Tuesday, April 29 – Saturday, May 3
From Marrakech

“A man who refuses to know his God is not wise enough to set foot in the desert.“
from Letters from the Ténéré, 2018

A nomadic trekking experience, in Bedouin style. Practicing within the evocative, silent, powerful setting of the desert—a master of beauty and emptiness, an emptiness that is not absence but pure possibility.

According to Shinrin-Yoku, the art of consciously immersing oneself in nature with all senses, including the “subtle” ones, beauty in Nature has no opposites. It expresses itself—beyond moral values and preconceptions so dear to the analytical mind—in mutability and impermanence, in emptiness, in the small and the essential, in the stillness of the gaze, in the gentle ruggedness of things, in what is missing, in the rhythm that—in the alternation of sound and silence—is balance. These are the themes that will guide our practices of walking meditation and Vipassana, Tantric and shamanic yoga, mantra, and mudra.

For Hilmann, everything in our existence is a symbol: events, encounters, and experiences are images capable of reconnecting us with a forgotten part of ourselves. The symbolic, archetypal power of the desert has permeated and nourished eras and cultures; it is an essential, foundational category in the theological thought of the three great monotheistic religions and a key image in earlier, shamanic-animistic spiritual traditions. The absence (of noise, of “fullness,” of fixed reference points, of boundaries that limit the gaze), which is not non-existence but invisibility, invites us to enter into relationship with our “invisible” part, which we cannot grasp with ordinary senses or rational thought. Silence, which is not a deprivation of sound but the origin and matrix of all possible sounds, allows us to reconnect with that calm and infinite background within us, from which all our thoughts, emotions, and sensations originate and in which they dissolve. The harshness, the gentle ruggedness of life in the desert, push us to strip away the non-essential, to proceed towards the core of experience, to confront truth. And further, the infinite, wild, uncontrollable, and unpredictable spaces call us to the experience of Freedom, to the poetic experience of the real.

For the Sufis, the mystics of Islam, the desert represents the zero degree of the soul, that crucial stage of every evolutionary path where the illusions of the ego—that fragile castle of meager certainties, theories, convictions, and habits built throughout a lifetime—are no longer of any comfort. It is then necessary to symbolically cross the desert: to abandon one’s habits of thought, the past, the known, to begin a journey into the new, the unknown. The desert whispers, it is said, but one must know how to listen. And this is the quintessence of meditation: to place oneself in silent listening to the voice of what the Sufis call “the greater Self.”

As nomads, the so-called “free people,” well know, life is movement, it is rhythm. It is not possible to stop, to cling to the known, to burden oneself with useless ballast, nor to turn back. It is useless to seek answers outside oneself or consult maps; it is superfluous to try to resist change. A journey into the desert can teach surrender, the relinquishing of demands for control and power, to fling open the door to new dimensions of Freedom and Love, to the encounter with the Divine which is Nature.

The Journey

This seminar has been designed and prepared with Harmony Desert, an organization that arranges and guides small groups on nomadic-style desert tours. These tours respect tradition—eschewing luxury organized vacations, mass tourism, and consumerism—while providing the comfort and safety necessary for an enjoyable and fulfilling immersive experience.

Accompanied by a local Saharawi team and a caravan of dromedaries that will carry our light baggage, we will cross the high dunes of the Drâa Valley, the hamadas, oases, and palm groves, moving at the rhythm of desert life. We’ll walk for an average of four hours a day, with breaks for meals and practices. We will set up our tented camp with the Bedouins, which will host us for the night. We will leave behind our burdens, noise, usual routines, and superfluous items, allowing ourselves to be carried by the hypnotic steps of the caravan, moment by moment, living at the natural rhythm of the elements, with the light of the stars marking our time.

This is a respectful way to experience the Sahara, both environmentally and culturally. We’ll encounter local customs, traditions, and practices not as mere consumers of an experience, but by fully immersing ourselves.

From M’Hamid, we will venture south-southeast towards Algeria. Following the various routes established by our guides, we will reach imaginary and real horizons together—the ancient paths of Saharawi nomadic shepherds for hundreds of years. These tracks are part of the ancestral memory of the Bedouins, who always manage to find their way home.

Itinerary

Day 1 – departure

We’ll depart early in the morning from Marrakech to reach the village of M’Hamid, at the gateway to the desert. We’ll travel in a private Harmony Desert vehicle. Leaving Marrakech in the morning, we’ll arrive in the Sahara late in the afternoon. The journey to the desert will lead us through ever-changing, diverse, and vibrant landscapes. From the chaotic city to Berber villages, from countryside to mountains, and then from mountains to the desert. We’ll cross the plains before ascending and traversing the High Atlas mountain range, with its breathtaking panoramic views. We’ll visit a women-only cooperative that processes argan oil, pass by the Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, arrive in Ouarzazate, and then continue towards Zagora and finally M’Hamid. We’ll take several short breaks for lunch at a typical local restaurant, for an invigorating yoga practice, and for a brief visit to either Ait Ben Haddou or Taourite de Ouarzazate, both UNESCO World Heritage sites. In the evening, we’ll have dinner and rest at the Ecolodge, a fixed camp at the foot of the dunes.

 Day 2 – among desert plateaus, tamarind trees, and sand dunes

We’ll depart on foot from M’Hamid, accompanied by our guide and the dromedary caravan. We’ll leave any non-essentials at the secured fixed camp, loading only light baggage, tents, and supplies onto the dromedaries. We’ll cross the magnificent M’Hamid palm grove via the Oued Drâa (the Drâa riverbed), where the desert plateaus of the Sahara will open up before us.

Tea and lunch will be taken at Race Nkhal. After a rest, we’ll continue to the next stop to set up our bivouac at the foot of the Sidi Naji sand dunes. We’ll conclude the day with a sunset practice and dinner.

Day 3 – towards the enchanting Singing Dunes

We’ll gently awaken to the rhythm of the sun. After a yoga practice and a good breakfast, we’ll prepare the dromedary caravan to set off across the Sahara’s sand dunes. Tea and lunch will be enjoyed in the shade of a tamarind tree at Erg Ez-Zahar (an “erg” is a complex of dunes).

After a relaxing break, we’ll continue towards the majestic Singing Dunes (unique of their kind, named for the singular sound effects created by the wind). The day will conclude with practice and dinner.

Day 4 – amongst dunes and stars

The journey continues after an essential tea break and lunch at Etonr. Afterward, our bivouac will be set up at Erg Bo Rabara. Encounters in the desert are rare but possible. With a bit of luck, we might cross paths with a nomadic shepherd and his dromedaries watering at the Erg’s well. We’ll practice walking meditation and shamanic yoga.

Day 5 – through the green palm groves

Dawn practice. The bivouac will be dismantled, and after loading the dromedary caravan, we’ll walk back towards M’Hamid. After a lunch break at Lbour, we’ll cross the green palm grove of the ancient Drâa Valley. We will then head back to the fixed camp in M’Hamid. From there, we’ll depart for Marrakech, arriving in the evening.

A Few Specifics

It’s necessary to arrive in Marrakech at least the day before departure and to leave no earlier than the day after the seminar concludes. If needed, we can provide suggestions for overnight stays.

Enrollment takes place after a preliminary interview, which you can schedule by writing to sarangiyoga@gmail.com or whatsapp a 3454508217.

Before the interview, it’s important to have read carefully

https://www.harmonydesert.com/temperatura-deserto-cosa-portare/#maggio

Further practical information

https://www.harmonydesert.com/guida-completa-video-marrakech-trekking-nel-deserto/

P.S. Oh, and last but not least… be aware that your phone won’t get reception in the desert! 😊

The sessions, courses, seminars, retreats, and materials offered by Sarangi are for inner exploration, problem-solving, and personal growth. They are not a substitute for the work of doctors or psychotherapists, as their purpose is not to consider, treat, or resolve medical or health-related conditions or symptoms.