Kula Grad Series: 300 Hours of Yoga + Turning Inward
By: Sena Shellenberger
I'm currently sitting in the sweetest hotel room ever in Ollantaytambo, Peru which is in the Sacred Valley about 1.5 hours from Cuzco. Two days ago I completed my 300 hour yoga teacher training course with Kula Collective, and I have so much information to process and integrate. It exceeded my expectations for the amount of learning, self-growth and the amazing tribe we formed, and it was a beautiful initiation into the next part of my path. I feel called to rest after epic 13-hour-days (sometimes going longer with optional plant medicine ceremonies) jam packed with the most interesting curriculum ever. I feel called to review every page of notes and all 400 pages of our manuals to dive deeper into the magic that we learned from each other and practice new healing techniques. I feel called to meditate and journal about the intense journey into the depths of myself that was this training. I feel called to play my beautiful Ukulele and sing. I also feel called to learn Poi! ;)
The day before our training ended I sprained my ankle really badly, and I've been on crutches ever since. While it's been a bummer, I have taken it as a gift in that it is forcing me to rest and have time and space to fully integrate after such an expansive, at times challenging, and inspiring experience. In the training I developed a deeper level of awareness around my thought patterns, belief systems, energy levels and habits. We were in the middle of the jungle with no cell service or wi-fi, and most buildings only had candles for light. I was completely disconnected from social media for most of my experience there, and it allowed me to be much more present and focused on what was happening around and within me.
Now that I'm out of that special teacher training container, I've noticed how natural it is for me to pick up my phone and start scrolling. In the in-between moments of my day, or when I start to feel sad about something, my phone suddenly appears in my hand and I'm checking app after app. Suddenly a lot of time has passed and my motivation to meditate/journal/play music has faded; my energy has been depleted. Yet, while I was in the training I didn't miss Instagram or Facebook at all. During the training I was tuned in to what I wanted or needed in that moment, and if I didn't know I would sit until something stirred from within, guiding me to my next activity. So, I'm going to experiment with being less active online and focus my energy on turning inward/integrating/ healing my ankle.
With lots of love and gratitude,
I'm signing off for now :)
Aho!
About Sena:
Sena loves traveling, yoga and all things music. She recently left her corporate job to follow her Spirit to Peru. When she’s not yoga-ing, writing, reading or singing, she's helping expand the Kula fractal and raise the love consciousness of the planet.