“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
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