In the final week of our course we decided to take an overnight group trip to the nearest hot springs. We hired a private van to take us on the two and a half hour ride that traversed hundreds of hairpin turns and roads that were literally falling apart. The word "pothole" doesn't even begin to describe the gaping ravines in the asphalt. But it wasn't our drivers first rodeo and without flinching he got us to our final destination which was high in the clouds of the Guatamayan mountains.
For 150 Quetzals each, just under $20, we got entrance to the springs and a night stay in their cabins. We explored the three different areas of springs around the cabins and were in awe of the mossy cave walls surrounding the pools. At this elevation it was noticeably colder than our forest so the hot water was amazing and with the beauty of the natural environment it felt so rejuvenating!
Walking back from dinner we just couldn't help but to feel like we had landed in some mystical fairy village, staying amongst the fountains and ferns in small fairy cabins with fireplaces.
And in the morning after hiking down to the third spring next to a waterfall we agreed that the most beautiful thing is that these magical places exist all over the world. No matter what the news or mainstream media wants us to believe, in reality the world is full of really good people who also want to enjoy nature and the planet is thriving and everything is working out perfectly.
This quaint and unique village is nestled on the shore of Lago Atitlán; with a total population of around 3000, San Marcos is home to a small and lively community of expats and travellers. The lake itself holds the same frequency as the heart chakra. The extraordinary healing power of this land has been known since the Mayans - who built a massive pyramid complex at what is now the bottom of the lake.
In the 1970s a Guatamayan woman from a family of channellers had vision in a dream of coming to this lake to open a center for esoteric studies. She followed her dream and purchased a lake front property in San Marcos and built The Pyramids. Offering courses in a variety of studies such as: metaphysics, astrology, pranayama, & lucid dreaming; this was the first of many centers that would make a home in San Marcos and really made this village into the spiritual mecca that it is today.
Its all a dream. I wake up to a deafening choir of birds and bugs. The sun shines thru my 2nd story window and the clock reads 5:37. Plenty of time for a hot shower before 6:15 meditation. 7am yoga class on the side of a mountain. I open my eyes from savasana and see the lush green forest around me, I hear the gentle trickle of the waterfall on the rock wall behind me and realize its not a dream, I am home.
830 breakfast includes a huge bowl of papaya and pineapple, black coffee & half an avocado. And by 10 we form a small circle of students to chant a mantra before we begin our daily lesson in Thai massage.
1 o'clock is lunch time and we enjoy couscous, pitas, hummus, falafel, taziki, & a vibrant salad filled with edible flowers and all sorts of greens.
The afternoon is spent relaxing in the hammock, reading, discussing and sharing our spiritual paths and experiences. Before we know it, its time for 4pm yoga class over looking Lake Atitlan from the Shakti Shala.
The gong sounds again at 6, letting us know dinner is ready. We hold hands in a circle & bless the meal then we conclude ¡Buen provecho! Brown rice, vegetable curry and a beetroot salad with flatbread and herbal tea. Chatting after dinner is about all I have energy left for and im in bed by 830!
A full schedule of classes and meals are just the tip of the experience here as San marcos is a small but lively community of artisans, and spiritual seekers, travellers and hippies! There are weekly Kirtans held at an ashram nearby. And every sunday the Yoga Forest hosts an Ecstatic Temple Dance where free movement is explored in a peaceful and serene setting.
The community here is an amazing group of adventurous and enlightened yogis who are eager to share skills & insights. I have already learned so much about massage, gardening, permaculture, shamanic journeys, acrobatics, fermentation, composting, and cooking! And it only makes me realize how much more I still want to learn & experience here!!!
What is a value? How do we follow our highest good? In seeking moksha, or liberation, I must find a path that is suitable to me and connect with my personal values. This is my intention. So many things I am cultivating along the way, so many lessons to be applied. Slowly, slowly; but with a burning desire to attain self-realization in this very lifetime. At the end of the day, if I have acted upon my values I can remain at peace with myself and my truth. One of our guest speakers, Dr John Beaulieu, gave a series of talks and meditations on The Sound of Yoga. He discussed the anatomy of sound, the visual representation of the elements through cymatics, the psychology & physiology of vibrations, inner & outer sound, and how to use feeling tones to connect with our values. In perfect coordination with the TTC mantra initiation, his group meditations using tuning forks & bija mantras were profoundly healing and left us all buzzing with inner sound.
At the center of a spiral is a point of stillness, through the center vortex you can go anywhere and do anything. The journey is always to find the center, all answers to all questions reside here.
Last week was definitely a time of shifting gears, mentally and physically, as all the TTC students have departed and all of the karma yogis moved into dorm rooms. With the slow season now in full effect I am taking the opportunity to intensify my sadhana, spiritual practice. Finding great benefits from small group discussions led by Swami Brahmananda, as well as opportunities to chant in satsang, help out in the kitchen, and cleaning yoga mats, in addition to teaching classes regularly at the ashram and at Ocean Club. We celebrated the Bahamas Independence Day and welcomed many locals to join us in our asana & pranayama classes, Friday morning my class had 40 students!
Today is Swami Sivanandaji's mahasamadhi, consciously detaching from his body in 1963. We were blessed with an inspiring lecture from Swami Brahmanada describing the character and traits of the enlightened guru. Sivanandaji was dynamic, unpredictable and would never put down another person but rather uplift everyone around him. One of his disciples describes, "He was not opposed to anything, even opposition."
"I have negated names and forms, I alone exist ... I behold God everywhere, there is no veil"
In the temple today we held 12 hours of akhanda kirtan (unbroken chanting). Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya. Each of us taking turns chanting for 30 minutes, literally translating as "Salutations to the Enlightened Sivananda". When I arrived I felt strained at first, alone with my voice echoing through the room, alone with the gurus, the deities, the flowers. My voice cracked and I gasped for breath between repetitions, at a point I wondered if I might pass out - the realization hit me that I could not leave. The chanting cannot be broken. Then I closed my eyes and suddenly felt a rush of energy and prana filling up my lungs, strengthening & sculpting my voice. I lost all sense of time and allowed the chant to flow through my entire being. When the next yogi showed up to "relieve" me I was surprised to realized I had been chanting for a full hour. I left feeling high on the energy bestowed on me through Swamiji.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. We live in a vibrational universe created from the very fabric of sound. The sanskrit mantras encase the cosmic energy into sound form. The bija, or literally "seed", is first an inner experience of sound that is translated into an outer sound and empowered by consciousness.
"When the mind becomes attuned, it is capable of hearing the voice of the unknown" - Dr. John Beaulieu
Another eventful week at the Yoga Retreat began on Sunday with the first ever International Day of Yoga. In the morning our priest, Krishnan Namboodri, led 200 rounds of Surya Namaskar on the Bay Platform with many of the swamis, staff, karma yogis and guests joining in. After 2 hours of unceasing sun salutations while chanting, the priest didn't even break a sweat - what an example of tapping in to an energy source higher than the physical strength mind or body! We also hosted many locals from the Indian community for a lecture on the benefits of the yogic lifestyle and an asana class followed by a beautiful feast. Families and friends celebrated the ancient traditions that have changed the lives of so many individuals around the world.
Wednesday I had my first opportunity to experience Ocean Club, the most exclusive section of our neighboring resort at Atlantis. Accommodations range from $1,000 to $5,000 per night and the world class grounds were nothing short of amazing. Beautiful grassy knolls, hammocks, palm trees, sculptures, and even a 12th century French monastery that was transported stone by stone in the 1960s.
In this beautiful setting guests are invited to join a daily yoga practice led by our Sivanada teachers. The format is quite different from the 2-hour class we practice in the ashram, here we teach a basic 1-hour sequence including sun salutations, asanas and a final relaxation. I am looking forward to return to teach and explore the peaceful gardens!
Yesterday morning our priest held an ocean puja on the beach where Krishna - "the all attractive one" - the embodiment of love & joy who destroys all pain, was invoked through the fire ritual. Encircling the adorned deity while carrying offerings of spices, milk, and ocean water, the swamis chanted until the priest hoisted up the large sculpture and we all followed him into the sea! It was a beautiful puja that felt both uplifting and purifying.
"The Lord dwells in the hearts of all creatures and whirls them round upon the wheel of maya. Run to him for refuge with all your strength, and peace profound will be yours through his grace"
I am always amazed at how time distorts my perceptions of reality. Moving both fast and slow. Sometimes dragging me back into the past and sometimes consuming me with desire and worries of some distant or not so distant future. The practice to live in the now is a concept that often eludes me no matter how hard I try.
Already half way through my 3-month stay at the Sivananda Yoga Retreat on Paradise Island and in so many ways it seems like I arrived yesterday and at the same time I can recount so many things I have learned and experienced. I have now worked over 45 days straight with not one day off. The days begin to blur together into a stream of karmic expansion. I am only just beginning to understand that to serve others is to serve yourself. I have had some difficulty adjusting to the culture here at the Yoga Retreat for a few reasons, including my own expectations and beliefs about what an ashram is and what truly selfless service is. I am constantly realizing that I can create my experience by maintaining control over my thoughts and reactions. I am constantly reminding myself that I am only experiencing that which I am a vibrational match to and if I feel any negative emotion it is because I am not lining up with source energy, which will always give me what I focus on.
My typical day starts at 5:30 with the wake up bell reverberating its way into my tent hut, giving me 30 minutes to shower and make my way to the Garden Platform for 6am satsang. After 30 minutes of silent meditation, another 30 minutes of chanting, one of the senior staff or Swamis will give a talk or lecture for about 30 minutes then we conclude with the Universal prayer, Arati and enjoy prasad (an offering of food, usually fruit, which is blessed throughout the satsang with the vibrations of the prayers, chanting and spiritual company).
Bay West Platform - Intermediate Pranayama & Asana Classes held here
Three days a week I am teaching the 8am intermediate class and the other 4 days I head straight into the Reception office for the morning shift from 7:30am - 1:30pm. The pranayama & asana class runs from 8-9:45am and is followed by brunch which usually consists of a buffet of options including soup, rice, couscous or potatoes, cooked vegetables, salad makings, fruit, oatmeal, bread, butter, cream cheese, peanut butter, jam, granola, almond, soy or regular milk and herbal tea.
In the afternoons we have optional workshops from staff as well as guest speakers on a huge variety of topics or we can use the free time to enjoy the amazing beach, talk a walk to the light house, head into town for some shopping or enjoy a cup of coffee at the Atlantis resort next door! Coffee is not allowed in the ashram because of the affect caffeine has on the mind, there are also some other restrictions besides the lacto-vegetarian diet - the idea being that the sunlight gives food its life-giving energy. We only eat foods that are grown in sunlight (also called "sattvic" or pure) and do not have either dulling or stimulating effects on the mind, that means, no mushrooms, onions, garlic, chili or vinegar.
If I am teaching in the morning then I head into work for the late shift 1:30-7:30pm, or if I'm off I take the 4pm pranayama & asana class. As a teacher I am required to attend 4 classes per week and practice by myself the other three days. This has been an amazing opportunity to gain confidence teaching and motivate me in my own practice. After class we have dinner at 6pm (and no I didn't forget to tell you about lunch - we only eat two meals a day!) and I have been absolutely amazed by the variety and quality of the dinners! Ambika is actually a genius in the kitchen and her food is nothing short of gourmet!! And everyday it is something different and equally impressive!
Fresh coconut in basmati rice, tofu with a mango and red pepper chutney, spring rolls with carrots, beets, yellow peppers & peanut sauce, spinach salad with goat cheese, blueberries & almonds, and for dessert banana slices with nutella, walnuts & shredded coconut!!! and.... that's pretty much all I can say about that! amazing!!!!
In the evening we have another 2 hours of satsang (sanskrit for spiritual company) from 8-10pm again with silent mediation, daily chants & a lecture, performance or concert. This photo was taken at a recent Bansuri concert (traditional Indian flute) given by GS Sachdev and his amazing accompanist on the tabla, pair of drums.
And one more (also audio only) of a performance about love, from the band of Carrie Grossman
And I will leave you with this.... 16 seconds of bliss
While I was in India I took both initiation into a personal mantra as well as a spiritual name. The mantra initiation is a long practiced tradition where the guru performs a puja ceremony and the devotee gives an offering of flowers, fruit, nuts & berries. The mantra is a Sanskrit word or phrase that holds a particularly high vibration and through the practice of meditating on the mantra the devotee is lifted to Universal Consciousness. The mantras are considered seeds which will grow and unfold over time, and in taking on a personal mantra you commit to that mantra for life.
I was also given a spiritual name by my Swamiji, the idea being that the name represents certain qualities of the Divine and in taking the name you will also take on these qualities on many levels. The names were given after the month long course so the guru thoughtfully chose names for each of us on our spiritual path. I was given the name Vidya, विद्या which means true knowledge, education, learning & clarity. Vidya is another name of Goddess Saraswati, who embodies the uplifting & purifying feminine energy of divine wisdom and creativity.
Now that I have been at the ashram I have been using my spiritual name and it is interesting how you feel different when you use a different name! Mostly I find that it is a valuable tool in remembering to see the divine nature of the self as well as recognizing the divine in others as well ~
