Today we’d like to introduce you to Checka Antifonario.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Checka. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I hit the reset button at age 29. After following a path I thought I “should” take throughout my teens and twenties, I found myself nearing 30 with my stress level high and enthusiasm low. I thought – is this really how I want to feel? How do I want to be? I had always been in love with life, in wonder of the world around me, but I could feel the spark fading at that time. I was going through the motions, and that didn’t sit right with me. My best friend from high school was working as a chef at a yoga retreat on the Big Island of Hawaii at the time, and she boldly suggested I quit my high-pressure job, drop the expectations I thought were so set in stone, and come stay for a while. I had only dabbled in yoga up to that point, but the idea of living in Hawaii for a few months of work trade sounded pretty good!
When the day finally arrived, I literally almost turned around and got off that plane. It seemed like such a wild thing to do. (For me, it was!). I didn’t get off the plane (there were way too many people behind me already and who wants to be *that* passenger??) – and it was the best decision I ever made. At the yoga retreat, Kalani, I began practicing yoga daily and felt years of stress and sadness lighten and shed over time. I felt my joy, creativity, and self-love stir once again. I ended up staying there for a year in total, and by that point, I knew that I wanted yoga to a central part of my life. I traveled to Costa Rica to complete my first Yoga Teacher Training with Frog Lotus Yoga International, then came back to Boston to get this teaching thing started!
It was such an exhilarating time, sharing yoga in many different settings, feeling for the first time what it was like to really LOVE MY JOB. For the first couple of years, I wondered if the magic would wear off…this will get old, right? Every other job I ever had did! But as time passed I realized this was different. It wasn’t always easy, but it was always meaningful, and I knew from the decade prior how precious that was. Ten years later, I still feel the same. I have also had a soul-level love of travel ever since that pivotal journey to Hawaii, and am grateful to combine these two passions through Yogaway Retreats!
Has it been a smooth road?
There have definitely been bumps in the road. When I began on this path, I just knew I wanted to teach. I knew nothing about how to be an entrepreneur or manage the business side of things. I took it day by day, made mistakes, learned from them, and – the tricky part – tried not to be too critical of myself along the way. There have been times when I have taken on too many classes and ended up frazzled, planned an offering that didn’t get traction, failed to take good care of myself, and the list goes on.
But so much energy can be gobbled up when we focus doggedly on what went wrong. And there are so many other things I would rather do with my heart and mind!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Yogaway Retreats story. Tell us more about the business.
Yogaway Retreats is a dream come true for me. I began leading yoga retreats in 2011, and they quickly became my favorite type of offering. I am also a huge fan of collaboration. I rarely work on anything alone these days, and love my community of fellow yoga professionals. Enter Yogaway!
We offer retreats ranging from day-long to weekend to full-week retreats in carefully chosen spots around the globe; our 2018 schedule will bring us all over New England, along with Aspen, Alaska, the Azores, Martinique, and Panama! Each retreat is led or co-led by experienced, well-loved teachers from our team. We are deeply committed to providing transformative yoga travel experiences that feel welcoming to ALL. You don’t have to be a seasoned yogi, a seasoned traveler, or anyone other than yourself.
What we strive to offer boils down to three words: freedom, friendship, and flow.
FREEDOM – Sometimes it takes a new landscape…a rustle in your routine…an few days away from the ordinary – to remind you that you are free. Free to adventure, free to grow, free to be completely, expressively, you.
FRIENDSHIP – Yogaway Retreats is an extended family of traveling yogis, adventuring spirits, and warm hearts. Everyone is welcome, whether you are new to yoga retreats or it is already your favorite way to travel. When you join one of our retreats, you open the door to meaningful connections with your fellow travelers. Shared classes, meals, excursions and plenty of laughter set the perfect stage for friendships that last way beyond the closing circle. In fact, you may find yourself with an ever-expanding group of “yoga retreat friends” who reunite around the world when a new trip captures their imagination.
FLOW – The pressures and obligations of daily life can weigh us down at times. We all have moments of feeling more in a rut than in the flow. On retreat, everything is designed to help you feel harmony and balance. Yoga, nourishment, healing, nature, community, exploration – you will be invited to embrace it all and feel your spirit lighten. Our commitment is to offer unique and well-organized experiences that allow you to delve meaningfully into the culture, nature and spirit of your destination. Each retreat balances opportunities to explore and learn with precious downtime to rest, rejuvenate and just be. Diverse and dynamic yoga classes will give your practice a boost, and of course you can look forward to healthy and delicious food during your time away.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Great question! There is a lot brewing in the yoga world right now. It is available in so many different venues and styles, and with that comes a lot of discussion about if and when so much variety becomes too much variety. I hear concerns that the practice is being “watered down” or too trend-saturated.
While it’s true that ten years ago I couldn’t have imagined the huge variety in the yoga-verse today, I also am not concerned that we will lose its roots just because so many new leaves have sprouted. After all, each innovation could provide a new way for someone to land on their mat, and that’s a good thing!
To me, in an era when life is moving pretty fast and we are all carrying computers in our pockets 24/7, the act of powering down, steeping in quiet, breathing deeply, moving mindfully and connecting with other beings is powerful, rooted and real – wherever we are.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.yogawayretreats.com
- Phone: 617-308-6866
- Email: info@yogawayretreats.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogawayretreats/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yogawayretreats
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