Aficionados of yoga and other wellness disciplines consider these practices as essential opportunities for attainment of deeper spiritual awareness and meaningful integration of our mind-body connection. Moreover, there are certain places on our planet that are especially conducive to these practices; they are revered as sacred because of the mystical energy borne from a synergy of the natural elements specific to their location. Cusco is one of those places.
Students of the Earth’s energetic portals believe that every 2000 years the power of this energy changes from the East to the West. The Incas chose to name their capital Cusco, or Qosqo, which literally means ‘navel’ or ‘center’ in Quechua, which implies that they had tapped into this phenomenon from the inception of their culture, hence their devotion to Pachamama (Mother Earth) and Inti, the Inca god of the sun.
It’s no wonder, then, that the official flag of Cusco is polychromatic, i.e. that it has all seven colors of the rainbow, layered horizontally. The Incas understood and embraced what devotees to the study of energy often talk about today: Color is light, and each color has a different wavelength and vibrational frequency that affects us, and specifically our (also!) seven chakras, the centers of spiritual power in the human body, differently. Our chakras take in the health of our environment and in turn, radiate their own energy and vibration.
Taking all of this into account (and without having to be experts in ancestral Andean philosophy), meditation and yoga are excellent ways for us to tap into these vibrations. Meditation clears out the distracting ‘noise’ that creeps into our minds, and yoga flow practice, including sun salutations to receive the light (get it?), opens our physical beings. This combination, along with the setting of clear intentions, makes for a harmonious union of body, mind, and spirit and allows us to receive this cleansing energy, regarded as a pure conduit to transformation.
MLP’s new Yoga and Wellness Experience to Machu Picchu program offers guests the opportunity to explore this first-hand. Our MLP Yoga and Wellness leader, Sara Gallegos, will guide you through the mind/body exercises, complemented by workshops on topics from Andean Superfoods and herbal remedies to Ayurvedic health. Simultaneously, you will embark on a guided lodge-to-lodge journey of exhilarating hikes and meaningful cultural immersion through the Sacred Valley and Lares region to Machu Picchu, including traditional ceremonies in honor of Pachamama led by Andean shamans. We welcome you to join us for a truly transformational experience!
Namaste.