True Nature Travels Blog

"FOR LOVE IS HERE AND NOW" ALANA’S INSIGHT ON TRUST IN THE UNIVERSE AND ON SUP YOGA

“Ma’ane’i no ke aloha,” is Hawaiin for , “For love is here and now.” Every day of this summer has been led by love. It has been a journey of heart expansion. Since my first retreat with True Nature Education this past January in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, I have learned that home truly is where the heart is. Living from the heart is a way of Be-in. It is not something that can be learned, rather it is something to be returned to. It is a home coming.

I have been undone by Costa Rica. I am being rebuilt with Love. Last year, I lived in Costa Rica for 6 months. I moved there thinking I would get married to my then boyfriend, buy a home there, have some kids, settle down, teach retreats, happily ever after, etc. Things do not always work out the way we SEE them working out but I know that we are all in good hands with the Universe. My plans didn’t pan out the way I thought they would. However, they have turned out to be better than I could have fathomed.

I left the boyfriend. I decided to move back to the States after my January Retreat. My heart is with yoga and showing others how to find compassion for themselves and the world by SEEING the world. This is a BIG piece of my Path. It is what lights me up from within. That is how I know. A great teacher once told me, “Listen closely to what the heart deeply desires and follow it with complete abandon.’ I knew I would continue to teach in Costa Rica . The retreat turned out to not only be a life changing experience for my students but for me as well. I was shedding my old snake skin to become an empty vessel for Spirit to use. All I knew from that moment on was I was meant to help others by using the faculties that God gave me. My inherent gifts and passions. I knew that I was meant to inspire others to do the same. I had no idea what the details between these points would be, but I trusted the Universal Spirit to take care of it… and so it is.

I made a vision board in early 2014. On it, visions of beautiful retreats and service work, a career and Path in yoga, yoga photography and modeling, singing kirtan and beyond, writing, having a beautiful home, paddle boarding and surfing, traveling the world and connecting with myself and nature in a way I hadn’t before. All of these have come to fruition in different stages since.

After Costa Rica, I moved to Boulder, CO to settle down and come back to after teaching retreats. What happened the following month after the move was totally unexpected. Boulder was highly competitive and my saving was dwindling. I know from experience that my Creator does not want me to struggle.. I prayed and meditated on what was I to do next. I had the inspired thought to call a new studio that had opened up just before my Costa Rica adventure. I asked the owner if there was space for me at the studio to teach full time… her response was that and beyond. I would fly back a week later to become a manager and lead teacher of the studio. This studio is founded in love. I absolutely LOVE Ruah. Through teaching at Ruah I met this wonderful lady who owns a stand up paddle board yoga company called SunriseSUP. She knew I was in love with surfing from my time in Costa Rica and thought of me for teaching with her in the Annapolis area.

I have been teaching all summer and while I don’t have the West Coast swell here, SUP keeps me connected to the water and ultimately keeps me grounded and humbled. I am a beginner at yoga all over again, both teaching and as a student. I am re-learning basic postures like Warrior 1. I absolutely LOVE it. It is ultimately making my earth practice much stronger.

My retreat for Jan 2016 is full and we are now checking into overflow options for guest! I am incredible grateful. I am preparing to launch a second retreat in Peru with True Nature Education (Stay tuned!). The more I TRUST in the Universe, the more I am miraculously taken care of in ways hadn’t even dreamed. The gift of it all is I can be PRESENT for these gifts today because of my continuous practice and desire to experience life fully. Join me for love, laughter, adventure, and yoga abroad.

Mahalo,

Alana

“I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” Marissa Mayer

Interested in checking out a Costa Rican yoga retreat?  Check out all of our retreats here!

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.