SECRET MAP OF THE BODY

The book launch: speakers Gabriella Dalesio and Fabian Sanders will present the book "Secret Map of the Body"

The experiential WORKSHOP

The ancient Atiyoga Teaching offers meditation, yoga and dance practices aimed at harmonizing our physical existence, inner energy and mind. Rather than remaining on a purely theoretical level, these teachings are brought into direct experience through workshop activities, where participants can embody and explore what is presented in the book Secret map of the body. The workshop thus becomes a space of lived understanding, where the body is not only studied, but consciously experienced.

Translated from Tibetan and Annotated by Elio Guarisco

This book presents for the first time the translation of two texts, the biography of Yangönpa, The Great Mirror, and his short but illuminating treatise Hidden Description of the Vajra Body.

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Yangönpa’s Hidden Description of The Vajra Body presents the triad constituting the Vajra Body – the channels, energy-winds, and vital essences – as the basis for the application of experiential yogic techniques. Buddhism often relegates the body to a role subordinate to that of the mind;  the focus of Yangönpa’s Hidden Description is the body itself, with its manifold  layers – coarse, subtle, and very subtle.
In his presentation of the human body’s energetic structure he contends  that it is not simply the means to achieve enlightenment, but enlightenment  itself, blending the Highest Tantra notion of the body as the method with the Total Perfection (rdzogs chen) principle of inherently present enlightenment as  the fundamental nature of all phenomena.

GYALWA YANGÖNPA realized the nature of mind at the age of eight upon hearing instructions on the Dzogchen mind cycle of teachings. And at age nine he was installed as the abbot of Lhadong monastery, where he gave profound religious discourses, establishing his reputation as an enlightened emanation. During his lifetime, 1213-1258, he was devoted to four precious masters  of different lineages. Under the guidance of the first two, he undertook solitary retreat and, following a clear vision of the energetic system of body and mind, came to master this inseparable matrix.
An exceptional being gifted with powers, knowledge, and wisdom, Yangönpa led an exemplary life and his spiritual achievements won him a large number of followers. His literary output left a mark in the writings of later masters of all Tibetan schools, including Tsongkhapa, the Eighth Karmapa, Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thaye, Raga Asya, and Jigmed Lingpa.

This book presents for the first time the translation of two texts, the biography of Yangönpa, The Great Mirror, and his short but illuminating treatise Hidden Description of the Vajra Body.

Since 2003, Elio has been one of the main translators for the Ka-ter project launched by the Shang Shung Institute for the translation of ancient texts of the Dzogchen teaching, and has conducted training courses for translators from the Tibetan language. Fluent in colloquial and classical Tibetan, he is one of the foremost translators in this field. Elio Guarisco has worked on various translations from Tibetan for the Shang Shung Institute and Publications, including some books written by Chögyal Namkhai Norbu on Tibetan medicine and other topics.

Fabian Sanders has studied Asian languages, traditions, and cultures extensively. In recent years he has concentrated on teaching classical Tibetan Language at university level and for the Atiyoga Foundation. He has been a student of Chögyal Namkhai Norbu for more than twenty years. He is author of La Lingua Tibetana Classica (Hoepli), the first classical Tibetan grammar book in Italian.
He is the director of the School for Tibetan Language and Translation of the International Atiyoga Foundation and Academic Director of the Shang Shung Institute UK.

Meditation:
Alfredo Colitto

Yantra Yoga:
Fabiana Esca

Yantra Yoga:
Martina Bigazzi

The Vajra Dances:
Rita Renzi

The Vajra Dances:
Tatiana Gambetta