“ahimsa prathisthayam tat sannidau vairatyagah”— When the yogi/ni is established in nonviolence, violence ceases in her/his presence.
It never fails to amaze me how much yoga can touch people’s lives and transform them in a very short time. Our group at the yoga training program in Samara, Costa Rica, is small (only ten with four faculty additional). We range in age from 21 to 70. We have lived and now live all over the States and Central America. Some of us have travelled to India, Africa, Asia and Europe. Now we find ourselves part of a group of fellow seekers in a tropical beach town in the green nation of Costa Rica to deepen practice and learn techniques of practicing and teaching yoga.
Practice, of course, is the key. We have some distractions here, but not many. In fact, for the first week, I did not even have much access to internet, which made me realize how very attached I am to it when it is not available. With hours each day to chant sutras, discuss ideas, practice known asanas and learn new ones, explore the link between Ayurveda and Yoga and begin to implement some of the practices, we have a perfect tropical laboratory to work in.
The energy of the new moon in Cancer is palpable today; we are having scattered rolling thunderstorms. We often walk the beach at sunrise and sunset during the sunny, or at least rain-free, breaks. If I could rename Sámara Beach, I would call it Silver Beach (Playa Plateado) because the light on the wet sand as the tide goes out makes it look so shiny and silvery), we returned home for tea and banana cake, made just a few hours ago. Pura Vida!
Today was more low key, many of us seemed to have less energy, some had not been able to keep up with homework. We adjourned an hour early to give folks time to catch up, and had a good walk on the beach at sunset to re-admire the silvery sand, clouds and water.
The news coming from the States and the world seems distant and always disturbing—global warming warnings (hail in Guadalajara, mega-heat waves in Europe, floods in Mumbai), inhumane conditions at our southern border, another shooting. If we could find a way to make peaceful warriors of all the yogis in our midst, what would be the most beautiful, sensible, simple, earth-caring, people-nurturing way to live?
Coming back from kayaking yesterday, we came through a small traffic jam by Carillo Beach. As we made our way through it became clear that the jam had been caused by the sand crabs crossing the road. These crabs are nocturnal; they climb out of their holes in the sand at sunset and traverse the sand (and roads). Maybe it’s time for the yogis too too climb out of their cave/homes and take a look around. Then, perhaps after a conversation with the modern equivalent of Krishna as our charioteer/guide to our current predicament, we can take considered action. Just a thought……
A note about the photo: the tiny blur to the right of the top cloud IS the new moon in Cancer.
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