On November 9-16, my friend and fellow Yoga Therapist and teacher Lucy Lomax and I led a true Yoga Indulgence at Pura Vida Retreat and Spa outside of San José, Costa Rica. This was an amazing week of yoga, adventure, and spa treatments. Oh and, of course the food was excellent.
Each morning, I led meditation and yoga classes based around the idea of creating sacred space for yourself. A ritual is an act one engages in with awareness, thoughtfulness, and intention. Yoga practice, and meditation, pranayama, or yoga nidra, is a ritual act, and it can provide a sense of place, connection, and belonging. Our 15 yogis and yoginis formed a bond during our week together: “One striking aspect of this event was the absolute cordiality of the yogis. It was as though we had known and loved each other for years.” Lucy led the afternoon yoga practice and yoga nidra, also based on this idea of sacred space for oneself, and Susanna Harwood Rubin’s book Yoga 365, as seen below with Julia, the retreat cat, provided wise words for our exploration together.
During yoga practice, we worked with flexibility and adaptability, strength, balance, and how a ritual of regular yoga practice can support our lives through the challenging times and the good. In between the daily bookends of yoga practice, there was time for adventure! Ziplining, hiking in the rainforest, boating with the crocodiles, visiting a toucan and sloth rescue. Some pics:
Julia does own the place 
Pre-zipline 
In the rainforest 
Croc! 
Iguana by the river 
Warriors on the Pacific 
Crazy type of banyan twins 
On the trail in the cloud forest 
We had so much fun, we plan to do it again next year. If you are interested in joining us, please contact me!