The People

Aloha!  It is whale season here in Hawaii and this morning, at The Point, I watched a huge whale fully breech the water, I mean full huge body curved in mid air and come crashing back down.  It was incredible.  The 4 of us there to see it were in full standing and cheering ovation.  Here is a picture of my first Hawaii sunrise from a few days ago from where I saw the whale this morning.

Well as I come to the six week mark of my stay here at Kalani, I am overwhelmed by my new Ohana (extended family).  Everyone comes with a different story from a different place.  There is Jose from New York.  This is his third winter at Kalani.  He comes here to get away from the cold.  Here is he driving for the first time on a real road!  Living in New York, he has never driven before.  I got to be his proud passenger!  He took me a few miles up the road to a nice lava made lookout of the ocean.

There is Julia, Moti, Kerry and Sara all from different areas of the mainland.  Here we are hanging out down at Kehena Beach for the Sunday drum circle.  All have been here for a few months if not longer and come with their own unique story of how they got here.

Kerry, Julia, Moti, me and Sara

Here is Yulia from Austria.  Her and her husband Lucas just finished a one month sabbatical visit here.  Yulia is a returning volunteer.  She wanted to her husband Lucas to see first hand what she learned here.

Yulia

Jules and Lily

Monk Seal

This is Jules and Lily.  We spent the day up in Hilo earlier this week running errands.  We ended our visit at Hilo Bay Park where we saw a baby beached monk seal.  Lily has been around for a couple years.  She is a Chef in the kitchen.  Jules is a midwestern wanderer.  He even lived for a couple years in Oconomowoc, WI when he was 4!  Such a small world sometimes.

Hilo Bay Park

A former volunteer once explained Kalani as relationship bootcamp.  And it really is.  Some people might think running away to Hawaii is avoiding your problems.  I disagree.  When living in community, you are running head on into what your real issues are.  You start to see people as a reflection of you.  You're faced daily with looking at your true self. Some people test you, or rather teach you something about yourself.  Maybe learning how to see things through someone else's eyes.  Or that there are a million ways to complete a task and more then one is right.  Maybe you talk too much.  Or not enough.  Maybe, just maybe, you aren't as patient and grateful as you think.   

These people and many more remind me daily of how many different ways there are to view and live our lives.  I'm constantly inspired by the reminder of how it is about the journey and not the destination.  How to naturally enjoy and appreciate every minute as it is happening in place of the constant worry or anxiety of life's day to day drama's or following social norms.  I'm starting to learn how to live in the present for more than 2 seconds!  I've realized that it was my prayer to get here.  My being here is God's or the universe's response.  To live in that euphoria of I knowing I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be right now is a very safe and comfortable place.  My cup runneth over!

Uncle Roberts

And just like everyone else, every Wednesday we hop the shuttle down to Uncle Robert's to blow of steam.  Uncle Robert's is this funny weekly ritual that pops up out of no where once a week.  It's a cross between a festival/bar/market and local fair.  We get wood-fired pizza's and $2 bottles of wine/beer and enjoy the local music and people.  It's built on an old lava flow that took out Hawaii's most beautiful black sand beach (Coconut Beach) a few years ago.  You can hike a lava tube, watch the sunset and then chill out at Uncle Robert's.  

Well, my friend Trisha is coming to visit on Sunday for 11 days.  We will spend the first 5 here on the Big Island exploring and spending time at Green Sands Beach, hiking a lava tube and in Kona and then fly up to Oahu for the following 6 days including the super bowl!  Trisha has set up many adventures for us on Oahu including a shark dive, surfing and hiking the Stairway to Heaven at night for the sunrise!  You go in at night, watch the sunrise and back down again.  4000 stairs!  It's not exactly "legal" as the trail is closed, but 1000 people do it a year so it's pretty safe. :)  So my next couple weeks will be filled with adventure.  Looking forward to blogging about it!  Aloha until then!  Sending light and love!

Nuturing

When I last left off I was on my way to a Watsu (water massage) appointment.  This kicked off a week full of nurturing.  When you hear the word nurturing, what feelings or thoughts come to mind?  Comfort?  Peace?  Who makes you feel nurtured? Mom?  Friends?  Significant other? When was the last time you remember feeling nurtured?  Synonyms for nurture include advance, cultivate, encourage, forward, further, incubate, nourish, nurse, foster and promote. 

I had no idea what to expect from my Watsu session.   I got into the 4 foot deep, heated to body temperature pool with my Watsu therapist, Paul.  Here is a picture of the pool the day after my session.  (My session was in the evening and it was raining.  There was a tarp above the pool that blocked the rain during my session.  It blew off in the night due to some strong winds.)  Paul put floats on my legs and got me used to laying on my back, breathing in to a count of four and out to a count of four.  Nice even breaths.  Within minutes I was in another place, at peace and completely supported by the water and Paul.  Paul moved me around, stretching every bone, muscle and joint with a very soft, smooth and dancing touch.  Around halfway in, he put a nose plug on the tip of my nose and as we had discussed, as I breathed out of my mouth to a four count he would start to turn me so I would be submerged under water for a little while.  All I can say is that it is amazing how long your body can hold your breath without any stress or strain when at complete relaxation.  We spend the rest of my 90 minute session in and out of submerging sequences. 

At the end, as Paul was bringing me out of my meditative state, he mentioned that many people find Watsu to be very nurturing.  I don't know what happened, but something inside me was triggered by that word.  I was overcome with emotion.  It was the first time I have cried here at Kalani.  Paul warned me prior that sometimes people cry in the pool and to not be surprised by it.  Well, he was right because there I was just bawling in the pool.  Haha.  The session had been very nurturing and I believe I had forgotten what that feels like and how much I missed it.  I should take a minute here to thank all of you (you know who you are) that went out of your way to try and make me feel that way over the past year.  I love you all!

Well, if Watsu wasn't enough, the next day I had a 30 minute appt with a Shakti on energy healing.  (Hey, I'm at a Wellness Retreat, time to move out of vacation mode and jump into why I came!)  The meeting was pretty basic.  We mainly went through a worksheet exercise ranking different areas of my life and then envisioning the feelings around what I want more of in my life and why.  While it was a basic exercise, it's always interesting to have a visual of what you are thinking and to say those words allowed.  I cried again.  Haha.  But that was it.  The only times this week and the first two times in my first full month here! 

Later in the week I attended the Shakti's Meridian Tapping Circle.  We spent the first hour going through an interesting worksheet on how we view and feel about our finances and then tapping out any negative energy.  I'd never been to anything like this before.  It was very interesting and again nice to have a visual worksheet on something like finances that many people, including myself, have difficulty looking at it in a positive light and without stress/anxiety. 

I've also been to 4 yoga classes this week and have gotten down to the Point everyday.  Here are a couple pictures of one of my studios and the front door entrance to the studio overlooking the ocean.  I had a Restorative Yoga class there this morning.  At the end of practice, instead of finishing with the usual "OM", my cute instructor Caroline asked us to sing-along to, as she put it, "the great Prophet, Robert Marley's Three Little Birds".   I broke into big smiles at this.  Such a fun way to start the day...

"Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right.
Singin': "Don't worry about a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right! "

Rise up this mornin',
Smile with the risin' sun,
Three little birds
Each by my doorstep
Singin' sweet songs
Of melodies pure and true,
Sayin', ("This is my message to you-ou-ou: ")

Singin': "Don't worry 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right."
Singin': "Don't worry (don't worry) 'bout a thing,
'Cause every little thing gonna be all right! "

Finally, I ensured myself some playful nurturing this week too.  I did get out to watch the Packer playoff game last Sunday.  I went snorkeling down at some tide pools near by one day after work.  I also went down to the local open market, bar, band and food mini-festival that erupts every Wednesday night on some local grounds down on the lava rocks a few miles up the road.

So, as I say Aloha for now, I end asking did you feel nurtured this week?  I hope so!!!  I've had some extreme dosages of it lately! :)  Here is the view of the Red Road I cross going to the Point everyday!  Mahalo for reading!!!!

 

Happy New Year!!!

Aloha and Happy New Year!  My past week between the holidays has been spent getting back into a more regular yoga routine, working and doing a little more exploring.  I took 4 yoga classes in 5 days.  The open air studios are so peaceful to practice in.  I enjoy the lower impact classes like Yin Yoga and Restorative.  You spend 3-ish minutes in each pose and can really focus on relaxing the mind as well as the body.  But I'll dedicate a future blog post to the studios and classes later.

As we are in the rainy season here, it was a pretty wet week.  I did do a little adventuring on one of my days off.  I borrowed a car with chef Ted and a few other volunteers this past Monday to run some errands and do a little more exploring of the local area.  Here is Ted and I eating pizza for lunch in the closest town with commerce, Pahoa.  It was my first Coke since I've been here.  It tasted really sweet having not had one in weeks.  I liked it. :) 

Island Naturals Food/Supplies in Pahoa

Pahoa main drag

Pahoa is filled with local businesses, eateries, a few bars, natural health food store, coffee shop and smoke shop.  Here are a few pics to give you an idea of what I mean.  Keep in mind, this is the poorest district of Hawaii.  Many get by on trading goods and services.  

Isaac Hale Park

Isaac Hale Park

When Ted and I were finished running errands we took the scenic route down the Red Road back to Kalani.  The Red Road is a popular tourist drive with many scenic beach, look out and snorkeling stops.  I'm lucky that Kalani is a stop on the Red Road.  All I need to do is walk or hitch a ride in either direction from the Kalani entrance and I have a wealth of beautiful activities.  After we picked up a couple more Kalani friends, Lisa and Kat, we stopped at the store for some wine and beer and got back on the Red Road and went down to Isaac Hale Park to enjoy our cocktails.  Here are a couple pics of the park.

After a little while, a storm started rolling in.  We noticed it as the surfers all got out of the water.  Safe to follow the surfers, they know more about the weather than anyone else.  So the four of us piled back into our ride and went back into Pahoa for a Mexican dinner.  We finished the evening at the local Kava Bar sharing a few bowls.  To all my Fiji friends, it still looks and tastes the same as it did 11 years ago, like drinking hand sanitizer.  Haha  Here are pics from dinner and our Kava nightcap.

Kava Time!

New Years was nice.  I worked early on New Years Eve, so although I made it to midnight, I was asleep by 12:30.  We had a party with a 9 person reggae band.  It was open to the public so I saw a lot of local color.  People dancing in all styles, rhymes and flows  and in all sorts of dress or in very little clothes.  The band was great and everyone had a pretty good time. 

Today is my day off.  If the weather holds out, I'll walk down to the beach.  I have a 4:30 yoga class and an 8pm Watsu water therapy appointment.  Watsu is aquatic bodywork, combining elements of massage, joint mobilisation, shiatsu, muscle stretching and dance.  I'm looking forward to crawling into bed tonight all relaxed and hopefully still feeling like I'm floating in the water.

Well, as the first few posts have been more based around providing an understanding of what my new day to day is like, that may get pretty old for me to type and you to read.  So I'd love to make this more of an open forum.  Feel free to post comments if you have any questions or comments on anything you'd like to know more about and I'll blog some answers.  I'll also look to focus my future posts more on specific topics, i.e. the yoga, the people, the pool/clothing optional areas, how I"m changing/evolving etc.  

Happy 2014 everyone and go Packers in the playoffs this weekend!!!!  Sending light, love and Aloha!

Mele Kalikimaka!!!!

Aloha and Mele Kalikimaka!  It's a beautiful Christmas Eve day here on the Big Island.  I woke up to the smell of bacon and literally went running to the line!  Bacon isn't a common breakfast item here at Kalani Wellness Retreat, so it draws a crowd!  Here are a couple pics of what Christmas looks like in Hawaii.  This is the kitchen/lanai (dining porch) where I work and eat and currently live above!

As for where I left off last time, I was saying I would see where last Thursday would take me as I was off with no plans.  Well it rained most of the day, but warm rain doesn't stop adventure!  That afternoon myself, Amanda (a sweet volunteer that started with me) followed Chef Ted on a walk down to secret beach.  Ted is one of the kitchen chef's here.  He has a dry sense of humor and a long, slow, southern drawl which pulls off his humor perfectly!  His daughter is my age, so he's seen some life and can tell a great story.  If you need a laugh check out his blog.  cheftedswanderinandaponderin.blogspot.com/ 

I digress, Ted took Amanda and I up the road 2 miles explaining every volcanic rock flow, missionary cemetery and local house along the way.  Eventually we dove off the road and into the jungle, on a path you would never know was there unless someone showed you.  I guess that's why it's called Secret Beach.  Ted did forwarn us that we were going to wonder where this guy was taking us at first.  Once you get to the ocean, you crawl over some volcano rocks to get to this perfect cove filled with naturally made rock pools.  You sit in these pools while the waves crash against your rock walls and shoot sweet, salty ocean spray over you like a shower.  My apologies for no pictures put it was close to down pouring throughout this entire 4 hour excursion.  Once we were done playing around, we started our walk back.  A local Puna resident picked us up about 5 minutes in and we crawled into the back of his truck to hitch a ride back to Kalani.  Walking in the rain is nice, but that doesn't mean you turn down a ride! 


Friday I worked.  My buddy that was assigned to me when I first got here picked me up on her scooter during lunch and took me a mile in the opposite direction from Secret Beach to Kehena Beach.  It's a popular local clothing optional beach known for some strong waves, great views, weekend drum circles and very entertaining people watching.  My buddy wanted to show me this beach as I hadn't seen it yet.  So we hiked down and jumped in to cool off from the hot work day.  She did a quick black sand scrub, we got dressed again and we were back up to work with time to spare.  Now that is a lunch hour!

I went back to Kehena the next day after work with Ted and Amanda and hung out with some more volunteers that were there.  I got a little rocked swimming in the waves.  The current is really strong.  It reminded me to stay humble and grounded, especially when you are in the ocean!  Here are some pictures from the day. 

Yesterday I took the bus into Hilo with a fellow volunteer named India, from Portugal.  If you can get a ride, Hilo is less than an hour away.  We opted to ride the bus, which takes two hours, so we can see the little hidden areas of our part of the island.  It was a site for the ears and eyes as locals called "Puna-ticks" got on and off the bus.  The smells were a little funky at times, but with the National Lampoons X-mas Vacation theme song playing on the radio, and me surrounded by cousin Eddie's, I was happy and entertained.  We made it to downtown Hilo.  Here are some pics of the shopping and amazing flowers from the markets.  We had lunch and soaked up the 4G cell phone availability as cell reception here is few and far between.  Another volunteer drove into town and met up for lunch.  We shopped around and then hit up Walmart on our way out of town for some necessities.  A beach towel, straw sand mat, soft sided cooler and family size box of Cheez-it's were on my list!  Haha.  


This week I'm getting back in my yoga groove.  The retreat was closed down last week for a deep clean of the property, so classes were limited.  This week it's back to regular schedules. So I will be spending the rest of my X-mas Eve Morning in Hatha yoga class.  I work tomorrow afternoon.  With this place being a 24/7 operation, there is no "off" for anyone really over holidays unless you are out of town.  No one seems to really notice or care about having to work.  The attitudes are good and people are happy to be spending the days with friends whether you are working together or have off.  Tonight we have an intuitive white elephant gift giving.  I picked up a box a band aids while in town yesterday.  They have quotes on them like "No Pain, No Gain" and "Everybody Hurts".  I'm sure whoever gets them will enjoy it!  

Well I hope everyone has wonderful holidays and a happy new year!  Aloha until the next post!

My New Front Porch View

Aloha!  Here are a couple views from my new front porch!  This is the overlook across the street from the entrance to Kalani called The Point.  It's a beautiful view and a peaceful spot to get away.  Watching the waves hit the rocks can put you in a trance.  Like watching flames in a campfire.

Well, today is now day 6 for me here.  It's everything I wanted and more!  I got in late last Wednesday night.  Thursday was spent in orientations for the property and the kitchen where I work.  I did get down to the pool a bit too.  I also took a couple yoga classes in one of the 3 open aired studios here.  They were wonderful!

I worked Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  It's nice to be in a kitchen again.  I spoke with the manager and as I'll be staying until June (yes, it's official, extending until June), I'll be cross training into different kitchen trainer/lead roles.

Life is simple here.  People smile and are very grateful/appreciative.  Genuine thank you's (and hugs!) for work or conversation or anything really are constant.  I have met around 100 people in 6 days.  Ages 22-80.  There is an equal number of people of every age and all come with a story and a past.  It's so reassuring to be around so many stories that have brought all of us here together now.

No one carries around money.  You don't need to.  Everything you need from food, laundry to countless activities are at your fingertips and included in my volunteer role.  People trade services and talents for anything you may want.  Some volunteers make a little fun money by offering to clean, do your laundry, weed around your tent (if you're camping) as well as if you need to borrow a car or bike for a day.  So anything you need is here and if there is a price it's because it's a want and not a need.  And even the wants cost very little.

Here is a picture of my new Hale (pronounced Ha-le) meaning home in Hawaiian.  It's shaped like a piece of pie.  I sleep on the top bunk to the left.  It's stripped down right now as I'm doing laundry.  It's best to do laundry once a week, including bedding, to avoid any possible mildew or mold.  Most of my back wall is a screen letting the sweet rain forest air and sounds in at all time.  I have two roommates.  Both are very sweet and leave next month.  So I'll get new ones then.

Yesterday was the start of 3 days off now.  I went to my first bonfire drum circle at The Point.  It was pretty sweet!  Today I went to the town near by, Pahoa, with one of my roommates who borrowed a car.  We did a little shopping and had a coffee and some good conversation.  Tonight I'm taking the shuttle into town to a pub to get some local color and music for happy hour and then going to open mic night.  Thursday, I'm starting my day with an hour massage and then seeing where the day takes me.  I'm feeling so blessed to have the next 6 months here!

Well, there is no shortage of things to write about!  So I'll stop here for now.  I'll post more in a week or so!  Aloha and Happy Holidays!  Here's a pic of a little friend that sat next to me while I typed this!

It Began...

The video on the website said people choose to volunteer for 3 main reasons:

1. Some are really into yoga and they want to practice it everyday, maybe multiple times a day.

2. Some never set foot in a yoga studio.  They just want to spend an extended period of time in Hawaii in a low cost way.

3. Some are going through a transition in their life (grieving, divorce, job change etc...) and they want to take some time to step back and rejuvenate.

I wanted all 3.

So here I am, half a year later all packed up and ready to set out on my 3-6 month trip to Hawaii to volunteer at Kalani Oceanside Retreat.  www.kalani.com  The intention for this blog is to share my travel experiences and day to day with friends, family and anyone who is interested. I fly out on Dec. 10th! Posts to come after that! Aloha!