On Following Yoga, Surf, & Travel Dreams

Three years ago, I went on a retreat to the Yoga Farm in Southern Costa Rica that dramatically changed the course of my life. In May 2022, I graduated with dual master’s degrees in Environmental Science and Public Administration. Instead of walking at graduation, I submitted the final copy of my capstone from the airport. 

I went to graduate school to equip myself with tools and knowledge to make positive environmental change on our planet. I was heartbroken by the broken human relationship with nature. I was furious about our extractive economy that constantly puts short term economic gains over a livable planet. I was terrified about the future for humans on Earth. I was burnt out from caring so much. 

I arrived at the Yoga Farm in Southern Costa Rica open hearted and searching for hope. I found more than hope that week at the Foodie Forest Retreat. I met the founders of Yoga Trade. I witnessed people living a lifestyle deeply connected to nature and got to momentarily be part of it. We spent our days in the jungle, learning about permaculture, agroforestry, and sustainable living. We harvested, processed, and cooked tropical fruit. We learned how to grow greens and veggies in the humid tropical climate. We cooked all our meals from scratch and composted all our waste, even our poop! Having this experience directly after three years learning about ecosystem destruction, climate change, and extinction brought me back to life. On top of that, the waves were pumping. For one week, I lived my heaven on Earth.

I left that retreat with a commitment to myself to pursue my dream life. A commitment to create the world I want to live in. I returned home to New Jersey with no plan, but a very clear direction. Since then, I have been on a roller coaster journey traveling, living, and working in remote and wild corners of Central America. I went back to the Yoga Farm on a work trade, which opened the door to a surf coaching job with Surf with Amigas.  

The last two years I’ve been traveling between Costa Rica and Nicaragua working all women’s surf retreats. At the same time, I have been teaching online Global Environmental Issues university courses. My two jobs are a great balance. Teaching reminds me of our collective situation on Earth, and I use the opportunity to remind my students that change is possible, and we can be the change. Surf coaching has been a beautiful opportunity to share my love of surfing with other women. 

I love finding myself in remote corners of the world. Places where local culture is still intact, somehow outside the reach of widespread consumerism. I can feel my nervous system relax into the slow pace of life. I’ve learned to be quick on feet, to improvise, to survive. I’ve learned to communicate with broken Spanish. I’ve learned to take care of myself. I have surfed the best waves of my life and met so many amazing and inspiring people. I’ve been humbled by the ocean and the rugged life of Central America. 

I did it. I found a way to live my dream life.

It’s easy to romanticize this lifestyle because it is a dream. However, it hasn’t been constant sunshine and rainbows. These unfamiliar settings can be challenging for an American girl. I have been scared, sad, lonely, and sick. I’ve cried to strangers, and I’ve been incredibly lost. There have been many times I didn’t know what I was going to do next after finishing a job or a trade just staring into a complete abyss with no job, no home, no next destination, or opportunity in sight.

I’ve had a lot of breakdowns. This lifestyle has cracked me open. Yet, every breakdown has been a breakthrough. On the other side of the tears and the anxiety, I am more resilient. I am more sure of myself. So much of me has had to die to live this life. It’s been a journey of learning to trust myself. Trusting myself to follow my own path. 

Yoga has helped a lot.

Yoga is one of those things that is, at the same time, so simple and so complicated. In the simplest terms, it feels amazing in my body. In the most complicated terms, it’s a spiritual portal into self and universal knowledge.

In April, I found myself on the remote beach of Chacala, Mexico as a student in one of Jonah Kest’s famous yoga teacher trainings. I feel so lucky and grateful to have won a scholarship through Become a Yogi + Yoga Trade. The training brought my spiritual path into sharper focus.

Every morning, I woke up in the dark and watched first light peep over the ocean while journaling. We met as a group for meditation followed by a fiery Ashtanga or Vinyasa practice. Then we spent the rest of the day studying and practicing. We learned about sequencing, history, philosophy, spirituality, asanas, Sanskrit, meditation, anatomy, and so much more! Eventually we started teaching each other. I was super nervous to teach. Yet, I was surprised to find teaching as rewarding as receiving.

The training was physically and emotionally demanding. I thought I was in good shape going into the training, but I struggled through it. Now, nearly two months later, I am really feeling the benefits of the practice. I feel mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually stronger than ever. 

I’ve spent the last few years focused on healing—my gut lining, my alignment, my trauma. At some point, my identity started revolving around what needed fixing. I began seeing myself only through the lens of healing. Yoga has reminded me: I am not my trauma. I am not my psyche.

Never knowing what I am doing next can give me a lot of anxiety. Meditation has helped me increase my capacity to function with anxiety. Through my yoga and meditation practice, I remember I am not the stories my mind plays out. I don’t have to fix my anxiety. I am not how others perceive me. I am not even sure how I perceive me.

I’ve dreamed of doing a yoga teacher training since high school and am so excited for everything that comes next. As I am writing this, I am on my way to my greatest adventure yet. I am heading to a remote island in Indonesia for a Yoga Trade to teach yoga to surfers. I feel so grateful and equipped from my training to share yoga.  I’m excited to live outside of capitalism again, to find my voice as a teacher, to surf my heart out, and to dream up ways to bring yoga to ocean and climate activists.

If your heart is calling for something, do it. Prioritize it. Society tells us to check off the boxes in exchange for security and stability. That’s not how we live full lives though. We live full lives by following our hearts and living out our craziest dreams.

I’m going to keep following my dreams & I hope you follow yours too.

 Xx Lizzy

Connect with Lizzy:

IG: @lizzybeyer

Blog: https://sunkissedandhurricaned.substack.com/