The next course

My first four months in Mexico were very rich and meaningful, but they were also relaxed. I found time to work in the garden and to watercolor paint. I spent many weekends just walking my land and meditating. Not so, this time around.

It started with one simple invitation: to replicate the program I delivered in Cordoba in December in another city, Orizaba.

I would offer a Kundalini Yoga workshop and kirtan (singing meditation), I would add live flute and harp music to the other yoga classes and I would do two days of private healing sessions.

I was half teacher/half tourist that visit because in a new city there is so much to see! Orizaba is home to the very famous children’s singer Cri Cri and the park is full of the characters from his songs.

Orizaba is another “Pueblo Magico” or Magic Town, so it’s historic river way has been restored, as has a (probably unethical) outdoor zoo.

Here, I tested a new way of teaching. I cut out the division in my teaching. I didn’t offer a yoga workshop, followed by a flute journeying event and then a concert after. This time I put them all together.

The yoga opened the lungs for singing, and the singing relaxed the body for deep journey with the flutes.

Something must have been right in that combination, because a series of workshops and sessions in other cities opened for me. Orizaba, then Perote, Orizaba again, then Cordoba, then Perote. Over night my empty schedule was full of beautiful opportunities to share something new with communities interested in music, in healing and in yoga.

Then my colleague Pati invented a new use for my offering. A very skilled yoga teacher and healer herself, she asked “Why don’t we use this singing and movement combination to focus on disease?” That’s exactly what we did.

Two weeks later, we started a four-week series using sound and movement for healing. Our clients were recovering from chemotherapy, were experiencing extreme stress or were grieving a loss. Unlike my intense Kundalini yoga classes, with jumping and dancing, this class was soft and gentle. But it held true to the elements of Pravada authentic sound, healing mantras, movement and meditation to both listen to the body and liberate it.

CANCUN

I first came to Mexico at the tender age of one month – the youngest member of a week long conference (accompanying my mother). Since then, I have traveled somewhere Latin America every year without fail. I’ve seen Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica. I’ve even been to Cuba. But there was one place I had never, ever been --- Cancun.

For me, Cancun has represented the world of an American influence in Latin America. A place where North Americans come for reckless partying or a vacation experience that could be in any country – a beach scene devoid of true Mexican heritage or culture.

As I began to visit other cities and other yoga communities, however, I started hearing a different story. Two heads of different yoga centers gushed about their recent vacations to Cancun – the nature preserve protecting wildlife, the fresh water cenotes (exposed underground rivers or lakes), the yoga retreats along the beach.

(A cenote called Casa Cenote)

It piqued my interest that Mexicans wanted to be in Cancun. How could America’s international party zone be simultaneously Mexico’s sanctuary? I decided to find out!

Driving south from Cancun, one discovers the heart of Quintana Roo, an area once sacred to the Mayan people. A place of incredible natural beauty, Quintana Roo reminded me of the National Park system in the United States.

(The Mayans built Tulum, a sacred site and port over looking the Caribbean.)

I met people from Asia, Australia and Europe, all equally fascinated by the unusual landscape – lush tropical jungles, beautiful beaches and sacred Mayan sites.

(Here I am at the Mayan ruins of Tulum.)

There are NO rivers in the state of Quintana Roo.  Instead, a series of Cenotes line the drive south from Cancun. At times these cavernous lakes, peaking up at the earth's surface are lovely fresh water. Then, nearer to the coast, they turn salty, as sea water intrudes on the underground aquifer.  Swimming in perfectly clear water, I used snorkels to view tiny fish, mangrove forest roots, and curious rock formations throughout the cenotes!

One of the furthest areas south in Mexico, Bacalar, sits on a fresh water, crystal clear lagoon. It was completely breathtaking!

My trip included “professional” advances as well! Near the town of Tulum, I discovered the spiritual center of Quintana Roo. The “spiritual strip” – a series of retreat centers, boutique hotels and yoga studios lining the white sand and crashing waves. In less than two months, I’ll be opening my own little Bed and Breakfast/healing center in my hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania. From the healing centers and boutique hotels, I documented creative ideas to bring home to Pennsylvania. Some of them connected me with the ancient Mayan traditions born in Quintana Roo. Other, more modern design elements, just caught my attention because of their creativity or fun!

On the hospitality side,  I loved that hotels transformed the very necessary mosquito netting into the most attractive design feature in the room!

Lighting was used to draw clients into a space:

Or to relax them:

Restaurants became half living rooms --

-- half beachside porches.

And there never seemed to be a lack of gracefulness in the details!

One of my professional missions was to learn about local hands-on healing practices. As a craniosacral therapist and Pravada Shamanic Sound Healing Practitioner, I’m interested in how to create experiences of magic, healing and change.

Years ago, I started making my own salves, lip balms and lotions. Then I learned about Return to Beauty: Old World Recipes for Great Radiant Skin by Narine Nikogosian.

Nikogosian shares the natural beauty care products she learned to make using food and plants from her Russian grandparents. All over the globe, native traditions have healed the body and the spirit using earth, clay and other natural ingredients. In Tulum, I experienced a Mayan honey and sea salt exfoliation and a cocoa body mask and facial.

In ancient times, the cocoa bean was used as currency, in the place of gold. It was that valuable to people. It is still used all over the world to sooth and heal the body … and to eat!!

Well, I don’t think my skin has ever been so soft as after that honey scrub. I’m anxious to try my own version of this Mayan tradition with native Pennsylvania honey!

Mexico is a country with so many healing tools to offer. And also with a need for so much healing. Instead of spending the week at resort hotels and wild parties, I enjoyed the tranquility – and the power – of the ocean and the rich traditions of the Mayans that go back thousands of years.

On this journey, I express gratitude for the wisdom and creativity of people and traditions that came before me. I give myself permission to relax and enjoy. I know that through pleasure and happiness, I am finding my way towards giving back to this earth in a manner that is unique to me.

The Concert

This post concerns more than one miracle.

In the very small and Catholic city of Huatusco, I produced a Shamanic Sound Healing Concert

performed by a, then unknown, American performer. More than 100 people attended the concert.   I consider that a miracle.

Months before, I concocted the idea with my respected teacher and mentor Nina Umai Spiro.  My plan was to have her come to Mexico to teach. Nina, the founder of a healing technique called Pravada Shamanic Sound Healing, is an incredible person, as well as a very gifted musician. She plays a clay flute known as the ocarina -- an instrument with deep roots in MesoAmerica, some believe dating back more than 12,000 years.  It's deep and earthy sound can haunt the soul.  In addition, she plays a mystical sounding wooden Double Flute. Nina's flute playing takes listeners on a journey deep into the center of one's being.

When Nina agreed to come teach a workshop in Mexico, I thought: "Why not do a concert too? Why not think big?" Once she booked her flight, I booked the Solleiro Theater, Huatusco's largest performing arts theater. Her interactive Pravada Sound Healing Concert would surely be something no one in the region had ever experienced.

But would anyone come? If fewer than 30 people attended I couldn’t even cover my costs. In a theater that seats 500, any fewer than 80 would feel pathetic. At first I tried to recruit at universities, but the odd teaching schedule and my own shyness deterred my progress. Then my friends taught me about the community system for selling tickets. Each friend/neighbor/colleague gets 10 tickets. The one for them is free, then they try to sell the rest. This method might be effective but it leaves the organizers with no idea how many tickets have been sold -- until they are seated in front of you.

At 6:45 on the night of the concert, as I looked out at an empty municipal theater, I panicked. As much as I wanted to be an amazing hostess, I couldn’t keep my cool or hide my anxiety. This would surely be my biggest flop in front of my beloved teacher.  

But in the next 15 minutes something magical happened. My friends and colleagues out front sold tickets and received already purchased tickets. A whole team of people, rallied around me and Nina to serve as ushers, greeters, ticket sellers, organizers. When I looked out at the audience at 7:10 (everything starts a little late here), there were well over 100 people in the audience. It was a miracle!

A second miracle happened during the concert itself. Instead of remaining silent during her interactive concert, (which can easily happen here in large groups) many people shared their powerful and moving experiences during the course of the evening. Nina held the space gracefully and I translated. That night, Nina and I were a team, sharing our hearts and our energy with the audience together.

Her flutes sang out beautifully through the entire auditorium, sometimes haunting, at others soothingly.

The flute has this magical way of entering your body and touching the heart and the spirit. 

It was an honor that people chose to share about their experiences during the concert, without holding back.

We balanced out our visit with a gathering of a smaller scale the following day.

Nina is the founder of The Circle of One, a process in which women around the globe share their native songs with each other, honoring themselves and building peace. We gathered at las Cañadas with a number of women from my community, including multiple mother-daughter pairs. Their songs were beautiful. There were songs from the temascal (the traditional sweat lodge), native healing songs from Mexico, even a song from Spain. There were rap songs that the younger girls sang together with messages of caring for the earth. There were many tears. I think women were surprised at how profoundly they touched each other.

I walk away from my experience with Nina Umai in Mexico remembering how much value is gained from being together and sharing. Even when there is fear or doubt, it is worth taking action to foster community and transform people. 

Tiny House Blog 2

Everyday that I go down to check on the tiny house construction, I feel so excited. It is a dream coming true.  But how does one know when one's dream is complete? When is it time for a new dream?

When I left Mexico for the winter holidays, my tiny house looked like this:

It looked LIKE A REAL HOUSE!!! But just the skeleton and muscles of a house (what here in Mexico they call "obra negra" or "black work").  No polished finger nails, no eye lashes, no details.

Just getting to that stage was a huge accomplishment -- a dream of a lifetime for me.  For some reason, I have always wanted a tiny house.  My spirits felt so full when I boarded the plane for the holidays, knowing that I had embarked on completing an important "bucket list" item.

When I came back, the house was at a completely different level!

The kitchen wall had evolved from this:

to this:

to this:

The bathroom sink went from interesting:

to BEAUTIFUL! So much personality.

Today, the tiny house looks like this:

(including my landscaping efforts!)

It’s beauty is in the details.

When I’m inside, my energy is drawn to all the bright colors throughout the house.

(The kitchen counter and comal with firebox)

(The lively shower wall)

(Another view of the sink and tiled mirror)

(My little nook design turned out simple but stylish)

The house models the eco-technologies we maintain here to keep the planet safe. The electricity comes from solar panels. The composting toilet doesn’t waste any water, while the shower water is filtered by plants before being recycled back to the stream. And the wood fired stove heats the shower and the "comal" (griddle) at the same time!

The house definitely has personality. For example, when the wind blows, particles of dust and leaves creep in through the hand laid roof tiles. Everyday, I find the floor sprinkled with leaves and dirt.

My neighbors -- the geese just had their babies.  On nights when I stay there, they awaken me enthusiastically at dawn.

When I sit on the back patio, I have a perfect view of how the goslings' progress. 

The process of building the Tiny House got me thinking about dreams. How does one fulfill her dreams?  First, she must know what they are! How specific or open ended should a dream be?  What's the next after a dream (like mine to build a tiny house) is done?

I had to ask myself those questions once construction ended. Should I rent it? Should I live in it? I almost rented it, but at the last minute, I changed my mind. It didn’t feel right. The building didn’t feel complete. The bathroom was missing towel hooks. The bedroom was missing a bureau. I decided to wait. The house might wait a month or three before someone lives in it.  But when they do, the house will be ready to receive someone’s new energy and to provide it’s own to them.

Today, I remember to listen to, and trust my own timing. I know there’s no rush to get on to the next dream. There is only the relishing of this dream in this precious moment.