A friend had once told me that it’s hard not to feel peace when you are in Nepal because every morning you wake up and the first thing you see when you look outside are the Himalayas. And also when the Nepalese greet each other, they place their hands in prayer at their heart centre and say Namaste.
Namaste is the recognition of the divine spirit (or soul) in another by the divine spirit in you.
- ”The God/Goddess within me acknowledges the God/Goddess within you.
The Divine in me recognizes and honors, the Divine in you.
The spirit within me bows to the spirit within you.
I greet that place where you and I are one.
I honor the place in you which is of love, of truth, of light and of peace.”
I remember thinking at the time that Nepal sounded so beautiful and magical, and it inspired in me the desire to take a look at this place and see it for myself. And to be honest, I wondered if he was making it sound better than it actually is, that maybe these are things yoga people say to impress each other?
After fully relaxing for a couple of days, I can fully admit I was a jerk for doubting. I treated myself to one of the best massages ever at Seeing Hands Clinic Lakeside in Pokhara. This was the first time I have ever tried a blind massage and it was magical after our 5 day trek in the Annapurna region. Blind people are often marginalized in Nepali society and the Seeing Hands Clinic takes in young blind people every year and volunteers from all over the world come and train them professionally. 65% of the profits from the massage gets put back into a charity for them.
When I heard this, it just melted my heart and I decided that was where I wanted to go. They were very professional, and sweet. My masseuse was a young 23 year old Nepali who checked in to make sure he was massaging at the right pressure. When I told him he could go a little harder, he joked around by saying “oh you like it hard, hey”? Cheeky fellow! We had a few good laughs I definitely enjoyed his sense of humour and his skilled massage..
I also discovered I love Nepali people, they are so unbelievably nice, kind hearted, sweet, honest, and they love to laugh and joke around so they’re fun to be around.
It was surreal, we hiked through the mountains, through small towns and villages, saw so many different plant and animal species, tonnes of waterfalls, beautiful sunrises and enjoyed a full afternoon hanging out at the natural hot water springs. We even saw marijuana plants growing in the mountain tops!
Of course it is illegal to buy or sell it, but we could totally appreciate the beauty of it growing naturally in the mountains.
Well tomorrow our journey continues as Seb and I are flying out to New Delhi. India is a part of the journey I am really excited about. I am meeting my friend Megan at the Anand Prakash Ashram in Rishi Kesh to study more Yoga. Rishi Kesh is where yoga was founded and I am enthused to study from some of the Indian teachers out there. Sebastien is a little bit apprehensive about going to a “dry town” with no alcohol or meat but I think it’s going to be an amazing experience for both of us.
