Wangapeka Study and Retreat Centre
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Liberation through the Body 2004
Among the people who came to Leander Kane's
'Liberation Through the Body' retreat in December 2004
were Pam Foster and Jason Still.
Jason came from the US specifically
to do the course, and Pam used the week
as the start of a few months visit to Australasia.
Here they write about their impressions.
Moguls with grace
In June of 2002, I left North America for New Zealand, to train at Treble Cone in a free style, moguls training program. At the time, I had been working for a large, high tech corporation for almost five years, watching ski movies during the few hours I wasn't working, which was my escape. A movie about skiing in the Southern Alps caught my attention, planted the seed in my mind, and when I refused to keep up with the fast pace, I quit my job, packed the things I owned into storage, said good bye to my friends, many of who thought I had lost my mind.
While training at Treble Cone, NZ, I started reading about meditation to help improve my focus and evolve as a skier. One of the ski coaches encouraged the meditation, so I started searching for a place to learn to meditate, and I found the Wangapeka web site. Christine, the caretaker at the time, recommended a 5 day course taught by Leander Kane. Christine mentioned other skiers had attended the course in the past. I decided to attend, and while driving to Wangapeka, I stopped in an art store in Motueka. A woman with a German accent running the art store, and showing some of her own art work, eased my fears about the retreat. She told me her daughter had attended a meditation retreat earlier, and she came back refreshed, a brand new person. She said, 'Its no big deal, go for it'. My first experience after five days at Wangapeka in September 2002 blew my mind. I felt like someone had turned on the light switch for the first time. After four days of silence, I turned to the person sitting next to me and said, 'This is better than skiing!' Aside from the change in the way I was experiencing the world, I noticed a dramatic increase in functionality of my body. I could walk up the mountain paths using less energy. As Leander would say, 'You are giving yourself more options'. I was noticing more options, both physically and mentally, and it was a beautiful experience.
Weeks earlier, a Japanese mogul ski coach at Treble Cone told me in his Japanese accent, 'Jason, try harder!!' while skiing in the moguls. Now Leander was saying, 'Be easy on yourself'. I recall both of these memories all the time, especially when skiing, and both were appropriate responses. Leander's style of teaching was so wonderful, and the peace and beauty of Wangapeka was so energizing, that I came back two years later, this past November. Another five days of 'Liberation Through the Body' had students with accents from all over the world. On the fourth day, Leander mentioned that we would slowly be coming out of the retreat over the next day, and I remember wanting to continue to go deeper. Its too difficult for me to explain it, you just need to experience it.
This winter season, I've been skiing moguls a lot at Mary Jane, Colorado (Winter Park), with many good mogul skiers. The time I spent prior to the season with Leander helped my skiing tremendously. My entire body is more loose, working as one unit together. We have professional athletes (baseball, football, soccer, basketball, golf, tennis, etc.) working to get similar results here in the United States, and I found it at Wangapeka.
In 2002, Leander referred me to Bonni Ross, at the Sunshine Coast Retreat House (near Vancouver, Canada) since I would be heading back to North America. I spent five days with Bonni studying meditation. The walking meditation instruction was excellent. The tips Bonni gave me improved my focus, and my rhythm while walking. I feel more rhythm when I run and sprint, due to this deep experience of walking meditation with Bonni. When I'm walking in the parking lot to work, with many things on my mind, I easily focus on my walking meditation, and calm down, and smile. The time investment I made with these teachers has been wonderful.
It's difficult to articulate the experience in words, and although I talk a lot about skiing, those who have been to a retreat know that it's much more than just improving yourself as an athlete. I like to talk about it in relation to skiing, since its an easy context for me to use. I come away feeling there is no television show or movie that could be as interesting as an inner exploration. With my limited experience of meditation retreats, I feel the journey can probably go on forever. I can't do the experience of Wangapeka, the teachers like Bonni or Leander, or the sangha any justice when trying to write about it. I just know I'll be back.
During the daily Puja, the smell of the fire, the mountains in the background, and the beautiful voices filled me up with such a wonderful energy. I don't want to cling to any of this, but there's a part of me that wonders why I'm not back down there for a three month sesshin.
Namaste,
Jason Still, Austin, TX
Running again
It was my first visit to Wangapeka. Leander Kane's Liberation Through The Body had been highly recommended to me by two friends, one from the States and one from Australia. This would also be my first silent retreat and I was curious to know how I would be with it. I'm not sure what first drew me to attend, I guess I feel that I am on a continual journey of discovery, I want to experience more of myself and this was another method of doing that. I also had an intention, on a physical level. Two years earlier had broken my ankle very seriously, had surgery and my recovery had been very slow, so although I felt that it was now the best it had ever been, I still had a fear of running. I really wanted to face that fear on this retreat.
One of my first experiences of the silence was that it seemed to make every day-to-day sound louder. Stirring my tea made me anxious that I was creating a national disturbance!! I soon got used to this and slipped into this new, quiet world with ease.
As the first few days went by I began to descend to a place I don't think I had visited before. The combination of being in such a place of physical beauty, surrounded by pure nature, a place of extraordinary energies, the silence, the slow body movements which were full of self discovery and the meditation aided me to very peacefully drop into my being. It felt very deep.
With Leander, I sensed I was in the presence of someone who was a master of what they did. I felt extremely grateful for our individual sessions. They felt unique. Leander shared so much of herself with us, her journeys both physical and inward. As we did each exercise, she would give us space for our bodies to adjust, she would ask us to walk around the whare, she would ask us to share our thoughts, feelings and observations. At other times she would ask us to 'rest in the experience'. At all times we chose the pace that we wanted to work at, we would listen to our bodies. I would 'rest in the experience' of a newer me each time. I began to feel extremely aligned, very connected. One of my strongest insights about a new state of being was 'focussed clarity'.
I became full of gratitude. For Leander's teaching and sharing, for the slow rhythmic body movements and the space to adjust, for the astounding beauty that surrounded me, for the shafts of sunlight in the early morning showing themselves through the mist in the trees. For the one raindrop that sparkled as it dropped from a leaf, for the majestic gum trees, for the exquisite whare, for the sacred. For those who dedicated themselves to this place, this land. For the ethos of inclusiveness - all are welcome here - no matter what path they tread. I felt so privileged to be a part of all this.
On the fifth day I took myself off to find a flat path. Today was the day for running! My first attempt felt very clumsy and brought many tears. I heard Leander's voice 'rest in the experience', so I walked slowly up and down the path, allowing my body to adjust. My next few attempts got a little better, I had a few more tears and between each one I walked slowly, consciously. On my sixth attempt, I sprinted down the path, full flight, such freedom, I loved the sensation of speed again, and it felt fantastic!
The experience as a whole was very special, a wonderful teacher supported by an amazing environment, the experience of not speaking, all with a foundation of meditation. All these aspects woven together to form a network of opportunities for self-discovery.
An experience I feel blessed to have had and am far richer for having.
Sarva Mangalam.
Pam Foster, London, UK.
Sarva Managalam - All is Blessing