Last 21 June, I celebrated the International Day of Yoga for the first time with a 6am Cacao Ceremony, followed a heart-opening yoga class and a mindful dance party. Now you are probably all thinking, I know what yoga is, but what about those other two things?
Before we get into that, a little history about the International Day of Yoga. This day was made official in December of 2014 when the Prime Minister of India proposed it to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where it was unanimously approved. I guess this means that yoga has really come of age, at least in most of the world. I say most of the world, because apparently, there are still some people who believe yoga is Satanic or anti-Christian. I am not kidding!
My own yoga journey started seventeen years ago, when I was pregnant with my daughter. Yes, my very first yoga class was a prenatal one, though it was not the first time practicing asana (physical poses): I remember doing mommy and me yoga with my mom from a book when I was in grade school. In any case, back in 2002, I loved it so much that I just looked forward to it all week long. It made me feel so light in my heavy body, and so relaxed! I am sure baby Sara loved it too, from the inside of my belly.
From then on, I practiced very sporadically, kind of like meditation. It wasn’t until I moved to Cebu from Switzerland five years ago that I started a regular practice, which eventually led to my 200h Yoga Teacher Training, with Pascale Wettstein, my friend as well as my teacher. Pascale is in fact leaving Cebu this Friday after living here for six years with her husband and two boys. The Cebu yoga community owes a lot to Pascale’s work here, as she taught and certified many, if not most of the yoga instructors here in Cebu!
As for Cacao Ceremony, like most things that I spend my time doing these days, I find it hard to define. Being an English Major, I have always been very selective in my choice of words, and I have always enjoyed looking for the best term to express a precise thought. But when it comes to energy healing (such as Reiki), language no longer cut it for me. The same is true with Cacao Ceremony, since aside from its physical and nutritional components, there is an energetic aspect to it.
In a nutshell, we sit in circle, as ceremonial grade cacao is served and sipped in silence. The drink is bitter and a bit spicy – it typically contains neither milk (cow’s milk inhibits its benefits) nor sugar. Typically, there is a guided meditation or shamanic journey. Last Thursday, the cacao opened our heart and prepared us for the yoga class and dance party.
After the cacao came the yoga class, and after that, everyone got ready for the Mindful Dance party, inspired by the Ecstatic Dance Movement which has been taking the world by storm. There were only two guidelines for this part: no talking, and no phones. The rest was up to us entirely, the idea being to get carried by the music, letting go of any inhibitions and just connecting to our bodies without alcohol or drugs.
It was a liberating, exhilarating experience, having a DJ and strobe lights at 7:30 am. Everyone played along, and afterwards we all shared a plant-based breakfast, energized for the day ahead. I can’t wait for next year’s celebration of International Day of Yoga!
]]>