Newsletter | August 2025

Laguna #2:  A Sanctuary in Progress

The Next Chapter

The rainy season arrived at the Rancho with a bang. Boaz and I had traveled to Israel in April in a lull in the war to teach a one month Yoga Teacher Training and see our families. It was wonderful to be there, to teach again, to meet new faces and see familiar ones, and there were moments, back in the comfortable familiarity of everything, that it was hard to remember exactly why we had left Israel. At the Course conclusion though, we flew back to Mexico eager to plan and construct the next stage of our vision-building the Yoga Retreat of our dreams. It was to be a dreamy jungle location with stunning views in the heart of nature that would give sanctuary, not only to the war torn Israelis, but to people from all over the world who wanted to make a change in their lives and get back to what really feels important to thrive.

We’d barely been back in Mexico long enough to get over our jet lag when Hurricane Eric hit on the 18 th of June with plans of his own. In retrospect we now understand that we did not take the warnings of friends seriously enough because we were invited to take shelter at any one of their homes in Puerto Escondido, but decided to stay home in the Chacahua area.

Hurricane Eric made land fall exactly in our neighborhood with a category 4 power that tore the center portion off of our roof and woke us up in  bed with unwelcome wet kisses at one o’clock in the morning. Following a pretty intense scramble down the hill in the middle of that storm we spent an anxiety ridden five hours just praying for the dawn. When morning came and we surveyed the damage all around, the felled trees, the downed electric lines, the rooftops and houses destroyed or seriously damaged, we were sorely disheartened and got down immediately to the business of cleaning up the incredible mess left behind. In a sky with zero air traffic we heard the choppers incoming.

Roots and Roofs

The President, Claudia Sheinbaum, arrived by helicopter to Chacahua Island to declare the area a “state of emergency”. The Mexican government via the national guard and the local police passed out aid-food, money, and clothes-from the back of transport trucks which flooded the streets of the village mere hours after the Hurricane had subsided. 

Talking with the locals over the next few weeks taught us that this intensity of storm had never been experienced in the lifetime of anyone living here. That it was a once in a century event. This was definitely a relief to hear, as we were feeling pretty daunted and slightly shaken. 

The next weeks also showed us the mettle and sheer positive energy of our new neighbors. In the eerie calm that followed the storm barley 2 hours had passed before you could hear the buzz of local chainsaws as every able bodied man with a power tool came out full force onto the roads to clear the way for the army to get here and for locals to get on with the business of living. Friends pitched in on rebuilding roofs and making food, cleaning up yards and hauling away the endless amounts of garbage and brush that Eric had left in his wake. The kindness of the villagers asking if we needed help or food or shelter couldn’t fail to touch us to the core. And once again Paul came to our aid, getting us help to have our roof temporarily fixed within hours. What a relief to have friends watching over us, and to feel that in the face of even the most challenging difficulty, Life has got our backs! 

June was a very intense month! The expression which kept coming to mind was: jumping out of the frying pan into the fire!

We did discover our extreme resilience and power through all this though,  recovering some innate determination and deep seated creativity. Our beautiful, dreamed of Yogamala, Mexico was built just weeks afterward, rising like a phoenix from the ashes. The “Yoga cathedral” as we have nicknamed it, towers to an impressive ten meters a short drop down from our house, with a floor area about a hundred meters squared, ample room for about thirty students. We have started to clear the jungle all around it, creating winding forest paths and shaded sitting areas from which to admire the views. It is truly inspiring to see this amazing yoga space take shape and evolve in order for students all over the world to start coming here for sanctuary and deep transformation. 

Boaz has prepared concrete floors for showers, toilets, and a kitchen-bar to serve students during events. And we have started to design, create and source materials for these additional spaces. Sometimes we even manage to slip a sweet little yoga or meditation practice in between all the hard work.

Our friend Lana, from London, bought up the hilltop beside us and we will be working with us under Yogamala, Mexico’s umbrella. Lana will be offering accommodation at sweet jungle cabins a forest trail away from the studio. Luckily for us she is also a vegan-vegetarian chef and will be creating wonderful meals and menus for guests at the Rancho or for students on our soul retreats. We are so happy to have Lana on board for this co creation! Welcome Lana!

Yogamala, Mexico: Where the Wild Heart Grows

We will be offering our first ten day Retreat, “Wild Heart”, from January 6^th -January 15^th, 2026. Registration opens September 1^st, 2025. 

Other great news-Hector and Gabi- friends from our village El Zapotalito have opened a small roadside restaurant at the Rancho’s back entrance near the pump house where you can sit for a Coco frio, cold drink or some simple Mexican food. Our friends Matthieu and Georgia have also just opened Domo Hermoso, a lovely little Air B and B Earthbag dome walking distance to the beaches of Cerro Hermosa (and an eight minute drive from the ranch). The area is beginning to develop. Fertile tracts of land seem to be for sale everywhere along the road from the highway down to the water’s edge in all sizes and prices. And of course, of all of them, Rancho de las Estrellas has the best views in the dreamy hills above the lagoon!

With two more months of rainy season to go, we expect September and October to continue to green up these lands to the maximum. Our first bananas and papayas will be ready soon! Here, nestled on the Rancho de las Estrellas at Yogamala, Mexico are happy to receive our first volunteers in October and would especially welcome anyone with building or gardening skills to wholeheartedly co create with us, or strong minded resilient yogis who don’t mind getting their hands dirty in exchange for some great nature, lovely yoga, good company and sweet surf. Talk to us!

Until next time, 

Hasta luego. Roxi