The Boston Globe

At Camp, Yoga's Next Level

Diane Daniel
November 10, 2002

Horacio Santibanez was in the middle of a two-year love affair - with yoga. So when he was thinking how to celebrate his 33d birthday in August, the best gift he could give himself was more yoga.

"I work really hard and I wanted to celebrate," said Santibanez, who lives in the Back Bay and is a hairstylist at Safar Coiffure on Newbury Street.

Santibanez takes classes several times a week at the Baptiste Power Yoga Studio in Cambridge, so he signed up to spend more time with guru Baron Baptiste at one of his Power Yoga Teacher's Boot Camps (www.baronbaptiste.com). This was to be an intensive eight- day course and retreat at the Maya Tulum Retreat & Resort in Yucatan, Mexico (www.mayatulum.com).

When Santibanez first started practicing yoga, "I was 25 pounds heavier," he said. "I wanted to experience it, but I didn't know if I was going to fit in to the group." He did more than fit it; he thrived. He lost weight, he felt other changes in his body overall, and says his yoga training "is really helping me to become a mature person."

He wanted to investigate teaching and to take his training to the next level, physically and spiritually. The week cost $2,400 for classes, food, and lodging; air fare was separate. "It's expensive, but I think it's really worth it," he said.

The location had special meaning for Santibanez because he is from Cuernavaca, in central Mexico. He has lived in the United States for 17 years, and just this summer became a citizen. "I was proud to show that Mexico has some really beautiful parts," he said.

"The moment we arrived, instead of playing those little games to get to know each other, we went to the yoga mat and we started our practice for 3 1/2 hours. Baron got us to sweat out the jet lag," Santibanez said. "I was in pain for two days."

Part of the pain, he said, wasn't the physical exertion but the "detox diet" of mostly vegetables, fruit, and fish, with no caffeine or sugar. "The strongest stuff we drank was decaf tea. Not having coffee was hard. My body was going through a shock, and I actually felt mad at first."

The daily routine for Santibanez and the 87 other participants from around the country would begin every morning at 6:45 and continue until 10 p.m. They would start with meditation and a walk along the beach; they would do many hours of yoga. At night they fell asleep listening to the waves of the Caribbean lap the shore as they lay in beds hung from the ceilings.

"There were no cellphones, no computers, no TV. I was disconnected from the world. That was a big commitment for me," he said.

Santibanez was skeptical at first. "In the beginning it sounded like it could be another spiritual, corny journey, and I spoke out about it. Baron said to open yourself and commit yourself to the experience," he said. "So I did, and the second day I had to eat my words."

"I learned to teach myself to listen to my body. It opened some doors in my body that I was scared to open," he said. "Throughout the retreat we had a lot of moments to really get inside our own hearts. To commit ourselves to be good and to inspire. Good in itself centers everything."

In between sessions of yoga, breathing, journal writing, and meditation, the group had free time enough to take a few side trips, including visits to the ruins of Tulum and Coba. Tulum, a former royal Mayan city, is Mexico's most visited pre-Hispanic site. The pyramids of Coba are isolated in the jungle 30 miles west of Maya Tulum, surrounded by lagoons. The resort itself sits next to the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve, a protected natural area with miles of beaches, rainforest, and lagoons.

Santibanez has not decided that he wants to teach yoga. "I went there to be a teacher and I came back being a student, a permanent student."

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