El Silencio - Sadhana Kutir Retreat Center

Advanced Sadhana Course

(14 or 21 days Advanced sadhana retreat)

“ El Silencio” Sadhana Kutir, San Carlos-Uruguay

This is an intensive practice retreat, with a special focus on advanced pranayama and study of the classic text “Hatha Yoga Pradipika”.
Is a time of seclusion and introspection to dedicate full time to the practice of Yoga to control the Prana and induce a meditation state and spiritual awakening.
According to the classical yoga scriptures, Hatha Yoga is a preparation for Raja Yoga or meditation.
Hatha Yoga is not just about stretching the body and being flexible, but it is rather a science to control the body and Prana in order to control the mind.

This course was originally conceived and aimed at graduates of the Sivananda Teacher Training Course (TTC or ATTC), but later we have also opened it up to other sincere practitioners who already have a yogic lifestyle and want to deepen their inner experience and learn more about traditional Hatha Yoga, as taught by Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda.

We teach this course only to small groups in a seclusive place in the middle of the Nature, an ideal place for this kind of practices.

To take this course you don´t need to be very flexible or have any particular physical acomplishments, neither to be able to hold your breath for long time or anything like that. But, you need to make sure that you have not being consumming any toxics like alcohol, tobacco, or any kind of drugs for at least several months before the course begins. This is very important. The advance practices of pranayama can produce adverse results if the physical body or the psiquic body are intoxicated.

Do not take this course if you suffer from mental illness or any type of psychological imbalances. A sound body and mind is needed for this course.

There would be a natural progress on that through the practice in the course. The most important requisite is that you are able to follow a daily routine and discipline, follow exactly what the teachers ask you to do, go to bed early at night and get up very early in the morning, as well as to follow the other rules mention below.

This course begins with a 2 weeks (14 days) part and continues after with an optional level of 7 extra days. So after the initial 14 days you have the option to stay for up to 21 days in order to go into deeper levels of practice and study. The second level is just a continuation of the first level, you cannot come just for the second level alone. You have to take the first part even if you have already taken it before.

The idea is to help each one to progress from the level they are now, in order to have a deeper direct spiritual experience by spending a dedicated time for sadhana in an appropriate environment.

In this course we have some group practices as well as individual practices. In the beginning there are more group classes and then gradually we give room to more time for individual practice according to the guidance of the teachers.

Daily Schedule

The following will be the daily schedule for the beginning of the course, but it will be adjusted and changed during the course along with the progress in the practices.

This is an international bi-lingual course, taught in English and Spanish.
Some classes will be taught in English with simultaneous translation to Spanish and some will be in Spanish with translation to English.

The retreat is still small and there is a limited capacity. Only small groups will be taken.

If you can not stay for the whole second part of the course, you can pay by day. After the 14th day the cost will be US$ 65 daily (per extra day). If you have any doubt about this, tell us how many days you can stay and we'll calculate the cost for you.

• Includes the course, accommodation and meals (two main meals plus one light snack a day)

People comming from long distance flights are welcome to arrive on March 3rd with no extra cost, to have time to settle down and rest.
If you want to arrive a few days earlier (meaning before March 3rd ) it may be possible, but please consult with us in advance, we will let you know about availability and donation fees according to how many days earlier you are coming for.

If after the Sadhana Retreat you want to stay longer as a Karma Yogi, it might be possible, please let us know.

Payment methods
Cash. ... If you pay with credit card (online only) we'll charge you an extra 10% because that's what it cost to us.

Your payment or donation is the way for us to maintain the place and keep expanding it to allow more people to benefit, thank you very much!

Fill in the form that will appear in a new page and we will send you information about how to reach the place according to where you are coming from.

We have a maximum of 15 beds in shared cabins and also some big tents and lot of available space to set your own tent. Beds in cabins are only available to the first people who request them. After that there will be only tenting space.
We have a couple of tents available, only for those who request them first. If you don’t want to travel with your own tent, let us know immediately to reserve one for you if they are still available.

The great mayority of the practices during the course will be individual, and there is lot of space for doing so. Group activities will be outside as much as posible, and if weather does not allow, the practice will be held in a big hall, with big windows , air circulation and enough space between participants.

Rules and regulations
El Silencio is not a hotel or hostel . It is a family house where we follow the ancient and traditional "Gurukula" system, where the students live for a while with the teacher, like a family. That´s why we don´t have a housekeeping service. Each person should take care of cleanning his/her own space and we will share the cleaning of common areas like toilettes, kitchen, class room , etc. During the course and stay at "El Silencio" , we ask you to observe the following rules, to help maintaining a Sattvic atmosphere in the place and mind:

* Do not smoke, drink alcohol, or take any drugs, meat or fish
* Very important: It is mandatory (unless there is an emergency) to keep complete silence between 22:00hr and 05:00hr. No talking, chatting or listening to music during this time, to respect all the people that is already in bed
* Observe ahimsa or non-violence towards anybody in body, action, speech and thought
* Do not hunt, kill or harm any animal
* Do not pollute the place by leaving garbage of any sort
* Respect and keep silence as much as possible, avoid shouting, screaming or loud music
* Please participate in the practices as much according to your physical capacity and follow the instructions of the teachers explicitly only
* Do not light any fire, incense nor candles in the whole property including tents or bedrooms
Only authorized staff will be in charge of incense and other fire related items.

What to bring
• Yoga mat and personal cushion
• Notebook to take notes
• The book: Hatha yoga Pradipika, with the commentary of Swami Vishnudevananda
• Neti pot, used to practice Neti kriya. Contact us if you don´t have one.
• If you are going to stay in a tent, please bring your own sleeping bag or blankets and towel
• Boots. If you like to walk in the wild nature it is useful to wear boots to prevent thorns and mud especially if it rains
• Toiletries items, Hand sanitizer, Laundry soap
• Flashlight
• Bathing suit (there is a river in the property)
•Proper clothing: During this time the weather is usually warm and pleasant, but nevertheless it can be cool sometimes in the early mornings or evenings, so make sure you have some warm cloths for those times.

How to reach the place
We are 21km away from San Carlos city, Maldonado state, 40km from Punta del Este city and around 160km from Montevideo, capital of Uruguay.