One of the people that have impacted me the most during my yoga teacher training at Tula Amsterdam is Carolina. She’s kind and soft, warm and witty; one of those people one immediately likes. Now that the training has passed I must admit that it wasn’t an easy period for me. It was a time of big changes and uncertainties in my life and I felt disconnected and anxious more often than not. Moreover, a yoga teacher training can be a very confronting experience in which your shortcomings get so exposed in your eyes, and any emotion present may feel like it’s double its size. Carolina’s presence was soothing. We got together to practice, she met my mother, and we even got the chance to do a yoga photoshoot together. When she announced she had to take the final exam earlier because she was going back to Spain, I felt pained at first. Then happy that she was following her gut.
We’ve kept in touch. She’s a true yoga soul, very committed to the practice and to living a life that is aligned with simple yogic values like honesty, love, compassion, truth, courage. This may sound very obvious to you but it really isn’t. Now that yoga went mainstream there are all sorts of reasons why people follow teacher trainings. There are the ones who want to get fit and find yoga to be a good tool for that. Others are fascinated by the impressive, instagrammable, postures you can get to through this practice. Some just want to stop working in an office and are looking for an alternative career. I find it really interesting when people look to integrate the practice of asana (postures) with the philosophy of yoga.
One of the tough things about living in a city like Amsterdam as a foreigner is that people are constantly coming and going. You might make good friends that will be living on the other side of the world next month. You need to get used to letting go. It really feels like your heart gets spattered in a number of different directions because now your friends are living in so many distinct countries. I am so looking forward to seeing Carolina again and checking how she’s doing and how she evolved her whole practice. If everything goes well, by the end of September I’ll be flowing with her in Menorca, where she lives. A few weeks ago I got an e-mail in which she told me about this yoga retreat she’s organising on the island. “I will write about it on the blog”, I promptly told her. “Seriously?”, I could almost hear her enthusiastic voice. “Of course! I have to share this with my readers”. I just know it’s going to be amazing.
Might you want to come flow with us, here’s everything you need to know. And, if you have any question, feel free to shoot me a message. “Three days of yoga practice, relax and healthy food in the wonderful island of Menorca.
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