Guatemala
I spent the month of February 2023 in Guatemala completing a 200 Yoga Teacher Training with Kula Collective at The Yoga Forest. Completing a Yoga Teacher Training has been a goal of mine since 2015, when I was hospitalized with mania and diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. I had the goal of becoming a Yoga Teacher. Now many years later, I’ve realized— to me I love learning, the idea of teaching really isn’t important to me and I’m not sure that I ever will. But I love to learn Yoga philosophy, mantras, asana, pranayama, and so on to improve my life in every aspect. This 200 hour training was very challenging for me in just about every way, physically, I felt a bit lacking in my basic needs, mentally we were being challenged outside of our comfort zones, and learning 8+ hours a day. I was also coping with grief, my dad’s passing was still fresh for me, even one and a half years later. This was a time of challenge but also a time of healing. Periods of challenge and discomfort can also lead to growth. (Click to see photos full size)
There are many aspects of the training that I am immensely grateful for… most importantly are the close friendships that will remain in my life forever, beautiful moments shared together in community by the fire, and the mornings like the one below with gorgeous sunrises over Lake Atitlán when the birds were singing.