Jungle Immersion: Costa Rica Yoga Retreat
March 29-April 4, 2020!
Meet your instructors: Lena Schmidt + Robin Galaif
Lena and Robin have been friends since 2011! We're so excited to partner professionally to manifest this retreat! We're so happy you're considering joining us.
We can't wait to travel to Costa Rica and be immersed in the beauty of nature with you. Learn more about us below.
Lena Schmidt: I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area doing gymnastics and modern and jazz dance. I came to San Diego in 2002 for my undergrad studies at UC San Diego, where I completed my BA in Ethnic Studies, and danced a lot of modern dance, and haven't left! After college I found the physicality of yoga to be a delightful and challenging way to move the body without competition. I continued in graduate school at San Diego State University, where I completed my MA in Women's Studies and began a teaching credential program. I spent a few years teaching dance to children and serving as a member of AmeriCorps, before deciding to deepen my yoga practice. I have a 200-hour yoga teaching certification and an 85-hour prenatal certification. I have been teaching since January 2012. I completed the Prison Yoga Project training and use what I learned to teach trauma-informed classes in the community. I'm currently working towards my 300-hour certification (2/3 there!) with Laughing Lotus Yoga Center in New York. The spiritual aspects of yoga have aided me in the never-ending search for peace, calm and positivity within, and I'm passionate about sharing these tools with others. I'm intentional about taking yoga off the mat and I love finding the bridges between the heart and mind, the individual and community, and mindfulness and expression. To complement the creative practice of yoga, I love walking with my dog, baking, hiking, playing frisbee, and doing arts and crafts. I teach children’s yoga, volunteer teach yoga for underserved youth afterschool, and volunteer teach for adult students who are refugees. I offer a hatha/vinyasa class that includes strong asana, pranayama and a philosophical theme woven throughout. I'm also a TA for the Dimensions of Culture Program at UCSD and a regular contributing writer for the Chopra Center. Looking forward to playing yoga with you!: Lena Schmidt
Robin Galaif: The decision to become a yoga instructor emerged from a lifetime of passions. Growing up, gymnastics was my whole world, so finding yoga after college was a natural transition. The physical practice kept my muscles and joints flexible and strong, while the flow offered me the opportunity for the graceful expression I found in gymnastics. After graduate school, I began a career in education, teaching students with special needs for 25 years, then moving into management of special education programs in 2013. During my last eight years in the classroom, I taught weekly yoga lessons to all of the primary students at my school, creating opportunities for children in general and special education classrooms to come together and experience the benefits of yoga. Observing the powerful physiological and cognitive impact yoga had on all of the students was truly inspiring, so I decided it was time to pool all of my experiences and become a certified yoga instructor. In 2017, I completed my 200-hour certification at Happy-U Yoga in Ocean Beach, and have been teaching group and private classes out of my home studio, Buddha’s Garden Yoga, ever since. Over the years, I’ve found yoga to be so much more than a physical practice alone. It has helped me stay spiritually centered, while cultivating balance, harmony and peace in my everyday life. Belonging to the yoga community fills me with gratitude, positivity, and reminds me that my attitude and approach to life can actually have a positive impact on the community and beyond. Showing up with good vibes, a kind heart, and a smile wherever I go, can send joyous reverberations into the universe. I enjoy travel, nature, and concert-going with my husband. Being the lucky mother of two amazing sons, serving children and families with special needs, and spreading my love of yoga, makes my life very full. What more could I ask for than to join my dear friend Lena in leading a yoga retreat in beautiful Costa Rica?!