Summer 2022: Surf, Sun and Rain in Nosara, Costa Rica

March 4, 2023 | Christian Sutherland-Wong

2021 was a transformational year for how Christine and I viewed ways we could integrate travel into our lives. With COVID seeming to have forever changed the world of work by delivering wide acceptance of working remotely, we set an intention to regularly seek new places to travel to and live during the year. The one wrinkle in all of this is the kids’ school education. Unlike in 2021, when both kids were still in preschool, starting in 2022 Bastiaan started school at San Domenico and with that began a new 15 year life chapter where one of our kids would be in school. So our best opportunity to travel in 2022 was the summer school break.

As Christine and I thought through places in the world we could go for summer, both of us had dreams of recreating our Hawaii like experience, with access to beaches, surfing and a laid back lifestyle. The other major consideration was being in a similar time zone as San Francisco, to align with our work schedules. This focused our attention on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. Pretty quickly Costa Rica became a top contender. Christine and I had both traveled there together and had fond memories. It is a spot that many of our friends loved too. A town in Costa Rica that would be a new experience for us, and that many people recommended, was Nosara, a village on the Nicoya Peninsula. Described as a laid back, yoga and surf spot, slightly developed but not yet totally overrun, it seemed like it fit the bill. Christine then went to work to organize the essentials (kids daycare and a house with reliable wifi) and pretty quickly we were in business.

Rainy season

As we were planning our trip, a few people pointed out to us that we would be staying in Nosara during the rainy season. Having lived through part of the rainy season in Oahu, we figured it would be fine. Tropical rain lasts typically just for a couple of hours and at least it would still be warm. But as prepared as we thought we were for rain, I have to admit that the rain cast a shadow over our first impressions of living in Nosara. In our first week, we did not see even a glimmer of sun. It rained for several hours each day and was overcast the rest of the time. One evening when returning home, Christine found our entire house to be flooded with water! Thank goodness this was not an uncommon experience and the maintenance staff quickly came to help in cleaning up the house and fixing the clog.

Fortunately by our second week in Nosara, the sun eventually came out and we felt our moods immediately lift. And even though we still had quite a bit more rain over the following 4 weeks there, I have to say that having settled into Nosara, we all started to appreciate how beautiful the area was and got into much more of a groove of enjoying life there.

As described, Nosara is very much a yoga and surf town. It feels like every second establishment is either a yoga studio or surf shop. This influences the types of people who are drawn to Nosara and the laid back vibe of the town. For better or worse, depending on who you ask, the infrastructure of the town is very basic. All dirt roads (which become particularly gnarly after downpours in the rainy season), brittle electricity lines, and rudimentary sewerage infrastructure (think septic tanks and cesspools). That said, development in the town is booming. Expats who we met who had been living there for several years described how much the town has changed even in the last few years, and with the amount of construction we could see in progress, we got the impression that Nosara would be vastly different in just a few more years.

Kids camp

Similar to Hawaii and Alaska, we lucked out with finding a great daycare option for Bastiaan and Lea. This time around, rather than enroll them in preschool, Christine found a great summer camp option, Nosara Day Camp, with different activities each day, from hiking, to beach excursion, horse riding, visits to local farms, tubing, and even riding banana boats! The kids loved it!

Highlights

While the rain limited our beach time somewhat, we still managed to spend plenty of time at the beach each day and on the weekends. Our local beach, Playa Guiones, had a great beginner surf shore break and was also a fun place to take the kids to let their imaginations run free. We also did a couple of weekend trips to explore new beaches like Playa Negra and Playa San Juanillo, which were beautiful too.

Christine and I hit up a number of the recommended restaurants in the area. Our favorites being Coyol and Huacas at the Tierra Magnifica Hotel. Both had excellent food combined with stunning views. La Luna was another gem, in a beautiful setting right at the beach.

On one of our days off while the kids were in camp, Christine and I went ziplining. I have to say, this massively exceeded my expectations. I hadn’t anticipated how long you get to ride the zipline nor how high up you would be. Super cool!

New friends

Beyond the sun coming out, one of the biggest drivers of our moods lifting a week into our stay was making new friends. Coming home from camp one evening, Basti started giggling while telling us a story of the mischief that he and his new friend, Max, got up to at camp. Soon Max became a name we were regularly hearing at home in the evenings. This led us to connecting with Max’s parents, Chris and Lizzy, who then became our Nosara friends! Chris and Lizzy are a lovely expat couple from the UK who had moved to Nosara the year before. Chris had recently sold his media company and is launching his new luxury hotel in Silvestre Nosara (opening December 2023), while Lizzy runs her own footwear design agency and recently launched the conscious commerce store Alberka in Nosara. It was truly special getting to spend a few evening, nights and weekends hanging out Chris, Lizzy and their kids Max and Emilia.

Final thoughts

Costa Rica is a beautiful country and Nosara is a very special place. Spending a month there reinforced how much we love beach living and how much we are inspired by nature centered settings. A good learning for us was how much sunshine impacts our moods and this will likely influence future travel plans. And maybe most importantly, having enjoyed spending time with Chris and Lizzy’s family, it was a great reminder how much having friendships and community drives your sense of happiness.

A Summer in Alaska

March 3, 2023 | Christine Raschke

As our 6-month Hawaii adventure in 2021 was coming to an end, we weren’t quite ready to return home to California. Travel was picking up and Oahu was getting increasingly busy with tourists again. Where else might we go that is remote, vast and awe-inspiring? Christian threw out the idea of going to Alaska. We looked at each other and knew that we had found our next destination: Alaska for the summer of 2021.

To make it happen, we applied the same formula as we did for Hawaii: find a local town with a charming vibe, a preschool for the kids and accommodation(s). Off I was researching and triangulating these three criteria. Three weeks later we had our plan in place: kick off our Alaska summer with a two-week RV trip followed by one month of remote work in Homer on the Kenai Peninsula.

An epic RV trip … with highs and lows

Getting ready: Organizing an RV takeover and walkthrough during the kids’ nap time while the other adult is on work calls resulted in chaos and a somewhat irritable mama. I’m always overly optimistic when it comes to getting things done while having the kids in tow. Lesson learned 🙂 We managed to get through a state of heightened emotions, fit in a big grocery shop and take off. The kids passed out as soon as we hit the road.

Endless, awe-inspiring nature and wildlife. Our trip stretched from Denali National Park to the Kenai Peninsula and after two-weeks on the road we really only scratched the surface of this phenomenal place. We are already dreaming of returning to the land of majestic mountains, ubiquitous glaciers, dense forests, glistering lakes, fast flowing rivers and endless roads.

A childhood dream come true. My home town of Zell am See, Austria, hosted sled dog races when the lake was frozen over in the winter. I remember the commotion and thrill of these events viscerally – breathing in the cold air, trying to make out fish under the frozen lake surface, and observing the barking sled dogs that were eagerly awaiting their departure. These memories came to mind as we were transported up to the Seward glacier by helicopter. We cuddled with baby huskies, experienced the joy of being pulled by the sled dogs and took turns steering the sled.

Lots and lots of rain: We knew that an ample amount of precipitation was part of the Alaskan experience and arrived with the right mindset and proper rain gear. While it was a bit cumbersome at times it wasn’t as bad as expected. Being able to explore no matter what the weather situation presented, allowed us to take advantage of the limited time we had.

A three-year old who boycotted sitting in her car seat. This one was unexpected. After our 2020 California RV trip we expected Lea to be an easygoing travel companion. It was a good reminder to never take anything for granted when it comes to kids. Each one of our family trips comes with its fair share of parenting challenges 🙂 The solution was Christian sitting in the back with the kids and telling them stories. Turns out my husband is a creative and fun storyteller! The silver-lining: our family now has a tradition of telling made up stories. Plus, I got to drive the RV through the stunning Alaskan landscape (lucky me, I definitely got the long end of stick on that one). The downside: an exhausted Papa.

Our one-month stay in Homer – a rough and rugged, charming little town

Our hometown: Homer, the halibut fishing capital of the world, is a small city on Kachemak Bay, on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. One of our go-to spots and my typical running route was the Homer Spit, a long strip of land with a harbor, shops, art galleries, seafood restaurants and beaches. Our afternoons (post work + school) were spent exploring the local beaches, hanging out at playgrounds or getting cozy in our home. We found charming restaurants for date nights (our favorite: a little oyster bar called The Broken Oar) and joined locals for a beer at spots like the Homer Brewing Co.

The local preschool. Not only were we lucky to get a spot for the kids at Girassol Learning Center for a month-long stay, but it turned out to be a fun and engaging environment for the kids with caring and loving teachers. Thank you Rosana for making us feel so welcome!

Mingling with brown bears. This experience makes the list of one of the most memorable experiences to date. With Sasquatch Alaska Adventure Co, we flew to the middle of the largest population concentration of brown bears in the world. Flying past glaciers and active and inactive volcanoes along the rugged coastlines of Katmai National Park and Lake Clark National Park, our small propeller plane landed on a strip of beach in the remote wilderness. We spent half a day in bear territory. The kids were excited but got tired pretty quickly from all the walking so Christian and I got a proper weight workout in (which is typically the case when we get these little ones out for hikes). At one point Lea got so tired that I took her back to the plane to rest – a decision that I soon regretted. I saw a brown bear slowly making its way towards the plane. It still seemed far away, though I was torn. Should I stay in the plane that stored our backpacks with snacks (likely not safe!) or walk back to the group that I saw 500 meters away in the distance (I didn’t have a bear spray on me)? I decided that a brown bear could easily smash a flimsy plane door and “walked” back to the group. Heart pumping, almost running, and not trying to freak out Lea, I made it back to the group. Turns out the guides had seen me from afar and didn’t deem the situation dangerous (which would have been helpful information to have 😂). The flight back was as stunning as on the way there – incredible views of glaciers, volcanoes and the glistering water.

Deep-sea fishing. Being in the halibut capital of the world, we wouldn’t miss the opportunity to go deep-sea fishing. Christian and I spent the day with Bob’s Trophy Charter out at sea trying our best to catch some halibut. Turns out it’s not as easy at it looks. Reeling these big guys in is a true workout – and if you’re not able to pull it off by yourself you’re not allowed to keep the fish.

Cold plunges. Our last rental was right at the rough and rugged water of the Kachemak bay with views onto the snow capped mountains of the Kachemak State Park on the opposite side. The perfect spot to cold plunge. The water was (very) cold and reinvigorating – so was the setting.

Trying something new. I got inspired to explore some way to creatively express myself and signed up for guitar lessons at the local music shop, Moore Music. Four lessons in I could play Shallow (or what sounded like Shallow) and it made me quite happy 🙂 While inspired to keep it up upon returning from Alaska, I failed to get a guitar so my limited skills quickly faded away. That said, it was absolutely worth the experience. It’s a mantra that I’m trying to embrace more generally in my life – being in the moment and enjoying an activity for its own sake without the need to reach a specific goal or threshold.

Alaska, thanks for hosting us. We will be back!

Exploring Energy Healing and Sound Meditation

June 29, 2021 | Christine Raschke

Over the past two years I got curious about energy work and energy healing. First, I watched a Goop episode on energy healing on Netflix. It explained that by using energy work one can release tension, anxiety, and blockages and tap into unknown reserves of power. I was intrigued by this and the thought of tapping into more energy. At the same time, my friend Sandra and I were participating in an online seminar from New Ventures West called “Year Launch: Becoming Who You Really Are – The Ultimate Human Quest.” Every month we would get questions for reflection and inquiry as well as daily practices to increase our self awareness. These included sensory exercises which were focused on becoming more aware of your body sensations and emotions. Sandra and I started to read up and talk about the realm of energy, vibrations and expanded consciousness and I felt drawn to learn more about it. We were about to sign up for an energy course in the East Bay when COVID shut down all in-person classes. So nothing materialized right away. But life always has its ways.

When I arrived in Hawaii in January of this year I felt the urge to find some sort of retreat – a yoga or meditation retreat – something that allowed me to create more space and stillness in my life. I wasn’t very successful in finding anything as all in-person offerings were on hold. During my search, however, I stumbled onto Sarah Daigle’s website. She offered “energy upgrade sessions” (an intuitive blend of Quantum/Reiki/Hands on Healing, Sacred Sound, Crystal Therapy & Aromatherapy) and “De-armoring” (Emotional and Energy Release). Now that sounded intriguing – and I also wasn’t quite sure what it all meant. As with many things I’ve pursued and explored over the last year I followed my curiosity and intuition. I wanted to give this a try, find out for myself what it would be like and booked a first session.

*Sarah Daigle – Reiki Master. Clinical HeartMath Practitioner. Wellness Coach. Sound Alchemist. Meditation Guide.*

Fast forward to 6 months later and my work with Sarah has had a profound impact on me. We met every 2-3 weeks and each session followed a similar structure. First, we checked in on areas of my life that I wanted to explore more or feel a desire to shift. I pulled an Oracle card from one of her many fascinating oracle decks and we talked about the message and how it might tie to what I’m exploring. I know, one might categorize this as woo-woo, unproven stuff and that’s exactly how I felt too initially. As our sessions continued I found the messages quite meaningful and was fascinated by how they were connected with the themes I was exploring. I didn’t consider them to be predictions of the future or an absolute truth. I saw them more as messages and questions for further reflection (a great add to any deep inquiry practice). After that, the actual energy session began. I was lying on my back on a massage table, warmly wrapped in a nice comfy blanket. Sarah would put on music, told me to “tune into my body” and be present to the sensations and feelings that might arise. In a nutshell, I felt like I was embarking on a deep meditative experience. Sarah would focus on different parts of the body – a shoulder, my arm, my solar plexus, my neck or head – sometimes holding a spot like in acupuncture, sometimes pushing down her full hand or moving slowly across my body similar to a massage. At times, she would also sing or integrate sound from singing bowls or a huge gong she had hanging from the ceiling.

In my first session, I fell asleep and was so tired after that I needed to take a two hour nap (which I never do). I took it as a sign that I should slow down a bit versus always being on the go and never taking time to rest (a personal tendency I had been exploring already more deeply over the past year). As the sessions went on my experience started to change and deepen. At times, I felt the tension increase and then fade away as she was moving along (especially in my head and neck area), like a huge build up of a temporary headache that then quickly and completely vanished. I felt my feet and hands heat up, my arms tingling, my energy rising or falling into a deeply relaxed state. My senses became more fine tuned. I started to see some colors, especially in the area of the “third eye” chakra, sometimes accompanied by different shapes and images.

*My Oura ring recording a deep meditative state during my energy sessions*

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact impact of energy work. My linearly thinking, logical mind challenged me initially: “So what exactly am I getting out of this?”. And yet, at the experiential level, I knew it was having an impact. A (for now) unquantifiable impact. The best description that I can personally give is that it is a gradual fine tuning of one‘s senses – an expansion of awareness and consciousness. Sarah’s work connected well with my existing meditation practice and took it to a whole new level – expanding it from breathing meditation or body scans to noticing energies, vibrations, and images.

Over the course of four months I started to feel more grounded, more connected to the world around me and started to gain more clarity on how I want to live my life. I attribute this to a few influences and experiences:

The deep energy work with Sarah, the conversations we had and the detailed follow ups and exercises she sent
Feeling more grounded from living in Hawaii and being surrounded by nature
My grandmother dying and the sadness and real, vulnerable conversations with my family that followed thereafter
Working with my own coach on exploring my past and family history
Books I read including “The Art of Happiness” by the Dalai Lama and Tara Brach’s “Radical Acceptance“

It’s been a fascinating exploration and one I’m excited to continue. I increasingly believe that if we follow the “breadcrumbs of energy” and our intuition combined with exploring different modalities of self inquiry, the path becomes clearer and life richer and more meaningful.

Farewell North Shore, Oahu…

June 23, 2021 | Christian Sutherland-Wong

Last Thursday when I placed our order for 2 cheese pizzas at the Wicked Hi pizza stand, the lady taking our order smiled at me and said “I love that your family comes here every week.” I smiled back and replied “yeah, but sadly this is our last week coming here. After 6 incredible months in Oahu we head back to the mainland end of this month”…

As I walked away a wave of emotions washed over me. This was the first time it actually hit me that our time here is almost up.

While I’m excited to be going back to our beautiful home in Marin and can’t wait to catch up with all of our friends, I know that I’m truly going to miss living on the North Shore of Oahu.

Here’s my compilation of the top 10 things I’ll miss most:

1. Perfect weather every day
Having lived in a range of climates, I can definitively say that I love warm weather the best. I know some people need to have their seasons, but for me, warm and sunny every day is perfection. And that’s what you get living in Hawaii. Now, admittedly we did have a handful of rain drenched days during the winter, but for the most part, every day here over the last 6 months has been ~27 degrees celsius (~81 Fahrenheit) and sunny. Can’t be beat!

2. Thursday evening pizza picnic at Waimea Valley Farmer’s Market
One lovely weekly ritual for the family was to visit the Waimea Valley Farmer’s Market every Thursday afternoon and having a picnic in the lush surroundings. We’d bring a bottle of red wine (thank you wine club membership at Haleiwa Bottle Shop!) and a picnic mat, and then we’d go order from the food vendors in the market. Our favorite (as you may have picked up from the intro) was Wicked Hi’s sourdough pizza’s (a must have for the kids), but Christine and I also branched out to indulge on pasta, burgers or poke salads depending on our mood.

But what I loved most about these weekly picnics wasn’t just the food, but the beautiful atmosphere. Waimea Valley is a breathtaking setting with lush greenery and giant trees. And the sight of children coming together to play tag, hide and seek or climb trees is truly special.

3. Finishing work by 3pm
I’m not going to lie but the 3 hour time difference between Hawaii and SF was tough at times, particularly with 5am board meetings. But on the flip side, it also meant that I was done with meetings most days by 2pm and could switch off not much past 3pm. It really allowed us to have two parts of our day: working and playing. It really made life feel much more balanced.

4. Finding mangoes on our morning walks
Early in our stay, Christine and I saw a sign that said: “Watch out for falling mangoes.” We looked up at this tall tree that didn’t appear to have mangoes and we asked each other “Is this a joke? Do mangoes really grow on tall trees like this? I thought they grew on bushes…”. Well, fast forward a couple of months and while on our morning walk not far from our house we stumbled upon a half eaten mango on the ground that a wild chicken was pecking at. I didn’t think much of it at first, until I noticed a second and then a third mango on the ground. I looked up, and lo and behold it turns out mangoes do in fact grow on tall trees!

Best thing about having mango trees near your house….. free mangoes!! (so long as you can get to them before the chickens peck at them first!).

5. Sushi in “town”
It’s funny how every place you go, there are references for various other places as “the city” or “town.” On Oahu, Honolulu is “town.” And while I’m glad we chose to live outside of “town” to get more of a low key, chilled setting while living in Hawaii, I’m also glad we had access to Honolulu given the number of amazing world class restaurants there (a major advantage of Oahu vs. other islands). But if there’s one cuisine that Honolulu really excels in, it would have to be sushi. No doubt a result of the large Japanese population and Japanese connections, there are a number of outstanding sushi restaurants and izakaya’s. Our favorites: Sushi Izakaya Gaku, Sushi ii, Izakaya Torae Torae, and @sushi. All wonderful! We also wanted to try Sushi Sho and Sushi Sasabune but couldn’t find a time. Next time!

6. Hiro Dreams of Sushi!
On the topic of AMAZING sushi, we’d be remiss if we didn’t give a shout out to a wonderful sushi chef who came to our place not once, not twice, but three times (!!) during our stay, Chef Atsuhiro (“Hiro”) Kajita. We got introduced to Hiro through our very good friend Molly Goshorn when Molly, Joshua and their family came to stay with us. Turns our Molly went to high school with Hiro and he has since become a world class sushi chef living on Oahu. Molly and Josh gifted us an evening with Hiro when they stayed with us and we were hooked! Can’t recommend Hiro more highly!

7. Date night with help from Auntie Jay
Our many sushi date nights in Honolulu would not have been possible were in not for Auntie Jay. Auntie Jay is a wonderful lady and grandmother who lived in Waialua not far from our home. Once we discovered her, it became an almost weekly ritual to drop the kids off with her on a Saturday afternoon so that Christine and I could have a date night. What’s best is that the kids always looked forward to visiting Auntie Jay’s and getting to watch movies and playing with so many toys!

8. Our North Shore friends
Christine wrote a post on Ka Hana Pono, our kids’ preschool (which in itself deserves to be in my top 10 things I’ll miss), but one of the amazing side benefits of the preschool was the community of parents we got to know. It was a wonderful mixed crowd of people who’ve lived on Oahu for many years, to people staying for a few months like us. We will miss you all!

9. Watching the world’s best surfers on Pipeline
I remember when I was 11 years old that I had a friend who surfed called Barney, and he told me of the hallowed beaches of Waimea Bay and Pipeline, where the world’s best surfers went to prove themselves. Incredible that almost 3 decades later I would be living on this very spot, learning from the locals about the incredible intricacies (and dangers) of surfing Pipeline and witness first hand the spectacular perfect barrels of the break. A great documentary we watched that really captures the place is Momentum Generation (and another great cheesy movie that kind of captures it too is North Shore). Christine and I had countless evenings sitting on our lanai with a glass of wine, awestruck by the surfers at Pipeline. When we arrived we found out we were neighbors with pro surfer, Jadson Andre, and it was a thrill to watch him surf. We also often saw world famous surfer and Pipeline resident Jamie O’Brien shredding it on our doorstep. And we even got a glimpse of Kelly Slater out there one day too.

On topic of celebrity sightings, Christine often bumped into Jack Johnson riding his kids to Sunset Elementary on her morning runs! How cool is that?!

10. Living by the beach
Saving the absolute best to last, I’m truly going to miss living on a beach. I grew up in Sydney and lived my entire childhood and early adulthood only a stone’s throw away from the beach, but living right on the beach just can’t be beat. From hearing the thunderous winter waves from our bed at night, to the numerous quick dips in the ocean between work meetings, to the many hours we spent mesmerized looking out at the pacific horizon, the experience living here for the past 6 months has been nothing short of magical. I very much hope to make living by a beach a bigger part of our lives in the future!

Ka Hana Pono: A magical school that lets kids be kids

June 23, 2021 | Christine Raschke

*Ka Hana Pono School, Haleiwa, Oahu, Hawaii*

As our 6-month chapter in Hawaii is coming to an end, I keep reflecting on the special time we’ve had and how incredibly lucky we were to find Ka Hana Pono, the local preschool that our kids attended over the past half year. First, the school choice was a bit of a wildcard as there are only two full-time preschools in the area and second, that we were able to get spots for both Bastiaan and Lea. I remember when I was googling preschools in Haleiwa and stumbled onto Ka Hana Pono’s website. The photos immediately captivated me – the lush green outdoor garden and playground. Memories of my outdoor adventures as a kid in Austria came to mind. And, they taught the kids about healthy living and eating? Sold! After a brief virtual Zoom tour by Jason aka “Uncle Bison”, the owner and one of the main teachers, I was even more convinced of this choice. This looked like a fantastic place for two young children to spend 6 months. Ka Hana Pono it was.

The meaning of the name itself made me ponder life and curious about how their day-to-day would unfold: “‘Ka Hana Pono’ is a pragmatic set of tools for understanding and making the practice of Pono (= being at one with everything) a part of your daily life. These tools are consolidated into a reference work that combines both the philosophy of personal greatness, with the cognitive skills necessary for maintaining it – a practical guide for mastering the art of living in Pono.” (Source: https://huna-hana.tripod.com). Sounds like a school I could benefit from going to myself 🙂

So what did Bastiaan’s and Lea’s experience look like in practice?

Connection to nature + pure play. The kids spent the majority of their time outdoors, barefoot, exploring, learning from and playing with nature. They would come home with mud on their feet, their shorts dirty to the point that even the strongest detergent would fail miserably. They had climbed, planted, harvested, swung, jumped, painted (messily), danced and sung. It made me smile to see them at pick up time – their hair dusty or sweaty, exhilarated and tired.
Learning by doing. Bastiaan would have never touched bugs back in California. Now he knows that bok choy stalks regrow if you trim them and put them back in shallow water, he picks and eats berries from local bushes and names (and touches!) all sorts of bugs. The teachers read to the kids and tell them stories grounded in core values like respect and love. While the curriculum (on purpose) isn’t “academic-first” the kids learn core concepts like counting, colors and shapes while going about their gardening activities or games.
Team work and collaboration – teachers as the guides. The teachers guide the kids on activities but let the kids take the lead. The kids learn how to work together, play with each other, and work through conflict. The teachers feel like the wise elder friends that aren’t too overpowering or hierarchical. They make the kids feel seen and heard – each one of them them acknowledged for who they uniquely are. Also, turns out Uncle Bison is a singer-song writer who plays in a ska band. He teaches the kids to play Ukulele and whips out his guitar to sing and dance with the kids during the day.

I must admit that I had a brief moment of hesitation early on about the mainly play-based approach. This brief doubt evaporated quickly as I saw Lea and Bastiaan develop and grow during their time here. Bastiaan in particular became more confident and outgoing. The ability to fully express himself through play and physical activity (he’s a very physical guy) helped him come out of his shell. The close and loving relationship with the teachers led to a huge jump in his social and verbal skills. And our Lea is thriving all around – our little social butterfly could let her full spirit shine and share her light with the many other wonderful children that are now her friends.

Thank you Ka Hana Pono for the special environment you create every day – for the love, dedication, creativity and freedom you provide. We feel incredibly grateful that Bastiaan and Lea could spend this chapter of their lives with you – their time at Ka Hana Pono enabled them to connect with and let their individual lights shine more brightly.

Video: Hooping around the world

August 2, 2015 | Christine Raschke

Our incredible journey has come to an end. It’s been a magical experience on all dimensions – exploring new countries & cultures, spending quality time with family & friends and learning more about the world and ourselves. But our blog wouldn’t be complete without one last video:

“365 days, 6 continents and 1 hula hoop”

Now, we are excited to be back in the Bay Area. Off to our next adventure!

7 observations from a month in Berlin

August 1, 2015 | Christian Sutherland-Wong

Berlin Trabi Car

[NOTE: For those of you who know us well, you’ll realize that this blog post is a bit out of date. I began it in Berlin a couple of months back but never got around to publishing it. Oh well, better late than never!…]

Berlin was a really fun place to hang out in for a month. While it has many of the familiarities of a typical modern western city, it also has its quirks that make it like no other. Here’s a list of some of the more different and defining aspects of the Berlin and Berliners:

1. Poor, but sexy

Street performer

There’s a famous quote from a former Berlin mayor, saying that “Berlin is poor, but sexy”. I think this sums up the place well.

On the “poor” side of things, I must admit that this came as a bit of a shock to me. Given the relative strength of the German economy, I was surprised to find that the economy of the capital city isn’t so strong. From what I learned, the period of East German communism (1949 – 1990) led to almost all major German corporations moving out of Berlin and setting up shop in the major West German cities. As a result, there is a dearth of industry to power the economy here. A positive bi-product for day-to-day living is that Berlin is really cheap for a major European city. Rent is cheap. Food is cheap. Beer is cheap (often cheaper than bottled water).

As for the “sexy” side of things, Berlin has this in spades. Nightlife is big with a world renowned electronic music scene. And what it lacks in investment bankers and suited corporate types, it makes up in creative types like artists, musicians and start-up tech workers. The style in Berlin is retro, hipster and grungy. Think: fitted plaid shirts; beanies in summer; coloured hair, tats and piercings.

Berlin hipsters

But I’d say that Berlin is more than just sexy. It’s also very liveable. There are parks everywhere. Great cafes, restaurants and bars at every block corner. And a highly efficient and effective public transport system that one would expect of a major German city.

2. Everyone carries a beer with them, everywhere

Beer on the streets

It felt like we would see people carrying an open beer with them everywhere we went. And I mean everywhere! Guy riding his bike down the road: drinking a beer. Couple of young women heading to the train station: drinking beers. Couple of guys chilling outside of a convenience store: drinking beers.

3. You can mention the war

John Cleese from “Fawlty Towers”

One of my favourite shows growing up was Fawlty Towers, and one of the all time great lines was when Basel Fawlty (played by John Cleese) would tell his staff “don’t mention the war” in reference to the German guests staying with them. However, in reality, the idea that Germans are touchy or hush-hush about Germany’s role in WW2 couldn’t be further from the truth. Berlin is full of museums and monuments that lay out in great detail the many atrocities committed by the Nazis, without sugar coating. Interestingly, this is pretty different to our observations in our recent travels in Japan.

4. May Day chaos

May Day

In our month in Berlin we were witness to more demonstrations and strikes than we had experienced in our entire lives. It seems Berlin is a bit of hub for this. This is most evident on May 1st, where leftists and anarchists from around Europe descend on Berlin to participate in demonstrations that can border on riots. Kind of a strange tradition, but fortunately the more mainstream thing to do on May Day is to party on the streets (which is what we did!).

May Day street party

5. Graffiti and street art

Berlin wall

Berlin is also a city of graffiti. It’s everywhere. Just to give you one example, we stayed in a relatively nice apartment in the very family friendly neighborhood of Prenzlauerberg, and yet the doors and hallways were covered in graffiti. On the positive side, not all the graffiti is just lame tags. A lot of it is truly a work of street art.

6. Photo booths

Photoautomat

Fitting in with the retro vibe, there are old school photo booth machines all around the place. In an era of ubiquitous camera phones, it’s cool to see that these machines have survived and remain surprisingly popular in Berlin.

7. Open Air Karaoke in Mauer Park

Karaoke at Mauer Park

Now this is really cool. Every weekend a guy comes along with a microphone, loudspeaker and a computer full of back up sound tracks, and invites people to sing karaoke to the hundreds of onlookers in the park. Super fun atmosphere with the occasional brilliant singer up there among the many not so brilliant.

* * * * *

To sum it up, as noted by many other Berliners and visitors of Berlin before us, Berlin is the least German city in all of Germany. Christine and I had a brilliant month living here and look forward to returning again soon.

Finally, we’d like to give a big shout out to Werner Zedler, our friend and Berliner, who took us under his wing and showed us the very best parts of Berlin and its surroundings during our month here. Werner, we are forever in your debt!

Fernsehturm

Reichstag

Brandenburger Tor

Spreewald

Christine & Werner

Werner

Dinner with Werner & Gisla

Getting out of my comfort zone: Improv Theatre

May 29, 2015 | Christine Raschke

BuehnenRausch – Improvisationstheater in Berlin

Do you remember a situation, personal or professional, where you were put on the spot and felt a bit uncomfortable? I can recount a few instances over the years that made my heart jump a bit. Karaoke is one example. I’m not a particularly good singer and having to perform in front of others does make me a bit nervous. Or I remember these first few weeks at Business School where I felt self-conscious about my Austrian accent and hence always felt my heart beat a bit faster before raising my hand in class. But why? I guess I’m someone who likes to be in control. I’m not a control freak but I do like to have a plan and some structure in my life. I’m also someone who thinks about how others might perceive me. I run around with my personal screen, evaluating if I lived up to and ideally exceeded expectations – most of the time my own high expectations. I always admired people who completely enjoy the thrill of the unexpected or maybe just don’t care all too much what others think about them. Wouldn’t it be so liberating if I could stop overthinking in certain situations and just do? So I decided that I want to learn how to enjoy not being in control — and decided to take improv theatre lessons during our one-month stay Berlin.

Why improv theatre? Improv theatre means reacting spontaneously. There are a few basic rules and elements that should be reflected in a scene on stage. For example, the audience picks a place, a relationship, a profession, or a tricky situation. But that’s about it. The actors, inspired by the chosen topic, get going. One person starts with a statement, the other builds on it. There is no script just spontaneous ideas that eventually make up the entire story. No play is the same. Everything feels new – and is very unpredictable. This sounded exactly like what I needed!

I signed up for two separate improv courses. One was a weekly 3-hour improv evening class. The other was a 2-day intensive weekend workshop. I might as well go all in! The warm up exercises at the beginning of each session (word association games or word-by-word group story telling) were fun. But then the “easy” part was over. It was time to get up on stage. I was nervous to take the leap and go up without preparing. While some others were kicking things off on stage, I immediately started thinking about the type of character I should or could play. If I at least settled on a few characteristics beforehand it would be easier (so I thought). But there was barely enough time to think! And that’s the whole point. A topic is chosen and then it’s “go”. Plus, even if you have already made up the perfect story in your mind it’s useless. The interaction on stage will take it in a totally different direction. So there I was on stage, my mind racing back and forth between my real me and my “new me”. Somehow, words were coming out of my mouth and I created a little story with my co-player. And parts of it turned out to be really entertaining. We laughed our heads off. That felt really good. At least some potential to build on! But at times I was pulled back into the real world and I was trying to make out the faces in the audience for a reaction. Could I have been more funny? More surprising? More witty? More interesting? So many maybe’s, could have’s and should have’s? Why? Why not just go with the flow and be happy with what has happened? After all, this whole thing is about experiencing something completely new. That’s when I realised that it will take some serious work to lower the voice of my “ego”. The ego looks for validation. The ego looks for a pat on the back. The ego compares and wants to do better.

I left my first couple of lessons with mixed feelings. On the one hand I was proud that I had pushed myself into new territory, on the other hand I thought that I could have done better. But I had the feeling that I was on to something, beginning to discover a new side of myself. As the classes continued I learned about different types of games, how to take on different roles (high vs. low status, different emotional states) and storytelling. All of these elements were aiming at one thing: letting go. Letting go of established thought and behavioral patterns, structures and expectations. My nervousness of “just putting myself out there” decreased with each training session. I must admit that it hasn’t completely disappeared quite yet but I became more at ease with going with the flow and letting go of my self censorship. The more I let go the more I felt present and, interestingly, also more creative.

What’s best about improv is that it is a very collaborative game. The main rule of improv is to let the other person shine. Everything should be approached with a “yes, and…” attitude. You always build on what the other person says, if you like it or not. Instead of being the smartest, the funniest or the boldest the main advice in improv is to “do the obvious”. Don’t try to come up with the best or most original idea. If you’d just steam roll everyone else with your, let’s say, smart idea, no story would develop. It’s all about co-creating, listening to and building on each other. That’s when the best stories come to life. Nobody wins, nobody loses. Improv is about appreciating what already exists versus thinking about what’s lacking. That’s a neat concept. Focus on your strengths and not only on your weaknesses. And everyone can do it, regardless of cultural, socio-economic or professional background. Everyone can play, learn and feel good. Seems to me like we all should play more improv games in our lives … For me, a journey that’s worth continuing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Special thank you to:

Improv Theater Bühnenrausch in Berlin – my teacher Karin and my improv colleagues
Impro-Live Akademie for Angewandte Improv Kunst Berlin – my trainer Martin Ciesielski and my improv colleagues

Japan: the fun and the fascinating

May 4, 2015 | Christian Sutherland-Wong

Cherry blossoms, Kyoto

To put it simply, we loved Japan. 3-weeks was barely enough time. A beautiful country with a rich and truly unique culture. We loved how efficiently everything functions, like the train system that runs so punctually that it puts every other country’s train system to shame. We loved how incredibly polite and hospitable everyone is, such as the times we would ask someone for directions and have them personally accompany us all the way to our destination. We loved how clean everything is, even though you struggle to find a rubbish bin. We loved Japan’s quirkiness, such as the crazy cafes where young waitresses dressed up as french maids “meow” at you, or the cosplay fashion where young adults dress up like comic book characters. And of course, we loved the food. More on that later.

Tokyo: random Karaoke

Our first stop in Japan was Tokyo, where we stayed for a week. Tokyo has that incredible buzz of a metropolis mixed with everything great about Japanese culture from cleanliness, to efficiency, to politeness and of course quirkiness. It’s a place we want to go back to again and again, as we get the impression we would never grow bored of it.

Lights of Shinjuku, Tokyo

Catching up with friends: Dinner with Masa

Catching up with friends: Dinner with Wouter

Catching up with friends: Dinner with Momo and Jen

Catching up with friends: Dinner with Hide

“Meow!” at the Maid Cafe, Tokyo

Tokyo fashion

Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo

Sushi at Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo

Macha tea ceremony, Tokyo

Robot restaurant, Tokyo

Shinkansen (bullet train), Tokyo

One of the highlights of our week in Tokyo was not really planned. On our second evening we found ourselves feeling a little hungry. It was a bit early for dinner, so we decided to just have a snack at a yakitori (chicken skewers) joint. We’d been told that a good place to try yakitori is Omoide Yokocho (also known as “piss alley” for some reason) in Shinkuju so we thought we’d give it a try. The narrow alley is littered with small restaurants, with very little written in English. Unsure how to choose, we figured to go after the joint that seemed most crowded with Japanese people and found this great place where no English was spoken. Through a bunch of pointing we were able to order some skewers of a whole bunch of different pig parts. I’m usually not a big fan of innards or tongue, but this stuff was delicious. So delicious that our quick snack turned into a full on dinner, as we tried all sorts of meats that I’m not even sure of and drank lots of beer.

Omoide Yokocho (“piss alley”)

Our yakitori joint, Omoide Yokocho (“piss alley”)

First course: pig intestines (I think…)

Second course: beef tongue (yum!)

Skewers of all different parts of the pig

A couple of hours later, we stumbled out of the joint and it was now dark. Not yet ready to go home we looked for a bar to have a drink or two before calling it a night. Just down the road from Omoide Yokocho is another place that was recommended to us: Golden Gai. Golden Gai is a neighbourhood full of tiny bars that barely seat 6 people. Each has its own kind of theme. Again we looked for a bar that seemed to be busy and found one that could just squeeze us in. The great thing about these kinds of bars is that they’re intimate so that everyone talks with each other. While not a lot of English was spoken, the guy next to us tried his best. After a couple of drinks, two more guys came in the bar, one from Japan and one from England. We started chatting together and before long we were invited to come and sing karaoke with them. Why not?! So what we expected to be a casual and quiet Sunday evening, ended in late night beers and karaoke. Only in Japan.

Our bar in Golden Gai, Tokyo

New friends (Kevin and Ken) we met at the bar

Karaoke with our new friends, Kevin and Ken

Karoake with our new friends, Kevin and Ken

Mt Takao: the “oh so cute” Japanese school children

View of Mt. Fuji from Mt. Takao, Japan

Having budgeted 6-days in Tokyo, we figured that afforded enough time to make a day trip out of the city to get a bit closer to nature. After some asking around, we heard that Mount Takao would be a good choice since the surrounding nature is beautiful, it has a great view of Mt. Fuji, and it is less than an hour away by train. While all of that turned out to be true, the actual highlight of our day trip to Mt. Takao was observing a group of adorable 6 year old Japanese school kids on excursion.

The whole scene could not be more different to what a school lunch break was like when I was 6 years old, where we’d sit on the ground and eat a sandwich with our grubby fingers. Instead, each of them had their own picnic mats that they took out of their backpacks and carefully laid out in front of them. Before sitting on these picnic mats, they took of their shoes. Before beginning to eat, they took out a rolled up wet cloth (that had its own special container in their backpack) and diligently cleaned their hands. And of course, the food in their lunch box was wonderful. Each child had their own bento box that had clearly been homemade. We saw skewers of edamame; rice balls with smiley faces; nori rolls, just to name a few. Watching these children reminded us of everything that is so wonderful about Japanese culture.

While we didn’t want to be those kinds of tourists who secretly take photos of other people, we couldn’t help ourselves…

Picnic mat out, shoes off, hands cleaned

Whats for lunch?

Naoshima: bumping into friends in the middle of nowhere
For our first stop after Tokyo, we made our way to the tiny island of Naoshima for a day and a night. Over the last 10 years, Naoshima has established itself as a bit of an art lovers destination with its several art galleries and installations scattered across the island. That said, the place is tiny with barely 3,000 people. So you can imagine our surprise when we bumped into our friends Alan Au and Kian Lee from Sydney, who happened to be there on their honeymoon!

“Look who we bumped into?!” with Alan Au and Kian Lee in Naoshima

Biking around Naoshima

Naoshima art island, Japan

Hiroshima: hula-hooping under a cherry blossom tree.

Peace memorial park, Hiroshima

By the time we arrived in Hiroshima, the cherry blossoms were just starting to bloom. Now, I’ll admit that before we came to Japan I was skeptical as to why there was so much fuss around cherry blossom season. It’s just a flower blooming after all. However, after having experienced it I can appreciate why the occasion is so beloved. First of all, cherry blossom trees grow almost everywhere in Japan and so when they hit full bloom the colours of the trees transform the streets and parks. Second, the cherry blossom trees themselves don’t have any leaves at this stage so all you see is the beautiful white/pink blower buds which almost looks like snow. It’s like a winter wonderland in spring. Third, the tradition of having picnics under cherry blossom trees create a festive atmosphere. And last, the fact that the full bloom barely lasts more than a few days creates a feeling of preciousness to the occasion.

Cherry blossoms, Hiroshima

One of our favourite cherry blossom experiences was in Hiroshima at Hijiyama park. We went to the park looking to find a quiet patch of grass where we could practice hula hooping for a while. We ended up finding this beautiful spot right under a cherry blossom tree where we plugged in our headphones and hooped the afternoon away. It was a serene experience. The perfect weather; the state of flow we got into while hooping listening to music; the beauty of the cherry blossom tree. Just amazing.

Hooping under cherry blossoms in Hijiyama park, Hiroshima

Miyajima: our secret night time cherry blossom spot

Floating shrine, Miyajima

Five story pagoda, Miyajima

Temple statues, Miyajima

Another one of my favourite cherry blossom experiences was at Miyajima, nearby from Hiroshima. Christine and I were taking a stroll in the evening after dinner, and took a detour away from the main strip up into the nearby hills. It was there we stumbled across this tiny park, full of cherry blossom trees that were illuminated at night with pink lanterns. Under one of the trees a group of young Japanese adults were having an evening picnic. From this spot you could look through the lit up cherry blossoms out onto the waters of Miyajima.

Evening cherry blossom viewing, Miyajima

Night time cherry blossom viewing, Miyajima

Kyoto: Discovering Dashi
After a few days spent between Naoshima, Hiroshima and Miyajima, we arrived in Kyoto where we stayed for 4 days. We had decided to spend a good amount of time in Kyoto because it is the cultural capital of Japan and we’d also been told it was the best place to view cherry blossoms in the country.

Fushimi Inari shrine, Kyoto

Bamboo grove, Kyoto

Tenryuji Temple, Kyoto

Sake tasting with our Sake Tour, Kyoto

Sake brewery visit with our Sake Tour, Kyoto

Sake tasting with our Sake Tour, Kyoto

Sake shop visit with our Sake Tour, Kyoto

Ginkakuji Zen Temple, Kyoto

Mt. Fuji sand sculpture at Ginkakuji Zen Temple, Kyoto

Geisha tea ceremony, Kyoto

Dinner with Pato and Kenny, Kyoto

We had amazing food experiences throughout Japan: yakitori; gyozas; ramen; udon; soba; tonkatsu; miso; tempura; sushi; just to name a few! In Kyoto, we got a little closer to understanding why Japanese food is so great, taking a cooking class with Cooking Sun. We cooked a bunch of different dishes, but the biggest revelation was learning about Dashi. Dashi is a broth that is the foundation of many Japanese dishes from miso soup to the accompanying broth we had with many fish dishes to the sauce we dipped our tempura in. What I love about Dashi is that unlike other European style broths made with bones, it is so quick and easy to prepare. Just kombu seaweed and bonito (dried fish) flakes. Like other broths, the purpose of Dashi is to bring out the umami flavour in foods which the Japanese are masters of. Since doing the cooking class we’ve since read about the rich history of Dashi along with the many health benefits. And we’ve even had a chance to experiment with making Dashi and other variations at home, even using it as a base in European dishes we cook (worked very well!).

Dashi ingredients: dried shiitake mushrooms, kombu seaweed and bonito

Making our first ever dashi!

Cooking class, Kyoto

With Alex and Susan at the cooking class, Kyoto

Kobe: Kobe in Kobe
On the topic of great food experiences, one of the absolute highlights was eating Kobe beef in Kobe. After some digging around we’d heard that Kobe Ishidaya would be a great introduction to the wonderful world of Kobe beef. Ishidaya is a Teppan restaurant where the chef cooks in front of you (no, they don’t throw food at you like at those cheesy Benihana restaurants). Christine and I both ordered the set menu, with one of us taking the very highest grade Kobe (most marbled) and the other taking the next grade down (slightly less marbled) to have some point of comparison. Both cuts of meat were incredible. Melt in your mouth incredible. The taste was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. It was probably more akin to fatty tuna than steak. As I recall this experience I find my mouth watering…

Kobe beef, Kobe

Kobe beef cooked on the teppan, Kobe

Delicious Kobe beef, Kobe

Kinosaki Onsen: our glimpse into traditional Japan
Almost everyone, who we asked for tips on Japan, said we had to experience a traditional Japanese onsen (hot spring), many recommending the small onsen town of Kinosaki Onsen as the place to go. We loved it. The whole experience was so calming and another wonderful example of everything we love about Japan.

Getting dressed in the yukata, Kinosaki Onsen

Dressed in yukata, Kinosaki Onsen

Kinosaki Onsen is a tiny town with barely more than a few Ryokans (Japanese traditional accommodation) and the seven public bath houses built upon the natural hot springs. It is set in beautiful hilly countryside, not far away from the northern coast of the main island of Japan (Honshu). The majority of the architecture is old style Japan. Most of the guests in the town are dressed in the traditional Yukatas (like a basic version of the Kimono) as they go from bathhouse to bathhouse.

Streets of Kinosaki Onsen

Walking around in Kinosaki Onsen

Cherry blossoms in Kinosaki Onsen

The Ryokan experience is wonderful in itself. The room you stay in is very basic. Just tatami mats and a low table with cushions. A Kaiseki (multi-course) dinner was served in the room. It was quite serene to sit in our Yukata robes and eat this wonderful meal together. And then afterwards, the staff cleared everything away making space for our futons for us to sleep on.

Dinner in our ryokan, Kinosaki Onsen

Breakfast at our ryokan, Kinosaki Onsen

Preparing the futons in our ryokan, Kinosaki Onsen

Tokyo (again): farewell sushi
After almost 3-weeks in Japan, we found ourselves back in Tokyo for our final two nights before we flew out. A little while ago, Christine and I had watched the documentary of a Japanese sushi chef, “Jiro dreams of sushi“, with awe and fascination. While it would have been cool to actually eat at his restaurant (which was out of the question since it’s booked out months in advance) we did the next best thing and found an equally impressive high end sushi restaurant for our last night in Tokyo, Sushi Kanesaka. To say it was the best sushi we’d ever eaten would be an understatement. Every piece we ate was an absolute delight. The perfect end to a fantastic Japan experience.

Sushi Kanesaka, Tokyo

Hula Hoop Retreat in Bali

April 27, 2015 | Christine Raschke

Friends reunion at the hula hoop retreat

Why hula hooping? One could say it all started about 9 months ago in Ibiza, a Spanish island in the mediterranean sea. It was my bachelorette weekend. Teeba, one of my close friends, had organised an incredible three days. And one of the agenda points was a hula hooping session! Back then Teeba, herself a talented hooper already, was toying with the idea of starting her own hoop company in Dubai (by now her company Flowground is a successful hoop enterprise in the Middle East!). We girls were curious to see what it was all about and Teeba was excited to test her hula hoop teaching concept with us. We ended up hooping to music on the beach during sunset. I loved the whole session. It’s like your long forgotten inner child suddenly appears. It wants to play. It wants to learn. It wants to move. Not only was the session fun and a good workout, to me it was also a form of dance. I was hooked. The next important milestone was Teeba’s wedding present to me one month later: a collapsible hoop that I could take with me on our world travels. Over the next few months I kept practicing some basic moves. I got better at it, but to be honest, my discipline faded a bit given other activities that were on Christian’s and my agenda. So when I heard about the one week intensive hula hoop retreat that my girlfriends planned to attend in Bali it seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity. When would I ever get the opportunity again to spend one week with my best friends, fully immersing myself in the art of hooping. If not during our year off, when then? So Christian, being the incredibly supportive husband he is, and I embarked on a 40-hour journey from Brazil to Bali – and in the process throwing all of our intended travel plans in South America and Africa overboard.

Fast forward to March 2015 and here we are in Bali at the Sacred Circularities hula hooping retreat. Hooping means a lot of different things to different people, so instead of summarising my experience alone I thought it might be more interesting to learn about our individual journeys. Hear directly from Teeba, Pato, Shilpa, Christian (yes, he signed up last minute to the retreat too!) and myself on what it was like.

TEEBA

Teeba, the chief hoop fairy of Flowground

A WEEK long Hula hoop Retreat. Sacred Circularities. Bali. My Hoop idols. My 3 closest friends (and CSW joining in last minute). A Hoop Community.

I think my brain was going to pop. I probably spent every possible (non-working) moment before the retreat day dreaming about sacred circularities, and probably drooling in the process. I just knew what to expect. It was going to be one of the best weeks of my life, no doubt: full of amazing experiences, lots of learning, and fun times with my closest friends & hoop community. An added bonus: I have never been to Bali before and been dreaming of going there for years, plus I haven’t had a vacation and barely any weekends off in 6 months as I have been so swamped with work.

Ahhhh!!! I felt like I was a kid going into a candy store for the very first time!

What I did not take into consideration is the theme of SCBali 2015, which was the year of realization. I mean… what could that possibly mean?

We start of the retreat on the wrong road literally, winding through rice fields, to arrive 30 minutes late to the opening circle, but once we get there, I feel the presence of that moment and the power of the opening circle as we all introduce ourselves and set our intentions. My intention was to really get to know & indulge in the community. I have always been someone that suffers from what they, and especially Basel [Teeba’s husband] calls “high expectations”, but my experience was just on par, including but not limited to:

Insane workshops of balances, wobbles, and scorpions…
Learning… to breathe, send balls of light, finally getting the chest roll, drill twins, and killer combos all the while injuring a toe (a minor injury is a given lol)
Deep thought… and deep laughter moments at workshops, room balcony, bathrooms, lunches, you name it
Amazing performances; and a learning to not chicken out next time and do one of my own
Awakening physical moments of HoopYogini and awakening mindful moments at in-depths of my hoop idols
Bonding with my closest friends, with hoopers all over the world and reuniting with a Canadian family that I never knew before
Bonding with the wildlife: seeing an insect (forgot its name) dance with Caterina, and a snail eating a coconut in slooooo moooo
Private sessions including a mind-opening business coaching by Jocelyn and a flow coaching by Caterina where we develop my own move based on my own flow.

Yet, there was still something off for me. I always remember professor Kaplan saying: Happiness = Reality – Expectations. It’s not that I wasn’t happy but there was something that was clearly off for me.

I had my realisation at my shamanic healing session with Malaika. I chose to do the healing due to my gastric issues, but came out of it with much more. I go into the session and pull a card called “Goddess of the Earth”, which indicates the need for grounding, and another one “Core Healing”, which I guess is self explanatory.

Funny enough, Malaika explains it very clearly in the closing circle as well. It’s as if she read my mind. I have been always the type of person who experiences new things and indulges in experiences, and cannot wait to share it with the world. I have invited 4 of my closest friends who have never really experienced the hoop and its community to join me at the retreat, and expected them to come with the same expectations that I had, which left me very ungrounded for most of the experience. Little did I know, that my lesson was, not only for this experience but for many in the past and in the future, that just being present, while allowing others to experience their own path and go through their own process, will rub off on them and the goodness will spread on its own. And it did.

To my friends, and to the community: we all came in as individuals, with different intentions & expectations… from separate environments, separates lifestyles, separate mindsets, separate communities… completely different lives all together. Yet we all bonded in this one place through each other. Through this process we were able to understand each other more, and understand ourselves more. And we came out as ONE.

At closing circle, Caterina approaches me and tells me that she has been thinking of the move that we developed together and what the intention should be behind it: grounding. With disbelief, I smile at her, share my own realizations, and tell her that my move is now officially called: Goddess of the earth. A move that I always flow with, ground myself with and will always remind me of this experience.

I end with a quote that Jaguar Mary shared “Don’t be satisfied with stories, how things have gone with others. Unfold your own Myth” – Rumi. Now I know what the year of realization means… and especially for me, and for those around me. Thank YOU for being part of my realization.

Hoop love,
Teeba Alkhudairi
Chief Hoop Fairy

Teeba, a real pro

Practising twins

PATO

Pato

Sacred circularities… I didn’t know what to expect when I signed up for the retreat in Bali but I knew that I would have the opportunity to spend quality time with the friends I love so much so I was up for the adventure. And it was an adventure…partying under the stars until my body had no more energy, getting lost on rice crop fields whilst laughing and hardly seeing what we were walking on, meeting people from all over the world who dance sooooo freely and beautifully with their hoop partners, feeling my body exhausted after full days of concentration and learning, having quality talks with “the birds” [reference to our group of friends] in the balcony, yummy food, amazing massages … it felt like another world in the world….a world where people dance, teach each other, smile, laugh, where there is time to meditate, to feel free, to recharge….!

I hope the inspiration I got will stay with me to drive me to practice and practice until I can also be one with my hoop. I hope there will be more of this yearly experiences that help me see the many worlds there are in this world.

Happily sweating

Experiencing flow

On the way to the hoop space

SHILPA

Teeba introduced us to the hula hoop quite a few months ago but just like most things I do, I went through phases – couple of weeks where I would really practice and try to dance with it and then long “dry patches” where work/ travel/ general impatience would take over. As a result, I went into our hoop retreat in Bali completely unprepared – like a student that had only read the 1st chapter of a 500 chapter book. Plus all the meditation, healing and spiritual bonding stuff sounded weird to me.

I have always loved Bali but being there with my three HBS “soul sisters” would be an entirely special experience altogether. So even though I knew I was quite out of my comfort zone and my element, I decided on day 1 to let go of my cynicism and just go with the flow.

The entire week and experience blew my mind – it was so much more amazing than I had ever imagined it could be. In addition to spending quality time with some of my closest friends in the magical place that is Ubud, I discovered a whole new community. A community of people that are the most creative, collaborative and friendly people one can meet. I saw beautifully flowing hoop dance by teachers and students alike. I stumbled my way laughing through workshops and drills, realizing that even though I was learning only 10% of what was being taught, that was already double of what I knew before. I connected with myself and the spiritual world through deep, meaningful meditation sessions and I danced, laughed and ate with both old and new friends. This trip was something else and I could not have had better companions for the journey!

Partising new moves

Hooping in Bali’s beautiful nature

At the closing ceremony

CHRISTIAN

Learning new tricks

When Christine decided she wanted to do the retreat, it crossed my mind that maybe I should join her, but I quickly decided not to because hooping isn’t really my thing. However last minute I had a change of heart. I figured that if there’s ever a time to push myself out of my comfort zone and try new things, now is the time as we take a year off to travel and broaden our horizons. And I can say emphatically, I’m so happy with my decision.

My first day at the retreat was very intimidating. Watching the other hoopers around me felt like they could be a Cirque du Soleil troupe and I felt like a fraud being in the same retreat as them. However, each of the other participants couldn’t have been more welcoming to me, helping me to learn the most basic of moves while they learned to perfect some of the trickiest of moves. Throughout the week, I was inspired by each of them and often mesmerised at the fluidity of their hooping.

What’s wonderful about hooping is that, like many other sports and games, one can get into a state of flow and feel an intense sense of happiness as they do it. I’m glad to have discovered this and excited to be hooping.

A happy hooping couple

Coaching from Caterina

Learning new tricks

CHRISTINE

Myself

When I reflected on the retreat the following words came to my mind: intimated, encouraged, inspired and connected. Here is why.

Intimidated, at first. Encouraged, later. Imagine you find yourself among 30+ people. You know how to keep the hoop on your hip and have a few select tricks in your box. But everyone around you seems to be a professional and puts on an incredible show. Was I at the right workshop? Maybe this was a bit out of my league? My fear, however, was short-lived. Not only did our teachers structure the sessions so that beginners could follow but the whole community was incredibly supportive. Many times during the sessions and at the hoop jams did fellow hoopers, unpromptedly, approach me and offer their guidance and support. It was during many of those interactions when I had my “aha” moments, finally getting the gist of a new trick!

Inspired. One of my personal goals for the retreat week was to continue my journey of “connecting with myself”. Now, admittedly, that sounds a bit esoteric so let me explain. I feel as we go through life we develop a certain picture of “who we are” and “who we are not”. And as part of that we are put into specific boxes, by others but mainly by yourselves. You might think you are the “responsible one, always in control”, “the ambitious one, always focused on career”, “the creative one”, “the adventurous one”, “the worrying one”, and so on. Having had a break from our life in San Francisco, I kept thinking about my own mental picture of myself. Are there any hidden sides that I never explored due to other priorities? What about personal traits that were more pronounced when I was younger that I neglected over time? And that’s where hooping comes into the picture. Every time I hoop I forget the world around me. I am just focused on the movement. In a way, it is meditative, a state of flow. The more I hooped the more I realised how much I love dance. I always liked dancing but I never realised what role it could or should play in my life. When I hoop dance I let go of all my worries and tensions. And with that comes a lot of energy. It’s a release and a recharge at the same time. The other thing that surprised me was how creative one can be with the hoop. Hooping is a way of self expression. Each participant at the retreat had their very own style. Sure, a lot of the tricks are similar, but the way people move is truly unique. Hooping lets your personality and temperament shine through. There are energetic hoopers, graceful and soft hoopers, acrobatic hoopers. It was incredibly inspiring to watch my fellow hoopers and the sheer amount of talent. It felt to me that there is no right and wrong. Hooping encourages you to explore who you are. And with that I got more confident in my own self expression, not worrying about what others might think about me. It’s a very liberating feeling.

Connected, with my friends and the hoop community. One of the highlights of the retreat was spending time with my close friends Teeba, Pato and Shilpa. Being spread across the world, every opportunity for us to connect is special. It was a first for all of us, however, to attend a retreat together. And going through this experience we got to know each other from yet another angel which was very special. The other big revelation for me was the hoop community itself: a diverse set of people with different backgrounds and outlooks on life. Yet, the hoop created an invisible bond. I could have not imagined that this community of warm and loving people would play such an important role on my own personal journey.

With my little companion from the Antarctic

Hoop practise

With the amazing Tiana Zoumer

Private lessons from Caterina Suttin!

Our Sacred Circularities Group!

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A special thank you goes to:

Teeba (Flowground) for introducing me to the hoop, teaching me how to use it and continuously inspiring me to continue this journey.
Jaguar Mary and the entire Sacred Circularities team for organising an outstanding program.
Our hoop dance teachers Babz Robinson, Caterina Suttin, and Tiana Zoumer for being awesome and incredibly inspiring! You girls rock!
All the other amazing teachers who helped create a meaningful experience from further hoop tricks, meditation, yoga, HoopYogini to 5 Elements dance.
The SC community for sharing your tips & tricks, laughing a lot, being playful and above all, for sharing your personal experiences.