Nestled between the papaya, banana, and coffee trees on the banks of Lake Atitlan lies a mystical yoga farm where we would spend the next 5 days. Between the sounds of the drum or the didgeridoo waking us up in the morning and the chanting and songs after dinner, our days at the Mystical Yoga Farm were filled with a lot of personal reflection and gratitude.
Each morning we were awoken at 6 AM for meditation beginning at 6:30 overlooking the lake. At 7:30 we switched gears to begin Yoga Asana for an hour and a half; however this also included previews of “shaking” and acroyoga.
Finally at 9 we had worked up an appetite and for the first time that day we would break the sacred silence to bless our food. For some the vegetarian, gluten free, and almost dairy free diet was a challenge, for others, it was heaven. We were given free time in addition to creative time to paint, draw, swim, or write. Some of us made chocolate using pure cacao, played tree tag, or hula hooped and Jill and Nicole even painted murals on the bathroom walls. In the spirit of permaculture, the toilers were compost toilets, but the showers had HOT water (solar powered) and were a very welcome change.
Some of us had massages, others had their hair done, and many of us had Mayan astrology readings. We all participated in a fire ceremony to welcome the new moon and thank the jaguar, hummingbird, serpent, and eagle which represent North, South, East and West. On other night we “toned” together making animal noises or oms in the Om dome.
I think a favorite for many though was the visit from the chocolate shaman. We participated in a chocolate ceremony and drank pure cacao with panela (a natural sugar variety) and maya nut (a sweet coffee ish, chocolate ish flavored powder). Something that really resonated with many of us was his message to do what we think is the most fun and when it is no longer fun to move onto something else. He also connected with some people on a more cosmic level, tuning into people’s third eyes or heart centers. He also believes that we can all interact with extra terrestrials and that we all contain every answer within ourselves.He is known in his town as a wizard and at the yoga farm as “the crazy hippy,” but he also had a great message about all relationships. Every relationship is perfect because we receive from them whatever we ask of them. The chocolate shaman was a very interesting man and even being a crazy hippy, had many valuable lessons.
We also had a day of volunteer work in the neighboring town of Chacaya that definitely kept us humble in our week of personal reflection. We walked about 30 minutes from the farm to the town to help build a school. It was incredibly hard work that included filling wheelbarrows with dirt and carting them to a dumping ground and moving piles of rocks. When we thought we had finished with the mound of rocks that greeted us, we were brought another delivery of 3500 pounds in hundred pound bags which we moved in under 10 minutes. We tried to dig a trench beside the school, but ended up hitting a pipe and creating a fountain of water. After that we were given a different job to break up the ground and move the dirt in order to level the area in front of the school. By the time we had finished our work we were all super hungry and ready to eat. We went back to the yoga farm for lunch. In the afternoon we walked the half hour back to the neighboring town to teach English classes at the local high school, but it was the last week of school before their summer vacation, so the classes weren’t very productive. Jill, Danny, and I worked with the least advanced English class and tried to teach the hokey pokey, but ended up dancing in front of the class alone while they stared at us. Overall, I think everyone enjoyed our day of hard work and it made the massages, hot showers, and relaxation at the farm even more appreciated.
To show our appreciation as a group we decided to send one child to school for a year, including uniform and books for around 525 quetzal. If you want to donate more to that fund or to see more about the school, this is the link. http://mysticalyogafarm.com/community-projects/chacaya-school-project/
By the end of our stay though, we were ready to leave the farm (in search of meat, bread, and dairy) and as soon as we hit the ground on the other side of the lake everyone bought ice cream or chocobananos. Our day and a half in Antigua have been much appreciated and filled with shopping and eating. Antigua is much more touristy and urban than most of the places we’ve been so far and has been a really nice change of scenery, but we are all excited to be heading to Nicaragua tomorrow and onto our second country.