Adventures of a Yeti and a Yogiwatch out world, here we come!

Nearly four years ago, I created a vision statement. My vision was to first participate in an international yoga certification program and come home to open an organic Mexican Café adjacent to a new yoga studio! Well this month, I’m one step closer to achieving this vision. On Sunday, June 30th I began a 200-hr Interdisciplinary Yoga Teacher Training with 34 other students at the Nosara Yoga Institute (NYI) in Costa Rica. Since then, I dedicate my days to healing my body and mind through yoga and the awareness’s this program presents me.

The program schedule is quite rigorous, being that it’s a 4-week program determined to turn dedicated yogis into yoga teachers. My day begins at 5:15am! I’m out the door by 5:35am where my German friend, Anika awaits me to walk through the jungle to the Institute. Yes, I said jungle. Our walk is only about 15 minutes, just long enough to get my hiking shoes very muddy during this green (rainy) season.

Jungle Path Entrance

Jungle Path

Jungle Bridge

Seven days a week, our morning yoga practice begins at 6am sharp and commences at 8am with a lovely meditation and journal writing. What I have found to be most beneficial in these morning practices is the silence that all students maintain from the time we enter the Institute’s grounds until we leave the gate.  During this walk, I try to look up and around to admire what nature (Guanacaste trees, birds, monkeys, iguanas, lizards) provides us through its sights and sounds. It’s amazing and helps bring focus to my yogic experience.

Hammock

After our morning practice, I make time to swing in our hammock before making breakfast. When Mike gets home after his morning surf session, we enjoy a cup of Costa Rican coffee and either oatmeal or an egg sandwich with habanero salsa and avocado. YUM! This lovely break lasts until 10:30am and then we’re off again through the jungle for our 11am lecture and posture technique led by the Director of the program and a senior yoga instructor. We’re there until 2:30pm and race back home because we’re so hungry! These morning sessions are Monday through Saturday. Lots to cover in a short period of time!

What I’ve enjoyed about this program is the hands-on practice/assists with partners or small groups to really understand the meaning behind yoga, the postures, the meditation and what it means for each individual person practicing and learning. This program is not necessarily about what the books say about what yoga’s supposed to feel like or be like for the general public.

At around 3pm, I take a shower after sweating my heart out in this humid, sticky weather and begin cooking up delicious lunch/dinners for Mike and I. We have a cute kitchenette with 2 burners and a sink. Our kitchen counter is our dining table, so it’s interesting to try to cram everything on it without spilling and getting too claustrophobic. We also have a tiny fridge, the kind you usually see in offices under desks. It’s fun!

NYI Gardens

Samadhi Mandir

The last event of the day is our evening lecture and practice session from 6:15pm to 8:45pm, Monday-Friday and Sundays. These evening sessions are usually more calming and therapeutic, which concentrate on Self-Awakening Yoga (SAY), a form of yoga unique to NYI. I’ve learned that through SAY I’m able to deepen my vinyasa flow practice and recognize the exact areas of my body I’m affecting externally and internally. I didn’t understand SAY at first because I thought it was too slow or boring, but during these 3 weeks, I’ve really come to appreciate the connection I’m able to make between my body and my mind. At this point in the program, it’s still hard to explain, but I look forward to exploring it more in the future. I’ve sincerely begin to focus my awareness on living in the NOW and really being present in life.

Namaste