with Tony French
World Soul Sweatlodge – healing journey of transformation. Join us in the sweatlodge to be healed, renewed and restored in body, mind, and soul. The WorldSoul Sweatlodge weekend is a transformational journey and initiation into deep soul wisdom – and a powerful de-stress and de-tox.
Join us for a powerful initiation into soul wisdom in the healing journey of the sweatlodge
The sweatlodge is a natural therapy and traditional rite of purification, healing, and release – on physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. It is a shamanic healing process of Native American culture, also practiced in some form by many ancient peoples. In the power of its symbolism is a ritual of rebirth – dissolution, renewal, rebalancing, and re-integration – mind and body, Spirit and soul, personal and public selves.
In a contemporary context it is used for the physical and health benefits of detoxification and de-stress, team and community-building, in men’s and women’s groups, youth ‘rite of passage’ programmes, as an adjunct to fasting and juicing programmes, and altogether a common feature of personal growth programmes in retreat centre facilities around the world.
The benefits of the World Soul Sweatlodge process include flushing toxicity and getting a general ‘tune-up’ for the body – eyes and energy glowing with renewed radiance. But more than the physical, it also releases emotional toxicity and blocks, balancing and integrating at the core, and anchoring a deep state of inner wellbeing. The senses are awakened and one’s spirit is uplifted.
We enter the sweatlodge to listen within in an open enquiry, ‘calling for a vision’. The sacred hot rocks are brought in four times as we journey in the warmth and darkness on a Hero’s Journey – through four ‘rounds’ as with the seasons of the year. In shamanic language, it is to find our ‘eagle (higher) power’ and then journey to our ‘roots’ to restore and retrieve lost aspects of self. In the guided process of sharing, singing, silence, and ‘sweating our prayers’, we mend and release old wounds, and are reacquainted with our essence.
In the spirit of world peace and unity (World Soul), people of all beliefs are welcome, and the path finds resonance with many philosophies and spiritual practices. The two-day workshop and the sweatlodge can be challenging, and it requires a willingness to be open in mind and heart. It is very much a collaborative venture, and each person’s input is valued. In its purpose and essence, it is a profound experience and proof of ‘what we can do together is more than what we can do alone’. We form a strong circle and are asked to trust in what calls each of us to be there.
The sweatlodge will be on the Saturday evening, and will take as long as it takes (timeless). Accommodation and meals are provided, including a fasting programme prior to the sweat. Workshop facilitator Tony French, who leads the lodge, has worked with this tradition for many years in over a hundred events, with both mixed groups and men-only events. Participants wear swimsuits or light clothing and are free to partake to whatever degree suits their own needs.
Cost: Workshop: $195
Sweatlodge: gifting
For more information and to book, visit www.fourdirectionz.co.nz