Two months ago, I set off on another incredible journey with the goal to become a certified yoga teacher.
I expected to find knowledgable instructors, days filled with yoga practice, studying the ins and outs of every asana, detailed anatomy lessons, and hours of struggling to memorize Sanskrit names and other yoga terminology. I also expected to meet an odd mix of blissed-out hippies and super bendy model-esque yogis/yoginis.
While I did find incredible instructors, lots of valuable lessons, and amazing and unique yoga classes, Yandara Yoga Institute was anything but a typical yoga teacher training, if there even is such a thing. My expectations were exceeded on so many levels, especially in the emotional and spiritual realms.
At Yandara, I found teachers who were not only knowledgable and experienced, but extremely open and loving. I found a desert oasis surrounded by the ocean, mountains, palm trees, and a luscious organic garden.
Our classrooms were beautiful pavilions with ocean views that allowed us to feel fully immersed in nature at all times. Even the showers and bathrooms were outdoors, allowing the sunshine to pour in or a view of the stars twinkling overhead.
Our accommodations were cute, little dome tents large enough to fit a twin size bed, small plastic dresser, and even a lamp with an outlet for charging electronics.
Less than a five minute walk from my tent, I found myself on a pristine stretch of beach free of the typical hotel and tourist scene. Nearly every day we could spot whales spouting and flicking their tales and even the occasional dolphin or stingray.
Everyone on the staff was so kind and accommodating, providing us with homemade organic vegetarian meals straight from the Yandara garden and keeping the grounds in beautiful condition.
I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful the meals were — or how much delicious variety can be created from a few simple ingredients!
The members of the “house” band, Jaya, were also a special gift of talented and loving spirits (two couples!). They were the long-haired, flowy clothed, hippie-yogis I was initially expecting–which was just so perfect and awesome for a kirtan, mantra, and fun-loving, free-flowing band.
They were also a band of many talents. I ended up purchasing artwork from the guitar player, lotion made from a blend of essential oil and shea-butter from his wife, the base guitarist, and the amazing drummer also become my astrologer! Not to mention, the lead singer and harmonium player was the mom of two of our teachers!
The gardener also turned out to be a superb poet, able to create beautiful flows of words to the gentle beats of the band. Several of my fellow students were also quite musically talented, so I spent the month spoiled and wrapped in musical delight nearly every night.
Speaking of my fellow students (and now fellow teachers) — words can hardly begin to describe the love in my heart for this group of beautiful women (and one awesome guy).
It was as if the universe conspired to bring the perfect balance of beautiful souls together for the purpose of helping one another learn and grow –certainly in our physical practice, but mostly in the realms of the heart and spirit.
Through a process of yogic truth sharing called satya, we explored the depths of ourselves, began to drop our barriers, and laid pieces of our naked souls before one another. So many stories, laughs, struggles, hugs, and tears were shared among us.
In this sense, this journey became as much of a transformational and healing experience as it was a learning experience. It became a journey to the heart.
Rather than show us one standard way of teaching or how to emulate someone else’s style, our teachers spent a great amount of time and effort guiding us inward and helping us get in touch with our truest selves.
There were entire exercises dedicated to helping us discover our gifts and to teach from the heart. In this way, we were learning how to not just pass on information that we had gathered — rather, the knowledge must be internalized and then flow through us to our students. This is what true teaching is all about.
What a gift it was to watch each of my fellow students take the “stage” to teach and to feel it become transformed by their energy. Two students could be teaching the same sequence and it would look and feel different each time based on their unique gifts, energy, and heart-based guidance.
Moreover, it was amazing how alike and yet different each of us were — and how supported, empowered, and loved each of us felt. We came to truly understand that yoga can truly be for anyone — any body type at any age.
We had ladies there from their early twenties all the way up to late sixties! Some of us were tall, others short. Some thin and some more round. Some had been practicing yoga for 20 years and some for less than two.
As I mentioned in my previous post, yoga is so much more than just stretching and bending. Yes, there are tremendous physical benefits to the practice of yoga, and these alone are a good enough reason to practice it. But if you haven’t already experienced it for yourself, I want you to know that yoga can be so much more.
In an age of information overload, relentless multitasking, and ever increasing physical and mental diseases/disorders, yoga is the means to much needed relief and relaxation. Rather than create it, yoga is intended to relieve stress.
We spend so much of our lives in a state of competition and judgment, always trying to push through any challenges that come our way. Yoga helps us let go of all that, to allow for greater compassion towards ourselves, and to release into our poses and breath-work.
As one of my beautiful teachers shared with us, yoga is about moving from external stimulation to internal sensation.
I wish it were possible for me to fully convey and to share with you the state of love, bliss, and pure contentment–yes I said it–that I experienced at Yandara. All I can say is that I know that feeling exists, and I know it’s not only possible, but also readily available to you.
Perhaps you can embark on a yoga journey of your own — a yoga teacher training, conference, festival, or retreat. Maybe your journey will be to a local studio or even take place within the comfort of your own home. There are so many free resources out there, including how-to articles and full-length videos to help you start your practice or move it into your home. You don’t need anything fancy to practice yoga. It can even be done sitting at your desk!
Just know, if you are ever feeling stressed, burned out, depressed, filled with anxiety, overwhelmed, physically out of shape, or even injured — there is hope for you in yoga. There is an amazing community of yogis and yoginis ready and willing to support you, including this one. 
In Sanskrit, Namaste means “the highest, divine, or light in me recognizes and honors the highest, divine, or light in you.” So to you I say…
Namaste.
P.S. Please feel free to share your own yoga stories and experiences or to ask questions about mine in the comments!
If you know someone else who could benefit from my experience or a greater understanding of yoga, please share this post with them. Thanks!
That sounds so amazing!!! You tell this story so beautifully. This is how we should all be teaching and learning! I am actually a bit jealous – I want to do that! Thanks so much for sharing your adventures in the world. I’m sure there’s a lifetime of knowledge and experience to unpack from your training. Looking forward to see how it all unfolds.
The latest wisdom shared by Lynn Fang: Open Source Permaculture: Interview with Sophia Novak
Hi Lynn,
Thanks so much! I completely agree — if all learning and teaching happened this way, the world would be a much different place. I guess it’s up to us to go out and make that happen (which is definitely my plan)!
After two incredible journeys this year, I definitely feel “changed” in many ways, but at the same time, it’s crazy how easy it is to just settle back into old ways. My greatest challenge is continuously hanging on to the lessons learned and putting them into practice. I’ve found that for me that equals less time online and more time outside, practicing yoga/meditation, and spending time with friends/loved ones. Speaking of–I can’t wait to hang out soon!
Beautiful post miss Adrienne! I felt like I was there again as I was reading this. You really captured the essence of what made the experience wonderful … I could relate in so many ways!
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jamie,
Awesome, so glad you liked it! I still think about being there all the time. There’s so much more I could have said, but I probably would have started to bore people (or scare them away, haha!)
And thanks for linking to my post — I’ll head over and check yours out.
Thanks for sharing Adrienne. How do you top a trip to the Himalayas? Maybe Yandara, it sounds like. If you’re not at a realized state of being already:) you’re well on your way there! Great review of this school – anyone who reads it will be inspired to follow your path to Baja.
Hi Vishnu!
Haha, my friends from the Himalaya backpacking trip were giving me crap and saying I better not say this trip was better than that one!
It’s funny, I went to the Himalayas looking for a spiritual and transformational experience–and instead I got an amazing adventure, fun with friends, and a priceless cultural experience.
I guess if you want emotional healing and transformation, you go to Baja, Mexico!
Seriously though, while I was at Yandara I experienced a state of calmness and clarity about my life (past, present, and future) that I’ve never experienced before. Now that I’ve seen and felt that, it’s easier to tap back into. All I have to do is spend time in nature, practice yoga, or meditate (the latter is proving to be the most difficult at home).
I hope alls well with you! You kickstart your site yet?
Hi Adrienne! Thank you for your wonderful post and webpage. I really enjoy reading your insights. I would love to hear more about your personal experience, what lessons did you learn? what did you discover to be your personal style? I love to learn from other’s experiences, so anything you’re ready to share is welcome!
Love,
Ari
Hi Ari, thanks so much for your energy and enthusiasm!
Ohh I learned so many things, and really do want to share them all. It’s just a matter of trying to put feelings and internal changes into words and also a matter of time. I’m in the middle of a big move out West and just haven’t found as much time as I would like for writing. I’m barely finding enough time for yoga!!
However, I did go tonight and it definitely reminded me of one of the most important lessons from my teacher training — it’s so important to make time for ourselves and take time out to truly take care of ourselves. I think part of the wonderful “healing” feeling came from all of the “time out.” We kept plenty busy but we were away from all of the noise of modern life–no TVs, no cell phones, no internet.
When I got home, I had no desire to return to the noise and the busyness right away so I took my time, got outside a lot, kept eating healthy, and practicing yoga. Then over the weeks, I noticed my self starting to slip. It had become a habit to be disconnected from the noise and connected to my inner self — but that began to slowly unwind and reverse.
The good news is, every time I go for a walk with my puppy, choose not to order that pizza instead of cooking a healthy meal, practice yoga at home, make the drive to my favorite yoga studio, and spend time connecting with friends and loved ones, I can slow down that habit of disconnecting and get back on the track to bliss.
Adrienne,
What a beautiful account of the amazing experience we shared at Yandara! It was such a blessing to meet you, and I am thrilled to begin to learn more about you through your writing. Hoping that the continued transitions in your life are flowing smoothly.
Namaste and lots of love,
Clair
Hey Clair!
Thanks so much–it was so great meeting and sharing this adventure with you too! Hoping to hear about your teaching adventures soon!
Love and hugs,
Adrienne
You surely had a great adventure. I loved your story. You are great at story telling. I could feel the adventure through your stories and photographs.
Thanks for sharing.
-Victor
The latest wisdom shared by Victor Gomez: how to seduce a woman
Hi Victor,
Thank you so much–it makes me so happy to share this adventure with you! There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about my experience and all of the joys I found through yoga and such a beautiful community. It’s also become a daily challenge to try to hold onto and recreate those feelings in daily life.
Wonderful experience. I have always wished that I have that kind of spirit to acknowledge entirely the great yoga experience — that journey to the heart, which every person like me who have undergone tough things in life can enjoy. A journey to the heart is what we need to know ourselves more and really bask in the beauty of life instead of focusing on the bad sides of it. Do you have any more inspiring experiences to share?
I would love to hear more of them. This is a great post, thank you so much!
-Vangie
The latest wisdom shared by Vangie Gan: How To Pick Up Girls
Adrienne,
Thank you so much for sharing. Right now I’m trying to decide between this training and a training in Costa Rica. They both sound beautiful but I’m just not sure. How did you decide? Did you have other choices or was this the only one. I am SO psyched to do my teacher training any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca,
Initially I was looking for a destination yoga teacher training that could be completed in about a month for a reasonable price. This is what initially put Yandara on the map for me. Of course, I can’t really compare it to other teacher trainings, but I can say this was one of the best experiences of my life and I would do it again in a heartbeat. The yoga aspect is excellent…but it was so much more than that. This was truly a transformational journey for me. The teachers are truly amazing and do everything they can to help bring out the best yoga teacher in you.
Plus, as I mentioned above…you can’t beat the food and the view! For me, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than camping on the beach for a month…but then again, I’m outdoor person. Whatever you decide, I am sure it will be the right decision. Best wishes for your journey!
Hello Adrienne,
Thank you for sharing the story~ I am truly inspired by your posting! I am considering joining the Yandara teacher’s training this Fall. I have confidence the yoga training itself would be a memorable & vaulable experience. But I am a city girl so I am more concern being in the wilderness… safety issues and hygenes issues… Do you have more tips you can share with me regarding to the place?
Thanks again!
Namaste~
Nicole
I really like these! I purchased the El Paso, There is no quesion
that i’m NOT cigarette smoking a cigarettes cig.
The latest wisdom shared by Tina: Tina