I survived the 5 day retreat and am back to “social reality.” This post may be a bit more words as I chose not to take pics during this time – didn’t want to take myself away from me and being in the moment, and . . . . I haven’t communicated with anyone for 5 days!
I am light, but I am also lighter physically, emotionally, mentally & spiritually which also happen to be the 4 bodies we worked on this week. It was definitely a great experience and an amazing opportunity to go inwards, but there were a few challenging times. It’s not for the faint of heart! I got so many insights and ideas, most importantly was the fact that I finally “heard” my inner voice (and it’s not all all what I thought it would sound like!) We had tasks to complete during the retreat which guided us to really take a look at our life, what we want and why we may not be there at the present time. If you’re interested in details . . . I’m more than happy to share when I get back. Just ask : )
The retreat started out by going to El Arka. This is another property owned by Las Pyramidas that they are still building. It’s outside of Panajachel, so it involved a boat and van ride. It was a super peaceful place and the weather while we were there ended up being quite mystical (with mist rolling in as we finished our opening ceremony). We spent some time there just vegging out, having a potluck as our last meal and then we had our opening ceremony which began our silent period and fasting time. From here we headed back to San Marcos.
Our fast involved 4 days of morning and afternoon juice with a lunch soup and special teas and water throughout the day. On the last day it was only teas and water for the day. However, if at any time you felt weak, you were permitted to eat some fruit. I actually did well on the fast and was able to stick to it. It wasn’t until the end of Day 4 when I wanted to break into DawnO’s place where I knew she had some bliss balls stashed away in preparation for travel after the course. I didn’t and was again good until 2 hours before the closing ceremony (6:00PM yesterday) where all I could think about was food.
As for the schedule, we had yoga at 7AM and meditation at 4PM. From there we were free to do as we liked, but I found our tasks took a lot of time & mental activity. Most of my days involved getting up and out at 5AM to watch the sunrise (I tended to be up anyways), going to classes, tending to my tasks at various points throughout the day, having a sauna at some point (yes!) and then in the evening as the day faded and the stars came out I went to the garden where I watched the “moonrise.” There’s something magical to me about these times of day when dark changes to light & vice versa. There were also fireflies in the garden . . . so that was an added bonus. Any free time I had, I ended up coloring mandalas (we were encouraged not to read or listen to music to maintain our silence). You’re right Todd . . . . coloring is relaxing!! I also tended to get insights about my life or life in general while I was coloring. . . . . Hmmmm, I’m going to have to continue that at home (come join me if you want Todd)
Yesterday, as we didn’t have “meal time”, we didnt’ have as many tasks, and I was getting a bit grumpy (I was ready to be done) I headed to the national park where Dawn & I went before the retreat (I will have pictures after all). It was quiet, beautiful and relaxing and a great way to end. The closing cermony was in the temple and it was weird to hear my voice again. The next order of buisness was food where Dawn and I headed to our little local restaurant for the last time.
This last week was well worth it and made the whole course for me. Lots of things I’ll be thinking about and integrating when I get back, both for myself and my life and to add to some of my classes (look for more breathwork and a possible breathwork workshop to show up when I get back yoga students!) Doing a few last things this morning in San Marcos before I head to Panajachel to meet up with DawnO (who headed out before me) and her husband RobO. They’ve been kind enough to let me tag along on their travel plans for the next few days before I start to make my way back to the capital to try my hand at standby flights : ) Stay tuned to see what we get up to.
We caved (for reasons we couldn’t control) and had gringo food for our last supper before our retreat. It was at a locally owned Guatemalan place though.
The boat ride to the other property. The main teacher Chatty can be seen in the background.
The short hike up.
We have this view on one side.
A quick stop at the “welcome” sign . . . . .
. . . and then greeted by this view on the other side. The 3 month sun course spends 40 days in silence and most of them choose to do it here.
Around the property
A little meditation hut . . . . for those times you just can’t find peace at that place?
Not a bad little spot to spend contemplating life!
Our last meal. It turned out to be a pretty good spread. This doesn’t even include the rice dish and lentil soup a couple people made.
This is where we had our opening ceremony.
As our opening ceremony ended, this mist appeared. Seemed fitting that it came to shroud us in silence.
I actually quite enjoyed the soups and afternoon juices.
This is the national park where I spent my last morning, but these pics were taken when Dawn and I went before the retreat. The water on this side is this amazing crystal blue color.
There were paths to follow . . .
. . . . interesting things to see . . . .
. . . . . views of the volcanoes . . .
. . . . and a view of San Marcos.
The mandalas I completed during the retreat. There’s still one in progress. Which is your favourite?
My completed “tasks” that we were working on during the retreat.
My first meal after fasting (though I had to have a bliss ball before getting here . . . . I needed something!!) It doesn’t look like much, but trust me . . . it was delish!!!
Juan and his wife who own the restaurant (along with his sister – it was his sister who had the baby we went to visit)
One of our yoga and meditation teachers (Jennika). She also instructed the extra breath workshop Dawn and I did and led a weekly kirtan group that we frequented. Jennika and I have both received yoga training from David at Pyramid Yoga (where I studied in the Philippines, though she did hers in Thailand and has helped David with trainings there). She’s the second amazing teacher I have met that has gone through David’s program – and I didn’t include me on that list : )
I forgot that I gave a deposit for my key when I first arrived at the pyramids, so when I got it I decided to “splurge” and go for a gringo breakfast. Well worth it as this is where I sit as I eat breakfast and post this blog. Yep . . . . life is pretty good!!
I see beans, squeaky cheese and fried plantain. Looks a lot like like Costa Rican lunch (albeit, cooked by Guatemalans in CR). My, how you and I live different lives, but work so well together despite that. Love you baby!
Yay! Can't wait for more breath work courses at home!!
Thanks for sharing such a good month!
dawnO
Maybe you could create a colouring and meditation course, that could take meditation to a whole nutha level!!