Gandhi and the Sunset

Gandhi and the Sunset

We really love our jobs here at Panacea.  We get to do yoga everyday, eat wonderful, fresh, vegetarian food everyday, meet truly incredible people, and get to see some of most spectacular sunsets over the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.  Life is good!  Gandhi, one of our dogs pictured here, was captured as he enjoyed a sunset dip in the pool the other day (thanks to Sheryl for the awesome photo!).  As she wrote:  "...just wanted to send you my ultimate favorite picture.... Ghandi watching the sunset. I just love it and all the memories it represents."

The fact is that a lot of us forget to take time to watch sunsets, listen to the call of birds, or simply enjoy the vibrant taste of a simple fruit.  It was refreshing for us this week to see a whole group of our guests do just that.  Conversations in which people were actually engaged and listening, yoga classes in which participants stayed present and learned some small, yet powerful adjustments, joyful appreciation of those special moments when a hummingbird came to drink out of the flower, and watching the sunset with Gandhi.  

Thank you for making our job so awesome!

Namaste

Cosmic Kids Yoga!

As many of you know, we really enjoy going and teaching yoga to a local school kindergarten class.  It really is a wonderful, wild, and joyful time.  The young children get into whatever "story" we are creating that week, and do come up with some really fun new poses of their own.  A good friend just emailed and told us about her granddaughter doing yoga in school.  Her teacher found a great resource on youtube, and so we are sharing it here with you.

Check it out with your children, or just take yourself back to being a kid and enjoy!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cNjAj_o0SI

The Owls of Panacea

The Owls of Panacea

We were delighted to have these two owls with us here at Panacea.  They had been hanging out in the big Quebracho tree right by where all guests walk up to their cabinas.  One of our guys spotted them while watering a garden below - good eyes, for they blended so well with the tree, that we often had to point them out to each other.  The owls actually moved out on a closer branch the day we got this photo.  

We have determined that these two are either Pacific screech owls or Tropical screech owls.  They have the characteristic tufts of feathers on their heads, and from the pictures we could find on the internet, they are one of those two.  Anyone with more owl knowledge who can tell us which one these are, please let us know!

So of course, we had to look up what owls symbolize, and what message they may have for all of us.  From the book, Animal-Speak by Ted Andrews, we learned that owls can have a lot of meanings!  Due to their great sight and hearing, it is said that those working with owl energy, may at times be able to see and hear what is being hidden by others.  Hmmm, ok, what else?  Well, owls' eyes do not move, so they have to move their very mobile head to look around.  So Mr. Andrews writes that if you have a lack of flexibility in your neck, "you are hindering your perceptions to a great degree".  He recommends neck massage (we do have excellent massage therapists), and to that we also recommend coming to yoga class here at Panacea de la Montaña to get that flexibility going.  Check!   Reading further, we found out that screech owls in particular use cooperative hunting - so another lesson from our owls appears to be learning how to keep your individuality while cooperating with others.  That, we think, is probably the biggest lesson we all need to learn. 

We're taking that one to our yoga mat and into our lives!

Namaste.     

Now Begins the Study of Yoga

I have practiced yoga for many years, and taught the past nine years at Panacea.  What drew me to this practice was not only the wonderful way my body felt, but also how it gave me a sense of peace and well-being afterwords.  I realized that this is not just physical exercise, it is a life practice which happens both on and off the yoga mat. 

The title of this post, Now Begins the Study of Yoga, is a translation of the first of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (which have been a source of information about what yoga is for thousands of years).  This sutra captured my attention the first time I read it.  Now, it tells me that I must be present, and that in this present moment I will also need to put forth the right effort to learn.  I have found this sutra applicable to each day of my life:  be present and put forth my best effort, no matter what I am doing.  As my mission is to provide ways we can all incorporate this ancient practice into our lives, this sutra is a great way to begin.  Can you think of any situation in your life in which being present and putting forth your best effort wouldn’t be good to do?

So with the beginning of this new year, consider this resolution:  make the effort to be present as much as possible in 2013.  Remember how to really listen to another without planning what you will say in response.  You can then answer what was actually said, rather than what you thought might be said.  Try having a meal with someone without talking, texting, facebooking, or twittering with someone else.  Staying present is easier when we are on our mat, doing our asanas, or physical postures of yoga, because our body is then involved (just try to not be present during say, revolved half-moon and see what happens!).  Now let us begin the harder work of doing this off the mat as well.

Buddha stated, “The past is no longer here, the future is not there yet; there is only one moment in which life is available and that is the present moment”.

Namaste and Happy New Year!

Welcome to Panacea Yoga

Hola Amigos.  Welcome to our new addition to the Panacea family, the Panacea Yoga blog.  Here you will find a re-posting of many of my articles written for the local-to-us Howler Magazine, along with other items of interest brought to you by Panacea de la Montaña Yoga Retreat and Spa (www.panaceacr.com) our delightful retreat in Costa Rica.

We do hope that you will find this interesting, amusing, entertaining, or perhaps, enlightening. We welcome your comments and ideas.

Namaste,
Mary, Debbie, & Peter