The Magic Of The Sattva Summit

By Jennifer Goodman

My experience at the Sattva Summit can be summed up with one word, magic! To feel magic you feel something beyond this human existence, feelings you can't explain or understand but fill you with bliss. This is the feeling the Summit, the Sattva Retreat Center, and India will give you. 

The Sattva Summit is a boutique conscious gathering, offering the opportunity for Yogis from across the globe to gather for a week of deep healing, expansion, transformation, and pure joy. They did an amazing job creating a complete and transformational experience. The week was full of yoga classes taught by globally renowned teachers such as Anand Mehotra, Kia Miller, Gurmuck, and Tommy Rosen. These were not your ordinary yoga classes, these classes took you on a journey both physically and deeply within. I felt as though each class was weeks, months, or even a lifetime of work being undone. Unveiling, revealing, opening, and transforming. There was a lot of emotion being released, both tears of joy and healing, laughter, even screaming and growling like a lion. Experiences that left me open and craving more. You never knew what was coming next, one minute you're in deep meditation and the next up and dancing around the room.

There were several options of daily morning meditations or gatherings such as silent meditation along the banks of the river where we ended the meditation by chanting the Gayatri Mantra. There were guided meditations, pujas and prayer, and other small groups creating their own experience of worship. Personally, I was drawn to the silent meditations by the river which left me feeling a sense of lightness, peace, love, and connected to the nature that surrounded.

Daily satsangs were given by Anand, who has such a deep sense of knowing and wisdom that he was able to break down and explain even the most profound questions thrown at him. I could barely keep up with journaling all of this information that helped me understand and comprehend the many complexities we endure in this life and existence.

There were optional excursions to experience the history, culture, and beauty of India including the Beatles Ashram, silent hikes through the foothills of the Himalayas, a school run by the Kushi Foundation, and visiting caves where many sages and seers had gone deep into meditation. Just sitting in the caves you could feel the energy and vibration of a higher consciousness.

The evenings were reserved for fun, entertainment, and relaxation with traditional Indian dance and music, kirtan with the amazing and talented artists Jaya Lakshmi and Ananda, ecstatic dance, sound healing, and yoga nidra. Or just social time to gather with new friends and old, share our experiences, and fall into deep and inspiring conversation. 

Everything and everyone at the Summit was so warm, attentive and welcoming. It truly felt like home. It was wonderful to be around a group of yogis so devoted to their path and inner growth and healing, many of which have become my tribe and I know I will be forever connected to with a deep friendship, bond, and understanding. Each day at the summit was a unique experience, another step of growth, and transformation.

What I fell in love with the most though was my time alone by the river. I began to crave this time to sit, be still, listen, and receive, and process all that I was learning each day. To feel all that the land had to offer to this experience. This feeling of pure consciousness that flowed in the river, the trees and mountains, and sang with the birds. It filled me with a love so deeply within I had never felt before. I felt and understood how it feels to be connected to god and that god is in all. That we are all one, we are only love, and that is truth. Hari Om Tat Sat, as they say.  It was difficult to leave the Summit and the Sattva retreat center but I found peace in it knowing that I will be back and that what I experienced is forever a part of me. It is home.

To learn more about the Sattva Summit visit: www.sattvasummit.com.