Ashram at Ask Retreat Centre
The word «Ashram» means a workshop for spiritual growth or a place that encourages and creates an environment for working with oneself – a workshop of silence.
This is a possibility to take a break from your daily life and work more intensive with your own practice of yoga and meditation, a dose of silence to take with you home. There is no teaching, you are responsible yourself for doing yoga, pranayama, relaxation and meditation in the Pyramid at the specified time.
An Ashram is also a social community, but the personal practice of yoga and meditation is the hidden core carrying the community. If you decide to live in our Ashram it is mainly to stabilize and deepen your own yoga and meditation and not just to stay at a place with cheap accommodation or suck on a spiritual community. When you do your daily practice of yoga and meditation and engage yourself in Karma Yoga then this is your main contribution to the spiritual community.
Daily program:
| From | To | Activity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6.00 | – | 8.00 | a.m. | Do your own yoga / meditation in your room. |
| 8.00 | – | 8.30 | a.m. | Silent meditation – for all |
| 8.30 | – | 9.00 | a.m. | Private or Common breakfast |
| 9.00 | – | 9.15 | a.m. | Morning meeting – Karma Yoga of the day |
| 9.15 | – | 1.15 | p.m. | Karma Yoga |
| 1.15 | – | 2.00 | p.m. | Yoga Nidra relaxation – for all |
| 2.00 | – | 3.00 | p.m. | Common or private lunch / dishwashing |
| 3.00 | – | 5.00 | p.m. | Karma Yoga / free time / sauna |
| 5.00 | – | 6.30 | p.m. | Yoga and breathing exercises |
| 7.00 | p.m. | Private or common meal | ||
| 10.00 | p.m. | Silent meditation – for all |
Be prepared to follow the time schedule of the ashram precisely. Please come 5 minutes before an activity starts. If you are too late for a relaxation or meditation, you can’t participate.
Conditions of the Ashram
1. You have participated on one of our retreats at Ask Retreat Centre.
2. Daily personal practice of yoga and meditation when living here.
3. You do at least 2 hour of Karma Yoga each day.
Karma Yoga
Karma Yoga is practical activity which gives you more joy of living by creating more presence and focus into the now. Through karma yoga you dissolve your worries and fears and enable yourself to go deeper in the meditation and your contact with the natural state of inner silence.
Ask Retreat Centre is run on an idealistic basis and is organized as a non-profit organization. As a visitor, for a shorter or longer period, you are encouraged to help with the daily work with maintenance and development of the centre. Typical karma yoga tasks may be forest work, chopping of wood, painting of houses etc.
What is the price?
Take a look at the prices for accommodation/rent and food.
Please contact us if you want to stay here for a shorter or longer period to work with yourself.
Download this information as an Acrobat PDF document.
Take a look at the Photo Gallery for more pictures from the retreat centre.
Common questions and answers:
Is it possible to stay in the Ashram for a longer time without having participated on one of our retreats at Ask Retreat Centre?
No, it is not possible. When participating on a retreat you come to know the place and us running it. You become familar to the routines in the day to day living included a firm practice of yoga, relaxation, meditation and karma yoga. On the basis of this it is much easier for you to decide if this is something you would like to do for a periode of time. That can’t be answered by phone or email. You may have expectations about living and being here which is far from the realities.
If you pass by – and are familar with yoga and meditation and can’t participate on one of our retreats beforehand – you are welcome to stay here for a few days, but on these conditions:
1) You pay NOK 450 pro night for a single room
2) Bed sheets (quilt, pillow and sheets) and towels can also be hired for NOK 112.
3) You make your own vegetarian food
4) You do your own yoga / meditation daily
5) Occationally we may have a Sauna
6) There may or may not be any Karma yoga
How is the community life in the Ashram?
FIRST: This is a small scale Ashram. If you move in you may be the only one from outside living in the Ashram in periods. Occasionally someone else are here for a week or weekend.
At the moment Audhild and Bjarke are living here. We are also running a yoga school in nearby Bergen where we are teaching the whole day and evening Monday – Thursday every week from September to May.
In other words: We are busy running the yoga school in Bergen. That means, keeping the day to day routines of yoga and meditation are up to your self!
NEXT: On the other hand there is a lot to do running a place like this and the yoga school in Bergen. When being here you are asked to help with practical things like working in the garden, painting houses, making vegetarian food, preparing for the next retreat, cleaning indoor and outdoor, putting up posters in Bergen etc. – In this you will get guidance and be together with us.
