The past 2 weeks with little to no internet connectivity makes one realize what an addiction internet is as well as leaves a lot to be written. Heres a quick recap - 10 days at (what has to be one of the most beautiful and magical places in the world) Lago de Atitlan proved to be an amazing transition into 2008. My days started at 5:45 am walking out on my balcony overlooking the "belly of the world" (according to the ancient mayans) and taking a deep breath of nature in as the sun began peak out in the horizon. To say the least it was beautiful! Following my "nature's" wake up call was a 2 hour yoga practice led by my fabulous SF teacher who welcomed us into the room witha beautiful chant. With each chant he connected us with the theme of the day and with, once again - nature. The theme of this retreat was, if you haven't already guessed , nature. Each day we evoked within us and at times within our surroundings the elements of this cosmic world we play in - Space, Earth , Water, Air, Fire and ofcourse all of the Plants and Animals. Practicing yoga with each of these elments in mind brought on a new meaning to my practice, my self, and my relationship with my surroundings. I stood in Vrkasana (tree pose ) in front of a tree and then slightly leaned to mirror my tree and at some point I felt I was that tree, strongly rooted to this earth and growing its branches to touch the sky. Yes, it sounds like crazy talk but lets not forget that all of these yoga poses were created because some guys sat around and watched nature and then wanted to mimick nature and invoke within themselves the characteristics of nature whether it be in the form of birds, trees, people, etc. And just like that we have what we know today as yoga!!!
The place I stayed was amazing and the best thing about it was they LOVED to feed us !!! Yummy Breakfast with fresh squeezed OJ was served promptly after our morning yoga practice . 2 hours later we hear the cow bell ringing letting us know that lunch is ready. I loved eating and i had no problems taking seconds beacuse it seemed soooo healthy! We had lots of time in between classes to play which, for me, consisted of working on my mission to deepen my understanding of everything , myself, my world, my life, my spirit, me. Lucky for me, we had some of the most talented and powerful healers visit us and work with us through energy moving healings to ayurvedic consultations and massages , unfortunately words would not do these experiences justice so its better left unsaid. I will say that I am a believer in energy work ... there is definitely something beyond the tangible at work within us and it should not be ignored. It seemed like everyone was crying everyday and it was completely normal and acceptable - who knew?! So my days passed quickly and slowly and each moment was eventful and lived ( hard to say that happens when you are rushing from home to work to home to eat to etc etc.) . We had yoga in the evening and then more food and then chanted ourselves to sleep. Each day the routine was the same but the experience was completely new. Our own little yoga ashram became an international melting pot with people from Brazil, Germany, US, Holland, and more. You can only imagine how interesting the conversations were especially when things got lost in translation.
New Years Eve consisted of acro yoga - yes we were flying ! A bollywood dance - yup I was dancing and I even taught my new friend the light bulb dance ! And, chanting the evening into 2008 ! It was the most powerful new years experience I have ever had and it beats the regular drunken debauchery by far! New Years day was FIRE day and we heated our bodies in Sauna and blessed our souls in Mayan Fire ceremony. Its amazing how much change can occur in only 10 days of taking things slow and experiencing life and the self. However, after about 10 days of yoga, healing and chanting among some techinal living situation difficulties (the winds were going mad the last few days and we were left with no power and lots of smells) I was ready to wrap up and take my new self back to Antigua.
So here I am not only entering a new year in the calendar but also a new year in my life and I spent it sipping mojitos and watching the once mafia playground in action , with vintage, dinosaur , cars roaming the streets and music blasting in every corner....
chau ( pronounced chow like ciao but its not french!)
