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Awaken to Joy Retreat

The Harmony Healing Centre works with really awesome, gifted teachers who share our passion for holistic wellness.  Our dear friends Susan Bianchi and Becky Eshelman recently guided a women’s retreat at the Harmony using the engaging, thoughtful, and playful process of BAALL – Breathe, Ask, Allow, Listen & Love. Here they offer a glimpse into the experience.

Walking onto the lush grounds at Harmony Healing Centre allowed everyone the opportunity to take a moment, look around and just exhale. That was the intention behind having BAALL Process’ Awaken to Joy Retreat at the Harmony.

And with that exhale the retreat had started.

The retreat was all about awakening our senses, feeling the Joy, discovering the blocks and moving through them in a Joyful, playful, pampering environment. As the attendees entered their week, they did not fully know what was to transpire but they all showed up fully committed and open to their path and to the process of Awakening.

It was exciting and inspiring to see their shifts. Trusting in the BAALL Process and in each of us, made for a most perfect space to grow and play. These women came to embrace the experience and move forward in their lives and sharing in those transformations was humbling.

The morning sessions provided a creative and supportive space for each woman to explore at her own pace, while honoring each others’ paths and journeys. The power of women coming together in a sacred space cannot be underestimated. Exploration and new discoveries built as the days progressed. They were full in experience, yet not rushed in time. We would like to think that together we expanded time. That might be a little stretch, but maybe not.

The Retreat began at the ocean with a sunrise scrub and playful dip in the ocean, opening ourselves for the week to come. The closing of the Retreat ended at the ocean with a magnificent sunset, dance on the beach, float in the tide pools and conversation suspended as the sun joined us for a dip in the ocean. Nature once again proved to be the most perfect punctuation for the week, an Elixir for the soul.

Awaken to Joy will return to Harmony Hotel, Nosara, Costa Rica in May 2019.

Jun 13, 2018 | Categories: Costa Rica | Comments Off on Awaken to Joy Retreat

Sound Library: Meditation Workshops w/ Jeff Warren

In addition to the Consciousness Explorers Club sessions, Jeff led a series of workshops centered around the practice of meditation.  These recordings are full audio of the workshops, recorded at the Harmony Healing Centre.

Elements of Meditation

Exploring a clear understanding of four core meditation styles: concentration (leads to peace), mindfulness (leads to perspective), loving-kindness (leads to connection), and “just being” (leads to acceptance) and how they can all be mixed, matched, and integrated into a single practice routine. A fun workshop inspired by Jeff Warren’s new book. 

Teaching Meditation

Explore some basics principles of how to guide a practice and why it matters. Although meditation teaching is a vocation like anything else, there is an accessible end to teaching that is important for everyone to grasp – no matter who you are, no matter your level of experience as a practitioner.

 

Apr 02, 2018 | Categories: Costa Rica, Creative Culture, Harmony Hotel | Comments Off on Sound Library: Meditation Workshops w/ Jeff Warren

Sound Library: The Consciousness Explorers Club

In January and February 2018 the Harmony Healing Centre had the pleasure to host Jeff Warren, co-author of the New York Times bestselling Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics at the Harmony Hotel.  Jeff hosted four mind-body explorations with guest teachers under the umbrella of the Consciousness Explorers Club (CEC) to explore a few of the various healing modalities offered in Nosara.  The deeper intention running through these offerings were to open the minds of students and teachers to recognize that in the end, the teacher lays within, and whatever modality is being practiced is just an opportunity to connect with that teacher.

We recorded each of these sessions at the HHC so that we could share them with a larger audience and create a ripple effect that radiates out from our practice here in Nosara.

They are real time audio, so no editing for time has been made and you’ll experience the entire session as a participant would.  There’s a lot of juicy content here, so we hope you’ll listen in and return to them as often as you like to explore, discover and be inspired.

CEC Part 1: The 5 Rhythms: Exploring Mind-Body Practices with Amber Ryan  5Rhythms® is a philosophy, perspective, performance art and a dynamic movement practice rooted in the principle that if you put the psyche in motion it will heal itself.

 

CEC Part 2: Restorative Yoga with Jane Fryer  A blend of breathing, asanas, meditation, chanting, relaxation, and philosophy.

 

CEC Part 3: Meditation with Annette Knopp  The art of looking inside and discovering one’s own inner being.

 

CEC Part 4: Stone Medicine Ceremony with Heather Lundy  A ceremony and discussion of the practical application of old world medicine in the information age.

 

Apr 02, 2018 | Categories: Costa Rica, Creative Culture, Harmony Hotel | Comments Off on Sound Library: The Consciousness Explorers Club

Art, Advocacy, and Nosara’s Green Zones

“Rather than saying “this is what I think about the Green Zones,” I was much more interested in designing a project that let everyone have a voice, and that evolved organically, in an open and generous way.”

 -Jenny Kendler 

During the rainy season of 2015 and the dry season of 2016, environmental activist and artist Jenny Kendler visited Nosara as part of the Harmony Artist in Residence program. During her stays, she explored our town’s green zones, and became familiar with the unique natural aspects of the tropical dry forest. (you can read about her first impressions here). The art project she then designed became a call for residents and visitors to experience the green zones for themselves with a greater sense of awareness. Through a series of meditation walks organized by the Harmony Healing Centre, participants spent time in the forest deeply appreciating their surroundings, and recorded their own special moments with a photograph. Jenny then collected these images into a beautiful community sourced artist book entitled Green Zones: Moments of Wonder in the Forests of Nosara.

On February 17 2018, we gathered with the Nosara community at the Harmony Juice Bar to celebrate Jenny’s project and to say a special thank you to everyone who contributed their time and images to the book. Not only is Green Zones a record of the love our community has for these special areas, it is an advocacy tool for their continued protection.

All proceeds from book sales will go to help the Nosara Civic Association’s ongoing efforts to preserve the green zones. A hardcover edition of the book can be purchased by visiting the publisher Candor Arts, and a soft cover edition is available by emailing info@nca.cr, or visiting La Tiendita at Harmony.

Read more about the project on Jenny’s website, and check out below for a few pics from the meditation walk and our book release event. (thanks to Kirsten Ellis of Beaux Arts Photographie for capturing these moments!) And of course get out and enjoy the green zones for yourself when you’re in Nosara!

Mar 15, 2018 | Categories: Costa Rica, Creative Culture, Harmony Hotel, Nature, Nosara | Comments Off on Art, Advocacy, and Nosara’s Green Zones

The Story of Jeux De Vagues

Katherine working in her studio.

We love learning about the amazing projects that our Harmony guests are working on!  Our friend Katherine Terrell is the founder of eco-conscious swimwear brand Jeux De Vagues (you can find her bikinis at Harmony’s Tiendita).  We thought it’d be great to share a little bit more about her and how she got started in sustainable fashion. Thanks for the writing Katherine!

From Bag Bans to Bikinis — The Story of Jeux De Vagues

How it began

It’s funny how dreams get realized. Sometimes they begin with an idea so outrageous that it bubbles up with zero gravitas. As if that could ever really happen. As if. “What if we lived in Costa Rica, and I sold bikinis for a living?”

I was pregnant with my son when the idea crossed my mind. Pregnant and still stoked as ever, I had to relearn how to surf with a big belly full of baby. That meant knee-paddling into waves. My body underwent a radical transformation, and it gave me a profound understanding of how dynamic women’s bodies are.

Activism

The year before I got pregnant marked my transition out of actively volunteering as an activist for Surfrider Foundation.

For five years, I served in multiple capacities for the Los Angeles chapter, from tabling events to working on clean water task forces, eventually becoming the Rise Above Plastics coordinator and a member of the chapter’s Executive Committee. During my time with Surfrider, there was a growing environmental movement that was exciting and hard to ignore.

There was emerging awareness of the “Texas-sized” mass of floating plastic garbage in the Pacific Ocean, which we now know to be more like a plastic smog that permeates all oceans. We learned about the dangers of plastic exposure, such as BPA, to human health. It was all eye-opening, shocking, and information that, for a die-hard environmentalist like me, begged to be spread.

Under a debris field in the Pacific. Photo Credit: NOAA Marine Debris Program

I was up to task to evangelize. The Rise Above Plastics program was designed to do exactly that. Armed with a short and digestible presentation, we spoke to corporate offices, rotary clubs, elementary schools and colleges. Sometimes it was just a handful of people. At other times, we filled auditoriums.

The significance of this program was timed with proposed legislation to ban single-use plastic bags in Los Angeles and Santa Monica. A domino effect ensued, and city after city enacted their own municipal bag bans, starting in late 2010 with LA County and culminating in 2014 with a statewide ban across California.

For the work I had done with Rise Above Plastics, I was awarded Surfrider Foundation’s Wavemaker of the Year Award in 2011.

Katherine surfing Guiones in one of her designs. Photo by Alexander Brayan Briones

From bag bans to bikinis

As a surfer and an activist, I saw there was a real need for a better option out there for bikinis, one that would bridge the fashion sense I craved for in a bikini while coming from a company whose ethos I could get behind.

There was no question that Jeux De Vagues would be more than just another bikini brand. It would be purpose-driven. Material choice was was on top of the list. Our fabrics in solid colors are made with ECONYL®, which is made of pre and post-consumer waste (nylon scraps / fishnets and carpet fluff), and our printed fabrics are made from recycled water bottles.

Using fabrics from recycled materials are great, but we are aware they are not the perfect solution. Our ultimate goal and challenge is to create a closed-loop system in the manufacturing and use of our bikinis, where rather than going cradle-to-grave (to landfill), our bikinis are cradle-to-cradle (regenerated or reused).

To show our commitment to the environment, we became a member of 1% For The Planet at inception. This year, we are seeking certification as a B-Corp company, which would meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.

Katherine in her studio (l) and Marissa in Jeux De Vagues at the HH (r). Right photo by Alexander Brayan Briones

What began as a casual daydream is now a business and full-fledged reality. I am indeed selling bikinis in Costa Rica, where our family spends a part of the year.

We head south to slow down and to rewild ourselves in the jungle, and — let’s not kid ourselves — to surf everyday. The little surf town of Nosara has become a second home to us, where we enjoy the simple pleasures of surfing, sunset chasing, beachcombing, and mindful being.

My days of activism are not over. Through Jeux De Vagues, I want to empower women to be their best selves through surfing, and to be active citizens in their community. It means seeing ourselves as powerful women in and out of the water.

When a woman wears Jeux De Vagues, I want them to remember that they are  warriors, and they can do whatever they set their minds to.

Our friend Emily surfing Guiones in one of Katherine’s creations. Photo by Alexander Brayan Briones

 

Mar 09, 2018 | Categories: Costa Rica, Creative Culture, Sustainability | Comments Off on The Story of Jeux De Vagues

Consciousness Explorers

Meditation instructor Jeff Warren is returning to Nosara and the Harmony Hotel this month, and The Healing Centre will be hosting his Consciousness Explorers Club beginning on January 31.  Held on Wednesday evenings over the course of 4 weeks, each session will begin with a guided meditation by Jeff, followed by demonstration, practice and discussion led by a different guest teacher every week.  Various healing practices and technologies will be featured and explored:

January 31: Amber Ryan – 5 Rythms
February 7: Jane Fryer – Restorative Yoga
February 14: Annette Knopp – Meditation
February 21: Heather Lundy – Therapy

For more information, email healingcentre@harmonynosara.com.

 

Jan 18, 2018 | Categories: Costa Rica, Creative Culture, Harmony Hotel | Comments Off on Consciousness Explorers

Puravida Peartree: Connection Through Creativity

The Puravida Peartree workshop is a week long exploration of movement and creativity spanning a wide range of creative pursuits  including raw desert making with Emily Aumiller of Lael Cakes, floral arranging workshops with myself + Sarah Blasi from Selva Floral, jungle foraging, book making + botanical illustrations with artist Scott Whipkey, alongside Nosara’s core activities of yoga and surfing. Last November, our second Puravida Peartree workshop took place, combining moving and making, nature marveling, and human connection.

Our students were able to experiment with locally-sourced Costa Rican product, along with local fruits and foraged materials to create tropical floral arrangements with a loose, whimsical flair. We had fun styling each student’s pieces, collaborating and taking photos so that each student could go home with a portfolio of his or her own work. With each creative journey from flowers to desserts, we slowed down the process to enjoy each step, not just the final product.

Our week culminated with a beautiful styled Tico dinner at the Harmony’s Restaurant that brought together all the creative courses from the week. We divided the group into teams to work on portions of the evening’s decor. Some people worked on decorating cakes. Others began work on the table’s flowers and the overhead tropical floral installation. Others drew unique place cards with whimsical botanical illustrations on them.

We rotated throughout the day so everyone could touch all parts of the design that interested them. Teachers stepped out of their disciplines to work in new spaces. My favorite part of the evening was when everyone interacted with the decor. It eliminated the museum-like quality of styled events and instead got to the core of the workshop’s motivation: creating for ourselves and finding connection through creativity. The students at last year’s Puravida Peartree were each creating for their own sakes, for their own enrichment and enjoyment. But the collaborations are what elevated each of us, myself included, and the results were beyond my expectations.

Our third installment is coming up November 3-9 back at the Harmony Hotel and I can’t wait to see what we create together this year. There are still a few spots open if you’d like to join us.

All photos by Heather Waraksa

Liza Lubell is the owner/founder of Peartree Flowers in New York City.

Sep 20, 2017 | Categories: Costa Rica, Creative Culture, Harmony Hotel | Comments Off on Puravida Peartree: Connection Through Creativity

Nosara and the Creative Process

When I originally planned to come here to Nosara for 6 weeks to write, I was really focused and appreciative for the gift of time.

I thought that by being here fewer distractions would allow me to be a more intense version of, well, myself. I envisioned myself sequestered in my room, writing for hours on end. After all, my first book was born laboriously through the power of discipline, routine and sheer will.

I had carefully planned what I was going to work on here (as not to waste a moment of time!) I knew that I’d be flexible with that, but I more or less had an outline that I planned on sticking to. Now that I’ve been here for three weeks, a more organic creative process has taken over and that kind of thinking has been slowly flipped on its head. What I have been given is not only time, but also transformation.

The first thing that starts to happen here is a natural disconnection from media and pernicious influences, and a reconnection to nature and self. The majority of people in this world are being carried by the voice of fear, or the other. When you stop listening to the outside voices, and start being a part of what’s outside, your messages change too.

In this place, we are surrounded by incredible nature. We are also surrounded by the gifts of stories. For some foreigners here, Costa Rica is a land of heightened adventure, and they have amazing stories. Costa Rica is also home to many people who are are still “of the land.” They too have incredible gifts and knowledge, and a culture that deserves to be upheld.

So my creative process here is changing. I am no longer just in front of my laptop cleverly wordsmithing in my room, but what I’ve come to realize is that the story is in the living. If I just go out of my room, walk around and talk to people, it leads to a story falling in my lap. Stories, I realized, are not just something that we create, but something that we catch.

So my best advice to someone in the creative process is: allow yourself to be led. Don’t be so rigid in your plan. Leave room for genuine interactions that touch your soul. The stories that you seek are also seeking you.

Karen Henson Jones is the author of Heart of Miracles, a spiritual travelogue. She is also a Philip Stein Global Filipino Hero and speaker for Women in Leadership’s Economic Forum. www.karenhensonjones.com

Sep 19, 2017 | Categories: Costa Rica | Comments Off on Nosara and the Creative Process