Pura Vida by Lexie Wolf
I’ve just returned from Costa Rica, where Pachamama is living her best life in a country that prioritizes land conservation. What a privilege to experience her in all her lush glory—5% of the world’s biodiversity exists here. Awe, wonder, and gratitude. The country’s slogan, "Pura Vida," embraces a life lived close to nature in simplicity, ease, and positivity. Yes, please. And thank you.
During the first week of my visit, I had the honor of participating in several beautiful plant medicine ceremonies. Plant medicine experienced in an intentional and sacred context has been part of my spiritual practice for several years now, and every journey is different and expansive.
Mystical traditions around the globe have honored these substances for millennia, and the Yog-Vedantic tradition is no exception. The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali mentions medicinal plants as a path to yogic insight, and the Rig Veda references soma, likely a psychedelic substance. For those curious, I recommend The Immortality Key, a fascinating history of psychedelics in the Western world and their suppression by fearful and puritanical modern patriarchal societies.
Plant medicine has given me glimpses into what it feels like to be in a state of Yoga—union with universal consciousness. These ceremonies have imprinted on my body, mind, and soul states of expanded awareness that I can revisit through yoga practice. Every time I release tension on the mat and feel relaxation and flow, I’m touching that state, even if my mind doesn’t fully register it. And so are you.
As transformative and expansive as these peak experiences can be, plant medicine doesn’t generally leave me craving more. It is intense, can be hard on the body, and requires time and space for integration. What it does leave me craving, though, is more yoga. Yoga provides a gentler, sustainable path to the same sense of connection. My yoga practice nurtures a continuous relationship with the wonder and beauty of life, and a feeling that I am - we are all - part of each other.
As always, I am so happy to be home. There is such quiet and peaceful joy to be found in this slumbering, wintry patch of North Carolina forest. In our sweet, supportive studio community. In all of the moments of embodied presence on and off the mat. In every breath. Pura Vida, family.
