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Flowers & Fire Yoga Yoga – Gili Air

‘Retrieving the Divine Feminine

Dates to be confirmed. 

Come and join Aimee Pedersen and Emily Christian, June 8th-14th 2020, on the paradise island of Gili Air, for a week of exploration using our body and its creative expression, to return to the wholeness of life and our connection to ‘all’ in this sacred women’s retreat,

Throughout history women have gathered together to hold space for each other. We have sat in circles and felt the power of that medicine. To gather once more in the circle is to activate our journey back to living the healed feminine. As women, as embodiment of Goddess, we hold within each of us an innate understanding of the cycles of our being and their connection to the cycles of our world. These mysteries are held within the very cells of our bodies.

The beauty and power of the Divine Feminine is all around and within us, deeply interconnecting us to the earth that holds us, and all life forms that share community around us. Retrieving her, invites us into a remembering of our identity as part of life’s weave. It is an invitation to come back to the circle so together we may open our hearts, minds and bodies to the wisdom we each hold within our scared architecture of womanhood.

According to Maria Gimbutus, in old Europe, the goddess was life itself in all her variety. She was the light giver, the death Wielder, the regeneratrix and igniter of fertility. Life was not divorced from death, and death lead to regeneration of life.

An endless cycle turning like the moon.

When we begin to experience ourselves as part of this Divine Wholeness and understand our interconnectedness to all things, we release fears, suffering and personal neurosis created by our illusionary identification with separation and un-examined ‘preferences’. This experience of separation limits our capacity to create and manifest as we strangle our process through limited and narrow self concepts and prejudices’. We also lose our ability to access the collective conscious to inspire and energize our idea seeds. When we learn to harness the power of the divine feminine and expand our identity so we feel one with life, we increase our potency, everything becomes possible and manifestation works like magic.

Join Aimee Pedersen and Emily Christian for this retreat where we will honour the sacred feminine principle, personified by the goddesses of the yogic tradition, allowing us a pathway to explore the full potency of our feminine energies within.  Each Goddess symbolises particular energies within the field of absolute Consciousness. Through calling upon Goddess frequencies such as Durga: inner strength and protection, Lakshmi: abundant radiance and love, Saraswati: wisdom and creative expression, and Kali: revolution and spiritual growth, we can reclaim our sacred female power and awaken to all that we are! When we work with them the aim is always for the liberation of ourselves and of all beings.

 To embody the goddess is to meet both our inner and outer worlds with more richness and delight!

On this retreat we will start to embody these different Divine Feminine frequencies through transformational asana, storytelling, meditation, breath-work, dance, visualization, drawing, ritual, kirtan chanting, creating community, nourishing whole foods, and merging with ocean and land. Through these practices we will explore the different aspects of ‘The Goddess’ and express these creatively. The more we learn to allow the divine feminine to be expressed through us, the more empowered we become to co-create with her the rich, connected, heart filled and magically abundant reality our soul yearns for.

Sample Day

Each day we will explore a different aspect of Feminine Energy, through movement, yoga asana, pranayama, meditation, story, art making and creative visualization among other processes. We will end each day with a completion ritual to activate the process.

Most days there will be optional early morning sunrise sessions, and also evening gatherings. These will be totally optional as an important part of the work is having space to regenerate and integrate the sessions in a way that works best for your energies.

(Please note that this sample schedule is only indicative and each day will be a little different)

5.45 -6.30am Optional sunrise meditation (most days)
7-9am Yoga and meditation session– embodying the Goddess energy of the day
9am Breakfast
10am -1pm Creative deep dive/Dharma Talks-Philosophy Talk or Creative processes session- visualization, painting, vision boarding, storytelling
1pm lunch
1.30-4.30pm Optional free time, or you can choose to stay in the space and continue with your creative work independently.
4.30-6pm Afternoon movement session– depending on the flavour of the day this may include- gentle yoga, dance, dynamic meditation, kirtan, pranic energy work
6pm Evening days end ritual– sometimes at the studio, sometimes at sunset
7pm Dinner
7.30pm Optional Evening Sessions. (most days) These may include movie night, dancing, story telling soiree, star gazing adventure, singing bowl meditation.

Pricing

Early Bird dates will be confirmed once the retreat dates have been set. 

4 bed share room (4 single beds)

Early bird $750 USD per person

Full Price $850 USD per person

 

Triple Share-Deluxe king Bungalow with loft (2 single beds, one queen bed in Loft)

Early bird $900 USD per person

Full Price $990 USD per person

 

Twin share –Deluxe King Bungalow (2 single beds)

Early bird $990 USD per person

Full Price $1110 USD per person

 

Private Queen ( 1 queen bed)

Early bird $1250 USD per person

Full Price $1350 USD per person

 

Pricing includes:

  • 6 nights accommodation
  • All meals (including lunch and dinner day of arrival, breakfast and lunch day of departure)
  • Snorkelling with turtles
  • All group classes, activities and sessions
  • All art materials
  • Free drinking water
  • Use of all props and mats in the studio
  • WIFI in rooms and around the centre
  • Unlimited Tea and Lombok Coffee

In order to create an intimate and safe container for this work, numbers will be limited, so please contact us for any early expressions of interest or to book a place

MORE INFORMATION

Aimee Pedersen

Aimee’s true awakening in yoga came through the practice of Embodied Flow with Tara Judelle and Scott Lyons. Deeply enriched by the teachings of Saiva Tantra, it felt like a homecoming, an incredible map towards the discovery of her true nature – the deepest promise of yoga.

“We have the same technology the ancient yogis had in their pursuit of self realisation: our bodies. Practising yoga dissolves boundaries, and connects us to nature, other beings and with Consciousness itself. We move from the suffering created by misperceptions, to the truth of our profound relationship with life.”

It is Aimee’s experience that yoga is so much more than an individual pursuit to master poses. It’s the catalyst for an upshift in our awareness as individuals, pouring back into the unified whole as a service to humanity.

Aimee’s classes are imbued with her training in embryology and its influence on movement and her continuing study of Saiva Tantra with Paul Muller-Ortega and Christopher Wallis. Most recently Aimee has trained with Mark Breadner and continues to be mentored by him. She is passionate about sharing the science of yoga she has learnt under his guidance.

Aimee Pedersen

Aimee’s true awakening in yoga came through the practice of Embodied Flow with Tara Judelle and Scott Lyons. Deeply enriched by the teachings of Saiva Tantra, it felt like a homecoming, an incredible map towards the discovery of her true nature – the deepest promise of yoga.

“We have the same technology the ancient yogis had in their pursuit of self realisation: our bodies. Practising yoga dissolves boundaries, and connects us to nature, other beings and with Consciousness itself. We move from the suffering created by misperceptions, to the truth of our profound relationship with life.”

It is Aimee’s experience that yoga is so much more than an individual pursuit to master poses. It’s the catalyst for an upshift in our awareness as individuals, pouring back into the unified whole as a service to humanity.

Aimee’s classes are imbued with her training in embryology and its influence on movement and her continuing study of Saiva Tantra with Paul Muller-Ortega and Christopher Wallis. Most recently Aimee has trained with Mark Breadner and continues to be mentored by him. She is passionate about sharing the science of yoga she has learnt under his guidance.

Emily Christian

Born to parents who were dedicated Iyengar yogis, I remember waking up most days to my parents doing headstands in the kitchen and trying to copy them. When I started formally practicing as an early teen, I had a familiarity with the poses, but I don’t remember when I first learnt them. My mother, Chardi Christian, also bred me on a diet of myth and story from as long as I can remember. When her work started to focus more on the divine feminine I too was introduced to ‘The Goddess’ and her many aspects. As a result my relationship with Yoga was always evolving hand in hand with my relationship to the archetypal power of ‘The Feminine’.

I have fond memories of coming home from school to women sitting around our kitchen table, sewing, laughing, crying, telling stories. Or of having to sneak in the house quietly, tip toeing around sage smoke smudging and shaman drums beating (often arhythmically, ha ha) as there was a women’s ritual going on. Coming into my woman hood during those wild and woolly teenage years, I am so grateful for the community of women she worked with and the mentoring and love they provided for me. I know that so much of my intuitive sense of how to create, how to teach creativity, facilitate and hold space was developed during those early years absorbing the energy of mum’s work.

While I feel like I have always had Yoga around me, my early spiritual practice was most influenced by goddess work and my sense of Yoga was more in terms of physical Asana. As my practice developed in my 20s I started learning more about Yoga’s philosophical container while working with teachers from the Satchidananda lineage and I fell in love with the possibilities of the practice. In my early 30s I started to encounter more flow style, dialogue rich forms of Yoga and that is when my love affair became a committed relationship.

Since then I have trained with and been inspired by many other incredible teachers coming from a multitude of different lineages, such as Tara Judelle, Aimee Pedersen, Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest, Pixie Lillas and Marybeth Zang. This has formed a rich and complex weave to my Yoga tapestry.

The core existential concepts informing my teachings come out of a non-dualistic, Tantric lineage that conceives of the material world and the body as an expression of divine consciousness. The spiritual journey for me is essentially a journey of integrating and embodying all aspects of the human experience, thereby coming home to the divine truth of our nature. In terms of personifying this divine truth, I tend to work more with Hindu Gods and Goddesses (Believe me I pestered them endlessly for help in the creation of Flowers and Fire!!!) however ultimately it is my experience that illumination is available through a multitude of conceptual and physical vehicles and forms.

In short, having experienced the transformative power of a diverse range of approaches and lineages, and with an equally varied professional background in education, textile art, costume design, somatic therapies, and a brief stint as professional story teller, my aim as founder and creative director of Flowers and Fire Yoga, is to weave together the disciplines of Yoga, prayer, meditation and creative manifestation to support the transformative journey towards a more graceful, mindful and creative state of well-being.

Emily Christian

Born to parents who were dedicated Iyengar yogis, I remember waking up most days to my parents doing headstands in the kitchen and trying to copy them. When I started formally practicing as an early teen, I had a familiarity with the poses, but I don’t remember when I first learnt them. My mother, Chardi Christian, also bred me on a diet of myth and story from as long as I can remember. When her work started to focus more on the divine feminine I too was introduced to ‘The Goddess’ and her many aspects. As a result my relationship with Yoga was always evolving hand in hand with my relationship to the archetypal power of ‘The Feminine’.

I have fond memories of coming home from school to women sitting around our kitchen table, sewing, laughing, crying, telling stories. Or of having to sneak in the house quietly, tip toeing around sage smoke smudging and shaman drums beating (often arhythmically, ha ha) as there was a women’s ritual going on. Coming into my woman hood during those wild and woolly teenage years, I am so grateful for the community of women she worked with and the mentoring and love they provided for me. I know that so much of my intuitive sense of how to create, how to teach creativity, facilitate and hold space was developed during those early years absorbing the energy of mum’s work.

While I feel like I have always had Yoga around me, my early spiritual practice was most influenced by goddess work and my sense of Yoga was more in terms of physical Asana. As my practice developed in my 20s I started learning more about Yoga’s philosophical container while working with teachers from the Satchidananda lineage and I fell in love with the possibilities of the practice. In my early 30s I started to encounter more flow style, dialogue rich forms of Yoga and that is when my love affair became a committed relationship.

Since then I have trained with and been inspired by many other incredible teachers coming from a multitude of different lineages, such as Tara Judelle, Aimee Pedersen, Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest, Pixie Lillas and Marybeth Zang. This has formed a rich and complex weave to my Yoga tapestry.

The core existential concepts informing my teachings come out of a non-dualistic, Tantric lineage that conceives of the material world and the body as an expression of divine consciousness. The spiritual journey for me is essentially a journey of integrating and embodying all aspects of the human experience, thereby coming home to the divine truth of our nature. In terms of personifying this divine truth, I tend to work more with Hindu Gods and Goddesses (Believe me I pestered them endlessly for help in the creation of Flowers and Fire!!!) however ultimately it is my experience that illumination is available through a multitude of conceptual and physical vehicles and forms.

In short, having experienced the transformative power of a diverse range of approaches and lineages, and with an equally varied professional background in education, textile art, costume design, somatic therapies, and a brief stint as professional story teller, my aim as founder and creative director of Flowers and Fire Yoga, is to weave together the disciplines of Yoga, prayer, meditation and creative manifestation to support the transformative journey towards a more graceful, mindful and creative state of well-being.

In order to create an intimate and safe container for this work, numbers will be limited, so please contact us for any early expressions of interest or to book a place

MORE INFORMATION

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get to Flowers and Fire from Bali?

The closest airports to us are either Denpasar (Ngurah Rai International Airport) (DPS) in Bali or Lombok (Bandar Udara International Airport) (LOP) in Indonesia.

To get here from Bali you will need to get a fast boat over from Padang Bai harbour (also there are a few options nearer the airport but Padang Bai is the main harbour to Gili Air). Please leave at least half a day to get here – the shuttle pick up (which is included in the fast boat ticket price with the bigger boat companies) will be in the morning (around 7am) and takes about 1.5-2.5 hours depending on where you are in Bali. The fast boat (most leave at around 9am) from Padang Bai to Gili Air takes just under 2 hours so it’ll get you to the island before midday. There are some fast boats leaving around 11:30am and 1:30pm (not in low season) as well.

If you need help with organising a transfer and fast boat from Bali you can contact the agent we use who is reliable and offers affordable prices. You can pay him directly in cash on the day.

Once you arrive at the harbour in Gili Air, you head up (north) the main street of Gili Air which is directly ahead of you once you leave the harbour and we are about a five minute walk up that street on the right hand side (just before you get to the T-junction). If you have a bit of luggage you can always use a horse and cart (there’s always some at the harbour) to get to us. The set price is IDR 150,000 no matter where you go on the island.

How do I get to Flowers and Fire from Lombok?

If you are coming from Lombok airport you’ll need to get a taxi from there to Bangsal harbour (which takes just under 2 hours) and then a 15 minute boat ride to Gili Air. The last public boat leaves around 4pm but you can always get a private boat after this time which is more expensive. We have a great agent that we use who will be able to organise a taxi pick/boat ride for you and you’ll just need to pay him directly (in cash) on the day.

Once you arrive at the harbour in Gili Air, you head up (north) the main street of Gili Air which is directly ahead of you once you leave the harbour and we are about a five minute walk up that street on the right hand side (just before you get to the T-junction). If you have a bit of luggage you can always use a horse and cart (there’s always some at the harbour) to get to us. The set price is IDR 150,000 no matter where you go on the island.

What time is check in and check out?

Please check-in by 1:00pm on 8th June and the retreat will start an hour later at 2:00pm. Check out will be at 12.00pm and the retreat will finish an hour later at 1:00pm on the 14th of June.

How many people will attend the retreat?

To hold an intimate space we will open up a maximum of 13 residential places on this retreat with possibly a few off site attendees, but this is still to be confirmed.

What style of yoga will be practiced?

We will be offering mixed yoga styles and movement practices with more dynamic, creative Vinyasa flow styles for morning practice and gentle Restorative, Yin, Hatha and Soft Flow style practices, movement and dance for our afternoon sessions. These afternoon sessions will be a mixed bag with visualization, breath and meditation practices too depending on what we have been exploring during the day. Ultimately though the practices will be responsive to the level and vibe of the group. I am anticipating mixed levels so we will give options, certainly in the more dynamic classes, so everyone can drop into the practice no matter where they are at in their Asana journey.

Will there be any other workshops held during the retreat?

We will also be offering some philosophy sessions, art making sessions, Mantra chanting, Kirtan, ritual, ceremony and ecstatic dance.

Yoga Classes

At Flowers and Fire we offer a range of class levels and workshops to accommodate all levels of experience - from first-timers to experienced yogi’s and yogini’s.

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