Viti Simmons Home Page

Day 15 - 22 November

Mind/Body/Spirit 

This most glorious butterfly greeted us when 
we arrived.
It was sitting on an orchid plant.

Our Nepal Meditation and Yoga Retreat at the Nagarkot Farmhouse was hosted by Kira Kay (whose meditation sessions bought together her rich life experiences / extensive practice in facilitation of self-discovery and intuition development) alongside Rafael Ebner's (many years of practice in different yoga styles synthesizing this experience with current training in Yin Yoga). 

What an insightful experience this has been for myself and those involved. Best way to capture this opportunity is I went in with an open mind and came out with a new set of tools - timely.

We received a: Meditation cushion & 
socks, shawl, yoga mat and journal.
The mat they are sitting on will be handed 
onto one of Hands with Hands the orphanages.

Now that I am back in Kathmandu (there are still more social business projects to share over the coming days) I now have the circumstances to reflect on the above retreat - over 9 days. However, even though I have access to consistent power I needed to be resourceful to find a plug that my cord stayed in. So back to the hotel wardrobe - set up the ironing board and packed containers under the power point to hold it into the socket. Yes!!

Our days at the retreat were spent with two sessions of: yoga and meditation (varying options) per day. The all male staff at the Farmhouse provided three meals a day and accommodation services. The surrounds were very peaceful and the opportunity to write or reflect in our journals was all part of the flow of each day. There was lots of sharing, reflection and laughter amidst these days and opportunities to explore the area by foot. The temperature was considerably cooler early morning and night. Out with the thermals!

Viti, Tina, Rafael, Nina, Buta, Kira and Shila.
Armin below - missing from group photo.

Nina and Tina both from Germany.

Kira and Viti.

The Farmhouse has its own organic vegetable garden. 'Sambhu K. Lama and his farming crew have planted 10,000 trees of which 2,000 are peach and apple.' (Sourced from brochure). I was surprised at how many flowers grown here are also found in gardens in Australia. The following images capture a snippet of their extensive surrounds. 

Strawberries

Our meals were all vegetarian and sourced 
from the Farmhouse gardens and fruit trees.

Shila below (Hands with Hands Chitwan microcredit projects facilitator) spent time with the chefs making apple pie. Now I have eaten many a variety of apple pie but this was absolutely delicious. It was a delightful ritual to be sharing the healthy food we consumed while at the retreat.

I was drawn to this elderly gentleman who each
day cleaned around the grounds.

This woman would set up her stall between 7-9 am
in the grounds of the Farmhouse and lived on the property.

Time to say farewell and and head back to Kathmandu. All things come to an end and I was grateful that this opportunity had aligned with this visit to Nepal. All bar two of the group had initial connections to Hands with Hands so that was rather special to spend time with this German/Austrian/Australian cohort. A special bond has arisen amongst the group and the essence of being connected to the philosophy of 'sharing and giving' from the heart was the key. 

While at the retreat the opportunity arose to read the book, 'The Heart is Noble, Changing the world from the Inside Out'. I have certainly seen many examples of this during my visit within the broader Hands with Hands network and those involved in their projects.