January: A Month of New Resolutions Made & Broken

It has been a very busy month of moving and adjusting to living in the jungle, completing 200-hour yoga teacher training, and enjoying life to the fullest. I used to think that I live life fully, taking advantage of each day as best as I know how. But this past month has shown me that it's possible to exceed that. Looking back, I, along with many of my classmates here, feel like we've lived double or even triple number of days in each day.

Here are some resolutions or things that I've tried in January:

No coffee for a month
I'm a strong believer of "A cup a day keeps the doctor away!", so to say no to coffee for the month during yoga teacher training is not an easy feat. I did it though! I almost broke down on day 17 (which was the maximum number of days that I've once tried to go without coffee), but my good friends here have persuaded me otherwise (or, to be exact, they physically removed coffee from my vicinity).

My thoughts after a month without coffee? "Life's too short to live without coffee!" It was a good experiment, but I'll stick to "un cafe, por favor!"

Eating Vegetarian
The recommended diet during our yoga teacher training is Ovo-Lacto-Vegetarian with a little protein from time to time but preferably no red meat. Eating vegetarian isn't difficult here when there is an abundance of vegetables and fruits in Costa Rica. The only exception I make to this is the most delicious ceviche with yuca fries at The Harmony Hotel on the weekends.

Will I stay a vegetarian / pescatarian? No thanks!

I believe in eating a balanced, healthy meal with all of the natural foods that the earth has provided for us while being conscientious about the source of our foods by supporting your local, organic farmers. You know your food is raised in a humane way, when everyday I see chickens cross the road and I think to myself: "Why did the chicken cross the road?" because everyday the chickens here roam freely everywhere. No cage, no farm, the way nature was intended to be.

Surfing a short board
I learned to surf about a year ago. Since then, I haven't touched another surf board. Life is busy here, so I haven't surfed everyday like I had planned to. One day, I borrowed a board that is way too short for me and jumped in the white water. Surprisingly, I got on the short board on the second try. Wow, what a thrill! I'll stop there and not mention that it took at least ten more tries until I got on the short board again. Pura vida!

Teaching My First Yoga Class
I taught my first yoga class at the Treetop Studio which was where I took my first yoga class when I visited Nosara. It felt like a full circle, a home coming! Instead of relaxing on the weekend, I "spotified" for the perfect yoga playlist, practiced the flow sequence over and over again until I got the timing down, and spent way more time and energy stressing over it than I needed to.

As soon as I stepped onto the mat at the front of the studio, everything just happens as it happens. Not perfect as I have practiced it in my mind, but rather it was better than I imagined it. Based on the class feedback, I think I found my yoga voice!

Witnessing Transformations, Levitations, and Miracles
Throughout the month, I watched the class "form, norm, storm, perform, and transform." During one of the last days, Don led us through an energy flow exercise and I levitated! If you had asked me a month ago whether I believe in levitation, it was a resounding "No". As my partner, Judy, performed the energy flow on me, I felt heat and hot air pushing my arms up towards the sky. I had my eyes closed, so I thought this could be just my imagination. As the exercise was ending, I felt the heat and the hot air dissipating from underneath me. I had to see it for myself to believe it, so I sneaked a peek to see whether my arms have moved at all on their own, and sure enough, it had defied gravity!