KHODIYAR MAA

Womb & Childbirth (Water Ritual)

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CROCODILE POWER

AN INITIATION INTO THE TANTRIC PATH OF YOGA
ROOTED IN THE SHAMANIC WISDOM OF INDIA

20 FEBRUARY | Ascending Half Moon

Part 2 of a 5 Part Series

20:oo - 23:oo CET | 19:oo - 22:oo GMT
*A recording will be made available,
if you cannot make the exact date/time.
Please specify by email when registering."

‘’She is a fearless Goddess
who will ride deep
into the bowels of the underworld
to bring about healing.’’

– Boonath

FULL SERIES

When looking at the Goddesses in Tantra, we notice that their stories point to energetic principles. A Goddess is a whole world of energetic principles made manifest. In any branch of life, the focus of force is a law for creation. The work of a Tantric practitioner is to condense and concentrate their forces into a focused point and to align with the world of the Goddess behind her archetypal representation.

By aligning to a Goddess, we bring vast movements to our lives. It takes work and focus and is no flimsy affair of wishful thinking and good intentions. Tantra is a practical subject that magically accesses the Goddess energies through concentrated techniques and ritual applications. The techniques are not random, but work with a scientifically detailed system of aligning to astral and lunar currents. Mudra and Mantra become doorways, linking our lives to the energies of the Goddess and allowing for much healing. Just as there is a herb for every ailment – there is a Goddess principle for all our human trials and tribulations.

Khodiyar Maa Ritual

Khodiyar Maa is the Goddess we shall work with in this ritual, the Goddess of Sexual Healing, she who rides between earth and water on the Crocodile. Though not vastly known, she is highly honoured by Tantrics. Having a wider appearance in Gujarat and Rajasthan which lay over 7000 Km apart from each other, Khodiyar Maa is worshipped by Tantrics on her Jayanti, the half rising Moon, which this year falls on 20th February.

Crocodile Power – Makara Revealed

The sun has moved only recently into the Uttarayana phase (northward ascent) into the constellation of Makara (Capricorn) at Makar Sankranti, the half year period of the crocodile. We are now at the maturing of the crocodile energy as the third ascending moon after the winter solstice brings the crocodile all the way out of the water. At the half rising moon of the winter solstice, the crocodile starts swimming to the surface, then at the new emerging Moon of Makar Sankranti in mid-January the crocodile’s head appears out of the water.

At the first ascending half moon of January, the crocodile’s moves further to land, but its tail is still in the water. At the third half ascending moon of Khodiyar Maa Jayanti, Makara the crocodile is fully revealed. The two lunar halves of the half rising moon are mirrored to us upon Khodiyar Maa’s annual Lunar day – halves apparent in the symbol of the crocodile, the amphibious creature that can transition between water and earth.

Emerging 3 Aspects of Soul and Being

The three moons relate to what Yog calls the 3 worlds of Trilokh (lokh means world); they are the worlds of the unconscious, earthly and ultra-conscious. The crocodile upon this yearly junction is in full emergence in all these 3 aspects of our being. An intersecting of these aspects of our soul occur and are revealed at the level of the sexual chakra upon Khodiyar Maa Jayanti. Indeed, Uttarayana is the period of rising sexual energy, where the Kundalini climbs through the chakras by the pull of the magnetic celestial currents upon her.

Sexual Chakra Awakening and Healing

The base Chakra is linked to the earth element and the second Chakra is ruled by the water element. The crocodile is the animal that relates to the water-ruled sexual Chakra which is known to the Tantrics as the Shaktistan. Tantrics work with the crocodile energy and the sexual chakra upon this ritual day and night with ritual Mantra and Mudra. The awakening and healing of the crocodile-ruled sexual chakra is a primary occupation at this junction.

The story of Khodiyar Maa, shows how she transitions between both elements, earth and water, riding upon the back of a crocodile – her Vahaannh or power animal – to bring the healing elixir up from the depths. A narrative of yogic symbols is relayed, relating to the healing of the base and sexual chakras. Khodiyar Maa has temples that are often located next to rivers. In some parts, legend has it that a real crocodile emerges from the waters to give Darshan (vision). Makara the crocodile represents the dual potentials and polarities of the sexual force – able to root into the depths while equally able to rise and reveal.

She Who Stops at Nothing to Assist the Living

Khodiyar Maa is linked to the womb and to childbirth, and the marriage between the base and sexual Chakras. She is a Goddess who shows us how to unite the energies of Earth and Water – first and second Chakra themes are her speciality. Working with Khodiyar Maa ritualistically can help those wishing to conceive a child. She is a powerful Matriarch to those wishing to work with the sexual energy and its healing.

Khodiyar Maa is a Goddess who addresses physical handicaps and impediments. Indeed, her name means ‘the Goddess who hobbles and limps from an injury’, as she herself has an injury that causes her to limp. She addresses emergencies and is a profoundly helpful force that will stop at nothing to address the problems of life and living.

Read our Blog Post to learn about the Tantric tale of Khodiyar Maa and how she limped out of the depths with the healing elixir.

REST OF SERIES

Part 1 | 15 February | GANESH JAYANTI – Elephant Power & Earth Element
Part 3 | 27 April | HANUMAN JAYANTIMonkey Power & Air Element
Part 4 | 13 August | NAAGA PANCHAMI Snake Power & Akashic Element
Part 5
| 22 August | HAYAGRIVA JAYANTI Horse Power & Fire Element

WHERE & HOW: It’s all Online.
MUST REGISTER IN ADVANCE

The rituals takes place ONLINE, from 8pm until ±11pm Central European Time (CET).
*A recording will be made available, if you cannot make the exact date/time. Just specify that you will require a recording  when registering.

REGISTRATION

WHAT IS 'WORKING WITH THE SHADOW'?

A short interview with Boonath.

ANCIENT & SACRED

On these healing circles you will practice a form of Yoga that is rarely available and accessible even in India today. You will take part in a sacred Yogic tradition that roots itself in India’s native shamanic wisdom & Tantric lineage handed down orally between generations of Yogis, Babas, Sadhus and Fakirs.
You will be exposed to the old tantric ways of seeking profound healing and spiritual awakening, including practicing in darkly-lit spaces to quieten the mind and awaken the senses to the body’s subtle energy currents, holding simple postures for long periods of time, and engaging in powerful breath-work to open-up the body and take the mind into altered states of consciousness.

GENTLE

The practice draws on postures seldom used in modern styles of yoga, ancient sequences that honour the mother and the divine feminine, gently opening-up the body to its highest levels of flexibility through minimal effort.
Integral to this experience will be the exploration of sound-currents present in the body (Nada Yoga) – perhaps one of Yoga’s greatest secrets and one of the most powerful vehicles through which the karmic patterns stored in the chakras can be accessed and released in pursuit of profound healing.

UNIQUE

Unique to this tradition is its simultaneous employment of Asanas (postures), aerobic & anaerobic Pranayam (breathwork), Mudras (gestures), and Mantras (sacred sounds).
The synergy created by the employment of these various yogic tools will lead you into altered states of consciousness and dream-like experiences aimed at facilitating a greater openness to inward journeying and an easier access to your subconscious.

UNBOUND

Because we are going to play with shamanic yogic traditions, the practice will take place outside of clearly time constraints. Generally, the practice will last about 6 hours, but if the group is ready to practice longer we might carry well into the night.

INCLUSIVE

The Circle is open to those interested in the healing path.
Tantra and Yoga practitioners, and those seeking healing, practitioners of the mystic arts. Both advanced and beginners will find a place in this circle.
If you have had or are having psychosis please get in touch directly with us as this is important to know about in this work. The same goes for those with strong mobility issues. Drug and alcohol users also need to inform us of their condition. Thank you.

The practie usually takes place in the dark or darkly-lit spaces.
The pictures below were taken in daylight to capture the flow of a practice.

BOONATH

ben2

BOONATH was born into a life of yoga. He grew up between Europe and India and was introduced as a child to yoga through his grandparents who were on both sides yoga practitioners.
His grandparents took him on his first Himalayan pilgrimage when he was just seven years old and he has been exposed to the world of yogis ever since.
Boonath has taken  initiation into the left hand path (that’s the path of the heart) and specialises in the branch of Chandra Parampara, that is a secret style of Moon practice that works with the night forces. It is a style of tantra that goes very deep into the subconscious roots It is first and foremostly a Healing System. Most of his family still lives in India and he has been travelling there regularly throughout his life  in pursuit of yoga. He has worked closely in apprenticeship with elders in the line of Siddha systems of healing and holds much knowledge in the use of rituals, mantras and body/spirit healing methods among other things.
Boonath has been working in this line and helping people with the implementation of these techniques for over 25 years to successfully overcome mental and physical problems, from chronic pain to addiction.
Boonath’s healing and yoga work sees him travelling across the whole of Europe to give workshops and healing sessions.  His travels and yoga workshops
continue to benefit people in deprived circumstances.
In recent years Boonath has been living and teaching yoga in Germany where he has a network of students. It was in Berlin that Boonath met Kim, with whom Boonath co-founded Working with the Shadow in 2014.

Formal studies and encounters have all left their impression on Boonath, but his teachings are deeply rooted in the Shamanic traditions of the mystical Babas and Fakirs of India, with whom Boonath has been studying closely since childhood to the present day.

KIM

KIM is an Eco-Activist turned Yogi and the founder of Healing in the Willows, the retreat company hosting Working with the Shadow, which he developed in 2014 in collaboration with Boonath, who he assists with the teaching. Kim discovered Yoga in 2005, following a burn-out at work that brought him onto the path of ‘Yog’. Kim had spent over 10 years coordinating international environmental campaigns in Brussels, Amsterdam and Berlin for major environmental NGOs, including Greenpeace, WWF, Friends of the Earth, ActionAid, and many others.
Kim practiced Yoga with many teachers from several modern styles of Yoga (including Iyengar, Astanga, Vinasa, Bikram, Sivananda, Scaravelli, Kundalini) all over Europe, India and further afield. In 2011 Kim set up a first yoga collective in Berlin, which he then expanded to a new location in 2013, in one of the economically deprived areas of town that was undergoing gentrification. The collective brought together a variety of local teachers to promote yoga on a donation basis within the surrounding community unable to afford the increasing cost of living. It was there that Kim met Boonath and, through Boonath, that his understanding of what Yoga is and what Yoga can do shifted entirely. Boonath’s rare and ancient Tantric lineage revolutionised Kim’s understanding of Yoga and initiated him into a mystical healing journey that impacted strongly also on Kim’s activist work.
Since then Kim has been collaborating with Boonath on developing Working with the Shadow through the retreats, workshops and online classes.

“It shifted my understanding of what Yoga actually is,
on a fundamental level”

Joe
Farmer & Activist | UK

REGISTRATION.

A recording will be made available,
if you cannot make the exact date/time.
Just specify that you will require a recording
when registering by email
.

TO BOOK A PLACE ON THE ONLINE SESSION…

STEP 1 | Make the payment
either via Paypal or bank transfer (see below).

STEP 2 | Send a proof of payment
(a screenshot will do) to info@healinginthewillows.com

We will then:

STEP 3 | Send you a confirmation email confirming your registration.

STEP 4 | The day of the event, we will send you an email containing:

– all the technical details to connect to the class online,
– suggestions on how best to prepare for the practice (foods and drinks to avoid),
how to set-up your room for the practice,
props you might need during the practice (blankets, cushions, etc). 

PANDEMIC-FRIENDLY PRICE

FEES VARY ACCORDING TO INCOME
Please choose the amount matching your current economic situation,
whether you are unemployed, low income or high income.
Please remember that we depend entirely on peoples’ fees for the carrying out of this work:

UNEMPLOYED

€25 / €99

1 ritual / all 5 rituals

LOW INCOME

€35 / €149

1 ritual / all 5 rituals

HIGH INCOME

€50 / €199

1 ritual / all 5 rituals

PAYPAL

kim.bizzarri@gmail.com

BANK TRANSFER

Account holder: Kim Bizzarri
Iban: IT91A0200870691000003926096
Bic/Swift: UNCRITM1CEC
Bank: Unicredit

*

PAYMENTS ARE TO BE MADE BEFORE
& NO LATER THAN NOON
ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT

*

THE SESSION WILL HAPPEN ON ZOOM
We will send you the links and passwords necessary for joining the practice.
All your need your end is a computer / tablet with a camera (preferably, but not essential – it’s important that you can see us), a microphone (so that we can hear you, but it’s not essential) and good speakers / audio,
as it will be fundamental that you hear the instructions.

*

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS

T: +39 3298456532
@: info [at] healinginthewillows.com

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