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What are Sattvic Foods?

In general, a sattvic diet is primarily plant-based and focuses on organic, whole, natural fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts,  seeds, and grains that are grown in harmony with nature. Sattvic foods are generally sweet, fresh, light, nourishing, and aromatic and create feelings of contentment, joy, and aliveness after digesting them. Sattvic foods keep the body lean and healthy and make the mind clear and sharp.

Work on adding the sattvic foods listed below to promote and support a yogic lifestyle. Eating more of these foods will support your meditative, spiritual, and yogic practices:

1. Fresh fruit

Packed with prana (life force energy) and antioxidants, fresh fruit can form up to 50% of a yogis diet. All fruit that is sweet, fresh, and organic is considered sattvic, so adding more fruit is the easiest and most effective way to make your diet more yogic. Minimize frozen, dried, or preserved fruit in favor of fresh and in-season fruit. You...

Indian tradition teaches that our Prana, or life force, is delivered through energetic pathways, or Nadis, in the body. The human body has 72,000 Nadis which converge in the 7 chakras. with the most predominant being the Ida and Pingala.

The Ida Nadi is the feminine, creative, moon, receptive energy conduit, running from the base of the spine, alongside the spinal column, up the back of the skull, and culminating in the left nostril. The Pingala nano is the more masculine Nadi, channeling action-oriented, sun, directive energy throughout the body, This Nadi also runs from the base of the spine up the spin and head, and culminates in the right nostril. Ida is the Shakti, Pingala the Shive. Ida is the right brain, Pingala is the left brain. In this visible world, the duality of Ida and Pingala, masculine-feminine, sun-moon, dark-light are woven into everything we see.

However, humans also have a central nadi, the Sushumna, or spinal column, which is empty, neutral. As Sadhguru...

1. How to surrender to the flow of things 

The town of Puerto Viejo, the home of AmaSer, is located on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica near Panama. Here in Costa Rica, things flow a bit more loosely than you may be accustomed to. Picture it like a bottle of honey: in warmer climates, things flow a bit more freely! Plans often rely on the presence of sunshine, and as Costa Rica is a tropical country, the rainfall comes down quickly and heavily on the turn of a dime. It usually doesn't last long, but you may find yourself needing to take shelter in a cafe, restaurant, or store for some time which may change your outdoor plans for the day. Costa Rica wouldn't be nearly as lush and gorgeous without the rain nourishing all of the greenery, so try to be patient and accepting when those moments do arrive. 

2. How to say some basic sentences in Spanish

Most areas of Costa Rica have an amazing mix of people from all over the world, including other parts of...

If you’ve ever attended a yoga class at AmaSer, or browsed our delicious smoothie menu, you’ve probably seen or heard a reference to the chakras. Other words that usually come hand in hand with chakras are ‘blocked’, ‘open’ and a range of body parts and colours. Read on if you’d like to discover more about the seven chakras and how they relate to yoga! 

What is a chakra? 

The concept of chakras is embedded into the ancient tradition of Hinduism. The Vedas, ancient and sacred texts of spiritual knowledge which date back over 3,000 years, have mention of chakras. In recent years, chakras have become more widely known, with the increase in popularity of yoga.  

chakra is an ancient Sanskrit word that means "spinning wheel". In yoga, the chakras are intersections, or wheels, of the body’s energy channels. According to the concept, these energy fields that surround the body make up the physical human body...

As you start to take your first steps on your Yoga journey, you’re bound to run into the image of a tree sooner or later. You may see people wearing jewellery or boasting tattoos similar trees too.

There are many reasons for this – but two of them stand out in front of the others.

The first is a snapshot into history and the ties of Yoga to Buddhism. When the Buddha first achieved enlightenment (Samadhi), he was sat in front of the Bodhi Tree. After countless days spent sat under the tree – days that included both starvation and a direct encounter with a demon – Buddha became enlightened. Another word for enlightenment is “Bodhi”. Hence the name – Bodhi tree. You can find Bodhi trees in most sacred spaces in India. You can even find the “Mahabodhi Tree” in Bhod Gaya, supposed to be a direct descendant of the tree Buddha became enlightened under (It’s only about 250 years younger).

However, the second reason is the one...

The Hindu Roots of Yoga 

Within Hinduism there are six major schools of thought: Samkhya, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa, Vendanta, and Yoga. Each one is inspired by the holy Vedas and other Hindu concepts.

Yoga, from the Sanskrit word 'yuj' means to unite. It is usually described in Hindu texts as a way to control the senses and the mind. The most famous Hindu text describing yoga is the Bhavad Ghita, which dates all the way back to the 6th - 3rd centuries BCE. In it, Krishna describes 4 types of yoga:

• Bakti, or devotion
• Jnana, or knowledge
• Karma, or action,
• Dhyana, or concentration.

Achieving Moksha 

The ultimate goal of each is to achieve Moksha, or unity with God and escape from the cycle of birth and death. No single person is born saved, though the Divine resides within all people. All people, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, have the ability to achieve Moksha. Moksha can be attainted through a person's actions, words, and thoughts, as they...

 Hosting and planning your own yoga retreat can be daunting. Here at AmaSer we are happy to share our insights. Here are our 7 tips on how to begin the process. 

1. Secure that money

A boring way to begin things, yes, but securing funding is crucial. Especially during these difficult times. A lot of retreat venues require a deposit to book your retreat. This is a personal financial risk for you. In case you have to cancel for any reason, you are likely to lose your deposit. Take into account that many venues ask for minimum numbers of students to sign up in order for you to host a retreat. So try to secure this before if you can.

Other important costs to consider:

• Advertising the retreat
• Lost income from classes you’ll miss out on teaching when you are away
• Your own travel expenses
• How to budget for the retreat’s food, any excursions, and activities

2. Create your vision

Your vibe will attract your tribe. When your retreat is an authentic reflection of...

Our life begins with an inhale and ends on an exhale. Our breath is our life force. We do it every day, unconsciously and automatically. In yoga, breathing is a crucial subject. In this blog we will tell you why.

Yoga Breath  

Everyone can do yoga, because everyone breathes. Breathing is an important aspect of yoga as it focuses on becoming aware of your body, it helps you to feel more present, and encourages you to tune inwards. By consciously focusing on your breath, you can control it, controlling the length and pace of your inhalations and exhalations.

You might have heard of the term ‘pranayama’ before. It is the Sanskrit word for breathing: prana means life energy and ayama means to extend, draw out. Pranayama is about controlling your life force, by controlling your breath. If you become consciously aware of your breathing, you feel the life force running through your body.

The way you breathe has an impact on your mood. Breathing slowly can help you to...

Hi, my name is Lucy and I have recently moved to beautiful Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica. I heard all about Avani’s yoga center AmaSer, so I decided to come along to one of her Yin & Restore classes on a Tuesday afternoon. The class started just before the sun was beginning to set and the afternoon was turning to dusk.  Here are five things I learnt about yoga! 

1. Yoga is accessible, even to a newbie like me

I would not exactly class myself as a Yogi. I was a little nervous before going to class. What if I obviously stuck out as a rookie, what if I could not hold a posture? Avani made me feel welcome as soon as I entered the class. She begun by explaining the purpose of the class and demonstrated every pose by including a number of variations to make sure you were comfortable and could really connect with how you held your body – without hurting yourself! It was easy to follow and made me feel like I was being cared for, rather than judged.

2. Even a...

How do you define Dharma?

Dharma for me means “sacred duty”.  What’s confusing sometimes is that our sacred duty is not always rainbows and butterflies.  Oftentimes we have to get into the nitty gritty and really be reminded of our direction through tough lessons.  I love how Stephen Cope sums up the lessons from the Bhagavad Gita on Dharma. He asks the question “How do we discern our dharma?  How do we discover the magnificent inner blueprint?” In his writings The Great Work of Your Life the message is to find out who you are and then “do it on purpose.”  I love that. This is reflective of the constant cycle of adventure, discovery and then application.  We are perpetually students of the Self and (hopefully) learning time and time again how to listen more deeply in order to realign in new ways with our unique sacred duty.  In those moments when everything just “clicks” then...