Breathe And Believe

A 200-hour yoga teacher training course on Koh Phangan becomes a healing experience

- Catharine Nicol

“Your past is an illusion. You are here, now. And you are always exactly where you are meant to be.” These were the words that introduced the first asana lesson of the yoga teacher training I took this January at Anahata Shala. And they have been resounding in my head ever since.

If I were anticipating a gentle introduction to the month-long, 200-hour course, those expectations were instantly blown off the mat. A firecracker of an instructor and course leader, Vanessa Burger is passionate and irreverent, challenging and hilarious. And she’s the real deal, her love of yoga shining through her quirky and entertaining teaching.

“Breathe, yogis, breathe!” She calls out, in her beguiling South African accent, as we sweated through a long downward facing dog. “Align your spine with the divine,” she encourages us as we straighten up before going for a seated twist. “Adopt an attitude of gratitude!” she says as we struggle. Her catch phrases pepper her lessons, humour easing the journey.

And what a journey.

Needing a totally different start to the year following a heart shattering break-up, I searched BookYogaRetreats.com for a January course with good reviews and a beachy location. While Koh Phangan is renowned for its full-moon parties on the island’s southeast tip, the west coast village of Sri Thanu turned out to be a charming vegan yoga bubble.

My humble home near the shala was a rattan room with fan and attached bathroom. Every morning at dawn I walked two minutes to the beach to swim, the sun rising above the waves, fish accompanying me below, as I eased my aching muscles, cleared my mind and fed my soul. Living the dream.