The simplest pleasures…

 Experiencing by oneself aligns the experience with the experiencer

When shared with an other, is another kind of alignment

Sin Domicilio Fijo, Escazu
Carrot, Orange & Curcumin Jugo

Appunto, Escazu
Coconut Brulee

Watching "Finding Joe"...thoughts

Bliss

“When you follow your bliss, the universe will open doors where there were walls” 

“What they think of me must be put aside for Bliss” ~Joseph Campbell 

My bliss as a child? What did i like to do that felt me? Living in a world that was not the material? Day dreaming as I looked out the window of the car. Climbing trees. Being outside and walking barefoot in the grass. 

I played outside.  

I felt different? Was it the childhood traumas that made me want to be alone? Getting burnt as a toddler? Almost drowning as a child? Separation anxiety? 

Rebelled against structure? Called headstrong? 

“Grow the most by the things that stretch us the most”. 

May 2022 a trip to CR

 

Sometime a calling comes, and you try to find a reason or an excuse to justify it.  So i tried too! “To meet some friends, especially one who has been recovering from her bout with cancer”!  

May 4th I fly out to San Jose, luckily the flight was midweek, late in the evening.  After some wait at the baggage retrieval, I was out and in a few minutes the red taxi unido that was registered with Adventure Inn became my ten minute ride to the said hotel.  Arrival there is alway like returning home.  Familiar faces and effusive greetings, sharing hugs (without the lurking fear that the past pandemic has instilled). 

After settling into my room, I walk out into the post rain freshness of the night. The fragrance of  reina de la noche as they bloom into the night combined some other natural fragrances, especially the smell of fresh rain, all fill my senses. 

I run into Christopher, who is on his way back from Nicaragua to Mexico.  We exchange some niceties and the next day at breakfast a very engaging conversation on his life path. He has learned the ice bathing healing technique, which he accompanies with pranayama, with the Ice Man himself. Christopher shared his stories, his personal healing through this technique.  

The next day in the Interbus towards the Arenal, I chatted with Tina, who is considering retiring in Costa Rica. We shared our thoughts and it led to creating a group on WhatsApp.  Since then I met a few other expats that have relocated to this country as well as those on a research stage, and now we share our discoveries.  

Room at Ivannias'

 

I travelled on towards Arenal to spend a few days with Ivannia and Carlos.  The time spent there, a room overlooking the volcano, the sharing of meals and seeing these two friends brought a smile to my heart.   

Next stop was  a couple of days at Rancho Margot. I have some investment there and the trip was to further the discussion with the owner Juan, confirming the return of the loan by the year end.   

Rancho Margot Meditation

The fresh air of the ranch, food from the huerta, yoga led by Liz and then a tour by her, all contributed to a nourished stay.   I met Magalie, a Cordon Bleu Chef, who I met after many years. We remembered the food and the fiesta during a previous extended stay where I taught yoga as the resident yoga mama and she was the chef. Besides her other yummy food, the avocado chocolate mousse is so clearly remembered.  An evening with past acquaintances from the ranch, who live in the town of El Castillo was full of laughter.  Angelika now has two kids, the younger one was just born when I last met her, he is now 10.  We ate home cooked tacos and black beans and salad.  Her son Naoun, became our translator.  The rest of the evening was akin to comedy central, as I spoke my broken Spanish and they their English.  

Angelika, irum, Magalie & Naoun

Irum and Liz

I hitched a ride back with Magalie to Adventure Inn, where the friendships and laughter continued. 

Travis returned from Peru and we had another fun evening over dinner. He brought me a hand made scarf by the grandmother of the Shaman who helped him in his Ayahuasca ceremonies.  An astral connection with him during his last ceremony was a focus of conversation.  When friends meet laughter happens!

With Travis and Magalie

I was invited to the restaurant Tin Ho, to celebrate with Ivannia and her family, her sister’s 50th birthday.   The pad thai was excellent as was the ambiance.  It was a fun afternoon.  Her brother insists that he looks like a Pakistani, his wife Marce is a runner and wants to run the Toronto marathon. We exchanged contact, maybe one day we can swap our time and homes.

  

Story of Tin Ho Restaurant

Pad Thai

Delia and Luis came to take me dinner in the mountains near volcán barva. Through a scenic narrow drive we reached the restaurant at the top of the mountain. The air was fresh with a slight nip.  Delia lives in Santo Domingo and I spent a day with them. Meandering the small town, in and out of shops, with Luis stopping to show me the old street paving as well as the construction using earth. The walls of those building were surely a reminder of antique times. 

We returned to their beautiful home.  The dogs came out barking in excitement as Delia showed me her flower collection and the mosaic wall she has been creating. A sumptuous lunch of heart of palm risotto, vegetable soup and some red wine to wash it all down. It was good to see their two sons, David and Oskar Felipe. Oskar is celebrating his birthday soon.  Another south paw like me we feel connected. We talked about their trip to Canada and they shared their past trips to Peru. Maybe we will take the next one together. 

With Luis & Delia

As I finish writing the above, the planes starts its descent into Mexico City.   I will stay here for the night en route to Toronto. 

Mexico City

The three hours wait in the immigration line was making me realize that I might not be able to see the city at all.  I had booked myself at the Marriott which meant a walk from the terminal 1 right into the airport.  A decision I was feeling good about, as I stood in line, chatting other passengers who were nervous that they will miss their onward connections.  The two ladies, who were with me in the plane and now in the line, decided after an hour to buy their way to the head of the line.  With 200 dollars they did exactly that, some passenger was happy to let them cut in front of them for a price.  

I walked into the hotel, checked in and was glad that the concierge offered to get me a driver and car to take me to Zocalo.  Nothing like a hot shower and fresh clothes, with the idea of touring that historical part of the city centre.  Eduardo the driver knew some English, and as my sparse Espanol had got a refresher in Costa Rica, we hit it off great.  A wonderful two hours of sightseeing, the historical ruins of the historic Templo Mayor which they believed was at the centre of the universe.  The 50,000 years old meteorites and of course the delicious tacos.  

The journey back to Toronto brought me feeling nourished.  

Arenal at Sunrise

Arenal at Sunset

Mexico City Palacio de bella artes

Meteorite over 50,000 years old

Palacio de Mineria

Aztec Templo Mayor

Cathedral

Presidents Palace

Madero Calle

Best Tacos at Tacos de Canasta
Los Especiales
(Madero Calle)

Arenal - Giving Thanks

It overpowers! 

I sit to meditate and it compels me to keep my eyes open! Mesmerizing beauty in its magnificence.  

The smoke from its mouth evident of its aliveness!

Friends, beach, conversations and laughter

We hang out at cafe milagro...

Hotel Villa Cala Airport

I land at Juan Santa Maria airport in Costa Rica.  Its past 10 pm local time.  The airport is empty and the the other passengers who disembark with me walk right up to the waiting custom officers.   No lineups and soon I am outside feeling a breeze lifting any sign of travel fatigue.  

I had booked online and decided to give htis place a try.  Without air conditioning, the breeze coming through the open window, the sound of the swaying palm trees, I am transported back to my parents home.   The villa calla seems like a home, the layout its furniture and its gardens, are all very familiar. 

We are on the flight path, but the infrequent flights are not disturbing.   The hum of the traffic is far in the distance.

I am given a choice of breakfast, and choose to enjoy the local dish of rice and beans called gallo pinto.  I sit with my coffee by the pool.  A yellow butterfly flits and dances around, a white one joins in, and my meditation is being enthralled by nature.  

I realize we have free will, and when we surrender that will and its thoughts, then we too feel as if we are spirited and free.    

I go for a walk, I check my emails, write an articel for Luknow Tribune.  I hear the sound of the blender, out walks Carlos with this drink.  

He shows me the tree in the yard, its fruit is called Cas.  

I remind myself to find the exact spellings so I can locate it on the internet.  

Thoughts a collection of ideas

Jan 7, 2014 10:58 pm (Rancho Margot, Costa Rica)
Is the answer always to a question; or is the question itself the answer. 

Jan 25, 2014 5:25 pm (Rancho Margot, Costa Rica):
A knowing which happens in void in silence!

Feb 2, 2014 4:05 pm (Rancho Margot, Costa Rica):
The falling rain and the calm within. 

Soft sounds and a silence, both are the happenings, in this moment. 

My timeless heart feels this. Each heartbeat carries the nothingness and a thought. 

The unbound energy, no time can restrain its travel.

Feb 6, 2014 8:54 am (Rancho Margot, Costa Rica):

Thought from looking at the Mandela I colored this morning: 

Once the heart centre is full, what else is there left to color?   

Feb 7, 2014 6:15 am (Rancho Margot, Costa Rica):
Dark allows the light to shine.

If you are dark and I the light.

No separation. 

What was past - Nov 30 to Dec 3 in CR

Nov 30:

morning first spanish lesson

afternoon depart at 2:30 for Montevrde, cloud forest, arrive there at 7 pm

Dec 1:

Spend the full day at Monteverde

Dec 2: leave for Arenal, arrive there by noon, check in the hotel and go to the hot springs in the evening

Dec 3: return to san jose, escazu to casa laurin

Costa Rica, November Full Moon

The above words came soon after I finished meditating on the beach in Cahuita.  

The last five weeks have been busy, spent with six students, guiding, coaching and assessing them in their yoga teacher training.  

Each person who immerses themself in this journey of yoga comes out on the other side - changed in more then one way.  The long hours of the training are challenging and demanding.  Sometimes a person is faced with their fears and at times the strong filters of conditioning are brought to the forefront.  

Through all this, I am happy that Malorie, Lyndi, Chelsea, Joice, Rhéline and Miranda, came out smiling, confident and ready to share their practice.  

And now it's time to relax in Cahuita. A full moon dance, a day spent in the sunshine of the beach, sand and ocean and this evening teaching and sharing a yoga practice by the evening light, besides the poolside.  

The clouds parted and the full moon was a sight to behold, brilliant and shining, reassuring as the next breath.  

Fall Equinox

Fall for 2012 begins in the Northern Hemisphere on September 22, 10:49 A.M. EDT, in Costa Rica that would be 8:49 am. On the first day of fall—the autumnal equinox—day and night are each about 12 hours long (with the actual time of equal day and night, in the Northern Hemisphere, occurring a few days after the autumnal equinox). The Sun crosses the celestial equator going southward; it rises exactly due east and sets exactly due west. And so on with the facts and figures…

Comes a time for reflection, maybe a time for drawing the warmth of longer evenings, or withdrawing in to shorter ones.

Beyond our thoughts, arising from the left hemisphere of the brain, comes the space to find the silence of existence…
the falling leaves,
the impermanence of life,
the passage of time and the changing of seasons…
to have lived each season to its fullest, learned lifes' lessons, loved with ones' heart, the passion in the doing and in being…

a message received in meditation, sounds so simple, so direct "accept and move"… a dream that a return is not always to the known, that in not remembering lies a freshness, a new life and a new world…to borrow these lines from Khalil Gibran: "And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free?"

200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training - in Costa Rica!

Come join Certified Yoga Instructor Irum Naqvi as i share my 25+ years of personal yoga practice and teachings. I am the Director of the Center for Natural Living at Rancho Margot in Costa Rica. I travel with my teachings from Costa Rica to Canada, Austria, Belgium, Israel, Egypt, Pakistan and Thailand.

This 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training is your opportunity to learn the techniques and methodology for guiding yoga practice with awareness of “Live the Yoga” Philosophy. Rancho Margot’s Center for Natural Living is situated along the Cane Negro River on a sustainable 400-acre ranch in the heart of the mountain rainforests of Costa Rica.

During your training, you will enjoy and benefit your physical health with fruits, vegetables and other produce from the Ranch, all grown without chemicals.

Through this four-week training you will engage in intense physical practice and thought provoking discussions to receive the light, to explore your inner being; discovering your true self you bring your awareness to your layers of conditionings and the Samskaras. The transformation will leave you energized, confident and ready to follow your inner calling. You will learn how to teach, how to guide and share your yoga practice, built on the foundation of your own practice.

The deeper we go, the lighter we become. Namaste~

For more information about this unique YTT opportunity please contact:

info@irum.com or view the website:
Who is irum

Rancho Margot

November Full Moon and 11.11.11

i sit here on my computer, less than 24 hours away from the full moon in November....a time of contemplations, realizations, of acknowledgement, of release and manifestation.

If Existence is an expression of the Universal Conciousness, then through thoughts, words, feelings and actions this expression is shared. We relate through this expression…

Rituals, are also a mode of expression...we meditate at the time of the full moon, and in the night have our release and manifestation ritual around the fire....turning into 11.11.11 at 11 am we will be doing our 108 sun salutations….

As we focus on what or how we want our lives to be, somewhere, somehow the realization will dawn, "which of my fears and conditioning can i let go"....

We awaken to peace and joy...

Yoga Retreat at Rancho Margot - October 8 to 15

Yoga with Jackie Chiodo and Irum Naqvi


Location: Rancho Margot - where nature and nurture are one

Costa Rica October 8th to October 15th

Yoga at Rancho Margot will leave you with the feeling that Life is a journey and not a destination. The daily life at the ranch allows one to be in the moment……every morning dawns with the sound of the howler monkeys and the singing of the birds........it is an orchestra, sometime the sound of rain adding its own tune to the morning symphony.

Move through your yoga poses with the surrounding trees, flowers, and the magnificent magical mountain. The sounds and sights of the toucans, hummingbirds and butterflies help you to deepen your practice, each breath a transformation. Being in this space, will help you to surrender all the accumulated stress, tension and let you return to your natural state of being. As we surrender, we heal and bring continuous joy in our life.

If you are interested in a week of yoga to relax and unwind, then avail this opportunity, on the shores of Lake Arenal and the valley of the Cano Negro River. Whether you have never done yoga or you are an experienced practitioner of yoga, the transformation you experience will be profound.

Practice daily yoga and meditation sessions with Jackie, Irum and Frederick. Participate in a daily yoga session, Chakra and walking meditation, yoga nidra and a healing session. Enjoy your free time relaxing on the hammocks, kayaking on lake arenal, hiking to the Mirador, horseback riding, bike riding, zip lining or just getting lost in the rainforest.

Check this link and read what all Rancho Margot has to offer
http://www.ranchomargot.org/


7 nights......October 8th to the 15th

The following accommodation options include: 3 meals per day, pickup and drop off at the airport and a 2 hour ranch tour. All other ranch activities listed on the Rancho Margot website will be available to you at their cost.
The amounts are listed in USD.

1: Bunkhouse - single occupancy $ 970
2: Bunkhouse - double occupancy $ 900
3: Bungalow - single occupancy $ 1495
4: Bungalow - double occupancy $ 1195

Email:
irum.b.naqvi@gmail.com
or
Jackiechiodo@yahoo.com