Surfing and Yoga

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Costa Rica Gratitude Retreat:: Cloud Nine Yoga
Thanksgiving Week :: November 20 – 29, 2009 ** SOLD OUT **
facilitated by: Adam & Erika Calig

A tropical, family-friendly adventure for 10 days and 9 nights in paradise.

Villa Mango is a healing haven in the rainforest of the western Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. Beautiful ocean views and rest await you at our favorite oasis! Here we experience restfulness and rejuvenation ~ a magical feeling far away from civilization. Endless views of the jungle and great Pacific are seen overlooking your room. Hammocks are shaded by the community area where you are just steps from the sparkling pool and flora. Iguanas, coatis, monkeys and colorful birds are a common sight. Sunrises and sunsets are beyond stunning. A short walk away is a small beach, Playa Pelada, with its tide pools and coastal mangroves leading right to the sand. Just minutes south, is a surfer’s dream: a “secret spot” beach break which has some of the most consistent well-formed waves in Costa Rica. Also nearby - zip lining adventures, quad rentals, horseback riding on the beach and endless dirt roads to explore! This is a kid-friendly retreat and families are encouraged to come.

Rates: $700 per person (quad), $750 per person (triple), $850 per person (double), $1000 (single). These fees are set for all ages and include two glorious meals per day. Breakfast is typical Costa Rican fare, “Tican rice & beans” with your choice of eggs prepared your way and an abundance of fresh fruit, juices, breads, yogurt and the BEST coffee in the world. Lunch is prepared to satisfy the heartiest appetite, organic local vegetables, fish, chicken and vegetarian options with nice big salads. Also included is our Thanksgiving dinner at the ever-popular Harbor Reef Restaurant & Bar and two special yoga/meditation/healing classes per day. We will enjoy movement classes for all levels of students ~ yin yoga, flow, Thai massage and other specialty practices await you. All accommodations have private bath and ocean views. Deposit $500 to reserve best room choice. First come, first served. Remaining balance due: October 20, 2009

Transportation: Airfares are approximately $390 per person round trip via Taca/LACSA or American. Baggage limits on the “hopper plane” is 27 lbs. Tickets are to be purchased departing LAX ? SJO on November 20 for arrival with the group. Our return is scheduled for November 29. You are welcome to purchase tickets, at your discretion, to arrive earlier, depart later, OR to fly into the other international airport in Liberia (this is closer to where we stay, but often tickets cost more). To save money, you may choose to arrive in San Jose a day early, or stay later. If so, we have a hotel connection in the city and can assist you in making arrangements. Sansa Airlines is our carrier within Costa Rica and will give us a birds-eye view over the rugged mountains and panoramic coastline on our way to Villa Mango. It takes just under one hour and costs $95 each way. This small plane to our final destination leaves SJO ? NOB at 11:28 am every day. Our return flight to the international airport, NOB ? SJO, leaves at 12:32 pm every day. There is an option to rent a car or driver from San Juan Santamaria (SJO) International Airport instead of purchasing the “hopper” ticket. The sceanic drive takes approximately 6.5 hours on winding roads. Adam and I experienced this adventure the last two times we have been in Costa Rica and we are choosing to use air transport within Costa Rica to save time and energy. Adam and I will then rent a SUV/4×4 upon arriving at Villa Mango (about $50 per day). If you are interested in having your own personal transportation or sharing this cost with another Cloud Nine retreat participant while we are at the resort, please let us know so we can make arrangements.

Optional Excursions/Expenses:
* Surfboard Rental: $25 per person for the entire 9 days
* Canopy tour/zip-lining: $65 per person
* Horseback riding: $60 per person for 2 hours beach/jungle ride
* Kayaking (with guide): $40 for about 2 hours
* Quad rental: $55 to $60 per day (weekly rates available, let us know to reserve in advance!)
* Motor-scooter rental: $35 to $40 per day
* Push-bike rental: $10 to $12 per day
* Sport fishing: $350 to $600 for the boat (2 to 4 persons) depending how long you want.
* Nature walks (with guide): $12 per person
* Sea turtle viewing: $20 per person for transportation, $7 for park entrance (min 3 pax)
* Massage: $60 per hour
* Salsa Dancing: $10 + tips & drinks
* Housekeepers: $2 per person per day (tip suggestion)

DAILY YOGA & HEALING SESSIONS: led by Erika, Adam and CNY 500 Teachers in Training. Our scheduled classes will be set at 7:00 am and 4:30 pm daily. We would like to remain flexible with these times so if unexpected adventures arise, we can adjust. Example: during one of our classes, a community of 30+ tiny (but very loud) howler monkeys decided to visit. Class was held off while we grabbed our cameras and held a “nature meditation” with all these marvelous and intriguing beings! Also, one afternoon, Agnes, our hostess, received a call from Ostional. The Olive Ridley turtles were nesting on the beach and hatchlings were making their way back to the sea. This was one of the highlights of our trip and we hope that this “rare” opportunity will repeat itself again. The moon and the tides have to line up perfectly for this to happen. Let’s all hope to have amazing reasons to be slightly diverted from our schedule. This is the nature (and makings) of a spontaneous and memorable retreat!

The children on our retreat will have opportunities to participate in classes at times and a responsible adult will be on duty for supervision as needed. Special kid-friendly activities such as movie watching, puzzles, board games, coloring books, shell shopping at the beach and other jungle adventures will be available throughout the retreat.

Sample Itinerary:
7:00 am Yoga
9:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am Free Time (surfing, ziplining, pool, exploration, beach, hammock time)
2:30 pm Lunch
3:30 pm Siesta
4:30 pm Yoga
7:00 pm Dinner (out together, separately or a community prepared meal at Villa Mango)

Beach towels and all linens are provided. Bring plenty of sunscreen and bug guard to keep your skin happy! Weather is humid and warm, approximately 85 degrees during the day and 80 at night with occasional thunder/lightning downpours. The ocean temperature is warm - about 80 degrees! PACK LIGHT, you are rarely wearing much! Swimsuits, sun hat/cap, camera, journal, a good book, light-weight yoga clothes and good walking shoes are a must. Ladies: you will live in shorts/tanks/sundress when not in class or at the beach. Guys: bring at least one button shirt for evening, otherwise comfy t-shirts and cotton shorts are great. Sundries are available for purchase at Villa Mango or local merchants. There is a market, bank, café, bakery, computer access and local artisan shops in town (5 minute drive, 30 minute walk). Your laundry can be handled by Villa Mango’s house keeping staff for a nominal fee. An “honor system mini bar” is set up on site and will always be stocked with chilled bottled water, local brew and sodas.

Adam & I will bring gifts for Agnes and Jo, our hosts, including an iPod!
Orientation/Opening circle will commence on Friday, November 20 at 4:30 pm.
Our Closing Circle is scheduled on Saturday, November 28 at 4:30 pm.

Call Erika for reservation assistance and to make your deposit. 310-989-0878

YOGA, BREATHING, SURFING, METAPHORS and other ramblings….

In daily life, I take time to free the mind, retreat from the worries of everyday life and really focus on the rise and fall of the breath. Taking long, deep breaths, I immerse myself in the moment and enjoy just being alive. When I’m surfing, or just floating in the water, I see the ocean as a living, breathing metaphor of life. The breath is like the waves. It is an ebb and flow - a breathing in and out - in the fluid expression of moving water. The body is 70 % water. Our body’s natural state is like the ocean, cycling with the pull of the moon, like the tides. Water is very feminine.

The breath is a extension of our energetic system. We breathe not only inside our cells, but outside our body. When I breathe deep, I can feel energy radiating in and out, even beyond my skin, into the vastness of life. This connects me to the universe and life force flow of energy that is in everything.

Our breath and the ocean are so similar. As a surfer and yoga teacher (and eternal student of yoga practices) I have found how each mimmick and intermingle with eachother. That is, yoga and surfing. There is a whole yoga to surfing. It is a feeling of complete freedom in the moment. Enjoying the waves, waiting patiently for the next set to come in, I am in a meditation. The waves flow and I ride their wake, sculpting myself to their shape, like I adjust my body to a posture.

Then there’s style. No two surfers look the same. Just as yogis create their postures according to where one is in any given day - we find our “place” in a pose. We come home to ourself. Lots of surfers and yogis talk about that. A surfer has “soul” when one lets go and allows their own energy to emerge onto the wave. That happens in yoga, too. Oneness is found in letting the soul express itself freely in its divinity and in the level of consciousness we bring to our practice.

When I surf, I enter into a state of such total presence. My mind, body and spirit feel merged as one unit. There is a total joy being expressed from the depths of my soul — whether I am in the water and the waves are good or bad — whether I can do a very intense Ashtanga practice or do restoratives… MY SOUL IS SINGING!

If you are interested in Erika’s Surfin Yogis Club, please see the Surfin Yogis Club.