Namaste from Yogaville

Saturday, my friend Amber & I took a trip up to Yogaville to visit our friend Danielle who is enrolled in their 30 day LYT (Living Yoga Training) program.  Here are our happy, shiny faces -it was freakin' humid! - & I'm the one in the middle - Hi again!

Danielle, Candi & Amber - Yogaville

This is my third day trip up to Yogaville which is about 1:15 hours from where I live.  The pictures don't do it justice - in part, because it was a really overcast day &, in part, because it's one of those places that you have to see to really appreciate.

The building to the left behind us is the Lotus Temple &, yes, it really is in the shape of a lotus & it really is pink & blue.  Here's a bit better picture, but their website picture is the best.  Yogaville is located in Buckingham County, VA which is rural farms & woodland.  You really can't get more serene than this.  There are a lot of hiking trails around the property for you to enjoy it too.

This is a closer view of the arches in front of the Lotus Temple with Danielle & Amber striking Tree Pose - geez, can't take these guys anywhere! - and the beautiful mandala
                                                   that's there as well.

I'm a huge believer that people should be able to worship or believe in whatever they wish so I'm not going to go on about the nature of Yogaville - I just want to share the beauty - both natural & artistic - that's found there.  In the bottom half of the temple, there is a showcase for each of the major religions & in each case is sacred text & iconography, almost all - no matter the religion - focused on the need to be kind to one another.

This was taken upstairs in the meditation room. Isn't it beautiful? At the base, there are flames which are always lit. Around the room again, text from every religion.  The atmosphere & energy are so tranquil, peaceful & serene.  I think there's a daily 30 minute noon meditation there which I thought with my extreme monkey mind I'd find painful.  Instead, the time was up way quicker than I was ready.




These were taken at the shrine to Swami Satchidananda, the founder of Yogaville.  The picture on the left is of Shiva the Destroyer & the one of right is of the Swami who actually gave the opening address at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.  The picture on the Yogaville site of him giving the address is just amazing - how cool would it have been to have been there?  The picture gives me chills!

These last few pics are of some of the statuary around the grounds.  If you look in the foreground of the first picture with the Buddha, you'll notice a small shrine to Mother Mary.  I think the second picture is just your garden variety cherub & the last is of Quan Yin - one of my personal favorites.  I actually have a little statue of her in my office.

After three day trips, I think my next trip up is going to be a longer stay.  This is just someplace that for me feels right - I get there, everything melts off & I feel like I can finally just breath.  I hope everyone has a place of their own like this whatever that may look like.

If you have any questions about Yogaville, pop me a comment or give their site a look.  Hope you enjoyed the pics as much as I enjoyed my visit up there & taking them.  Namaste y'all!