As you can easily understand from a quick visit to our website, or a scroll through Instagram, Mike and Janel Phillips created Sansara with a vision of sharing a space to foster growth and transformation. Whether through yoga and surfing, eating exquisite meals and getting a massage, or just walking the shores of Cambutal, Sansara Surf & Yoga Resort is a place to come to disconnect from the hustle of daily life and reset with intention and clarity.
I’d like to take the meaning of sansara a few levels deeper. I’m talking about the actual meaning of the word sansara. To simplify things, we say that sansara roughly translates as “continuous flow.” And here, at our little oasis at the end of the road, we strive to help you tap into a state of flow, connecting with your true self and taking that state of bliss home (or wherever you’re off to next) with you.
In more traditional terms, sansara is the karmic cycle that we move through; birth, death, rebirth. It is the journey of the soul.
So often in life, we get caught up in the movement (or stagnation) of the way things are. It can be from any number of things; societal expectations, familial influence, financial insecurity, lifelong conditioning, ancestral patterns, trauma, the list goes on. We are born, go through school with the guidance of friends and family, get a car, go to college, get the job, find the partner, buy the house, have the family, retire, finally go on vacation, spoil the grandkids, then say goodbye.
Now, don’t get me wrong, please! There is nothing wrong with the above outlined chronology of someones life. That is not what I’m getting at here. What I want to look at is the space between these life events. What is happening in there?
Are we just “going through the motions” so that we can keep the car and the house, and save to retire, and hopefully live long enough to go on that trip we’ve always dreamt of? Or are we taking the time we deserve to tap into the potential of this life?
To step back and look at things, really as they are, isn’t easy, especially when you‘re in the thick of it. Are you suffering from chronic pain? Anxiety? Feeling like there is something more out there but you’re not sure what? Often these feelings arise because we are caught in a pattern, a rut of sorts, that we have been conditioned to live in. Whether or not you believe in reincarnation isn’t of importance. (I don’t know if I do…I’ll tell you in my next life ;)) Even if, especially if, you believe that we get this one chance to make the most out of this precious human experience, why not break out of that rut? Why not release yourself from the mundane process of just “going through the motions”?
When we take time away from the immediate responsibilities of career, family, friends and society, we provide ourselves with space to really feel and discern what is most important to us. Who am I and what do I need? It is extremely challenging to authentically answer these questions when you have outside forces needing your energy. We all desperately need, and deserve, to step away. Just for a moment, so we may see more clearly. So we may experience a state of flow.
That is why one of our main mottos at Sansara is disconnect to reconnect. Back to the traditional meaning of the word…our karmic cycle…If we continue to live the same life, over and over, without making time and space for growth, then we will always continue on the same path. Our chronic pain remains, our underlying feeling of anxiety, or wondering what else is out there, will always live beneath the surface.
At Sansara, we utilize the tools of yoga, the art of surfing, healthy, nourishing foods, body and energy work, and the immense beauty of the ocean and jungle surrounding us to tap back in. Disconnect for a moment from the expectations of daily life. Take a yoga class where you really feel what is happening in your body, mind, and soul. Move beyond fear and control with time in the ocean, surfing and living life fully. Nourish your body with food crafted from nature by world-class chef’s plated just for you. Book a healing session with one of our body workers to create space and healing from the inside out. Go for a bike ride to see monkeys, countless tropical birds, and miles of waves. Walk the shore line collecting sea glass and feeling your feet grounded in the sand and washed clean by the sea. Break the cycle of daily life here at Sansara Resort. Taste the possibility of living more fully, more connected.
Sansara was created to hold this space for everyone that walks through the doors. On a personal note, I can firmly attest to this. Coming on retreat with a group, to one of our Summer Sessions, through a customizable package, or even just for a long weekend, we aim to hold space for your optimal growth and transformation.
As I mentioned before, I am not saying that you need to quit your job and not save for retirement. Rather, enhance the experience of this life by taking a brief step away. Reset, reprioritize, heal and grow, so that when you return home to family, friends, and work you do so with your cup full. Disconnect to reconnect to the journey of your soul. Break the pattern of the mundane and taste the possibility of living in a state of continuous flow.
