BARPS & Vijnana Bhairava Tantra – A one-week retreat offered by Navtej Johar

BARPS, an asana practice that aims to evoke the somatic relationship between the “body and word” is inspired by various texts. Based upon the realist philosophy of Samkhya as well as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, inspired by the sensory visualizations of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra (VBT), it also incorporates a variety of techniques proposed by the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. The week-long retreat will include practice, theory, and reflection. Each day of practice in asana, pranayama, bandha, mudra, and dhyana will culminate in a guided meditation on the dharanas (visualizations) proposed in the VBT.

The BARPS method of asana is a keyword-based practice. A variety of keywords will be introduced throughout the week-long retreat. A meditative practice designed to gradually deepen awareness of the physical, sensory, and the imaginary dimensions of the body. It explores the reciprocal relationship between body and word, i.e. between the suggestive influence of words and images, and the responsive nature of the sensory body. Enquiry is central to this practice, thus questioning of popular notions and ideas of embodied practice as well as journaling and sharing of doubts, observations, and insights will be an integral process of the retreat.

The retreat is open to practitioners of all levels, beginners are also welcome.

7 am – 8.30 am 10.30 am – 12.30 pm 5 pm – 6.30 pm 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm
Day 1 Arrival Introduction to the
BARPS Method

General BARPS
Practice
VBT Dharanas
Meditation

Day 2 BARPS Practice – Bracing,
Aligning and Rotation of Joints
Workshop in Somatic
Awareness
General BARPS
Practice
VBT Dharanas
Meditation

Day 3 BARPS Practice – Preparation,
Availability, Poise
Talk on Samkhya
Philosophy
General BARPS
Practice
VBT Dharanas
Meditation

Day 4 BARPS: Balance, Appetite,
Buoyancy,
Talk on the Yoga
Sutras
General BARPS
Practice
VBT Dharanas
Meditation

Day 5 BARPS: Adhyavasaya
(determination), Bhavana
(disposition) and Bandha
Talk on the Saiva
Tantra of VBT
General BARPS
Practice
VBT Dharanas
Meditation

Day 6 BARPS: Reciprocity,
Permission, Rigor
Workshop on
Sensory Sensitivity
General BARPS
Practice
VBT Dharanas
Meditation

Day 7 BARPS: Sound, Silence, Space Q&A Session Departure

NAVTEJ JOHAR BIO:
Navtej Johar is a dancer/choreographer, yoga exponent, scholar, and social activist. He was trained in Bharatanatyam at Kalakshetra and studied yoga with Sri Desikachar at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram, Chennai. A long-time performer, practitioner, and teacher, he has devised two pedagogical
methods of embodied practice, namely the BARPS method to practice asana more effectively, and Abhyas Somatics that is inspired by the sukha and rasa components of yoga and Indian poetics respectively. An “Interweving Performance Cultures" Fellow at the International Research Center, Freie University, Berlin, he is currently faculty at the department of Performing Arts, Ashoka University, Sonipat, Haryana.