Yoga, Mexcio and a restorative retreat
BY Kathleen Ryan Gerard
It’s 8 a.m. on Monday morning in Tulum, Mexico.
The sun has risen and continues its rise above the Caribbean Sea. We are sitting cross-legged in a room cooled by the constant sea breeze. From our third-floor perch we can see in front of us a small rock of an island covered with birds and behind us is the jungle. The first yoga class of the week with Shelter Islander Heidi Fokine begins. Yoga is held in the morning and late afternoon. In between we’re free to swim, sunbathe and tour the area.
Tulum contains the ruins of a small trading city which thrived during the 13th and 16th centuries. Built by the Mayans and inhabited as early as the 6th century AD, Tulum’s ruins, situated on the beach, are spectacular. During the late-20th century, the beach resort grew with small hotels facing the sea and boutiques, bars and restaurants, serving everything from tacos to Thai, on the other side of the narrow road that runs through the area.
The group, all exceedingly polite, is a heterogenous one, including a comic actress (clown) who performs at Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas and a fisherman who hails from Riverhead, and is also a yogi teacher in Greenport. Our levels of yoga capability are quite varied, too.
We’re staying at Amansala, self-labeled an eco chic boutique hotel with its own peculiarities.
Heidi is a joy. Every class is different: we stretch, meditate, do yoga poses and learn about chacras, mudras, our energy, and how to rid ourselves of annoying thoughts and moods. Her assistant, Christopher, a young yogi in his own right, corrects our poses so we do every one correctly.
On day five, the last, I plunge into the multi-shaded turquoise sea. It’s my final swim, and a lone pelican floats next to me. I am sorry to be leaving this peaceful place and restorative retreat.
Editor’s note: Heidi Fokine teaches yoga classes during the summer in the barn at the Shelter Island Historical Society and runs a yoga retreat in Tulum, Mexico in the winter.
