Yoga Trips
KaYoga experiences combine sea kayaking with yoga
Imagine being part of a small group, kayaking in mystically beautiful waters and practicing yoga on sandy beaches beneath stately, deep-rooted trees. These trips in the warm, tropical setting of the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, or in the dramatic tides of the Bay of Fundy surrounding Deer Island, New Brunswick, are open to paddlers and yoga enthusiasts at all levels of experience. Before and after a day of paddling led by Seascape’s founder, Bruce Smith, you will engage in sunrise and sunset yoga practice with New York-based instructor, Lauri Nemetz (bio below). If you are seeking a combination of adventure and spiritual awakening, call or e-mail us for more information.
Ebb and Flow in New Brunswick
August 6-9, 2010
Combining Sea Kayaking and Yoga Practice in New Brunswick, Canada
Includes 3 hotel nights, 2 days paddling and yoga
Kayaking on the beautiful Bay of Fundy with its dramatic tides promotes an elevated physical awareness as well as a deeper understanding that we are one with our earth and its oceans. The practice of yoga offers heightened agility and strength, as well as a sense of spiritual awe. After combining sea kayaking with yoga successfully in Costa Rica, we decided to make this exciting combo available in Canada. This trip on and around Deer Island, New Brunswick, is open to paddlers and yoga enthusiasts at all levels of experience. Participants will be lodged at the Sunset Beach Cottages and Suites on Deer Island.
Barebones itinerary
Aug 6 Arrival on Deer Island for social around 7 p.m. (dinner on your own during travel)
Aug 7-8 Morning yoga session and then breakfast; orientation and paddling; lunch on a local island; evening yoga and then dinner at Seascape.
Aug 9 Departure after breakfast.
We will provide a more detailed itinerary closer in to the trip dates.
Trip cost of $625 USD per person (taxes included) includes three hotel nights, paddling and yoga, three breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners. Ask us about Canadian pricing.
Call or e-mail us for more information.
Meet Lauri Nemetz
Laurice D. Nemetz, MA, ADTR, E-RYT, LCAT, works as a yoga teacher and dance/movement therapist throughout Westchester County in New York. Our clients find that Lauri is a warm and dynamic instructor; she has taught in a variety of settings from yoga studios to the university level, and has presented yoga workshops throughout the east coast of the U.S. and Canada on topics from spirituality to anatomy. Whether working with individuals or small groups, Lauri looks to find the highest level of movement potential and creativity in each individual.
Lauri is the current co-President of the YTA (Yoga Teachers’ Association), is registered as an experienced level yoga teacher with the Yoga Alliance, and has received certifications in teaching hatha yoga and yoga therapeutics. She has her Master’s degree in dance/movement therapy and is both registered and licensed as a creative arts therapist and publishes and illustrates regularly in her field. If you would like to communicate with Lauri directly, you can reach her at lauricedn@yahoo.com. Her web site address is www.wellnessbridge.com
Coming soon: 2011 Costa Rica KaYoga Trip dates
Combining Sea Kayaking and Yoga Practice in Costa Rica
Includes 4 hotel nights, 5 days paddling/yoga, 4 nights camping
Kayaking in the clear waters of the Pacific Ocean promotes a sense of peace and well-being, both physical and spiritual. The practice of yoga offers many benefits, from increased flexibility and strength to a deeper sense of connection with the world around us. It is therefore a natural fit to combine sea kayaking with yoga. This trip in the warm, tropical setting of the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica, is open to paddlers and yoga enthusiasts at all levels of experience.
Trip cost of $2,350 (tax included) covers all accommodations, land-based transportation, guiding and instruction, meals during on-water trip, kayaking, snorkeling and camping equipment. Trip cost does not include your air fare to Costa Rica and your meals before and after paddling (breakfasts are included at hotels). (To assure that you have your hotel rooms to yourself, add $300).
El Espiritu Del Mar 2010 Detailed Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival at the Juan Santamaria International Airport in San José, where you will be greeted by a friendly face, and escorted by air conditioned microbus to your overnight accommodation, the Hotel Don Carlos, a 30-minute ride. The hotel is in a safe neighborhood and in walking distance to many restaurants and historic sites. Hotel staff speak English and are very helpful. There are computers available and a free skype call home to check in. Enjoy your evening.
Day 2: After an enjoyable breakfast at the Don Carlos (included) you will be picked up at the hotel and travel via air conditioned microbus to Puntarenas (2.5 hours). A lunch / snack break is included in the trip. You will then take the ferry with a Seascape escort to Paquera on the Nicoya Peninsula (1.5 hours) and then ride 30 minutes with Seascape hosts to the seaside village of Tambor and your accommodation, the boutique hotel Tambor Tropical. After checking in, relax, have a swim, enjoy a complimentary welcome cocktail and prepare for our opening sunset yoga practice, followed by dinner and an introduction to the paddling experience (you pay for your own meal this night).
Day 3: The first paddling day is usually a short one, allowing you to acclimatize to the tropical heat and gradually work your way into the daily routine. To get prepared, an early morning yoga session will focus on spine mobility and balance, shoulder openers, sun salutations. Following breakfast at the hotel (included), Seascape will transport you to Curú Wildlife Refuge, 20 minutes from the village of Tambor. Curú is a small reserve and working farm on the southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula known as an ecological gem for its incredible wildlife and well developed system of hiking trails. Here we will review the organization system for packing, then load the kayaks with food and camping gear and experience a comprehensive orientation to paddling technique and sea kayak safety. Our destination is Playa Quesera, a beautiful white-sand beach located approximately one hour from our launching area. After we land and set up our base camp, we enjoy a refreshing lunch and spend the afternoon working on wet exits and rescues. Our sunset yoga practice will again emphasize balance and allow us a chance to unwind from the busy day and relax into a delicious dinner of a local fish fillet.
Days 4-6 For these three whole days, from dawn to dusk and throughout the nights, the rhythms of the sea, sky and spirit will become entirely our own. We will live alongside Howler Monkeys, White-Nosed Coatis, Hermit Crabs, some resident iguanas and a variety of forest, sea and shore birds, such as Black-Headed Trogons, Turquoise-Browed Motmots and Brown Pelicans. No day will be like another, but we will relax into a life flow that begins with early morning yoga at sunrise, involves one long or two shorter paddles during the day, and ends again with yoga practice at sunset. Morning yoga sessions will focus on sun salutations and openers for shoulders, hips and wrists, complementing the paddling we are engaged in. After a hearty breakfast, each day will offer an array of paddling possibilities to explore around our base on Playa Quesera. We will learn basic kayak surfing in protected conditions at Playa Organo, visit the dramatic cliffs of Las Islas Tortugas and Los Arcos, and discover several enchanting mangrove estuaries. Some days we will take lunch along and create a picnic on another beach; other days we may return and have our lunch at base camp. In the afternoons, there will be ample time for swimming, snorkelling, resting in hammocks, reading and journaling. One day the group may hike inland on one of the trails to further explore the flora and fauna. As the days progress, there will be an increased focus on paddling technique and endurance. One day we may paddle northeast, through gentle rolling swell past Playa Organo, where we’ll enter a tight passage between the mainland and Las Negritos, leaving the open Pacific behind for a time and enjoying the protected waters of the Gulf of Nicoya. Back on Quesera, we’ll unwind with sunset yoga practice, candle meditation and yoga nidra.
Day 7: Our last day on the water will be marked by a special early morning yoga session. After breakfast, we will strike camp, pack our gear and say our goodbyes to the beautiful beach setting that has been home for the past four nights. After loading our gear into the kayaks, we paddle the short distance to the beach at Curú where we will unpack the boats and prepare for the return journey to civilization. Showers and washroom facilities are available and a traditional Costa Rican lunch will be served at the refuge. Be sure to spend some time in the lovely Monkey Store Gift Shop here in Curú; all the proceeds from your purchases are used to maintain and sustain this special wildlife refuge. Upon exiting the reserve, we travel back to Tambor for another evening at the tranquil Tambor Tropical. After checking in, unpack, swim and enjoy a cold drink and the comforts of this accommodation. Laundry services are available. We will gather once more for a final sunset yoga practice, and then gather for a farewell dinner together in the hotel restaurant (you pay for your meal tonight.)
Day 8: After breakfast (included), you will transfer back to San José and your accommodation at the Don Carlos.
Day 9: After breakfast (included), you will be picked up by Seascape approximately three hours before your departure time and taken to the airport via air conditioned microbus.