The Asana of the Heart: Ashtanga Yoga meets Non Violent Communication
February 28 - March 14, 2026
Get ready for this one-off opportunity to immerse yourself in a unique retreat intensive in the beautiful coastal town of Ahangama in Sri Lanka. The Asana of the Heart is a two-week retreat dedicated to cultivating presence, deepening self-awareness, and transforming the way we relate—to ourselves, to others, and to life.
Led by certified Ashtanga teacher Luke Jordan and NVC facilitator Anniken Poulsson Beer.
The Location
Flowground Ahangama, Sri Lanka
Flowground is a minimalistic retreat house & home, nestled amongst paddy fields, just a stretch away from the vibrant beach town Ahangama, on the South Coast of Sri Lanka. The bedrooms at flowground are simple and light. You can choose between sharing a room with one or two other people (twin or triple bedroom), or having a single room (double bed) for a higher rate. All Rooms have A/C, hot water shower, en-suite bathrooms, except our standard twin room – it has a private bathroom direct next door.
The Practise
Grounded in Practice
listening to the body
Each day begins with Mysore-style Ashtanga Yoga—a silent, focused space where each practitioner moves at their own rhythm under Luke’s gentle, experienced guidance. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just beginning, this approach offers space for individual growth, inner awareness, and connection to breath and movement.
listening to the voice of tradition
Following morning practice, we explore teachings drawn from the yogic tradition—mantras, sutras, and sacred texts—that invite reflection, humility, and insight. These daily inspirations support not only your time on the mat, but the way you meet your life.
listening to others
In the afternoons, we turn toward each other. Through the tools of Nonviolent Communication, we begin to see how the same qualities cultivated in yoga—attention, honesty, presence—can transform the way we engage with others. We’ll explore how to:
• Recognize our own needs and emotions without judgment
• Speak with clarity and care
• Navigate conflict with compassion
• Stay anchored in ourselves while remaining open to others
This is the bridge from practice to life: the yoga of human connection.
Daily Themes
Each afternoon session weaves insight with experience, building day by day toward a more integrated and embodied way of being.
1. The Roots of NVC
Explore how NVC expresses Ahimsa—the yogic principle of non-harming—in the way we speak, hear, and understand one another. A foundation for the week ahead.
2. What’s Alive in You
Begin to shift from mental analysis to present-moment awareness. Learn to attune to the emotional undercurrents—feelings and needs—that shape your inner world.
3. From Reaction to Response
Discover the power of conscious choice in your interactions. Simple shifts in awareness can open the door from habitual conflict to meaningful connection.
4. Speaking the Heart
Practice expressing yourself with honesty and vulnerability—without blame, demand, or fear. Learn to be clear and kind, even when things are charged.
5. The Jackal Café
An imaginative and transformative exploration of judgment. Through play and reflection, learn to uncover the deeper needs hidden behind criticism—yours or someone else’s.
6. When You’re Triggered
Explore practical tools for staying grounded when emotions run high. Cultivate the capacity to pause, feel, and respond from a place of inner alignment.
7. Dyad Meditation
Engage in a structured partner practice that fosters presence, empathy, and mutual understanding. A powerful tool for deepening relational insight and self-connection.
8. Releasing the Old
Bring awareness to the unconscious beliefs and inner contracts that keep you stuck. Begin to loosen their hold and reconnect to what truly matters.
The Teachers
Luke Jordan is a Certified Teacher in the Ashtanga Yoga tradition and holds a Masters degree in Indian Religions. He is a writer, story-teller, vedic-chanter, sanskritist and consummate student of yogic and spiritual culture.
Always feeling that there was something more to life, Luke first began formal study of Eastern mysticism in the 1990s while at University and plunged headlong into the practice of Ashtanga Yoga in the year 2000. This began an on-going journey that would take him around the world seeking out experts, gurus and teachers in the field of Yoga and spirituality.
Luke first made his way to Mysore, India in 2001 to study with Sri Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath and is one of a very small number of teachers worldwide to have been granted the honour of Certification within the Ashtanga tradition.
Drawn to the deeper philosophical dimensions of Yoga, Luke loves to share the inquiry that springs from the chants, myths and conceptual underpinnings which form Yoga’s wider tradition.
Anniken Poulsson Beer shares Nonviolent Communication with people in workplaces, organizations, open workshops, schools, and kindergartens. She works in Norway and abroad. One of her favorite tools are the No-Fault Zone game. She also works with Dyads as a guide to inner wisdom, and supports healing old patterns that no longer serves us.
Anniken was the first Certified Trainer in Norway. Her background is as a preschool and drama teacher and she has worked in education since the mid-’80s. She has leadership and coach experience over a period of 20 years. Anniken teaches NVC all over the world. She is passionate about bringing out empathic communication, connection, and understanding in all kinds of relationships, in particular relationships between adults and children.
She is inspired by Robert Gonzales and Sarah Peyton, and shares several exercises she has learned from them. Anniken is the Executive Director of NVC Norway, since March 2020 and works as a full time trainer.
