Dance has always been a part of my life.  Growing up I so very desperately wanted to be a ballerina, I positively adored ballet and everything that had to do with it.  In my mind I was Angelina Ballerina-the clumsy girl who grows up to become a world-class dancer.  I would dream of one day dancing at the Kennedy Center (my family was living in D.C. then).  Later on it was a drill sergeant of a ballet teacher that turned me off.  There really is something to be said of a woman telling 10 year olds that their butt is too big… it really is sad how something as beautiful as ballet can have such a negative impact on young girls.  Luckily I got out of it without an eating disorder, even at 10 the rebel in me was very sure that I was not the one with the problem, she was.  So I quit, but still loved to dance. 
Being a rather shy person, however during my teen years, my dancing stayed confined to my bedroom and my cd player. 
It wasn’t until many years later after practicing yoga that I have rekindled my passion for dance.  It is through the lessons I have learned on my yoga mat, specifically "being present" that have allowed me once again to feel into my own dance.  Through yoga I am learning to accept my body and learn how to move in it in a way that can honor my true essence.  This is what I have learned these past months experiencing the YogaPlay classes.  Yes, I am probably still the clumsy girl, and so help me I was born with out a sense of rhythm and so what? The truth is that I love twirling around!!!I It is the ultimate freedom, to let your body guide you through movement.  Take your own journey, follow your own path, and above all dance like no one is watching!

Laura

Bamboo YogaPlay is excited to announce that we will be partnering with Costa Rica Surf Camp to provide the ultimate surf and yoga experience in beautiful Playa Dominical, Costa Rica!!

Costa Rica Surf Camp and Bamboo YogaPlay will be offering affordable vacation packages. These packages include surf lessons, yoga, massage, accommodation, transportation, and additional tours. Whether you are planning a tropical vacation getaway or just visiting Dominical for a few days, we can work with you to create a surf and yoga package that fits your needs and desires.

Combining yoga with surfing yields many benefits such as increased flexibility, strength and endurance.  More specifically yoga can help improve your surfing strength, paddling power, balance, and help you get to your feet faster.  Yoga will leave you feeling calm and focused. With increased energy from yoga you will be able to catch more waves!

Costa Rica Surf Camp is owned and run by Alejandro Cerdas.  Alejandro grew up in the mountains of Costa Rica. He first came to Dominical to learn to surf when he was just 13 years old.  He has been surfing ever since.  Alejandro started his surf school with the goal of sharing his love of the ocean, surfing, nature, and Costa Rica culture on a personal level with others.  You can find out more information on his site: www.crsurfschool.com

Please send us an email and let us know when you would like to come, for how long, and any other activities you may be interested in.

One of my favorite places to practice yoga in Costa Rica is Bamboo YogaPlay, in Dominical. Dominical is a sleepy surf town on the Pacific Coast, where the luscious jungle meets the ocean. Developed by Brendan Jaffer and Sofiah Jaffer Thom, Bamboo is a new ‘sanctuary for living artfully’ nestled just off the dusty road, in tropical paradise. This eco-friendly yoga studio is built above shipping container construction living units. With gorgeous bamboo floors and bamboo walls on 3 sides, the open-air studio overlooks the Baru river and jungle foliage as well as the nearby ocean. Practicing on eco-friendly yoga mats with a full view of the jungle feels so good! After class, feel free to lounge on the Balinese sofa, get a massage or acupuncture treatment, shower in the private outdoor shower (also made from Bamboo), or shop in the air-conditioned Bambootique, for organic and –yes, you guessed it: Bamboo fiber—yoga clothes and street ware, hand-crafted tribal jewelry, locally made healing salves, and Buddhist adornments. A truly holistic experience of wellness, with a loving touch of high-end artistry and full immersion in the natural beauty of Costa Rica, makes Bamboo Yoga Play my favorite place to take a savasana and come restore my batteries while I am in Costa Rica.  For more info. On Bamboo Yoga Play, please visit: www.bambooyogaplay.com.

Debra Rubin, MA, CMT, RYT

Founder of SattyaBody Healing Arts & Dance, empowering women’s health through Holistic Health Counseling, Yoga, & Tribal Fusion Belly Dance,
is based in San Francisco, CA.

www.sattyabody.com

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We are excited to announce Amity who will be joining our team here at Bamboo YogaPlay for the high season.  Amity will be offering Yoga and massage for the months of December through February.

I first met Amity when she was performing in San Francisco with the Shamanic Cheerleaders.  The Shamanic Cheerleaders are a bay-area based performance group dedicated to bringing spirit while delivering multi-dimensional entertainment wherever they go. Their intention is to deliver a powerful message of all-inclusive consciousness through playful levity. Their high-energy performances are one-of-a-kind and individually tailored to suit any event or theme. They raise awareness about environmental/social issues and current events through a variety of cheerleader skills including dance, acrobatics, spoken word, song, cheer and music.

Although Amity no longer peforms with the Shamanic Cheerleaders, she brings this playful spirit where ever she goes.  I highly recommend coming to one of her classes and/ or receiving some bodywork.  Amity especially LOVES to work with people offering Thai massage, a lovely way to experience being stretched by a skillful practitioner.  If you prefer to receive your massage on a table, she can give you a therapeutic massage this way as well. 

Amity began practicing yoga twelve years ago in North Carolina.   She completed her formal training in interdisciplinary yoga in Costa Rica at the Nosara Yoga Institute, and continues to engage in yoga as a life long student.  A dancer at heart, she often integrates flowing movement into her classes and encourages awakening embodiment through the dance of asana and breath.   She draws inspiration from many teachers and styles of yoga including Shadow, partner, Ashtanga, vinyasa, and restorative forms.  She enjoys challenging her students to stay present with their practice, breathe deeply into their experience, and connect to their joy with a smiling reminder not to take our selves too seriously. Passionate about the healing arts, Amity is also a massage therapist.  As an avid traveler of the world, she approaches healing and preventative medicine from the perspective of many cultures.   Her bodywork is a bridge from the East to the West and incorporates acupressure, Chinese meridian massage, Swedish, deep tissue, Shiatsu, Ayurveda, trigger point, Thai massage, and intuition.   She began her studies in California at the Acupressure Institute and the San Francisco School of Massage.  She studied Thai massage in northern Thailand and continues to return there to deepen her knowledge of this form.  She offers both table massage and traditional Thai massage sessions tailored to your needs with her nurturing and present touch.

Sofiah Thom, founder of Bamboo YogaPlay

I recently had the pleasure of assisting Jane Austin, a midwife, childbirth educator and yoga teacher in San Francisco.  I participated in her Pre-natal Yoga Teacher Training course held at Yoga Tree. 

Ever since my degree in Dance Therapy and extended trainings in expressive healing arts and yoga, I have known dance therapy, yoga and expressive arts to be one of the most powerful tools to help new mothers connect with their changing bodies, babies and acceptance for the next chapter of their lives.

I helped a crying pregnant mother get settled into the yoga room, she had so many emotions streaming through her, but by the end of the class she was more settled and at home in her forever changing body.

I not only learned how to teach pre and post natal Yoga, but feel more ready to get pregnant and have a baby myself!  Austin’s training was amazing and I am thrilled to announce she will be joining us here in Costa Rica to offer her training at our Bamboo YogaPlay studio!

Being trained and passionate about Expressive Healing Arts and Rites of Passage I am always looking to see how Yoga, Dance and Expressive Arts can help in this transition of motherhood.

I found an amazing blog called Postpartum Progress today, Katherine Stone published this article which gives an account of a new mother experiencing postpartum depression and how Dance Therapy helped her in the bonding phase with her baby.

"When Rachel was deeply depressed after the birth of her baby girl, she didn’t know what to do.  In desperation and with her husband’s encouragement, she reached out for help.  Her OB/GYN referred her to a specialist in postpartum depression.  When this specialist spoke to Rachel, she gave monosyllabic answers.  Her baby sat alone in the baby carrier and Rachel stated, ‘I don’t want to be her mother.’  When traditional talk therapy didn’t seem enough to penetrate her sadness, her doctor thought to refer her to a dance/movement therapist.

Based on the understanding that the body and mind are interrelated, dance/movement therapy is defined as the psychotherapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, cognitive, physical and social integration of an individual.  The dance/movement therapist’s goal was to help Rachel "move" toward health and connect with her baby girl Sophie.

So what did they do?  A dance/movement therapist has training much like a traditional verbal therapist, but has additional tools in her belt.  With an understanding of movement assessment, the dance/movement therapist can begin to help the client interpret her behaviors and initiate a shift.  The process of bonding with a newborn is a very physical one.  By simply encouraging the mother to hold her baby and rock with her, movement can begin a journey toward connection.  The rocking rhythm is soothing to both the mother and the baby, and the closeness of touch can be healing for both as well.

The therapist may mirror the client in an effort to meet the mother in her depression, or she may be a model mother by encouraging her client to ‘move’ her depression.  Sometimes the therapist might bring out scarves for her client to use.  She might invite the client to ‘hide’ from her baby and return, ‘peek-a-boo’.  This process is one in which the mother can regain control and initiate her relationship with her baby.  We know that the bond a mother forms with her baby early on makes a profound impact on the lifetime development of her child.  As much of this attunement is non-verbal, dance/movement therapy can be an ideal intervention.

These days, Rachel finds herself putting on music and dancing with Sophie.  It was through the formation of an intimate bond with her baby that Rachel was able to connect to parenting.  At times she still struggles and has moments of sadness, but by continuing to see her dance/movement therapist and her doctor, Rachel feels more prepared to engage in the dance of motherhood.  To find out more about dance/movement therapy, visit the American Dance Therapy Association at www.adta.org."