True Nature Travels Blog

Want to Lead a Yoga Retreat? The One Thing You Must Do

Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica“That could be me….”

We think we can speak for just about everyone who has ever signed up for a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Course when we say that everyone, at one point or another(or hundreds of times!) has looked longingly at the image of a beautiful yogi practicing along the beach at a beautiful, tropical location.  We have all dreamed of one day, just maybe with enough intention and support, that could be us, leading a yoga retreat while overlooking fiery sunsets and the cascading waves of the Pacific Ocean.

Yoga retreat, Costa Rica

 

“That could be me….” zip lining through the jungle, sipping the refreshing juice right out of a coconut, hiking to a magnificent waterfall, creating space and community for profound transformation for our students, and of course, ourselves.

When teachers come to us with their own unique dream of teaching a yoga retreat in Costa Rica they want to know how they can make it happen.  What are the right things to do, to say.  How many students do they need?  How will they get from place to place?  How much will it cost? When is the best time of year to go?  Got a question about teaching a yoga retreat in Costa Rica? We have the answer.  And, after years and years of leading successful retreats, we have narrowed down the one thing that is absolutely essential to do if your dream is to lead a yoga retreat in this beautiful, tropical paradise.

Yoga Retreat in Costa RicaENVISION YOUR RETREAT!

Yep!  Start smelling the flowers, in your mind, right now!  Feel the waterfall beating down on your back giving you the best natural massage you have ever had. Hear the howler monkeys giving you and your students a 5am wake up call.

See the smiling, relaxed and restored faces of your students as you hold a loving space for them to unwind from their plugged in lives at home.  Taste the succulent mango, the ripe papaya. Feel yourself in meditation at sunset, in deep gratitude for your journey that has led you to right here, right now.

We take great care to customize each  program.  We will work with you to help you manifest your unique vision, offer our experienced guidance, support and wisdom along the way.   Make time everyday to actually see yourself at your retreat and engage all five senses in your visualization.

Not a bad way to begin manifesting your dream!

Yoga Retreat Costa RicaBe a part of our 2015 True Nature Teaching Team! We are looking for amazing yoga teachers to connect and collaborate with that are passionate about providing transformational experiences for their students.  Read more about teaching with us here.

 

True Nature Travels Blog

Mind|Body|Fitness Yoga Retreat – Ready. Set. TRANSFORM!

“The journey between what you once were and who you are now becoming is where the dance of life really takes place.”

~ Barbara Deangelis

IMG_20140317_124917
photos courtesy of mind | body | fitness

Andrea Dyer and her band of merry yogis dove right into their Annual Costa Rica Experience yoga retreat! From crossing items off bucket lists to sunrise yoga and full moons, the first few days of their journey together warmed up to become their home for the week quite nicely.

Andrea’s passion for adventure has led her to guide her second retreat in Costa Rica with us.  Andrea shares her experience leading a retreat with our experienced staff in this video here.

IMG_20140317_122916

Andrea packed a week of daily yoga, meditation, stand up paddle boards, waterfall hikes, visits to the hot springs and plenty of personal time for her students to enjoy.  It’s in that individual space, whether you are taking in the sunset or listening to the symphony of sounds in the jungle that true transformation really takes place.

And, of course it is in clinking coconuts and building community that

Read more

True Nature Travels Blog

Making Every Moment Count

3acc086f1a4d1e767e6ca195aa5bf9a8It’s so easy to get caught up in the hustle of life, the speed of the Facebook feed, the limited hours in the day and the dreams and opportunities that we sometimes feel are passing us by.  The amount of energy that we spend “thinking about being caught up” is staggering when you actually take a moment to reflect on it.

 

 

 

How much time have you spent lately worrying about something or replaying a negative story in your head?

A lot, huh? What if you took all of those moment you spent worrying and put that energy towards cultivating more presence and awareness in your life?  Or better yet, building on a dream, imagining, spending time with loved ones, letting someone know how grateful you are for them. Yes, life CAN feel and be overwhelming sometimes, but it’s truly in those moments that we have the opportunity to step back into presence.

Wait, what?  When we feel disconnected from living fully – THAT is when we need to step back into it?  YES!  When we notice ourselves getting wound up in a story or pattern, that is the perfect moment to notice and bring yourself back to your center.  To remember your true nature is one of love, pure being and you are whole and perfect in this moment.

This powerful practice can change your life because no matter where we are on the path, there will always be countless moments throughout your day when you have the opportunity to notice yourself disconnected from presence.  Moment by moment you begin to recognize that each one counts.

651d745c88a9aed13ab07bbacf3e217c

 

It’s a gradual process, one that takes practice, patience and the willingness to keep coming back, day by day; moment by moment.

Here are some thoughts to support you in calling this practice into your life.

Befriend your habits (the good, the bad and the ugly)

Recognizing that your habits, patterns and beliefs are all truly a part of the wonderfully already perfect you is an important first step.  We will always have obstacles (inner and outer) in our lives so approaching them like a “friend in need” with compassion, empathy and forgiveness is a good approach.  Hey, everybody worries sometimes.

Let your “bad” habit jumpstart a positive one

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

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!