#MEXICO2016
There is a magic in every retreat. One that you can’t predict going in but that will reveal itself to you as the group arrives, as the classes are taught, as meals are had and as days pass by.
Each location has its own one-of-a-kind energy and spirit. There are some places where we have to work to create the “studio” or yoga space for the week. It might take a little softening or cleaning up. Some of the places that we travel to haven’t been previously set up for a yoga retreat, but we know that we can bring those elements in so we go for it.
When we bring in a group, the job is not just about teaching yoga but more so about facilitating a partnership between the environment and the group through yoga.
The yoga platform at Playa Loma Bonita, Mexico is pure magic. It sits at the edge of the beach line, in the lower part of the property just hidden from the houses and bungalows. It has the sacred seclusion that you crave in practice and yet the wall-less round space is completely open to the elements.
Evening practice was completed gazing west, moving to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach as the sun set over the Pacific Ocean.
The grounds of Playa Loma Bonita are inviting and playful. Pools set outside of each house lead directly down to the beach below. It’s fair to say the daytime temperature never dipped below 88 degrees. 0% chance of rain through and through. Yoga to food to pool to beach to pool to food to beach to yoga to food to sleep. That’s the life. Literally the life we lead for a week.
Mid-week we shook it up a little bit with a full on track and field workout on the beach. There is always value in changing up routine when it comes to physical exercise. 45 mins of plyometrics and calisthenics. Laid down for some core work and then closed it out with 15 mins of restorative yoga. Then it felt like there was no other option than to hand it over to the ocean and the sunset.
Sunrise came up over the mountains and sunset over the ocean, creating the most stunning arc of beauty throughout our day. The shock of this beauty never wore off. It never became normal or unremarkable. It was so profound and unique to this pocket of magic on the planet. It never stopped. The sun would set and the stars would come. A huge uninterrupted sky of stars, more than a group of New Yorkers has seen in quite some time. Shooting stars for days. All we could say was thank you.
So much of a retreat is about an intention, goal or wish. However you best connect to that idea. You make a mental statement early on. Each individual working on their own, setting that purpose however they are most comfortable. Each practice, each day ignites the intention.
In the end you release it. You let it go. You put your intention in the hands of the universe and trust.
You trust that you will be taken care of and you trust that the profound beauty of your intention feeds the land that has offered you so much through the week.
Thank you, Mexico. xx