San Miguel Allende

CULTIVATING HAPPINESS AND AWAKENING THE SENSES IN SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE

Experience the beauty and tranquility of this spectacular colonial city. This program explores the cultivation of happiness, creative change, awakening of the senses, and spiritual growth through the use of various techniques for inner development such as yoga, meditation, and shamanic healing. Complementing this inner journey will be an exploration of the physical and cultural landscape that is San Miguel and it’s neighboring colonial gem, Guanajuato. Our daily journeys will begin in our lovely hotel, Casa Luna. Grounding our daily experience in yoga and meditation, we will then walk the town, led by local instructors, absorbing the aesthetic magnificence of this very special place—the architecture, arts and crafts, cobblestone streets, the food, the mountain air. Facilitating and integrating this experience will be Dr. James Bramson, who will guide participants on a journey of sensorial awakening, on a path to happiness. Please join us for this inspiring, transformative journey.

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San Miguel de Allende

San Miguel de Allende is considered one of the top places to visit and live in South America for a reason. Why? The weather is nearly perfect year round. It is a place that arouses the artistic senses. There are picturesque cobblestone streets and colonial architecture that have inspired a generations of artists. San Miguel de Allende also offers visitors and residents a vibrant and lively community of artists, musicians, and writers with a delightful mix of Mexican folk traditions, fiestas, and religious celebrations.

Shopping in San Miguel de Allende is a shop-a-holic's dream - plenty of Mexican handicrafts, boutiques, art galleries, and furniture and home décor to choose from.

But San Miguel de Allende isn't just for tourists -- The foreign community of San Miguel consists of thousands of people from all over the world who have chosen to make this delightful and historic town in Central Mexico their home.

The city of Guanajuato (1990 pop. 113,580). Capital of the Guanajuato State, with an altitude of 6,583 ft (2,008 m), is a historical and picturesque town of agreeable little plazas, streets lined with stairs and houses of pastel-colored facades and balconies trimmed with iron work, and flower-filled window boxes, located about a five-hour drive northwest of Mexico City. The town is a maze of cobblestone streets and alleys that wind around steep hillsides upon a small ravine, opening into vistas of beautiful churches and small plazas.

Most of these passageways are largely pedestrians only, since modern traffic circumvents the narrow streets underground, in massive stone tunnels and upon the riverbed, past the basements of the core city.

During centuries, a major mining center, its mines pouring out silver for the Spanish crown, now a government seat and college town. Since 1988, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city of Guanajuato has no traffic lights or neon signs, creating an extremely enjoyable place to walk, peaceful, yet with plenty of life in the streets, and plenty to see.

Cultivating Happiness: Awakening the Senses
in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

December 6th – 14th, 2008

An Integral workshop

Subjects to be explored:

• Why happiness matters and why it is so elusive
• Exciting new research on ways to increase satisfaction and exercises that nurture happiness.
• The Shamans Way
• Art and Soul: Unlocking your creativity
• Slowing down in our speedy world

Schedule:

Day One: Check in with the group. Evening gathering following dinner.

Day Two: Morning Yoga . Day trip to Dolores Hidalgo to observe artisans working on their native crafts. Visit local galleries. Late afternoon at leisure or go on architectural tour of famous colonial buildings.

Day Three: Morning yoga. Meet local Shaman and discover the four-fold path: Visionary, Teacher, Warrior, Healer. Visit local shops and see crafts. Evening meditation practice.

Day Four: Morning yoga. Visit natural hot springs, caves, and enjoy the splendor of cooling off.

Day Five: Morning yoga. Take a private tour of the beautiful Botanical Gardens and learn about the native flora and fauna.

Day Six: Day trip to Guanajuato (beautiful Colonial City one and one half hour drive from San Miguel). Dinner in San Miguel with workshop to follow.

Day Seven: Morning yoga. Shrine making (a transformational experience) with the help of local artisans.

Day Eight: Morning Yoga, Leave San Miguel de Allende and fly home.

** Note Workshop will typically occur in the evenings after dinner.