilitating this
group has been
Katya
Langmuur’s personal offering – a gift of service
– and by making a small payment to the scholarship
fund instead each week, the participants (former
students, family and friends of the Academy) have
been sowing the seeds for the generation of Academy
students to come. This scholarship has since become
known as the Open
Circle Fund - and we are very proud to announce
that the first recipient of it began his training
with us in September 2006.
Our Purpose
For the first stage of the Satsang (known as Satsang
1), a company of nine meets once a month, in the
spirit of growth and love, for a total of six
months. The aim is for each of us to use this
structured time to work on personal spiritual
unfoldment, and to look at how to integrate that
into our daily lives. Using traditional Indian
spiritual practices - including written exercises,
chanting, meditation, reading texts and seva or
selfless service -, it offers a framework of support
and encouragement for us each to grow and learn. At
the culmination of this period, Satsang 2 begins
which comprises of a meeting once every 2-3
months in order to touch base with our ongoing
practices and to focus on certain universal and
perennial spiritual themes.
Experiencing Satsang
Satsang is a revealing, sometimes joyful, sometimes
arduous, but ultimately nourishing experience; one
that allows you to learn how to live with spirit for
yourselves, enriched by sharing with and supporting
each other.
“Satsang for me was about finding my feet on my own
spiritual path, about surrender, acceptance. I guess
I entered into it with a notion of where I was in
myself, to find that overturned, and to go much,
much deeper. It wasn’t always comfortable. But it
needed to be so. Satsang has opened me up to my
truth. It has shown me how I might access my heart,
how to grow a spiritual practice of my own, and
given me a beautiful community of support. I feel
like I’ve just woken up.” Rachel, Satsang 2006.
As part of the whole experience of developing the
Satsang family, we have been on a number of special
group outings and to events that have a spiritual
flavour. These have included taking part in a
traditional ‘Durga Puja’ celebration at the
Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre in Buckinghamshire,
attending an all-night ‘Devi Bhav’ extravaganza with
Indian saint Amma, as well as hosting an Indian
dinner party and an intimate kirtan night for US
kirtan star Bhagavan Das whilst he was on tour in
Europe this autumn. Three of us also created what we
deemed a 6-handed ‘sacred massage’ for Bhagavan Das
that combined massage with mantras, chanting,
meditation, breath and voicework - and plenty of
white rose petals too! Truly divine…
On a more regular basis, we have ourselves entered into the
devotional practice of singing kirtan, traditional
Indian call and response chanting. The
Academy Kirtan Group meets
every week to practice singing from the heart.
We also hold a public kirtan night approximately
once a month at River House Trust in
Hammersmith or at Moving Arts Base in Islington.
Apart from being great fun, these events also serve
to raise further money for the
Open Circle Fund.
Interested
in Joining Us?
We are excited to announce that there will be a new
Satsang 1 Group
starting this spring. The group will, once more,
consist of 8 participants (plus Katya as
facilitator) who will meet for a 3 hour session on
one Tuesday evening each month in order to explore
the spiritual path and what that means in terms of
learning to live our lives to the very fullest and
most authentic. This will be a closed group and a
commitment to attend all 6 sessions is very
important. In between sessions, each Satsang member
needs also commit to engage in regular guided
written, meditative and prayer-based practices as
well as some kirtan and some seva. There is ongoing
peer support throughout and the creation of
community is viewed as being as significant as each
individual’s solo journey throughout the 6 months.
Very universal in its approach and thus suitable for
participants from all belief systems, the Satsang 1
process is nonetheless one best suited to people
serious about their commitment to explore their
spiritual path. At the end of Satsang 1,
participants are free to join the existing Satsang 2
group.
The fee for the Satsang 1 is £15 per 3 hour session.
The combined amount of this is £90, £60 of which
needs to be paid prior to the first session. This
goes straight into the
Open Circle Fund
account. Then at each of the 6 sessions,
participants need only each bring £5, which covers
the cost of expenses and materials. The venue is
Katya’s private studio in Crouch End, London N8. The
timings for each session are 6.30 – 9.30pm.
Dates for the 2007 Satsang 1 are as follows:
Tuesday 13 March
Tuesday 17 April
Tuesday 15 May
Tuesday 12 June
Tuesday 10 July
Tuesday 7 August
If you would like to join us or have further
questions, please email Katya at
touch@massage.org.uk.
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