Tsegyalgar West

I'm sitting in this cafe and I realized that I didn't really talk a whole lot about my time in Mexico despite that being one of the supposed subject of the Devotion post. Whoops.

So, how about a post that's actually about Tsegyalgar West?

Boulder at first gate; OM A HUM painted on the rock

I was there for the entirety of winter break and then some; I was flying standby on a friend's employee pass and  my original flight was delayed, so I was there for an extra few days.

The place is really beautiful. If you'd like an idea of how it looks, you can google "Tsegyalgar West" or check out some of my photos here. It's a fairly remote and rustic area, the most developed buildings are the casitas and even they have pit toilets. The casitas aren't my favorite part of the land; they're these concrete structures that are built and colored in such a way as to not really fit in with the rest of the landscape, in my opinion. But the other structures are pretty nice, as permanent structures go. The kitchen/dining area just has a palapa above it, as does the platform for Vajra Dance.

breakfast

While there the schedule was pretty relaxed. After a week or so there, our Master began a retreat, which we listened to via webcast. After the webcast each morning I would help prepare food; we split daily tasks up between the people at the Gar and my main task was breakfast. Along with the teachings, which were two hours every morning for a week, we learned/practiced some basic yoga and a couple different dance practices. Since it had been some time since I'd done these practices, it was nice to relearn and reconnect with them. It was also great learning from the instructors there, both of them are fantastic teachers with an impressive passion and depth of knowledge.

Apart from that week, the schedule was relatively relaxed. We would do a little bit of daily practice of yoga and dance most days and a few times people went off the property to a beach or just to relax. We also did some physical work around the property while there, moving gravel and things like that.

One thing I loved about being there, apart from the clean air and relaxed atmosphere, was the structure of meals. Lunch and dinner tended to be long-lasting affairs, taking up a good couple hours. The time was filled with great conversation and alcohol, which I really enjoyed. Actually, something that struck me was how generous pretty much everyone in the community is. People didn't really think twice about buying a bottle or two of wine and sharing with everyone at dinner. It was fantastic.

I loved the place. I was sad to leave and I'm looking forward to returning this coming winter break. A resident currently there is working on building sustainable retreat huts on the property, not far from the kitchen. It sounds like a great project and from pictures I've seen, I'm really excited for them to be completed and I'm hoping to stay in one when I go back.

I think that's about it. If anyone has any questions about my experience at Tsegyalgar West, feel free to ask in the comment section below!


Peace.