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A note from Robin – Spring 2008

Simple Abundance was the chosen title of our annual yoga retreat, as we intended to explore with our little band of adventurers, the Vedic teachings related to contentment and joy. However, Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula proved to be the true teacher of our foray. Located in the southwestern-most corner of the country, (a Cessna, jeep and boat ride away from civilization), we found ourselves off the grid and into the wild. We awakened each morning to the sound of scarlet macaws and howler monkeys. The scintillating scent of ylang-ylang perfumed our path wherever we walked. We swam under waterfalls and explored the vast and varied wildlife of the jungle from leaf cutter ants, to iridescent blue morpho butterflies and giant cathedral figs.

There was also an abundance of heat – 90 degrees with matching humidity - and insects, no-see-ums that carved mosaics on our calves and ankles. The full moon, shimmering like a giant pearl in the night sky, turned the ocean into a riptide that made wading more than knee-deep a life-threatening proposition. Heat-stroke hit our group hard on the second day. Accommodations were rustic (or simple, depending on how you chose to view it), meaning the toilets and showers (cold only), didn’t always work, sheets were of a low-thread count and clean towels scarce.

There we were in this land of limitless beauty, challenged by the lack of amenities to which we’d become accustomed. Instead of A.C., we swathed ourselves in wet sarongs to stay cool, and rocked in the hammocks which hung from every shady tree. We were given medicinal bark tea to soothe our bellies, fresh watermelon and guayabana juice to stay hydrated. Those who felt well, tended to the wilted. We took turns as nursemaid and patient. We laughed a lot. We laughed A LOT.

In fact, as the week progressed and we practiced our yoga through the sweltering heat, the bugs and the tummy aches, we found a deep and true appreciation for each other and for a simple kind of life. Our formal practice centered around a blessing for peace; peace for the earth, the water, the trees, the heavens, and ultimately for ourselves. Through meditation we observed our ‘inner roommate’ the constant narrator in our head who judges, chatters incessantly and has opinions about everything. We practiced watching her neurotic spin on the world, recognizing ourselves as the quiet witness who experiences her but is separate from her at the same time.

This strange alchemy seemed to pacify us. Not one of us slipped into the angsty Eyore we were all capable of becoming. Momentary lapses into whine-ville were met with some good-humored teasing or the serendipitous citing of a giant iguana, both having an amnesiac effect on our discomfort. With nature abundantly present, we forgot about our cell-phones, e-mails and blackberries. We rose at dawn and prepared for bed shortly after the sumptuous evening meal was served, meandering back to our cabins with headlamps a-glow like miners in a quarry. It wasn’t in spite of, but rather due to the rawness of our surroundings that we were able to shed some of our modern armor, bonding through laughter, grapefruit seed extract, sunset meditations and a shared interest in clearing the internal clutter. There was as much yoga being practiced off the mat as on the mat.

We went on retreat to well… retreat... At our closing circle we reviewed our stated intentions from our first day together: To quiet the noise inside our heads, to go inside and learn to trust; to find balance, open our hearts and listen; to become still and be in spiritual community with others. We had accomplished our hearts’ desires and it wasn’t always comfortable. Caressed by the wild tangle of flora and fauna we witnessed each other blossom, like jungle orchids - simple beauty, simply abundant.

Blessings,

"Imagine if doctors began prescribing Yoga Nidra instead of Prozac to patients with anxiety and depression. How would it affect the consciousness of our society if we all began to practice deep relaxation daily, much as we would take a multi-vitamin? "
Robin L. Rothenberg