The second year of the Ahymsin Family Summer Camp is already completed with great joy of all of us. This time we can call it European, as most of the participants were from Hungary, the Netherlands, Italy, and Greece. It was really a beautiful meeting of different ages, from one year old to almost 80 years old. The central theme we worked on was “We are all one, nobody is alone”, as is stated by our Gurus, and in many ways united by our dreams and our purpose in life. To evolve not only respecting our material part but evolve in the spiritual realm.

The participant family members said it all. Nothing to add. In the following lines, I tried to mention everything at least once, except our appreciation of the wonderful nature that is really a gift from God, from nature, from the scouts that take care of the place. Here is what was given to us written, answering the questions: “what did you like more, what did you like less”

# The teachers were like mothers who took good care of us during the classes. Their presence was like a balsam in the heart. Great location.

# I liked karma yoga, planting included. I enjoyed that time with all the children and the parents.

# I like one hour a day meditation. I like more videos of Swami Rama and/or Swami Veda. This retreat was great. Thank you all.

# Everything was wonderful, unique. We learned a lot, we felt even more, and I wish everything becomes part of our life. I wish from my heart that this collective present continues to be given to us.

# Thank you for inviting us to this beautiful camp, in this wonderful nature. I could get closer to myself, and I could learn a lot about slowing down. Bless you!

# Thank you for helping me in deeper understanding Ahymsa. Blessed we are to be here.

# What did I like most? The people. What did I like less? I tried to think of something for recommendation for next year, but nothing came to my mind.

# What did I enjoy? Yoga classes, lovely teachers, food, good location and good price, kirtan. What to improve? Beach time, not 11.00-13.00 when the UV rays and temperature is the highest. More attention to special diets. More time at the beach on the trip day.

# It was nice to have the plan of the day written on the board. It was nice being so close to the sea, I loved the day trip to the temple of Artemis and museum and being informed about the site in advance. Meeting the people here, everyone was very kind. The photography could have been added to the schedule.

# Dear all of you, dear each of you being all-one. Thank you for all the blessed energy!

So, next year we will have more meditation every day and more short videos by Swami Rama and Swami Veda and discussion, as we now saw a part of the life of Mahatma Ghandi, after the outing day.

Our gratitude to our Gurus and teachers that guided and protected us.

Thank you to all wonderful participants from Europe and different parts of Greece!

Thank you to the Scouts who offered this wonderful piece of land that is enbibed with beautiful energy, and Scout Mr. Stathis who fed us with tasteful Greek specialties.

Thank you Christos Voinas Foteinas and Panayotis Foteinas Voinas for the photos and video.

Thank you to all teachers, who travelled from their countries to offer their services to the Himalayan Tradition: Carmen Lai (Italy and the Nederlands) and Louise Molenkamp (The Nederlands), Timi Varga (Hungary), Tamara Soru, Laura Linzi and Marilou Pistrito (Italy), Sofia (Greece).

A big thank you to the organizing team, who offered their services during the whole year to prepare the Family Summer Camp in a way that all ages were nourished in many different aspects, felt happy and were filled with love: Tamara Soru, (Mozambique and Italy), Timi Varga (Hungary), Athina Papadopoulou, Anna Zaharopoulou, Irene Laskaratou, Sofia Foteina (Greece).

Personal testimony

For the second time a summer camp in Greece was organized by Sofia Foteina from the Himalayan Tradition in Greece.

Nikos the friendly taxi driver was waiting for us at the airport in Athens and in less than an hour we arrived at the camp. The location is great, it is a scouting camp in the forest so there is plenty of shade. It can be very warm in Greece and this time it was 36 degrees Celsius. But luckily we had a comfortable room with air conditioning. And the camp is very close to the seaside, so every now and then there is a bit of wind cooling us. What I like very much is that there are no tourists at the beach there, besides us that is. A nice walk of only 5 minutes in nature will take you to the seaside with a small sandy beach.

The first evening after arrival we met and did a body percussion game to introduce ourselves. Tamara was guiding it. We shared what we like, what we don't like and got to know each other a bit. Very soon there was a friendly atmosphere with lots of laughing also. We had a conversation about the subject UNITY and what it meant for us personally. We talked about love, sharing, caring, listening to each other, cooking, communicating and working together.

Every morning at six- before first yoga class began - we met at the gate with Laura and a small group to go to the beach doing some simple standing exercises and after that a nice refreshing swim. After that, at 7 there was yoga class in an open space under the trees guided by teachers from the Himalayan Tradition. At 8.30 we were ready for a marvelous breakfast. The cook did a great job for us, three times a day there was so much tasty and nutritious food.

After breakfast was finished we did some seva, arranged by Anna, for half an hour only, cleaning tables and brooming away all the needles from the pine trees. We were with 36 adult and 16 kids from different countries in Europe. It was so nice to see the kids trying to communicate and speaking English together and soon new friends were made. From 10 to 13 is was time for playing on the beach and in the sea. After lunch we had 2 hours of quiet time .

There is a small office where you can buy books of the Tradition and some malas and bags for yoga mats. Sofia and Athina were so kind to help me sell the good luck elephants to support the school for girls in Odisha India. All elephants I brought with me were sold.

Every afternoon the kids were playing and doing arts and crafts with Tamara, Athina, Anna and Timi. The adults were with the kids or attended a workshop for parents. Carmen shared her experiences with healthcare and we talked a lot about lifestyle and Ayurveda in particular. I shared a massage to bring VATA dominance down. This massage I learned from Aafke de Geus who was my Ayurvedic teacher in the yoga academy Amsterdam. People were very pleased with the workshop and did like to know more about Ayurveda and lifestyle. So Carmen suggested to do an Ayurveda workshop for next year.

After six o'clock it was time for family yoga classes or adult yoga and children yoga separately guided by Marilu, Sofia and Laura. And then again the cook surprised us with a delicious meal for dinner.

In the evening time there were different activities. We watched a movie from Gandhi. One evening there was kirtan singing, the children played on small instruments. And Anna brought her guitar for me to play. Also Anna played a beautiful Greek song and her husband sang so beautifully. So next year Anna will bring 2 guitars to play and sing together. I am looking forward to that. One evening we shared cultural things from our countries Greece, Italy, Hungary and The Netherlands. We sang and danced and we had so much fun together.

Thursday we made a trip by bus to the beautiful museum and temple of Artemis. The evening before a friend of Sofia came to tell us all there was to know about the temple side and that made the trip even more nice. On our way back we had some time to spend on a beach, it was crowded with tourist and there was a line to go in. In Greece you have to pay to go to a nice beach. But my husband and I decided not to go stand in line. Just across the street there was a nice restaurant, where we ordered a good lunch.

The atmosphere among us in the camp and during all activities was so warm and nice, like one big family. We enjoyed our stay very much and definitely we will come back next year. Thanks to the team that made this possible: Sofia, Anna, Athina, Laura, Carmen, Tamara, Marilu, Irini. We had a great time.

Perhaps you join us next year? You are welcome.

Warmly Louise Molenkamp.

Dear kalyanamitras (friends on the spiritual path),
Dear leaders of the AHYMSIN affiliated Centers,
Dear sisters and brothers,

Those who joined the AHYMSIN Family Summer Camp in August 2023, in Greece, might still remember the joy of those days of early morning practice, family beach-time, shared meals, meditation and play. A group of us are already organizing the 2nd AHYMSIN Family Summer Camp - a gathering of yoga-minded families in a climate of sun, beach and playfulness. The sun light reminds us the light we all have in us and guides our actions. The width and depth of the sea reminds us of the innumerable choices of life and the depth of our being. And the warm sand, hugs and invites us to experience a new event.

Prepare your loving, joyful and playful heart and come to this AHYMSIN event.
When ??? August 1–8, 2024
Where??? Saint Andrew Scout Center, at Nea Makri, Municipality of Marathon, Greece.
Please follow the links below, enjoy the photos of family summer camp 2023 and an article describing this wonderful week we had the same year. Take a sip…. and get drunk with beauty.
Families and members of families are welcome.
Nobody should feel ALONE, because we are ALL ONE, (as said by our Gurus)

The flyer:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Uwn-eU4JiUneQFVjW6si3y35EJfo9dPF

The extended letter:
Extended letter Summer Camp 2024

Registration form:
https://forms.gle/KKudyv2zzHz3sCqG8

Looking forward to meeting you all on August 1- 8, 2024!

The organization team,
Csilla Horvath (Hungary) Timi Varga (Hungary)
Tamara Soru (Italy and Mozambique)
Maria Miguel Ribeiro (Portugal and Switzerland)
Athina Papadopoulou (Greece) Anna Zaharopoulou (Greece)
Irene Laskaratou (Greece) Sofia Foteina (Greece)

Previous summer camp 2023 details: Press here