Scroll down for schedule and registration
About the instructors
Prema Mayi is a native of Chile, and lived there until the age of ten. Her parents and three brothers migrated to Spain and France, where their spiritual journey took a significant turn. Coming in contact with a Bhakti yoga ashram in France, they decided to leave behind their lives and embrace a new way of love and dedication that harmonized the journey of the soul in this human experience. In the ashram, Prema studied some of the arts of vedic culture, such as drama, dance, kirtan, mantra meditation, and the philosophy of bhakti.
Through the extensive years of practice, she developed a strong relationship with kirtan; chanting mantras as a musical expression, a way of glorifying god and goddess and our existence in this divine love affair. The practice began at 4:00AM, dancing and chanting; entering the day as a sacred offering.
Prema studied for many years under the guidance of her spiritual master, Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaj, traveling to India on Pilgrimage for many years, deepening in the realms of love and devotion. Discovering the power this sacred sound vibration, kirtan, offers, she now travels around the world with her sons, sharing a transformational experience and connection to divine source.
Eric Archer is a multi-instrumentalist (fingerstyle guitar, charango/ronroco, tabla, bansuri and native-style flutes), visual artist, and poet drawing inspiration from nature and its bounty. He has performed in varying settings in the United States and in Europe, and is happy to call the Hudson Valley of New York his home. Exploring collaborations as diverse as americana, trip-hop, kirtan, folk, meditative, celtic, ambient, and Indian-classical, Eric aims to continually expand his own sounds and tastes to offer a unique feel to the universal language.
Eric has taught and played music at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies as the Bard/Musician-in-Residence, and as a staff-instructor. He was also one of the Innkeepers of the historic Sunnybank Inn in Hot Springs, NC -- a focal point within the tradition of Southern balladry, Appalachian roots music, and Scotch-Irish folk songs. Eric continues to collaborate with Prema Mayi and Radharani on their mantra music fusion, and accompany Biff Mithoefer in his Yoga Teacher Trainings -- pairing music with these deeply meditative and educational settings. Eric is a tabla student of Sri Suryaksha Desphande of the Farrukhabad Gharana, and a bansuri flute student of Grammy-Award winner Steve Gorn. Eric synthesizes these eclectic musical threads into a sound that is at once both traditional and modern.
Eric's visual art is a hybrid of natural, found, and recycled materials channeled into wall sculpture through the human touch. His woodcarved-paintings allow natural and organic shapes and processes to guide his work, where these patterns speak first, drawing the viewer into a sense of curiosity and wonder.
Eric's spoken word poetry is a linguistic expression of his musical and artistic passions, and has flowered from his love of teaching meditation, exploring the question, "Where does guided meditation end, and spoken word poetry begin?" Through the use of imagery, self-inquiry, visualization, and metaphor, Eric guides listeners through an experience of collective in-sights, heartbeats, and felt breaths.
Retreat Schedule
Friday
5-6pm - Welcome Circle
6-7:30p - Dinner
7:30- 9:30pm - Evening Practice: Kirtan, Poetry, and Story
Saturday
6:00-8:00 - Morning Practice: Puja mediation/offering into Yoga class w/ live drumming, mantra, poetry
8-9:30 - Breakfast
9:30-11:00 - Morning Session 1: Introduction to The Art of Prayer
Bhakti and Mantra practice
Foundations of Relationship, Sound, and Ritual Art
Break
11:15 - 12:45 - Morning Session 2: Art and Presence as Spiritual Practice
The Teaching Stories of Nature
Walking meditation outside
Mandala creation
Tea Ceremony
Journal
12:45 - 2:30pm - Lunch
2:30 - 4p - Afternoon Session 1: Mantra Practice; Vrinde Namaste chant
Individuals lead chant
Break out pairs and discuss relationship to voice
Break
4:15-5:45 - Afternoon Session 2: Raga and the relationship of sound and space
The Yoga of listening: listening meditation
Basic toning practice with Raga Alap
5:45 - 7:30 - Dinner
7:30-9:30 - Evening Practice: Kirtan, poetry, and story
Sunday
6:00-8:00 - Morning Practice: Fire Ceremony, Puja offering into Yoga class with live drumming, mantra, poetry
8-9:30am - Breakfast
9:30 - 11:00 - Morning Session 1: Bhakti/Philosophy study: The Art of Prayer
Satsang/Discussion of Fire ceremony
Walking Meditation/Journaling/Poetic Intersections
Break
11:15 -12:45 - Closing Circle
12:45 Lunch and Depart ~
Tuition & Fees
$400 all inclusive for the weekend includes tuition, lodging at Iris Yoga Center and wholesome vegetarian meals -- rooms are on a first come first serve basis.
$350 commuter option, includes tuition and vegetarian meals
To Register:
A deposit of 200$ is due to reserve your spot. The full amount is due by April 1st.
Payments can be made by check or PayPal.
By Check: Please make checks payable to Eric Archer Dahlberg, and send to 5 Walnut Lane, Apt#5, Rosendale, NY, 12472
By PayPal or Debit/Credit Card: click here and follow the prompts to complete payment. Please include a note with your payment that states 1) your name, 2) 'Art Of Prayer Registration', and 3) whether you plan to stay overnight at Iris Yoga Center or Commute.
Once payment is received you will receive an email confirming and thanking you for your registration. Rooms will be first come first serve at IRIS. Rooms are mostly singles, with several doubles. All who register for housing will be guaranteed accommodations.
Questions: Please reach out on the contact page here, or email Eric at EricArcherDimensions@gmail.com for any questions regarding registration or payment options.
