Desiring Rest, Finding Strength

After complications from late 2022 spinal surgery started to ease and finally heal in early June I had the energy and drive to start new projects at home and work. It was like my newfound vitality had been waiting for the ‘GO’ signal. But of course, that newfound vitality started to wane only a few weeks later and after I had committed to new projects that would need my full attention starting in mid-August. My summer travel plans to visit family in Pennsylvania and to visit friends in Colorado were tentative as something within me encouraged me to hold off. I kept hearing the words “you need to rest” every time I looked into flights and AirBnBs.

To heed the call for ‘rest’ I started searching for retreat-type properties and got so discouraged by the cost. I needed rest but not financial stress. Then I had an a-ha moment; what if I looked into another yoga retreat as the one I did in 2017 was affordable? My spinal fusion had healed although I hadn’t done yoga since my back started spasming in 2021, but I was up for a challenge and knew I could be mindful and kind to my body by taking it easy and slow with hatha-style yoga.

Since 2019 I have wanted to do a yoga retreat in Costa Rica but knew the one hosted in August of this year by One Yoga Global (OYG) was sold out by March 2023. However, I felt drawn to this retreat (the timing of it, the instructor and the locale) and reached out to OYG asking to be added to a waitlist, if there was one. Within 10 days of being added to this waitlist a room opened up and I signed up, quickly cashed in miles, and started thinking about my intentions for this 7-day retreat. I learned, the hard way, to set intentions BEFORE traveling to ensure I get the most out of my investment of time and money.

Setting Intentions

The week before the retreat brought clarity to my intentions. Yes, I still needed rest but I also needed to: 1) reset my body clock and go to bed earlier and wake up earlier (I had a puppy coming and needed to get onto his schedule); 2) move my body every day with yoga and beach walks to continue healing from the back surgery; 3) release painful emotions related to family dynamics; and 4) keep the retreat simple by not adding excursions or activities so aforementioned rest could be attained. I felt comfortable that all these were reasonable intentions.

However, after a long travel day to Costa Rica and a bumpy shuttle bus ride to the retreat center, I was led up and down too many stone steps to count to get to my room. It was large, set within the trees and howler monkeys with an outdoor shower, and ideal for most people but I teared up. How was I going to achieve my big intention of rest when my battered knees would be screaming in pain even before a single moment in a yoga class?

Playa Guiones, Nosara, Costa Rica

Luckily I am assertive and the retreat center had a room just one flight away from the dining hall and yoga room; I was so relieved and went to bed early that first night, naturally woke up at 6am the following morning and kept that intention easily for the rest of the week. Check … one intention achieved! Doing the daily yoga was not as easy but yoga instructor extraordinaire, Lisa Feder, put together beautiful morning classes for us that worked with all of our different bodies, and our practice was focused on opening a different chakra every day. Each class she had us tune into our intentions and it felt easy, though sometimes uncomfortable, to fulfill my intention, bit by bit, with each class. By the time we got to the heart chakra (day 4), my body was feeling lighter from all I released AND stronger (though that was probably from all the steps that were still needed to get to the beach, pool, and a much needed massage). Check … two more intentions achieved with the side effect of getting physically stronger during the process! Mother Nature showed off her magic on day 4 as well and she provided us with a light midday rain shower that gave way to a beautiful rainbow off the shore of our beach. I could take in this magic because I had set an intention to slow down and stay mostly on the property. I had the time and space to talk with others on retreat, getting to know them and the common threads we shared. Many of us on this particular retreat were from Austin, most of us were around the same age and even though we didn’t know each other by the end of the week we all felt close and connected to each other. The social engagement I experienced was so nourishing for my heart and nervous system and nearly a month later I can still feel the warmth from these new relationships. I didn’t have an intention for nourishing connection but the cosmos brought this to all of us!

iRest Yoga Nida

Lisa also offered a late afternoon class on mindful journaling and an evening iRest Yoga Nidra class. I participated in both of these and got more from them than I had expected. The mindful journaling class helped me process some experiences that were coming up for me while releasing emotions from my chakras and it also brought me back to the value my clients could get from practicing mindful journaling.

But the iRest Yoga Nidra tutorial and class were fantastic as, for the first time in years, my insomnia took a back seat and I had restful and restorative sleep! I’ve now done a guided iRest yoga Nidra at home a few times using this free 15-  or  20-minute guided meditation and continue to sleep well; I love when my Oura ring app gives me a crown and an ‘optimal’ label when I sync it in the morning. The purpose of iRest Yoga Nidra is to allow your body to follow inner guidance to your heartfelt desires while gently guiding you to a parasympathetic nervous system state of complete relaxation. I have tried many different types of meditations at bedtime, such as body scans, breathing, and sound, but iRest Yoga Nidra has proven to be the best for me. It helped to improve my heart rate variable (HRV) while I was sleeping which in turn allowed my body to achieve restful and restorative quality sleep.

Lisa is open to facilitating an iRest Yoga Nidra class, or classes, for our Flourish! people either in person or via Zoom. If you are interested in taking an iRest Yoga Nidra class. with Lisa leading it, click the button to let us know!

Getting rest & connection made me stronger

Reflecting on my time in Costa Rica brings not only a smile to my face but a knowing within me that my desire for rest led me to nourishing connections and physical and emotional strength. I did not know that setting an intention to release long-held emotions tied to family dynamics would result in me feeling a stronger sense of self but it did. Perhaps the social part of the retreat was helpful here but I learned that intending to use yoga to release somatically held emotions can be very powerful although painful (at first). Releasing and accepting relationships for what they are and are not while calming the nervous system, for me, was a gift that keeps on giving.