diary of my transformation - pure funfit · diary of my transformation ... at this time yoga...

Diary of my Transformation My first 200 hours Yoga instructor course in Anamaya - Costa Rica - Nov/Dec 2014

Introduction

When I booked myself for my first 200 hours Yoga instructor course I had little tears in my eyes, I was soooooo excited and ready to explore the Mind & Body connection in depth. My name is Dana and I work as a personal trainer and fitness instructor for my own little business Pure FunFit in Guernsey.

At this time yoga already had some positive effects on my life (I was more flexible, injury free, stronger and my mind was calmer). I still wanted to explore the science behind all the poses (Asanas) and I wanted to know more about meditation and how our mind

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works. With a desire to learn more, to grow professionally as well as personally, I booked a course in Anamaya resort in Costa Rica.

I had researched a lot of different yoga teacher training programs all around the world and I kept coming back to Anamaya every time, for some reason I knew this was the place I wanted to go! It was a little resort separated from everyday distractions in the middle of the jungle overlooking the sea. I knew these calming, peaceful and beautiful surroundings were going to help me to concentrate on my studies!

Arriving at Anamaya resort

When I arrived at Anamaya resort all that came to my mind was: "PARADISE on Earth!” Simply breathtaking! The main building has a very airy feel with lots of space, sofas to chill, 2 Yoga decks overlooking the ocean and an infinity pool. Our accommodation was very spacious with lots of huge glass windows, open bathroom with

tropical feel, lots of plants, flowers and again, great views! I had seen some online pictures, but the reality just hit me, I felt speechless… I felt somebody needed to pinch me so I would know it’s real.I met allowed the girls and guys, everybody was very excited about the new

experience! I can tell you it’s hard to find 30 amazing people (we had 25 girls and 5 guys) in one group and here every single person was different, but could inspire you and had something interesting to say!

I knew Yoga people are very nice, kind, loving, helpful but on this course we created bonds for life ... we did go through self development exercises with the whole group and we create strong bonds.




Reflection Yoga / Teachers

I was attracted to the idea of having two teachers and benefiting from both Paula and Peter. Paula Tursi was looking after us for the first 2 weeks, Peter Kaaberbot was sharing his knowledge, experiences and teaching us Thai massage during the last 2 weeks.

Paula Tursi is a founder of Reflection Yoga. We were taught to move not just from our muscles and joints but also from the support of our inner body, we learnt to work

intelligently and not to make

unrealistic demands on the body. You know the feeling when somebody does something better than you, for example they can lift one leg higher all the way to their ear, and thats higher than you can! Your ego comes and says: ‘I can do it!’, so you push yourself and you end up hurting yourself. Other people can give you an inspiration, but you still have to listen to yourself.

We explored the body from a therapeutic model, applying the breath, Thai massage and yoga. We were approached to find for ourselves our own truth, not just to follow what anybody else says, but find what suits us!

Quiet mornings

Our mornings were quiet, we were not allowed to speak, not allowed any eye contact. It took me a few days to get used to it as in the ‘real life’ we are so used to speaking just for the sake of speaking. Morning was your own time… you could concentrate on whatever you wanted without anybody else distracting you. I usually




woke up with the sunrise around 5.30am, read the book, took some pictures or just watched the sunrise from the pool… and listened to the loud monkey howling :)

I know that quiet mornings are almost impossible in real life - everyday rush usually takes over. But if you organise yourself it’s possible! I will take at least 5 minutes at the beginning of every day where i can set myself for the day. Sometimes it will be meditation, sometimes cuddles in bed, sometimes walk with a dog, run on the field or paddle in the sea.

Meditation - game with your mind

After fresh fruit served at 7.00am we started our meditation at 7.15am. I knew this will be a challenge for me as I have never meditated longer than 5 minutes!

I’m sure you all know the feeling when you cant stop thinking. Thoughts are coming to you from left, right and centre?! You cant focus on one thing because your mind is all over and you are getting stressed. Keeping my mind calm and focused was something that I really wanted to work on, so here it was, me and my mind sitting together… you think it’s easy… well try it!

It is a game with your mind, and here is how it works! You are are witnessing your thoughts, but not analysing or judging them. You accept that they exist and you put them on the side or let them go. You concentrate on the present moment, not planning, not looking back, not forward, the moment is right here, right now! By not analysing your thoughts you are not connecting yourself on the emotional level. This was really hard in days with strong emotions when you are sad, angry, excited or extremely happy, or maybe in extreme pain.




We started with 15 minutes and we were working towards 60 minutes - sitting silent, still in crosslegged position. As an active person I never thought I will be able to sit still for an hour, but now I can tell you it’s very intense, physically and mentally challenging. We went from concentrating on your breath to our mantra, then silent meditation. After around 25-35 minutes your legs will go to sleep and the pain arrives, shooting pain to the joints: knees and later hips as well. After maybe 50 minutes I thought I’m going to faint, I was covered in sweat, getting dizzy and this is the moment when

your strong mind will show its’ power! Instead of giving up and saying it's not possible you can stay strong! Do not get attached to your feelings, instead, know they are there, but don't put your emotions into them, concentrate on your breathing and if

needed go back to your mantra. You will overcome your pain-body and realise it’s just temporary, you will feel stronger!

I had a real ah-ha moment! I realised that I can control my mind and not the other way around (your mind should not control you). It’s a very powerful, freeing feeling. I learnt to focus on the present moment, acknowledging thoughts, feelings and physical sensations. Meditation has definitely changed my way of thinking and I’m sure I will be able to bring some great positive effects into my everyday life! You will find peace in yourself, be more happy, will be able to deal better with difficult situations, because you have a POWERFUL MIND!

Author’s note: Another very beautiful way how I entertained my mind was by using fantasy (this was not a meditation, this was cheating during the meditation). I imagined I had wings and I was flying in the jungle, I felt like I was in the Avatar movie, all the noises became more intense, the birds were singing into my ears, I could feel the gentle breeze, swinging trees, and I was concentrating on the present moment, but I used my fantasy to help me to stay there. This happened especially when my mind got bored. What can I say, I like my fantasy world but I can stay present if I want to. :)




Asana practice - yoga poses / Flow / Pranayama

After looking internally towards the mind, and so much going in to the practice of trying to quiet our mind we concentrated on the physical part of our being.

Our morning asana practice was 1-1.5 hours long. Through our sweat we were getting rid of toxins and believe me, we sweated a lot! Every class had a theme. We

started with our feet and their alignments, went through knees, hip, spine, shoulders, core (Psoas), Breathing, Bandhas (body locks) and we also did a blindfolded class that I loved!I learned how to develop and teach a yoga class with a theme while offering proper alignment queues. I can guide students in moving their

bodies through all ranges of motion, all while avoiding injury.

This was very different than my p r e v i o u s experience teaching fitness classes where I was a role model, demonstrating the moves. I didn't join the class in the practice, but I was concentrating on the speaking, giving instructions. I was verbally guiding them, walking through the class and correcting student’s positions. I realised that giving clear instructions is critical for a good teacher. You don't want your students to be all confused, looking around, turning their heads and coming out of their poses, proper alignments. Although there are always going to be some more challenging poses / moves that you can choose to demonstrate. You can stop the class and demonstrate it by yourself - as a teacher or demonstrate the move on a student.

Breathing is one big essential part of Yoga. Without proper breathing there is no proper energy flow. Our first task was to concentrate on our natural breath, then we were exploring the “teaching breaths” and only then we moved on to classical Pranayama (breathing) exercises that we applied in our Yoga practice.




You all may notice how shallow your breathing is when you are stressed. It takes a little bit of conscious effort to come back to our proper natural breath. So I’ve tested a few breathing techniques, some helped me to concentrate, some energised my body and some helped me to relax. Now I know when I feel sleepy, need to wake up and concentrate on something important I will use Kapalabhati or Bhastrika breath and when I’m stressed I will use Nadi Shodhana or Ujjayi breath. I also learned some other breathing techniques that

• will vibrate and clear your throat area, have cleansing effect on the lungs (good for asthmatics, people suffering from emphysema, bronchitis or tuberculosis)

• will stimulate your Chakras, help to create balance• will help you with your anxiety, and soothe and strengthen the nervous system• will massage, strengthen and tone the digestive organs, stimulate appetite.

Anatomy classes

After breakfast break at 11am we had an anatomy class and a new member of the team joined us - Mr. Skelly (our skeleton model) that we examined in details including it’s jaw! Here again every class had a theme, for example on upper leg and knee class we

learned how the knee is moving, what ligaments are going through the knee, how is it connected to the bones, muscles and what are the possible movements at

the joint. We also learned about different risks, injuries and how to manage hyperextension of the knee.

On one anatomy class we created a model of our lungs and looked at the work of the diaphragm - the muscle that assists our breathing. This was a great playful way how to learn the breathing system, and the work of diaphragm. We had a good laugh creating the model of the lungs, blowing into the balloons and watching the plastic moving as we were blowing into the balloon. This knowledge will stick, I don't think I will ever forget contractions of the diaphragm :)




As I’m interested in human anatomy I loved these classes, we had a good laugh, learnt lots of interesting facts and gained knowledge that I can now use for myself and for my clients.

Ancient Thai massage

During our last 2 weeks in the afternoons / evening we learned, practiced Ancient Thai massage. Our teacher Peter Kaaberbot went through different parts of the massage with his great energy and humour (we all remember butt to butt stretch :) ) This type of the massage takes into consideration not only muscles and bones but also energy of the body. Learning body energy lines, acupressure points and various stretches was fascinating.

At the end of our 2 weeks we had to demonstrate our ability to give 90 minutes long massage. That evening of our Thai massage exam will stay in my mind forever! We had nice, calming music in the background… it was dark, first stars were in the sky and then the full moon rose to light up the ocean and our deck. We worked in couples, I did the massage first and then I received a massage. It was nice work of giving and receiving, the energy in the room was flowing!

You know that there is no such a thing as perfect job, perfect family, perfect life, but there is a perfect moment and this was one of those!

Philosophy / applying knowledge to everyday life

In the afternoons we discussed yoga philosophy books in depth, including The Power of Now, The Places that Scare You, and The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. We then applied this theory to real life situations. I’ve listened to some heartbreaking stories, some inspirational stories… feelings and emotions were released through tears and laughs. Through many conversations about different topics I looked at things through different




eyes and I feel I now understand myself and also people around me better. We were sitting in a circle, discussing our Fears, Compassion, Desires, Sexual Energy, Freedom and

Non-clinging, Love, Self-Discipline… we learned about different stimulation on conscious and subconscious level and how they affect our nervous system and everyday life.

There were a few things that I thought I’m done with, they are clear and understood but obviously they were not, they were holding me back in my further development. I was one of the most impatient people on Earth, most of the time straight to the point and usually getting very irritated by people fluffing around (waisting my time). If I wanted something I wanted it right now! This is not always good as I did upset people around me and I suffered myself as I didn't get what I wanted. I learnt to trust that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be and everything will come at the right moment. Don't get me wrong, I still hold fire inside me, but I can direct it better or control it more efficiently. Many times I was creating inner resistance to something that already is, I didn't want to accept the present moment, I was fighting it, getting angry. I was wasting my energy and behaving like a little kid. Maybe I did enjoy being a little kid, but it wasn't helping me! Here is some advice for everybody: If you do not like something (the present moment is unacceptable or unpleasant), first accept it and then deal with it. Work with it, not against it; make it your friend, not your enemy! I know sometimes it’s easy to say and difficult to do! But the sooner you do it the sooner you will be on your happy path :) Through these exercises and philosophy discussions I learnt a lot about myself and how my feelings of being ungrounded, afraid of being loved, of a change and closed off have prevented me from more fully and truthfully enjoying life.

Self-development evening exercises

Self-development exercises were after the dinner around 8pm. Here we had to face ourselves. It was like standing in front of the door. You either had the courage, faced the




situation and yourself and opened the door, or you were too scared to make any changes and you stayed behind the door. Here you had your chance to open the door and let yourself grow to the better, stronger YOU.

We went through stages of getting rid of our anger by screaming and jumping. We attached to our inner child and learnt to let the things go. This was quite important as if you fail to let things go, you find yourself lost in the past memory and you are missing the present moment. The clue to this is to learn to trust, believe that there will be something else to fill its place. It is important to understand that non-attachment is not about disinterest, but about how You can apply your passion, not your will. Next stage was forgiveness, not just others but mainly yourself. We faced our fears, we opened our mind by playing the game “Who is in” - eye gazing exercise where we had to look into the eyes of another person for maybe 10 minutes straight and we asked who is in, the other person replied and it went on and on. You had to find more than 100 answers to the question Who is inside you. I got to the stage where everything around got blurred, the space opened and I was connected to the person that I was coupled with, I somehow felt there was no space, it is hard to explain. It was quite a unique, amazing experience.

One of the most memorable experience for many of us was Quantum Light Breathing meditation. It’s a guided meditation highly focused on your breathing. You bypass the conscious mind and old programs are released directly from the subconscious; this greatly accelerates your personal transformation! I would like to write another article about this, for now I’m just going to say that I never thought that through your breath you can get so high, so ecstatic, so expanded and to fall so deeply in love with yourself! This beats every drug experience, it’s healthy, and it’s legal and it’s free!

Our days off

Days off were always filled with some kind of adventure, there was so much to choose from! Zip lining through the jungle, enjoying the close by waterfalls, exploring the little village Montezuma and sipping delicious coconut milkshakes. One day our whole group walked along the long beach and picked up all the trash that we could find.On the days when I wanted to rest I chilled with some friends next to the pool




and we tried all possible jumps into it… so much fun… underwater filming was also great! Right within the Anamaya centre you could have an incredible massage with the Therapist Laura.

Coming to Costa Rica I was really looking forward to surfing! With few friends we rented boards from the local Montezuma shops and headed to Playa Grande. I’m a beginner so I was crashed by waves a lot… but the

feeling when you get it and the

wave pushes you forward and gives you an amazing feeling of freedom is worth it!

It’s hard to choose from all the adventures but I would pick up one more: our adventure trip on quad bikes to near by famous surfing spot Santa Teresa. The beauty of it was that it was off road, through the jungle, puddles, mud, passing little farms, running horses and the biggest tree I’ve ever seen. It’s like the Avatar tree , trees growing inside a tree, it was massive! The atmosphere in Santa Teresa was very chilled, with the sunset surf and little bars and hammocks right on the side of the beach it was PURA VIDA!

Final exam & Graduation

We picked up a theme that we wanted to teach and designed the class in that theme. We all started with a spiritual talk (2-3 minutes), then warm up, main part, the cool down and savasana. After days of practice I was getting excited to teach! I wanted my class to be powerful and easy to follow and I think I managed! In first minutes my voice was a bit shaky, but it calmed down quickly and the class was following my instructions. I’m really proud of myself for teaching such a different yoga class. The feedback I got was so amazing to hear and I really felt like a teacher.




Graduation evening was a special one, everybody was dressed in white, looking beautiful. Up at the main house the champagne was served for anyone who wanted some since we had been alcohol free for a month and then we all headed to our rooms to get ready for our big event. We all met on the impressive lower deck, we sat in a circle and discussed the last philosophical topic: relationships and sexual energy. Our teacher as

always added his great

humour into his stories from the real life. When we finished our discussion, spiritual music filled the room, spotlights lighten up the stage and our teacher Peter started to call name by name and handed us our certificates. Before we received a certificate we walked elegantly in our white dress to the stage and demonstrated a pose that challenged us. I’ve chosen a dancer as it was not easy but at the same time very elegant pose. The last spiritual ceremony before our dinner and a big party was “Angel Walk”. This was the time when my tears rolled down my face, it was incredibly powerful! We were standing in two rows facing to each-other and a person walked through the line in-between us. We could say something to the person, touch them, hug them… I now felt I had so many amazing people and I didn't want to leave them, it just got me that this experience came to the end … After an amazing dinner we headed to Montezuma where it all finished in a big street party, lots of laughing, dancing and street action was going on!

The following evening Anamaya organised entertainment for us - this was the last night for all of us together. We watched some impressive aerial silk dance, fire dancing, even our teacher Peter had a go, well done :) Manager of Anamaya - Albert showed us how to do Salsa properly, quick turns, lots of hip movements got us right into dancing mood! We all laughed and danced late into the night.




Anamaya staff / Anamaya farm / services / food

Staff were just amazing! I arrived at the resort without my luggage, through the airports it somehow didn't quite go the same way. Members of staff were communicating with the airways and my luggage arrived safely to the resort in 2 days! I started to create a skirt from banana leaves but luckily I didn't have to wear it :)You became a part of the big family and they are there for you like your second siblings. Albert was like our big brother, he made sure everybody around

was happy. This guy has a great spirit, and is an amazing dancing teacher! He dedicated one of his evenings and taught us how to dance Salsa and little bit of

Pachanga… you don't have to ask me twice, I would dance anytime :) I remember plaiting the hair of one of our big local sisters - Grettel. this girl was amazing! Always welcoming, with a big smile on her face.

Food was very healthy, fresh or cooked with natural ingredients. The day started with fresh fruit (melon, bananas, mango, oranges, pineapple, papaya) followed by breakfast that included eggs or omelet, we had lots of avocados, fresh veg, gluten free pancakes or other types of gluten free breads, beans, cheese and nuts. Lunches included some kind of meat, most of the time chicken of fish accompanied lots of cooked or fresh veggies and a variety or sources (my favourite was coconut, lemon and cashew nuts), sometimes also by rice noodles. Our afternoon snack was yummy smoothie or fresh fruits. Dinners were again delicious! When we had busy evenings we had lighter dinner followed by a desert (didn’t include any processed carbohydrates or fat, but was still very yummy). It was very nice to not worry about the food, all the dishes were delivered to you! I was inspired by their recipes, I learned few tricks and I definitely will try to re-create some dishes at home.




On one of our days off we visited Rancho Delicioso - an organic farm that provides lots of fresh organic produce to Anamaya. Geoff , the owner, gave us a tour around. We quickly learned that he is very enthusiastic about his projects creating all sorts of cool things. I was definitely overwhelmed as I didn't expect such a complex environmental friendly eco-system filled with plants of every kind!

Fauna / Flora

We were waking up every morning to the loud roars of Howler Monkeys swinging in the jungle creating a Wake up tune for all of us!Anamaya had one pet, or maybe three! Cat Onyx was the coolest cat ever, he was well pampered :) Another two pets, a bit wilder - were 2 iguanas: Eddy and his little brother Rio. They were both most of the time watching us from their favourite spot on the

close by tree, soaking the vitamin D in. One day Rio was chilling on the path to our accommodation. I was creeping closer and closer until I was half a meter away lying next to him. I watched him picking up a berry from the ground and eating it. Suddenly Rio sprung up and within a second he was gone! I quickly realised they are very territorial animals; Rio was running away from Eddie! He came on the scene out of nowhere and he was at least twice as big! We all know how slowly they can move, but they also can sprint… Rio was taking huge long jumps away from Eddie and stopped only when he felt safe!

We also saw hundreds of geckos (some of them dropping from the Yoga deck ceiling during yoga classes, and even more during silent/still meditation periods), hatching baby sea turtles, baby and adult scorpions. One day we had baby scorpion in our bathroom (they are very little - ant size) and I was




wondering where was their mum - some of you might know that mummy scorpion is one of the most dedicated mums in the animal world, once baby scorpions hatch they eat their mum as she provides them well deserved nutritions! Life goes on… All around we had exotic flowers, trees and I was lucky enough to experience a few amazing storms! The centre of lightening was moving from the left all around to the right! It was spectacular and I was lucky enough to capture it! Here it is :)

How was it?

Overwhelming, exciting, challenging, energetic, calming, spiritual, exhausting, transforming, refreshing, interesting, very healthy (with not much cheeky chocolate or glasses of wine) … definitely not the easiest, but one of the most beautiful and life-changing experiences!

And how do I feel now, two months after finishing the course? More balanced, less worries, laughing more, stressing less. I feel more in control of my mind and of my

decisions, lighter in my heart and brighter in my head :) I started to teach Yoga and I had positive feedbacks :) I’m still learning and finding my ways but that’s the path of the life! I have energy to help people around and share the love & joy, Pure Vida!




diary of my transformation - pure funfit · diary of my transformation ... at this time yoga...

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