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How Living in the Jungle Has Inspired Me

I have only been living here on the grounds of Hacienda del Sol in Costa Rica for a month and a half, but already the energy here has inspired many shifts within me. So, what have I figured out thus far?
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You know when you just "know" something without reason or explanation? When you quite simply feel something is true and right, without having any evidence or reason to support it? How you can feel perfectly at home, grounded, and safe when you enter certain places, even if you've never stepped foot in that location before?

I have only been living here on the grounds of Hacienda del Sol for a month and a half, but already the energy here has inspired many shifts within me. When I first came here last February for a retreat, I instantly felt the purity of the land welcome me onto its soil. The entire week I was here, I experienced a buzz; not a high-energy, adrenaline induced high, but more of a subtle and constant vibration within me. And now, as I spend day in and day out working, resting, eating, and sleeping here, I can not help but let this moving energy guide me.

There are some things -- some baggage -- that I toted down here with me a month ago, that I came determined to sort through. A few "shadows," if you will, parts of me that needed some light shed upon them. And already I feel like I have cracked the surface of these dark spots, simply by being here, breathing in the air, being in this place. I think the same experience is felt by many who visit Hacienda, as I have learned through many conversations with returning guests who have passed through the gates since we opened for the season.

So, what have I figured out thus far? Well, for starters, my hips aren't nearly as tight and stiff as I thought they were. Nope, years of cycling and running through the streets of Toronto were no match for my twice daily yoga practice here, and I have found a new edge when it comes to my flexibility. Oh, I shaved my head. Yup, with a razor. This was something I had long thought about doing, and it just finally felt "right" last week.

For years, every time I saw a gal rockin' a bald head on the sidewalk I yearned to feel the freedom she must have felt; liberty from fear, attachment, the ego. Or at least that was what I thought she must have felt. Nonetheless, that was what shaving my cap meant to me. And if I was going to do it, having a dear friend do the honors for me atop a mountain overlooking the jungle and the Pacific ocean was the best way to do so!

I got yet another tattoo. The day after I did my hair. It is big, colorful, and on my foot. It hurt like hell, but is an image that represents this stage in my life, my passion for plant life, and my love for Costa Rica,

Oh, and I decided to do my very first juice cleanse, colemas included. Sure, I have juice fasted many times in Toronto, but this week I chose to step it up a detox notch, and decided to take part in Hacienda's signature seven-day cleanse. As I write this, I am two days in and feeling good. Daily yoga, plenty of raw juices, fibre shots, coconut kefir and twice daily colemas, equals some real time to look deep within. I am excited to see how things unearth; both on a physical plane, as well as emotionally and spiritually. Stay tuned!

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