Last year to start the new year I went on a weekend yoga retreat at a cacao farm in Antioquia, Colombia. When it comes to passions, yoga and chocolate are at the top of the list, so it was easy for me to get excited by the idea of spending a weekend around nature, cacao, good people and two fun and great yoga teachers.
The retreat at Origen Cacao, the cacao farm where the retreat was held, consisted of 2 2hr yoga classes, vegetarian lunches, Ayurvedic Indian dinner, a cacao tour and times for walking around the farm to get to know the property, the farm animals, and the yoga space. It also included silent occasions where we focused on writing intentions for the new year. One of the intentions was to write about the obstacles that we felt were keeping us from grace and liberation and then we wrote about the things we needed to do in order to accomplish our dreams or goals for that year. At the end of the retreat, we had a simple fire ceremony where we threw the piece of paper with the obstacles into the fire letting them go completely.
The yoga space was nice. It was big enough for all of us to practice and feel the air and nature around us as we did our morning and evening practices. Breathing in the cool air was such a refreshing feeling and looking ahead at the trees was really wonderful.
The chocolate making process was extremely interesting. The owner of the farm took us through the whole process from the moment the cacao tree is planted all the way through when the chocolate is placed in molds and into the cooling and setting stage. We even had the opportunity to make our own chocolate and chose the different ingredients to add to the base. It was a lot of fun and very inspiring.
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It’s interesting to feel how the practice of yoga can be done in so many different environments. You can lay your mat anywhere from a yoga studio to a chocolate farm or a beautiful beach in the Caribbean or the Coast in South America. Each one gives you a different experience and place to do your practice.
If you have a story to share about your yoga practice outside of your home or yoga studio, please feel free to share with me below. Or if you have any comments or question, please send those over using the space below.
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