Way of the Female Warrior

The ancients recognized various paths that lead to self-realization:

The Yogin

The Monk/Nun

The Mystic

And..the Warrior

It may surprise you to know that female warriors were considered normal in many cultures. For example, the capitol of Ukraine, Kiev, was founded by two Swedish warrior sisters that sailed a river into that territory and conquered its local inhabitants establishing their rule. Unfortunately, as time passed women warriors were no longer allowed to pursue their path. 

Every human being has a nadi, or a purpose in life, a trajectory that shapes the very fabric of their life. The nadi’s potentials are pre-destined, but they must come into contact with auspicious circumstances in order to bring them out. Many people have as part of their nadi – warriorship. And they will never be whole until they touch that part of themselves through their work as firefighters, police, and soldiers or through martial arts training.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

The Way of the Female Warrior retreat is designed for women to awaken that spark of warriorship within, and through training as a warrior come to know themselves better and learn to rest in their true nature with more ease and power. This retreat is only for women. This will create a more focused environment more conducive to self-discovery. Women who complete this retreat are invited to attend the annual Way of the Warrior Retreat that is open to both sexes.

There will be no live combat in this retreat, rather we will use solo & partner exercises of martial training and meditation to get in touch with the principles of Warriorship, to bring out your inner warrior. The martial training will include breathing practices to clear the mind and awaken the energy. Weapons training and empty hand fighting, including striking & ground fighting, will be practiced mostly in pairs to learn the principles of giving and receiving, situational awareness, line, effective distance, and most of all how to keep your cool in high stress situations. A session of meditation and breathing will begin and end each day.

The system of STAV (pre-Christian Scandinavian Martial Art and Philosophy of Life) will form the structure of the martial teachings and practices for this retreat. Retreatants will train in:

1. The Rune Breathing Stances – a breath and awareness meditation teaching us to control our minds, emotions and life-force.

2. Weapons Training to extend your field of awareness, to learn the most essential concepts of “line”, distance, and how different circumstances (in this case various weapons require us to change our perception of time, space, opponent, etc.) Weapons used: the short staff is the main training weapon of STAV, but retreatants will also train with the axe, walking  stick, short spear and knife. This training is safe and is performed solo first and then in pairs.

3. The Principles of Warriorship – a concise set of powerful principles that lend guidance in each and every moment of your life to maximize your experience of unbroken awareness, self-centeredness, and unassailability of your inner state.

4. Meditation – Warriors pioneered non-conceptual meditation. We will meditate daily and integrate that state of openness into our movement training and therefore all of life when you return to your home after retreat ends.

5. Ng Mui Daoist Warrior Energy Exercises – you will learn a short set of very powerful energy exercises developed by the female Daoist gong fu master “Ng Mui”. These exercises open the central channel, generate tremendous energy similar to Mahākumbhaka/Tummo, and connect the crown cakra, navel cakra and root cakra. The exercises produce a “quickening” effect and have been a well-guarded secret for many centuries.

6. Catch Wrestling – You will train in the essential points of this grappling system to develop an appreciation for the efficiency of proper technique over brute strength, as well as to be able to defend the most common standing and ground attacks of grappling oriented opponents.

No athletic aptitude or prior training is necessary to participate in this retreat, only a strong desire to confront the limitations of your mind and attain the lasting equanimity and fulfillment of self-realization.

ABOUT THE TEACHER

Dharma Bodhi (Kol Martens) began practicing yoga at age seven, and in his teens moved into practices of Chan Buddhism and Daoism. He then went on to study non-dual Śaivite yoga and completed Ācārya training in 1996 under his non-dual Śaiva Guru with an emphasis in Kundalinī Hatha Yoga. Since that time he has been studying and practicing Tibetan Dzogchen meditation and yoga. Settled in Costa Rica, Dharma Bodhi and his wife Sukhalaya dedicate their time to raising their family, personal practice and teaching the Oral-Practice Tradition of the Mahāsiddhas to small groups of students.

PREREQUISITES

• We recommend taking Preliminaries of TMY online prior to this training, as it will provide you with a introduction to the TMY View and essential understanding of the language that will be used during the course. (Optional) 

CLASS SCHEDULE

• 7am – 9am: Practice

• 9am – 10am: Breakfast

• 10am – 12pm: Teachings + Practice

• 12pm – 2pm: Lunch

• 2pm - 4:30pm: Teachings + Practice

ACCOMMODATIONS & DAILY TRANSPORT

You will need to organize your own accommodation, transportation and meals during the retreat. Please check out these resources below to help plan your stay. 

• Planning Your Stay in Uvita & Hotel Options

DATES & LOCATION

TBD, 2022

TMY Center  |  Uvita, Costa Rica 

REGISTRATION FEE

$1800

*meals, travel, & housing are not included.

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