True Nature Travels Blog

The True Nature of Yoga – What is the Meaning of Yoga?

 

Battling Stress with Yoga

Yoga.  The word alone conjures up all sorts of meanings and images.  I bet you are thinking of someone doing a crazy yoga asana or pose right now, like standing on their hands or putting their legs behind their head.  Yes, this is yoga, too, but in fact, the real reason humans have been practicing yoga for over 5,000 years simply reconnect with their innermost selves, or their True Nature.

We have a tendency to get caught up in looking outside ourselves for fulfillment, happiness, peace, etc.  Yet something we all know deep down is that true joy can only be found when we are completely content internally.  We get caught up in doing rather than just being.

There are many paths and definitions to yoga.  We will be exploring these here in our new blog series – The True Nature of Yoga.  One of our favorite definitions of yoga is…

Read more

True Nature Travels Blog

Memories of Asheville Community Yoga Trip to Costa Rica

Yoga_Platform_CusingaAlways slow breath of the Pacific calming,
Body blooms in warm moist air,
Scent of Ylang Ylang perfuming the night.
I am cradled by rocking warm waves
Shared with whales, dolphins, turtles, birds.
Over boulders a stream plunges,
I float in a rain forest cold hole,
Ancient Ajo trees arc above
Cicadas shriek, rattling eardrums
Mute as head dips below surface.
Alone where once dinosaurs roamed
Crunching giant fern, philodendrons
Still here luxuriant.
I have said nothing of listening to a small child
Lead our adult group in call and response –
I am happy, I am free
Guru ji, Guru ji
Or of dancing with you
Joyful, tears overflowing.
Or Luna’s songs of surrender to Divine Mother
Or lying under the vortex dome before dawn
Weeping and dissolving.
Or that Josh promised to be at my deathbed.
We are always together saluting the rising sun.

True Nature Travels Blog

Reflecting Through Poem on the Rhythms of Joy

IMG_20140220_165023Following the 2nd Annual Rhythms of Joy Retreat with Tiina Kivinen in January 2014, one of the retreat participants, Rick, shared with us this beautiful poem that he used to reflect on his experience with True Nature Education and time in Costa Rica. He spent a week on a birding expedition following his time on the retreat with us, during which he said he had ample time to process his time with us.
Rick furthermore shared with us that, “I remember, during  one of the (many) sharing sessions, comparing our group to a 15 petal lotus.  It strikes me now just  how apt that descrption – – –  each perfect lotus petal finds even greater perfection in its place within the blossom.  You were all perfect, and it was fantastic to bloom with you. My heart was emptied and then it was filled.  Sweet blessings to all.”
A cold, dark heart, frozen by loss
Unable to grieve, unable to let go
The fragile ebb and flow of her life
The memories of her journey so new
Candlelit yoga with twelve gentle souls 
Magic Moon’s words crack the shell
The vibration of kirtan like Jericho
My soul exposed, my centre revealed
My heart now opened to strangers
The pain unleashed but so welcome
The well of tears no longer held back
The depth of acceptance enveloped me
A mother not lost but transcended
As the cross through the woods revealed 
She is with me, now a part of me
Her unconditional love surrounds me

True Nature Travels Blog

On Synchronicity and "Being in the Flow"

IMG_20140130_161940You know when everything feels connected?  Maybe you’ve run into a long lost friend at the grocery store who you’ve been meaning to catch up with.  Perhaps your yoga class focused on the exact part of your body that needed your attention. You feel like you are in the right place at the right time, and things are going your way.  I like to refer to this experience as “being in the flow.”

Being in the flow is when there is a sense of ease to your way of life.  You listen to the plan of the universe, and you act accordingly.  Rather than exerting a lot of energy to create what you think you want, the universe effortlessly provides you with what you really need.   The truth is that being in the flow just feels good.

IMG_20140206_093400Currently, I am living in Costa Rica on retreat with True Nature Education, and life here is different.  Conversations with people who I just met begin to feel like talks with old friends.  I practice yoga effortlessly, and my ability to listen to my body is more attuned.  My rhythms for sleep have matched those of nature; I wake up with the birds and the sun, and the stars and crickets lull me to sleep.  Life has become a living meditation, and this is what being in the flow is all about.

As I experience this way of life in Costa Rica, I aspire to create a life at home that feels as consistently connected and in the flow as I’m experiencing here.  True Nature is giving me tools to be able to tap into living with this essence of ease.  On retreat, I practice yoga, have communal meals, and spend my time outdoors in nature.  These are all meaningful ways that I will bring home with me, as a way to connect with the flow of life.

True Nature Travels Blog

2nd Annual Rhythms of Joy Retreat: Waking Up from Silence

CR2010-2006During the 2nd Annual Rhythms of Joy Retreat led by Tiina Kivinen with True Nature Education, we took an opportunity to be in silence.  This activity opened space to go deeper within ourselves, disconnecting from the daily chatter we partake in.  We were to be silent throughout the night until after the following morning’s meditation.  I spent the night listening to my higher self, journaling, meditating, and resting.

I woke up earlier than usual the next day.  It was still dark out.  The crescent moon was just above the horizon, getting ready to set.  The planet Venus shined brightly above the moon.  Inspired by the moon and Venus, I decided to take a hike to the lookout tower to watch the sunrise.

When I arrived at the top of the tower, I turned to the east to do sun salutations.  This was the perfect opportunity to welcome in the sun with honor.

As my asana practice woke up my muscles and bones, the birds also became active.  I took out my binoculars to get a closer look at these flying creatures.   The detail of their feathers, their beaks and their colors, was grand.  Some flew around catching bugs, while others were nibbling on berries or looking for a mate.

The diversity that existed before my eyes was vast!  As I looked more closely at these birds, I formed a deep appreciation for their individuality and their ability to live in community.

As the temperature of the atmosphere rose with the day’s beginning, moisture was drawn up into the sky and the condensation formed clouds.  Soft, grey clouds now covered the crystal clear view I once had.

I had forgotten that I was there to watch the sunrise, when suddenly I noticed a great ball of fire glowing just above the mountains.  The clouds had parted just enough so that I was able to see the outline of the sun.  The sun looked much like the appearance of a full moon, but brighter.  The abrupt appearance of the sun astonished me with its power.

The silence that I had kept from nightfall to sunrise allowed an opportunity to observe nature’s aliveness more deeply.  When I quieted myself, I noticed how vibrantly the world around me spoke.  The power and energy of the sun, the moon and the birds, felt louder than ever before on this day.  I recommend being in silence, every once in a while, to hear what other voices want to be heard.

True Nature Travels Blog

A Journey of the Heart through Service and Adventure – Asheville Community Yoga Retreat Experience

1779798_661445367230500_154677423_nOn our third day of the Asheville Community Yoga Costa Rica Yoga Experience, we visited the village of La Florida, the home for many years of Joshua Canter and Kristin Luna Ray, TNE Co-Founders. It was a sweet reunion with some dear old friends along with the special local Costa Rica community, which represented, in many ways, the foundation of True Nature Education.

We left the La Casinga Eco-Lodge and Retreat Center and traveled about an hour and a half to the village, where we began our exciting day of service. The Asheville Community Yoga Retreatants first took on the task to give the recycling center a makeover with a fresh coat of paint to give it new life. It’s truly amazing how much a new layer of color can accomplish!

1798036_661444947230542_64177205_nAt the La Florida school, there is an organic vegetable garden in which the students work and contribute to as part of their curriculum. In anticipation of the commencement of school again next week, we put in some love in the garden, helping to prepare the beds and tidy things up.

The village has a small library, which True Nature Education and CREER Service Organization initially helped support to be built. Long time friend and CREER Representative, Amy Schrift, helped to coordinate the projects. She shared her incredible story during a traditional lunch served by some of the women in the village.

We then took a journey to the Nauyaca Waterfalls after

Read more

True Nature Travels Blog

The True Nature of Family

IMG_0281

Just a couple of hours ago our Chant Together: A Family Bhakti Yoga Celebration with David ‘Durga Das’ Newman, Mira Newman, and Friends departed. It was a wonderfully rich week of retreat. Bhakti Yoga is also known as the yoga of devotion and love. The essence of this week was just that.

Standing on the incredible Finca Luna Nueva Lodge property, I gaze into the distance at the vast rainforest before me. When looking with one point of view, all I observe is a sea of green; when looking closely I see the intricate web of life before me, with the vast array of flora and fauna. Trees, flowers, birds, water.

The journey of retreat reveals a similar comparison. Each retreat in a way is very similar: a group of people coming together, practicing together, residing as a community, and then journeying onward. But, when we really move into the intimate intricacy of retreat, what beholds is truly an exquisite, unique experience to live through.

This week we explored a new facet – opening to the potential of sharing the retreat experience with families. Our retreat had three families with children: a mother and daughter, and another couple, along with some single adults. In the past I have had apprehension about the potential distraction that the family element might bring into retreat. I have been familiar for many years with a paradigm of retreat that was quiet, introspective, and focused towards a sense of personal time. I was curious about how this would be impacted with the element of children and family.

photo (19)David brought forth a beautiful reflection through his teachings this week. Sharing with us the profound transformation he had experienced over the past several months, his message was that “we all have the opportunity to awaken to the perfection of our ordinary selves.”

This message was a perfect teaching for this retreat, which was filled with

Read more

True Nature Travels Blog

Chanting Together in Costa Rica

IMG_0217We’re nearing the end of our Chant Together Kirtan yoga retreat with David Newman (“Durga Das”) and Friends, and it has been such a delightful journey!  Our group is wonderfully diverse, with participants ranging from age 2, all the way up beyond 60.  It has been so sweet to have parents and kids, husbands and wives, and friends all here to chant together.

The power of retreat is something I wish everyone could experience. Feeling the support of the community and taking part in daily practices such as yoga, satsang (“discussions of truth”), and kirtan (“chanting”) have all added the fullness and richness of this True Nature Experience.

IMG_20140126_123038It has been such a blessing to spend the week on this magical land near the Arenal Volcano at Finca Luna Nueva Lodge. Everything is so lush here.  This is a place where trees grow on trees, toucans with bright yellow beaks fly overhead, and a three-toed sloth makes an occasional appearance.  This is a place where all you have to do is sit quietly and watch, and magic will present itself.

The other day we went to a local village and worked on projects for the school’s community garden.  The school is responsible for feeding the students lunch, and it has become a necessity to grow food to support this.  It felt great to help out with the project.  We also made sugar cane juice and drank from coconuts straight off the trees.  After our work (which was mostly play!), we enjoyed a home-cooked meal where we made our own corn tortillas.

Today, we spent the morning at the Tabacon Hot Springs.  We soaked up the warmth of volcanic water, as it poured through rivers and waterfalls that meandered through the trees and vibrantly colored plants.  Our afternoon ended with a sunset horseback ride to a waterfall.

It has been a wonderful week blending lots of time relaxing, chanting, and adventuring.  It is always sweet to get to know other people (and ourselves) better.  It is a gift to be able to spend a week away from our day-to-day lives and to live in a way that more deeply connects us with our own True Nature.

 

Eliza Volk
Asheville, North Carolina

 

 

 

 

True Nature Travels Blog

True Nature Travels Blog

Just For Now: Wrapping Up the Mind|Body|Yoga|Fitness Retreat

Just for now, without asking how, let yourself sink into stillness.

Just for now, lay down the
weight you so patiently
bear upon your shoulders.
Feel the earth receive
you, and the infinite
expanse of sky grow even
wider as your awareness
reaches up to meet it.
 
Just for now, allow a wave of breath to enliven your experience. Breathe out whatever blocks you from the truth. Just for now, be boundless, free, awakened energy tingling in your hands and feet. Drink in the possibility of being who and what you really are so fully alive that when you open your eyes the world looks different, newly born and vibrant, just for now.
I shared this poem by Dana Faulds in class in Costa Rica, reminding the group to allow themselves time to really be in the beautiful magic of Costa Rica and use it as a space and time to take care of themselves and to get back to who they are.
 
Over the course of the week, we softened our grip on our lives and responsibilities and let ourselves sink into stillness (or something similar).  Staying at Finca Luna Nueva Lodge, a biodynamic farm, allowed us to have a direct connection to nature. We ate food that was grown and compassionately raised by inspiring land stewards; we practiced yoga surrounded by the cacophony of of the rainforest; we observed nature in her own pace – the sun rising, the sloths traveling up and down trees, watching the weather shifting constantly.
 
We explored beyond Finca Luna and our comfortable limits: stand up paddle boarding on Lake Arenal, the world’s largest man-made lake, hiking the resilient ecosystem that surrounds Arenal Volcano, rappelling down waterfalls, rafting the rapids, and sinking into the healing warmth of the hot springs.
Between our multiple yoga practices each day and our explorations, we found time to practice sinking into stillness – massages, reading, walking & running on the property, and napping in hammocks.
 
Throughout all of this we discovered “moments” in which we had insights into who and what we really are.  Some of these moments were in the quiet reverence of nature, and many were in the time we spent together at meals, on bus rides, on porches, and during our yoga practices.
These “moments” were revelations that we are boundless and free and that we have access to the energy within us.
 
These “moments” showed us that maybe we do give too much of ourselves and offer ourselves too little protection. Maybe we don’t make enough time to do the things that make us happy. Maybe we don’t step out of the cacophony of our wired trance to see, hear, and experience our lives as unique.  Maybe we don’t recognize how much energy we have to spend on our own lives and how beautiful life is.
This energy and these insights are not to be squandered – they need to be nurtured and protected. Leaving Costa Rica, we understand that this is special and belongs to us. It should not be doused by jumping back into old patterns that block us from this knowledge.
So, pardon us if we seem a bit different as we return from Costa Rica. Excuse us if we become more deliberate like the sloths. And don’t mind us if we take more risks and have different perspectives on our day to day lives. We just got back from Costa Rica – newly born and vibrant, just for now.
 
We send out much gratitude to the staff of Finca Luna Nueva, True Nature Education, and the dozens of Ticos that made our trip to Costa Rica so wonderful.  PURA VIDA!
1
…
5
6
7