Panama was a complete last-minute trip for me that involved me booking it 2 weeks before. Let me share with you how this trip came to be…

For those who know me well, know that I have big goals and big dreams. With this in mind, I connected with a fellow teacher/mentor of mine in hopes of gaining some insight on what next steps I needed to take towards these hopes and dreams. My reaching out led to her inviting me on her upcoming Panama retreat where I could explore my questions and find answers, so of course I said YES! I’m not always a spontaneous person like this, but my intuition was all for it. So I booked the trip and subbed out my classes for the 5 days that I would be away.

On route to Panama, it was a long trip consisting of a 3-hour flight from Toronto to Miami, another 3-hour flight to Panama City Airport, a 45 minute drive to Panama City’s Domestic Flights Airport, followed by a 30-45 minute charter flight to Chitre, and then finally another 2-2.5 hour drive to Sansara Yoga & Surf Resort in Cambutal. So really, I spent only 3 full days in Panama at the retreat (but it was so worth it!!).

Arriving at Sansara, the retreat center and people there were amazing. Most of the contractors there were actually from Canada! There wasn’t a lot of civilization where I was, which made it extra special in my opinion. There was so much space! Even with a group of around 18 people that I spent the trip with.

Throughout the stay, we practiced meditation and yoga every morning and some evenings. Sansara has a beautiful yoga shala to practice in that looks out to the ocean and the beach. Regina gave us ample time each day to explore on our own schedule. For me, that looked something like going on a waterfall tour, SUPing on the ocean (over some jellyfish), biking along the dirt road up the mountain, getting a massage, and of course tanning on the beach or by the pool!

Now as much as I could continue on about the aesthetics of the trip, let’s talk about my experience. I headed into this retreat with one intention: to find clarity. Not just in next career steps, but in other areas of my life that were a little foggy. I wanted answers & that is exactly what I got.

The afternoon after arriving, I wandered into the gift shop where a mala necklace immediately caught my eye, so I picked it up and read the little card that explained the essence behind each stone. 2 of the 4 stones represented clarity! I’m big on signs so of course, I bought it. That evening, we all participated in a yin practice. Yin has a huge meditative component and I was able to drop in pretty deep during this practice. Throughout this practice, I received 3 solutions to questions that I had been asking (again, clarity!). Post-practice, Regina & I had a lengthy talk about the career questions I had and her advice for me. So needless to say, I got what I came for (& more)!

Panama taught me a lot, and gave me beautiful connections with a lot of people. I am so grateful to have taken part in this trip.

With love,

Kiana