mental-health Archives | Essential You Yoga

Reiki Level One Training and Chakra Balancing Retreat

I am so excited to announce the first of many collaborations with my dear friend, Paty. After much plotting and planning, we are offering a Reiki Level One Training and Chakra Balancing Weekend in beautiful Dominical, Costa Rica.

The weekend will be jam packed full of yoga, meditation, beautiful beach walks, yummy food, and good community. Best of all, you’ll learn to get in touch with the natural, intuitive healer that you have within you. Space is very limited, which will make for an intimate atmosphere as we learn and practice reiki on each other, learn about how to identify and heal chakra imbalances, and stretch, hum, and mantra-ize our way through a beautiful, tropical weekend. Expect to find elements of vinyasa flow, kundalini, shadow work, chakra work, and your intuitive healing voice in this training. Wahe Guru!

I hope you can join us! Click here to learn more details about the workshop, about Paty and myself, and the incredible deal we got for this weekend.

Travels

I’ve covered many miles since my last post. I’m feeling gratitude for the big, comfortable buses of Costa Rica and the stalwarts who drive them, allowing me many safe landings. I also hold gratitude for the many kind strangers who gave me lifts. Hitchhiking doesn’t have the same taboo of danger that it does in North America. Here, it’s a normal and oft-used way to travel. I’ve been blessed to have had three amazing rides over this time, each with their own pearl of wisdom to share.

And oh the wisdom! Continue reading “Travels”

Una Muerte

The last three days of my life were spent in mourning. Mourning for a young soul I never met, but in mourning nonetheless. The phone rang early Monday morning to inform us that my boyfriend’s nephew had passed away. He had been living in Costa Rica for the last several years, so I never had an opportunity to meet him.

Families are sprawling in Nicaragua. I’m sure this is partially thanks to the Catholic church’s strong influence on the country. Thus, as we set off early Monday morning for the home of the grieving mother, I was under-prepared for the scene in store. At first, there were just a few people gathered outside under the shade of a tree, silently sitting while mom and abuela wept. Throughout the day the crowd grew. Neighbors came toting their own chairs, as the family didn’t have enough to seat all of the supporters. Coffee was made in small Styrofoam cups and passed around. Then pan, white bread served on plastic platters carried around by nieces and neighbors to keep all the mourners comfortable. The story of what happened was repeated time and again by momma.

Continue reading “Una Muerte”