Category: Journey

Adventure

My fiance, Ricky, and I had dreamed of living together in a mountain town so when we arrived in Canada with two year working holiday visas we were stoked for adventure and to see where it would lead us. Our first month was spent wandering around British Columbia, going to festivals and speaking to people about where to find great snow and a “Canadian” mountain town. We volunteered for Shambhala festival located on a farmstead along the Salmo River and caught the Greyhound from Vancouver to make our way there. On the way the bus pulled through the town of Nelson and as we entered the vicinity of town we caught the first glimpse of its beauty… nested in the valley along Kootenay Lake. Once we were working at the festival we began to meet the local people from the Nelson area. They were the most friendly, accommodating, welcoming people! By the end of the ten days out on site we truly felt that we should spend some time in this place.

A Place in the Community

We found some volunteer gardening work along Longbeach Road where we settled for the next month and in that time we began to fully be absorbed into the beautiful community. I was offered a yoga teaching position in town at what was The Health Collective and is now Sante Holistic Health Centre. (A space that offers a holistic approach to health and wellbeing with a variety of practitioners specialising in osteopathy, yoga, massage therapy, nutrition, art therapy and acupuncture.) I also began to work at Empire Coffee, serving delicious Stumptown coffee, organic teas and baked goods from the in house bakery. Ricky started labouring for a couple of local concrete and carpentry businesses.

Whitewater

One of our biggest interests was learning about the local ski hill, Whitewater. We had heard alluring stories of dry fluffy powder, also known at Kootenay Champagne, the wild and rugged terrain and the food. On the last day of the early bird lift ticket sales we committed ourselves and bought our season passes! The next day we moved into a spacious one bedroom apartment on Baker Street. Step by step and before we knew it we were settled in for the winter season!

Nelson Town

The town of Nelson consists of six main areas: Downtown, Uphill, Rosemont, Fairview, North Shore and Blewett and the population is roughly 10,000 residents. Nelson is also a main business centre for the entire surrounding area as far as the East Shore, Kaslo, the Slocan Valley, Salmo, Castlegar and all the little gems in between, which quickly increases the population to close to 60,000. There are funky little cafes (Empire and John Ward), yummy restaurants (Yellow Deli and Yum Son), quirky shops (Moon Monsters, Love of Shiva and Gaia Rising) and a few bars (Mikes Place, Cantina and The Falls) and venues (The Royal, Spirit Bar and Bloom) for live music and nightlife hosting local and international DJ’s, musicians and performers. There are numerous yoga and wellness studios and Front Street Dance and The Moving Centre for all of your movement and dancing desires! It’s a very community oriented town where people support each other… a little safe haven. I found it super easy to meet people and was comfortable to hitchhike around the area. During the ski season Ricky and I hitched up and back from the mountain daily, and made good friends along the way.

Whitewater Ski Resort, located in the Selkirk Range, was a magical gem and with only three lifts and no on mountain accommodation it has kept its local charm and trusting atmosphere. I will never forget being able to leave my bag and shoes under one of the tables or in an open cubbyhole for hours and hours knowing that everything would be there when I returned… my faith and trust in humanity had been reassured and it made me feel so great! The base lodge provided all the basic services you would need plus some of the most delicious food I have ever eaten at the Fresh Tracks Cafe! The previous owners of Whitewater developed a series of cookbooks, Whitewater Cooks, with amazing recipes such as the Glory Bowl and the Ymir Bowl plus so many more that offered skiers the opportunity to eat fresh, healthy and energising meals for the same price as eating out in town! Amazing! The most epic part of Whitewater was the spread out, wild and rugged terrain! With only a handful of groomed runs, I quickly had to learn how to ski not only in fresh powder snow but also in amongst the trees, facing obstacles, chasing those fresh lines, which were never hard to find since I usually had so much of the mountain to myself! Total bliss!

Year Round Beauty

As the winter season ended and spring arrived Ricky and I found ourselves grounded, and since each season was so distinctly different from the next we were intrigued to see what there was to explore! In spring as the trees blossomed and the days became longer, the water roared after the snowmelt at Cottonwood and Fletcher Falls and we adventured to discover the Saint Leon hot springs nestled on a mountain side, a three kilometer hike from the road into the woods. As spring shifted to summer the hot days and evenings were spent splashing in swimming holes and having BBQs with mates on the local beaches. As summer neared an end and fall began to introduce itself in all its colourful glory, we explored the lake by canoe and hiked up to Kokanee Glacier and Monica Meadows, high above the tree line and entering Grizzly bear migration territory. Awe inspired spaces of pure wilderness!

And sure enough winter arrived again… colder, icier and snowier than before! Nelson became blanketed with snow and icicles for months! A beautiful frozen world!

Home

It is crazy to think that over a year and a half has passed and I am still happily experiencing what this magical part of the world has to offer. Friends have come and gone as people pass through from season to season, but many of the locals remain. I am grateful for the ability to work within the community and experience the individual identity that Nelson town possesses.

Enjoy!

INDIA

Two years ago, at this time, I was deep in the Himalayan Mountains in Himachal Pradesh, India settling into a one month intensive yoga teacher training course. It was a journey I had set out on in order to deepen my yoga practice, to learn about the philosophy and history of this ancient practice and to strengthen my knowledge of and connection to my self. I settled in the small mountain town of McLeod Ganj and began this solo journey of self exploration.

MCLEOD GANJ

Nestled in the mountains above Dharamsala is the town of McLeod Ganj (elevation 2,082 meters), now home to the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in exile. Since the early 1960’s thousands of Tibetan refugees have sought asylum in India when they fled Tibet and now call this place home. The blend of Tibetan Buddhism with the local Hindu culture has created a peaceful haven and travellers head into this area of India to attend meditation centres, Ayurvedic retreat centres and yoga schools.

CHANDRA YOGA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

The Chandra Yoga International School was located in the Siddharth House, just off Jogibara Road, a short walk from the Main Square. Ricky, my fiance who I had been travelling with, accompanied me to Siddharth House where I checked into the school and was shown to my room. (Each student had his/her own room, bathroom and balcony with epic views of the mountains facing toward Dhalaudhar Peak.) Ricky and I said our farewells and for the next four weeks we embarked on our individual ventures. Dr. Sushil and the other teachers welcomed all the students and we listened to the mantra chanting and shared offerings of herbs, spices and ghee to the deities during the opening fire ceremony.

The course consisted of 200 hours of intensive yoga training, focusing on asana, pranayama, meditation, anatomy and physiology, yoga philosophy, ethics and teacher methodology. We attended classes, lectures and workshops 6 days a week.

• 5:30 Wake up
• 6:00 – 7:45 Meditation and Pranayama
• 7:45 – 8:00 Tea Break
• 8:00 – 10:00 Yoga Asana Practice
• 10:00 – 11:00 Breakfast
• 11:00 – 1:00 Philosophy lecture
• 1:00 – 2:00 Lunch
• 2:00 – 4:00 Anatomy (1st two weeks) Self Study (2nd two weeks)
• 4:00 – 4:30 Tea Break
• 4:30 – 6:30 Yoga Asana Practice and Theory
• 6:30 – 7:30 Dinner
• 8:00 – 9:30 Self Study
• 9:30 Lights Out

The meals were vegetarian and followed Ayurvedic nutritional guidelines. Over the course of the month there was also a guest Reiki teacher who ran a two day Reiki I workshop and another guest teacher who taught us an Introduction to Ayurveda workshop. It was amazing to study and practice with students from all over the world: German, Thai, Brazilian, Slovakian, Finnish, American, English, Japanese, Australian, Canadian and Colombian… such an amazing mix and we all learned so much from each other!

THE DALAI LAMA’S BIRTHDAY

On June 21st a few of my course mates and I celebrated the Summer Solstice and the Dalai Lama’s 80th Birthday! The Tibetan community had organised a huge celebration for the Dalai Lama so we woke up early and headed to the Tsuglagkhang Temple to witness and partake in the festivities. There were over 6,000 people in and around the temple and all of the Tibetans were dressed so beautifully in silks and rich, bold colours. As the Dalai Lama entered into the temple there was such an overwhelming feeling of happiness that spread through everyone and brought many people to tears of joy! This was the opportunity for the Tibetan community to show their gratitude and appreciation to him for all of his guidance, support and teachings he has shared with the world. These teachings include the importance of compassion, peace, love and respect towards one another. The monks passed around traditional butter tea in giant teapots and scone like bread. A friendly man sitting next to me translated some of what was being said. I left the ceremony feeling completely content and at peace and am still so amazed how one man’s presence can be so powerful! A few of my course mates and I concluded the day with 108 sun salutations, paying respects to the longest day of the year.

TRIUND HIKE

On one of our free days we decided to hike to Triund (elevation 2,900 meters). We woke up early and walked 2 km up from McLeod Ganj to Dharamkot, then through the forest of oak and rhododendrons to reach to bottom of the 7 km hike up to Triund. The skies were clear and the views were majestic: the towns of Bhagsu Nag, Dharamkot, McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala below and the Dhalaudhar snowy mountain peaks above and beyond. We began as a large group but slowly separated into smaller groups as we ascended the mountain for about three hours. It was interesting to watch the landscape change from trees and bushes to huge, spectacular boulders to grassy meadows. There were small chai stands along the way and goats and cows roamed freely on the side of the mountain. As the hike became steeper, and my friends and I began to tire, we motivated and encouraged each other, one step at a time. Once we arrived at the top we experienced an amazing feeling of accomplishment! We had supported each other to succeed and the reward was incredible!

ASSESSMENT

During the last week of the course I was assessed on my ability to plan, cue and guide students through their yoga practice. I had a 30 minute asana practicum, a 30 minute meditation, pranayama and mantra practicum and a 60 minute asana practicum. It was awesome to be able to apply what I had learned and begin to develop my own style of teaching! It was also inspiring to follow the guidance of my fellow students as they taught their classes.

YOGA

The course was an incredible journey of the self, through the self, to the self. It was an amazing experience where I was able to submerge myself into the history of yogic culture that has been around for over 7,000 years! There were challenging moments that I had to overcome and the knowledge and confidence I gained from these obstacles has only made me stronger. I am honoured to have been able to travel to the home of this ancient practice and now, two years later, with over 200 hours of teaching experience, I find myself reflecting on this opportunity as a great gift which continues to inspire me to explore, further my knowledge and share this lifestyle with my own students!

Namaste!