Check out this video made by reporters from San Diego over a year ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKc2lv46uMI

Thanks for the promo Jenny and Krissy, come back and play with us soon!

“Like bamboo, rooted firmly into the ground, reaching directly towards the heavens, and bending with the whim of the wind, the Graceful Warrior roots herself in her own being, cultivates and propels her life force up through her body as she meets the movement of life with skill, grace and beauty.” Sofiah Thom
This Saturday May 8^th, Costa Rica will inaugurate its first female president, Laura Chinchilla Miranda.  So what does this mean? 

This is a huge step. Costa Rica is considered to be a forward thinking nation by Latin American standards, which by the way is a very short measuring stick to begin with. Still, even for the “forward thinkers of a backwards continent” the truth is aside from a few handful of female leaders, this is still a path not many countries decide to go down.  It’s interesting to note that during times of a terrible recession we don’t know when we are going to get out of, an increase in crime like this country has never seen, in stead of turning to the macho man to rescue us we turned to the graceful warrior.  I am curious to see what kind of leader Laura Chinchilla will be.  I know she practices yoga off and on, lately more off than on with the whole craziness of running an election and what not. 
Will she bring the lessons learned on the mat to the presidential office?   Costa Rica is slowly evolving, the current president Arias turned to acupuncture to deal with his asthma and the president elect deals with her stress with yoga classes.   Hopefully this will become a trend.  I happen to know Laura Chinchilla’s yoga instructor and when Laura won the election people asked her, "are you going to be the new minister of yoga?"  This was meant as a joke of course, but how wonderful if there was an actual office in the new government for a yogi!  Just imagine, they can deal with all the "not-so-pura vida" aspects of Costa Rica and turn them into a real pura vida situation! Well, one can only hope…

Laura
 

The other day we came across this blog on the Yoga Journal’s website that struck resonance with us. The author, Sadie Nardini, talks about how important it is to listen to your body and do what feels right rather than struggle and force yourself into the "right pose". I believe that purpose of yoga is to make you feel good so I wanted to share this blog with you:

"This weekend, I’m leading a three-day Core Strength Immersion in New York City. After writing my post about respecting limitations while still seeking transformation, I decided to make a public statement, not only to the 60 students in the room, but all the future yogis who will watch the Immersion (it’s being filmed): Let your poses be imperfect.

That’s right; I’ve hit a tipping point in my teaching where I am becoming much more interested in what a student can do to be more honestly themself in a pose, and I care much less how straight they can get their front leg in Triangle.

For an instructor who doubles as an anatomy geek, it may seem unusual to hear me say this, yet nothing could be more my style. Symmetry, or perfection as we sometimes think of it (the "perfect" body, relationship, or handstand), is what you get in a office building, with its level surfaces and, straight lines.

Balance, on the other hand, is what nature does, and it’s wild and free, yet comes to find its own equilibrium after all. Think of a river, which meanders here and there but ultimately reaches its source.  

In your yoga poses, and your life–have you been remaining sensitive to your state of balance, or straining for symmetry? If it’s the latter, this may help give you perspective:

There is not one thing in the human body that runs in a straight line. Our bones, blood, and breath all move in a spiral motion. Our nerves, spine, brain, joints, GItract? Not linear either.

Yet so often, we strive to attain linear poses that our bodies are not made to reach. We want to be in alignment in a way that’s healthy and balanced, but it’s easy to let symmetry-seeking creep into the process. The end result can be a hardening of the outer body, layering on more and more  tension as we try to grip and force ourselves into pre-conceived geometry.

Instead, there is a way of balancing this sthira (strength) with sukha (ease). A way to allow our spinning, waving, spiraling selves to soften enough to find the true edge, dissolve areas of tension, and still move forward into what is our unique optimal alignment.

I speak from experience, because I used to be militant about doing every pose "right." In my quest for the perfect body on and off the mat, I developed an eating disorder as well as a ton of yoga-related repetitive stress injuries. Along the way, I did reach my goal of handstand without the wall. What I did not attain, however, was any sort of happiness or joy. Therefore, in my opinion, I wasn’t practicing yoga at all, but dukha, or suffering. A focus on perfection will always circle back to the big D.

Later in life and yoga, I got so sick (literally) of forcing myself into a box, that I began to seek out studios and teachers who advocated mindful, individual adaptation over form. I noticed that most of these teachers were over 40, many of them much older. Their physical asanas were very different than mine, yet the message is so freeing: Take this practice, poses, lessons and all, and make it yours, without apology or regret.

Approaching 40 myself, I can tell you that a relaxation occurs after a certain amount of time struggling and failing to reach absolute symmetry. You see it in the attitudes of certain grandparents, and it shows up in the practices of longtime yogis.  The amazing thing is, once I let go of my quest for the unattainable, many of the poses, like the hovering jump-forward that I could never before master, became available to me.

Yoga, ultimately is a path of personal transformation, not perfection. Reclaiming this aspect of your practice gets you into direct connection with your core, and asks that you express your truth to the world in the way that’s best for you. When we remember that our growth and spiritual awakening happens only to the extent we can get present, get close to our inner nature, and take actions from integrity–none of which have a thing to do with a false ideal of perfection–life becomes wildly, strangely, perfect after all.

Sometimes, I feel like anything not on the the mat is forbidden territory–or "hot lava," as we called it in my childhood. Yet venturing outside the rectangle can be just what you need to find pockets of tension, and then move and breathe to release them."

If this blog inspires you I would recommend trying Sofiah Thom’s class "Bamboo Yoga". It is a class for those who dare to get of their mats and listen to what their body tells them. Bamboo Yoga is a Vinyasa flow fusion class designed to connect you with your breath, body and creative spirit. Please view our schedule for dates and times.

I have been practicing yoga for a while now and when I first heard of Shinade’s Yoga Bliss, Feel Good Yoga, the sarcastic side of me thought "isn’t that redundant?  isn’t all yoga supposed to make you feel good?" And right there I knew that I had answered my own question.  Yes, all Yoga should make you feel good, but if you’re like me I’m sure you’ve had classes that haven’t. 

Through the years, the more mainstream yoga becomes, more people call themselves "yoga teachers" and sadly give people the wrong impression and people can end up having bad yoga experiences.  The first time I ever went to a class, there was such a weird and creepy vibe to the whole feel of the "class" that I didn’t venture out to try another class till two years later and had gained the common sense to get some recommendations about the person giving the class before I went. 

So here is mine, after experiencing Shinade’s class on Monday I can truly attest that I felt good afterwards.  Better than feeling good, her class truly was full on yogi bliss!  Shinade guides you through a lovely warm, asanas, flows, it is obvious that the gal clearly knows what she is doing. 

This Sunday she is having a four hour class and I really recommend you treat yourself to her Feel Good Yoga.

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.