It only rained for two hours the entire trip — torrential rain accompanied by howler monkeys loudly making themselves known in the trees surrounding the outdoor yoga deck.
The rain started the moment Suzanna arrived; a local Costa Rican woman who was going to lead our breathwork session. She wore a long dress, jewelry, and a brimmed top hat. She worked to keep calm as she set up. And all of our things near the open-air walls were getting wet.
Strange things happen in the jungle day after day – chance interactions with animals in perfect or ironic moments. What was this rain telling us?
Every year I take a week offline to get away from the noise of the internet and of the city. For the past two years, this practice of unplugging has been done with others – a group of entrepreneurs seeking to come together to talk about what really matters in their lives and how that might be created in the year ahead.
This year we are in Nosara, where people blend California-style living with the slow pace of the Costa Rican attitude. We hire a private chef, plan experiences and workshops, and give space for meditation, journaling, and discussion.
If I don’t pay attention and slow down around the end of the year and break away from mainstream culture, I begin the next year without intention.
Even if I set goals, they often become forced perpetuations of the previous year.
What do I really want?
What have I thought was not possible for me?
Where am I being too realistic, or not enough?
The rain amplified the energy needed for the practice, and we settled in on our mats.
When you drop into your body through your breath, you get this elevator sensation of your body lifting off the ground (or your consciousness out of itself). You are in control of your experience and so you speed up the rhythm of “in-up-out” breathing or you slow it down, depending on what you’re feeling.
Subtle cues from Suzanna or the smell of incense enrich your experience. I felt the sensation of a warm bath start to take over my body and visually, eyes closed, witnessed light pouring up through my forehead.
Tuning inward, the rain and the jungle disappear. In this moment I am completely out of the web of where I live, what I do, and what roles I play.
It’s here that I can be most creatively free from past stories and expectations.
And it’s here that I get in touch with what I want without it becoming an intellectual trap.
As soon as we open our eyes, the rain stops. The shala air has a distinct feel beyond the breeze; something has been added to it.
Everyone is energized and wants to have conversation.
I keep having this sensation of being myself as a teenager. I’m younger in my own body.
This is the true disconnect that I seek that nourishes and charges me up for the year ahead.
I go to sleep and then wake up ready for what’s next…
xx David
Visual Media: Death to Stock
Advisory/Coaching: David Sherry
Curated Products: The Elevator