 What can I say, I'm a bit of a nut for waterfalls. This may be why I decided to make Uvita, Costa Rica my home and where I wanted to start my YTT and Retreat Center. We start the day early with yoga and the sound of the howler monkeys in the distance. The peaceful cows are next to the shala roaming around one of four gigantic pastures. After a bit of fruit and cafe we hop in the car and off we go to the closest waterfall.
We will need to stop at the panaderia to say hi to my girls...they got me through some rough times in the beginning and I love them. Plus, there are baked goods. I suggest the torta chilena. The Uvita Waterfall is so close to town it's a bit of a surprise that it's even there. It’s a little reminder of just how close you always are to the jungle here in Costa Rica. The hike is short and easy. If you park in the first parking area you come to (before you start going up the hill) they've built the cutest little butterfly sanctuary and the plants are fun to check out. Some vines are on the walk that take you back to a Tarzan style living and most visitors love to stop for a photo op by these thick twisty vines. With currently 788 reviews on Google it rates a 4.6. You can't please everyone (egg slicer Airbnb lady). Uvita Waterfall is for sure a must to visit while heading down the Southern pacific coast whether you stay in Uvita or not. It's quick, easy and cheap. The entry fee is still just $4 USD and you could easily visit for a few hours and enjoy watching everyone get up the nerve to slide down the waterfall. There's another natural pool for swimming a few meters away with a platform for jumping too. Locals and tourists mix with ease. The common love of nature makes life a little less stressful and everyone is smiling and laughing or just sitting there with open hearts soaking in all the glory of mother nature. Lush vegetation surrounds you with looming bamboo stalks that are over 20 meters tall that grow in clusters and provide plenty of shade therefor sunscreen isn't needed. I knew the first time I went there that I loved Uvita. It's proximity to the glorious beaches of Ballena National Park, and now this! I am convinced heaven has a few waterfalls, just like Uvita. I'd have to say that here, at Cascada Uvita, your biggest decision could very well be whether to jump, slide, or enjoy the show. A guaranteed good time. Here are a few Google reviews: ~"Beautiful waterfall on the river Uvita. It is a short walk from the car park. The water is cool and crystal clear. The surrounding forest is beautiful, dense vegetation, a real experience to walk to the waterfall, where you can enjoy a bath in the soft water. I heartily recommend it." ~"Possibly the best hidden gem in town! I spent many days here, relaxing in the beautiful cool fresh water. In a country where the water and temperature outside is always lukewarm, this was a pleasant change of pace! Admission was only US$4, and worth every penny. There’s a butterfly conservatory here as well, which I didn’t get a chance to check out, but it looks incredible. As a side bonus there is also a bar and restaurant near the summit of the falls. The food is divine, and the owner was amazing to deal with, multiple times per day! ;) Make Catarata Uvita a destination. You won’t regret it." Here's the link to trip advisor for more reviews to read. www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g635755-d4115525-Reviews-Uvita_Waterfall-Uvita_Province_of_Puntarenas.html
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Sometimes Costa Rica amazes me. It's absolutely humbling to see such magnificent natural beauty in this rugged country. This particular place, Nauyaca Waterfalls, is tops on the list of things to see in this area. And we have got some things to see my friends! If you come to visit us here at Yoga Maya Uvita I hope you will take our advice and take the (40 minute give or take) drive towards San Isidro and spend a few hours enjoying this amazing waterfall. Well, there's actually two here. It's breathtaking. I remember the first huge waterfall I saw in Costa Rica many years ago. I was almost in tears it was so amazing. Coming from a small town in the midwest from humble beginnings I honestly didn't think such beauty was possible for me to see in real life with my own eyes. And yet there I was. Living large. You've got to see it too. It does not disappoint. You can hike it, ride horseback, or hop in the back of a pick-up truck after you park your car and buy your ticket. It depends on how much time you have to explore and play. The path for the hike is the road, so you share it with the horses and the pick-up. It's a fun walk that basically anyone can walk if they have the abiltiy to walk for about 45 minutes or so. The horses looked healthy and calm. I opted for the pick-up as I had other things to do afterwards and didn't feel like walking. Of course once you get there you can swim a little or just take some cool shots of you with the roaring falls behind you. Trip advisor has almost 800 ratings of Nauyaca and almost all are 5 stars. Who would give it anything but a 5 star review? Good God I have no clue. Probably the same "Karen" who complained about a kitchen not having an "egg slicer". Some people complain about the rain. Whatever. I find this place pretty close to heavenly even on a rainy day. Everyone just drinks it all in and enjoys life for an hour or so. Everyone has a peacefully joyous time here. It's hard not to. It's the kind of place that makes you want to talk to the people next to you. Share the joy of experiencing something so precious. Such natural perfection. You're almost high on nature here. The picture doesn't do it justice. The mist of water that floats up through the air catches the sunlight and it looks like natural sparkles. Like glitter. Like I said, it's a bit humbling.  Nauyaca Waterfalls near Yoga Maya Uvita, Costa Rica  What exactly is the pejibaye? These little cuties grow on a type of palm tree and these palm trees produces large clusters of fruit called pejibaye, or "peach palm fruit". This is the same type of palm tree that produces the hearts of palm "yum" that are often used in salads. Pejibaye are a highly nutritious fruit that tastes so savory it feels more like a vegetable. Several, even though they are small make a substancial meal. During the season, they can be purchased at any fruit stand or farmer’s market for around $2 a kilo. Pejibayes only grow in tropical zones, they are very popular in many countries in Central and South America. This delicious treat is easy to prepare, but it takes time. The fruit must be boiled for several hours. I've been using my crockpot on high for approximately 3-4 hours and I personally enjoy them warm. Some like them cold. Before you eat them remove the skin and slice them in half,remove the small pit and voila! The best way to eat them is with a little salt and believeit or not: mayonnaise. The taste is an odd mix of a cashew, a chestnut, and a sweet potato; savory and satisfying. Pejibayes are an excellent breakfast or snack. They are full of vitamins B1, B2, B6, B12, vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Each fruit also contains 2.6 grams (about a tenth of an ounce) of protein. They have a good amount of magnesium, potassium, and zinc.   These are stressful times. Sometimes when I am in bed at night I think about a million things. Things I've done wrong, words I have said that I cannot take back and the never-ending "to do" list that is always on my mind. I've always envied people who go straight to sleep once their heads hit the pillow. I don't know how they do it. This fab little 6 hour tibetan music is so smooth. So soothing. I love it and thought I'd share it with all of you. Enjoy! Estos son tiempos estresantes. A veces, cuando estoy en la cama por la noche, pienso en un millón de cosas. Cosas que he hecho mal, palabras que he dicho que no puedo retirar y la lista interminable de "cosas por hacer" que siempre tengo en mente. Siempre he envidiado a las personas que se van a dormir una vez que sus cabezas golpean la almohada. No sé cómo lo hacen. Esta fabulosa música tibetana de 6 horas es muy suave. Muy relajante Me encanta y pensé en compartirlo con todos ustedes. ¡Disfrutar! www.youtube.com/watch?v=47kPL8PrmzY  YTT-200-300-500 Costa Rica Meditation Singing Bowls  yoga teacher training uvita, costa rica Costa Rica is a Yogi's dream destination. The country offers you everything from stunning beaches to epic surf, majestic jungle, and exceptional yoga. Although it’s a small country, there is no shortage of places to call your home away from home for a YTT or Retreat, but where do you start looking? Yoga Maya Uvita has found the perfect spot for you to relax, practice yoga, and experience the magic of Costa Rica. For soul-seeking, world-travelling, adventure-loving, yogi’s Uvita has everything you need and more. Here’s why…
2. Yoga & Surf Lifestyle Breathe. Stretch. Move. Uvita is a small town, but the locals and ex-pats alike all know the power of connecting with yourself and with nature. Debbie has created a centre that enables you to enjoy the beauty of the outdoors, while connecting with your internal space. Imagine waking up to the soft light of sunrise, practicing yoga on the beach and then conquering the waves in a surf lesson. It's waiting for you. 3. Pura Vida Vibes Everywhere No experience in Costa Rica is complete without embracing those Pura Vida vibes. What does that mean exactly? Yoga Maya Uvita’s center wants you to connect with that sense of ‘pure life’ that is unencumbered and free. The ‘pura vida’ is something you feel when bathing under the roar of a waterfall after a meditation in the heart of the jungle. That beautiful pure energy of spirit that few places on earth can evoke like Uvita. 4. Sustainability Part of the magic of Yoga Maya Uvita is the relationship you can cultivate towards living sustainably. Of course this includes practices like recycling, compost, and leaving a lighter footprint on the earth, but it’s also about the self. When you visit you become enriched, and through retreats and YTTs cultivate the mental and physical strategies you need to sustain your best self for the rest of your life. Grab a loofah from the loofah plants that canopy over the fence by the pasture, dry it in the sun and use it in your outdoor shower. Check on the chickens and have a few eggs for breakfast. Maybe enjoy a maracuya fruit from the six vines that grace the front entrance. With five large and well producing mango trees you may never run out of this delicious fruit. With fresh herbs abound for cooking, medicinal herbs for Ayurveda, and kisses from Lola the dobe rescue you may never want to leave. This is what living with kindness, love and less of an impact is all about. 5. Casados and Cafe Nourishment. The climate of Uvita will nourish your body, mind, and spirit. You’ll practice the yoga, you’ll surf the waves, and you’ll taste the coffee. When you stay with Debbie, she’ll make sure that you have a chance to stop at the oldest coffee plantation in Costa Rica, near San Jose. You’ll be immersed in delicious coffee, eating a Casado (traditional plate of food with plantains, rice, and beans), and crying tears of joy and gratitude for making the decision to come to Uvita. There you have it! 5 reasons Uvita, and Yoga Maya Uvita specifically could just about change your life. Let’s be honest though, after your time here you’ll leave realizing that there are about 100 reasons Uvita is the place to be. So why not start now? Click here for more info. www.iloveyogamaya.com or to book your ytt now. Our next session is in May, then July. Come. Live a little mas. When you close your eyes you can see it. You can feel it. A warm breeze brushes across your face as you stand where the ocean meets jungle in an otherworldly sense of awe. Costa Rica is without a doubt an eco-hub of natural beauty, music, and sense of connected spirit. Nestled in the Southern Pacific is the whale-tale city of Uvita where Yoga Maya Uvita delivers it’s jungle-ocean-yoga-magic-love to the inquisitive soul. Originally from the US, Debbie’s vision is to host a space for yoga in Uvita that is integrative, sustainable, fun and soul-enriching. Building from the ground up, casitas and a beautiful yoga shala create the infrastructure for fabulous Yoga Teacher Trainings and Retreats. Picture yourself, having just attended or even taught one of those juicy vinyasa classes that leaves you buzzing. Everything’s a bit brighter in the jungle canopy as you head to a waterfall, or for a horseback ride on the beach, or grab your provided surfboard to head for a surf with www.surfinguvita.com The absolute beauty of what Yoga Maya Uvita has created is that there is something for everybody. If you’re in Costa Rica looking to attend a retreat, leading a yoga retreat or just passing through looking to relax, you’ll find what you need. So, what exactly can you expect at Yoga Maya Uvita?
UNIQUE YOGA TEACHER TRAININGS So many of us are looking to up our yoga game, and coming to a retreat with Debbie will totally do that. She uses a deep knowledge of ayurveda and proactive attitude to give you the tools to be and explore your passions. From workouts like suspension training to profound meditations and epic breath practices, Yoga Maya YTT will give you your Yoga Alliance 200 hr or 300hr certification and a variety of unique skills to optimize your teaching and practice. Already a yoga teacher? Incredible! Due to her experience hosting YTT’s the stage is already set for you to start building your tribe and delivering your own YTT’s in a beautiful spot rife with good vibes and opportunity. RETREATS The perfect jungle beach escape could not be complete without a litany of energetically nourishing activities. Since Uvita has a little bit of everything, you are in the perfect place for retreat combos that include yoga (of course), surfing, culinary arts, ayurveda, and other courses to deepen your knowledge in specific areas. Debbie is a huge fan of learning, and sharing your skills to help yourself grow and grow others. Bring your interests to life with a retreat where you can combine your skills with other groups for incredible experiences like a week of yoga-surfing, or yoga surf and cook! VACATION Costa Rica is undoubtedly renowned for it’s natural beauty and chill relaxing vibes. As you explore the west coast you may want to have a stop in a small, but versatile city that gives you access to some of the deepest jungles in the world. Yoga Maya Uvita has set up accessible cabinas where you can escape to the jungle for a few nights, or a few weeks. Can you see it all a bit clearer now? Your expansive, life-changing, Costa Rican beach jungle adventure. Come check-out the newest retreat centre in Uvita by clicking here www.iloveyogamaya.com for more information. Our silent opening will be just in time for our Envisionfest friends. www.envisionfestival.com   Lack of sleep is not only annoying but can wreak havoc on your life, up your stress level and make you gain weight just to name a few issues that go along with those restless nights. Nobody needs a sleepless night or even a non-restful one.
These simple strategies can help! Once made into a ritual you can find yourself falling asleep quicker and staying asleep longer or dare I say even for the full night? Doesn’t that sound like bliss? Here’s how to begin:
These simple and quick changes can make a difference. If you are suffering from lack of good sleep or it takes you more time to fall asleep than you think it should give these a try. What have you got to lose? So you have been toying with the thought of taking a YTT in Costa Rica (or somewhere else maybe) have you now? Well, think it over a bit more and see if any of these resonate with you. 1. You will learn more yoga (physical yoga and other things related to yoga) and you will learn how to do the poses correctly. Remember how you received some well deserved help when you learned how to ride a bike? And they were cheering you on? And it was amazing? That’s a bit like a YTT. Lots of help from your teachers in correct positioning of at least 50+ commonly used poses. Alignment is key to prevent injury. With a good teacher you will feel poses differently in the body and your yoga will get stronger. 2. As I just mentioned. Your yoga will get stronger. You will gain muscle in your body in needed areas. Your upper body's proper alignment in chaturanga for example will create tremendous strength. Chaturanga is a VERY demanding pose and is often done incorrectly. 3. Friends. And we are talking about the best kind of friends. Like minded friends! Granted I love yoga. I do it for a living. I love sharing yoga. People who come to yoga teacher trainings have many things in common. It is truly a blessing to be around health conscious, like minded people and often wonderful life-long friendships arise from a few weeks of a YTT together. 4. You will learn how to express yourself. Sometimes it's hard to feel ok with what you feel and say. Listening to others share their journey will not only make you look at your own life with a little less judgement (and their lives too) and a lot more love but you will learn what works and what doesn't work for you. Sharing enriches lives. When you share you also receive in return. This creates an openness in dialog that lets you feel less guarded in your self expression. 5. Travel. Unplug. Technically this should be 5 and 6 but you get the idea. Travel is good for the mind, body and soul. Always travel when you can! Unplugging from work and social media are immensely important in today's world of overstimulation.  yoga teacher training Costa Rica @ Yoga Maya, Uvita. This is for all you new teachers out there or for someone who would like to switch things up a bit for their Savasana scripts. Yoga International is a wonderful source for many things and Savasana cannot be forgotten or skipped. It's important. People will remember your Savasana. It's the last pose and typically people remember the first and the last parts of any experience a bit more than the middle. So, make it good peeps! Many people appreciate a bolster under the thighs for added comfort. There are little things you can do to make the ending of their yoga practice a bit more special. Scented eye pillows, a blanket under the head. An essential oil massage (remember to always ask first), these are special treats. Your students love to feel special. Remember that not everyone has a large group of loving friends/family and this may be the only attention they receive in a day. Why not make them feel peaceful? We are all in search of peace. Even those who appear to already have it. Give it to them and they will remember how you made them feel. Click on the link below for some fresh ideas and new scripts for Savasana. yogainternational.com/article/view/2-guided-relaxations-in-shavasana-corpse-pose  Yoga Teacher Training Costa Rica: Savasana Pose Have any of you heard of something called the Thomas test? I had forgotten all about it until I had a conversation with someone about their tight psoas. You know, the usual coffee house conversations normal people have. We spoke about rehab, pain and flexibility. About sitting too much and all the usual stuff we health conscious yogis like to talk about. Anyway, it got me thinking; "How flexible does a human really need to be?" Who can really answer that question? I guess it's a rather personal thing. Lifestyle choices and all that play into it. What may not be flexible for one person would be a dream come true for another. Age and many things are factors but a basic ability to extend the leg behind you is necessary for a healthy pain-free gate while walking. And lets face it we all like to walk without pain. One way to see how you are doing is to conduct a simple test on yourself called the Thomas Test. You can research it yourself but the basics are just do what the picture below demonstrates and see if your exteneded leg tries to lift up or if it can stay flat with ease. Or maybe even your expetended leg can extend a bit further. All of this is without pain of course. This isn't something you push your body into. It's just a basic measurement of how tight your hip flexors are. It's simple, quick and easy. A lot like my X. The key is to have free/open space behind the extended leg. So do it over the edge of a coffee table or open stairs. Possibly even on the side of the bed. If your extended leg feels the need to lift up a bit you may consider doing more yoga or stretches that entail extending one leg back at a time. Like for example a lunge. Working on holding the lunge (high or low) for a minute or so each side. Do this several times a day, especially during your work day if you sit a lot at work. It doesn't have to be crazy deep. No splits att eh water cooler are necessary. Just a little opening of the psoas and the other flexors of the upper leg. It mayeven help with lower back pain. Give some stretching a chance. It's proven to be good for you. Tight hip flexors can cause all sorts of pain/problems so nip it in the bud (or help yoru students for you teachers out there) after you test yourself with the Thomas Test. Enjoy!  |
AuthorDebbie Krejci E-RYT 500 Yoga Teacher Training Mexico, Costa Rica, 2019
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