THE FESTIVAL
The Festival
Arunachala Bhakti Lab takes place every year in the month of February for a week. This year we celebrate our 10* Edition!
At the festival, during the seven days we train body, mind and spirit. Laboratory classes with Jessica Walker are the heart of the meeting, we offer two sessions a day, one in the morning and a shorter (and devotional) one in the afternoon.
And during the rest of the day there is a varied program, designed to expand the experience and imbue us with the beauty of India: meditation at dawn, yoga in the morning, several workshops a day in different disciplines, three meals (vegetarian and Indian cuisine) , shows and music at night and much more… To register, click here.
Who we are
We are Laboratorio Sin Fronteras – Artes para el Desarrollo Humano, an NGO founded in 2013 within Laboratorio Escuela, an experimental theater school founded by Jessica Walker in 1999 in Barcelona.
From the beginning, our purpose has sought the healing and expansion of the human being through meditation focused on artistic creation.
Our main line of action is the scholarship program, through which a group of Latin American students are allowed to study at the theater school each year. Throughout the year, we also organize Bhakti/open gatherings to promote body expression and meditation as tools for personal and artistic growth, such as the three-hour meditations we have held weekly for the past five years at the headquarters of our Experimental Meditation School in Barcelona.
And with the first edition of Arunachala Bhakti Lab in 2015, we began collaborating with Wide Children’s Home, an orphanage for boys and girls in Tiruvannamalai, providing financial support for their social and development projects in the area.
The mountain
Considered the physical manifestation of Lord Shiva, Arunachala Mountain has been a place of pilgrimage and devotion for Indians for thousands of years. A high-vibrational center of intense spiritual activity throughout the year, with mass pilgrimages every full moon.
This year we celebrate our tenth edition of the festival! Ten editions of sharing encounters and learning in this country that we feel is our home, at the foot of the sacred mountain… Gratitude!
Creating brings us closer.
Jessica Walker
PROGRAM
Arunachala Bhakti Lab offers one week of group coexistence, spiritual training and creative activity in contact with nature.
We offer you a powerful program, with classes, workshops and activities from morning to evening.
We´ll have tasty vegetarian food to help the cleaning process you will experience during those days.
| 06:00 AM | Sunrise Meditation |
| 07:00 AM | Yoga |
| 08:00 AM | Breakfast |
| 09:30 AM | Laboratorio Class |
| 12:30 AM | Lunch |
| 15:30 AM | Workshops |
| 17:00 PM | Tea and fruits |
| 18:00 PM | Laboratorio Bakhti |
| 19:00 PM | Dinner |
| 20:00 PM | Kirtan / Open Stage / Jams |
ACTIVITIES
MORNING MEDITATION
Every day, at dawn, we will hike to the small temple of Durga - just 10 minutes from the ashram - where we will have a sungazing session: a meditation watching the sunrise behind Mount Arunachala. The session ends with a prayer and a Vedic chant.
YOGA
Every morning there will be a Lundalini Yoga class, a session of asana and pranayama practice by the shade of the trees: we energize the body and focus the mind for the day. For all levels.
LABORATORIO
The Laboratorio classes with Jessica Walker take place each morning, and offer a physical, mental and spiritual training where you generate, create and give yourself. We will focus on Body Perception, Body Knowledge and Perception of the Divine, through Breathing, Concentration and Meditation. We will improvise from the state, from the emotion. We will delve into bodily, gestural and dramatic creation. Each evening, Jessica Walker will offer an additional one-hour session: Laboratorio Bakhti. An outdoors spiritual practice: focused, direct and spontaneous.
WORKSHOPS
In the afternoons, we offer a varied menu of workshops for you to choose the activity that best suits you. Each day we will put at your disposal three different workshops, so that you select according to your mood of that day. Dance, yoga, singing, meditation, philosophy, creative writing...
THE EVENINGS
During the evenings we will offer a varied program. There will be two Kirtan sessions, hosted by different guest musicians from Tiruvannamalai. A deep devotional experience through music and collective singing. Another couple of nights we will have an Open Stage session, for the participants to show their art. Music, theater, poetry, dance, songs... An invitation to bring your beauty and share it. Finally, there will be two nights of dancing: the Laboratorio Jam Session and the Final Party, the last evening of the Festi.
TEAM & TEACHERS
Jessica Walker. Founder & Director.
María Cazenave. Teacher.
Camilo Zaffora. Chief Coordinator.
Shree Ganesh. Production. Teacher.
Priyanka Xavier. Teacher. Production.
Melina Pansard. Yoga. Producción.
Diego Arnold. Teacher.
Maria Martin. Partner.
THE PLACE
The place where the Festival will take place is the Mountain Retreat. This beautiful resort is located just 4 km from Ramana Maharishi Ashram, and its landscape is dominated by the majesty of Mount Arunachala.
The space is prepared to attend all the needs of the attendees, to provide an atmosphere of care and provide nutritious meals and rest to their guests.
HOW TO ARRIVE
The resort where the event is held is located on the outskirts of Tiruvannamalai, in the state of Tamil Nadu.
We will create a WhatsApp group for the attendees to the Festival, so that you organize among yourselves for sharing transportation (Flight, Taxi, Bus, Rickshaw).
FLIGHT TO INDIA
The nearest airports to Tiruvannamalai are Chennai (3 and a half hours) and Bangalore (four hours).
The most confortable option for flying to India is Lufthansa: they offer a weekly direct flights from Europe to Chennai (one stop in Frankfurt).
You can find low cost flights (with two stops) in apps like Skyscanner, Kayak and edreams.
VISA FOR TRAVELING TO INDIA
You need a Visa to be able to enter in India. You can obtain it through this official site of the indian government.
The cost for the e-Tourist Visa (30 days) is USD 25. If you wanna stay longer than a month you must go for the 1 year Visa, it’s USD 40.
Regarding health aspects (food, vaccines, etc) you can find out everything you need to know in this webpage.
TAXI FROM AIRPORT TO ARUNACHALA
We provide you the contact of a taxi that charges good price to bring you from Chennai airport to Tiruvannamalai. His name is Logu, his telephone number is +91 9787 163 123 and his mail is tirufarmtaxi@gmail.com. Be sure to contact him a few days before your arrival, to make sure he picks you up at the airport. The trip from Chennai airport to Tirumannavalai is 3800 rss.
BUS TRIP FROM AIRPORT TO ARUNACHALA
If you’re a first timer in this beautiful country, the bus trip is not recommended. The taxi will be easier and more confortable for you.
The bus option is only for those who have experience traveling through India: it’s cheaper but it’s a pretty chaotic trip, usually hot and sometimes with no glasses in the windows.
If you want to travel by bus, take a metro from the Chennai Airport to the Chennai Bus Station. You have buses to Thiruvannamalai (six or seven hours trip) leaving every 15 minutes.
Once you arrive to Thiruvannamalai bus station, the way to arrive to the Mountain Resort is by rickshaw. We provide you the contact of a rickshaw that will charge you good price. He’s called Kamal, his number is +91 94428 09982.
GALLERY
