Inspired

The view from my morning bikeride: Volcan Arenal, windblown trees, and lots of green.

Hello loved ones,
It has been a while since I've written. The brief hiatus from technology has been mostly due to minimal internet access here in the hills of Costa Rica, and also because we've been completely engaged in some fun projects.

First, I had the honor of painting prayer flags and a banner to decorate the space for the Qigong (in case you're not familiar, it's pronounced "Chee" "gong") workshop. It was a great project; I got to paint lotus flowers, blue morpho butterflies, chinese characters, and a giant tropical leaf framing a radiant woman.

Painting the banner in my improvised workspace.

This is the only photo I took of the prayer flages I painted, and it doesn't show the colors very well, but you get the idea. Our group signed the backs of the butterflies and gave them to Daisy as a gift. They will be traveling all over the world with her while she teaches. :)

The banner I painted was the backdrop for our alter and practice area. It felt like an honor to have something I painted hanging in a sacred space.

Even more exciting and inspiring than the painting project was the class itself. Having been intrigued by Qigong for at least 5 years, I am overjoyed to have finally found a teacher! Synchronicity brought this amazing woman named Daisy Lee to Costa Rica while we are here, and I have had the privilege of studying women's-specific Qigong with her and a group of 11 radiant women for the past 8 days. What a gift! The practice is a real synthesis of all the work I've been doing with yoga, breathing, reiki, etc. And, the most awesome part is, I'll be certified to teach the Qigong I've learned by the time I get home. Needless to say, this has me pretty excited! If you are interested in knowing more, check out http://www.radiantlotusqigong.com/womens-qigong/

I've been joking that Ryan and I both have been learning how to fly, in our own ways. My way is more symbolic, energetic, and his is using the kite board. He has been coming home beaming after each day of kiting, so I can tell he's having a lot of fun with it. He's also been enjoying gathering ideas for the design of the apartment we plan to build when we get home. Almost every day he has a new and improved design drawn out, so we are pretty excited about that, too.

There is a lot of inspiration here: the colors in the landscape, the art, people's colorful and unique homes, the birds, flowers. It truly feeds the soul.

Inspiring colors, inspiring energies.

I learned from my Qigong teacher that one of the best things we can do for our general health, besides simply drinking enough water, is to be surrounded by nature's versions of the color green. It helps to balance the kidneys, which is essential to the healthy functioning of the whole body. So, I hope you can find some green in your neck of the woods. If not immediately, we all know Spring is coming and the leaves will soon emerge. Until then, keep your kidneys warm and remember to breathe.

We love you.

Jess & Ryan

Surrounded by the color green, at the base of Volcan Arenal.

Ryan and I are loving our time together, and I am consistently overwhelmed by his support in all my endeavors; he has really helped me in my creative process. Here, the prayer flags are in the background.

The petals of our "radiant lotus," 12 radiant ladies.