Festival summer: Journeying Öland
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Every year in the beginning of June, yogis, healers, and light workers alike gather for a two weeks long festival at this very eco-park in the north of Öland.
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Highlights of 2014
/2014 was not only the year of the Horse but also the year of Love and, WOW! How many great, magical and life altering moments and journeys I got to experience! Here is my attempt to summarise my travels within and without from 2014. Enjoy and please share your stories in the comments below!
1. Around Costa Rica and across Worlds
Starting the year off in one of my favourite countries, and one of the two I currently call “home”, by purging and cleansing and working in various traditional shamanic ceremonies such as the Temazcal (sweat lodge) and the meeting with Ayauaska. Many great journeys within oneself and between worlds are made in traditional ritual and ceremony, personally one of my favorite ways of traveling. I also got the chance to travel around Costa Rica together with my best friend and show him the magic of the country before heading on to the next adventure: Yoga Teacher Training in the desert! The adventures, travels and challenges were overlapping each other these first months of 2014! Thank you all – new and old- friends and family that helped make these voyages MAGICAL!
2. Space of Love
As I got back to Sweden in the start of summer, I was guided to visit a Yoga Festival on an island outside the east coast. Little did I know how those 2 weeks would continue the flow and journeys that started in Costa Rica and, at the same time be a trigger point for what would come next. It truly is a Space of, for and with Love. I met long lost friends and lovers- new to this lifetime, served the fire, encountered Grandfathers from the North and traditions completely new to me, and I experienced Love in ways I never knew of. Love, Connections and Journeys within and without with guidance from the medicines of song, dance, yoga, ceremony and human beings with big hearts. Thank You ALL!
3. Summer Love Tour
I continued the summer by touring Sweden together with my best friend. We had no plans as how to transport ourselves or where to end up on our way to the North and my family house. We packed yoga gear, food, a tent and all the necessities for camping- yes, we carried more than ever before on our backs! – and we hit the road. There is a special beauty and inspiration in traveling only by intuition and bare feet. We found ourselves creating connections on a yoga camp in the forest of Småland, catching up with old friends, and finding Light in the church. I taught yoga in the park and we got on buses and trains not knowing where to end up. We helped a shaman constructing a Shamanic Museum, danced with the drums and walked bare foot around Dalarna in pouring rain. We visited the native people of the North and learnt more about ancient wisdom; we camped with reindeers and created songs. And somewhere on the road we fell in love.
4. Skattungbyn
All the meetings and connections that were made during the sunny summer months led me further and towards new adventures. One of them being the Yoga Festival in Dalarna in October where I got to, once again, experience the magic of the deep forest and wild rivers, connect through love and rhythm, and share the wisdom of my drum and the ancient roots. Guiding a Yin and Drum class for about 50 people was incredible beyond words. I am so very grateful. Thank You Thank You.
5. Liverpool & Wales
What seems to have started in July, with our Summer Love Tour, came to somewhat of a peak in early December. Me and my best friend went to visit the fairytales of northern Wales and my dancing soul sister Anahí. We watched a psychedelic Christmas parade, had a chat with the Hatter, followed the White Rabbit and we got engaged on the hills of the Welsh coast where the seals have their playground. Indeed, 2014 was a year filled with Love and magic, guided by the great Horse. Thank you all for participating in the ride!
I ended my highlights of 2013 by saying: “My intentions for 2014 are to continue deeper into my spiritual journey, wherever in the world it may take me.” Summarizing 2014 showed me that I really did dive deeper into my spiritual journeys and practices and in ways and places I never could have imagine. I am grateful for everything I experienced through feelings, vision(s), hearing, touch, taste and smell. And I am grateful for being guided by the magic flow of life, always taking me to new challenges and journeys - within and without. I set my intentions for 2015 to be even more profound; deepening my spiritual practices and, thus, share the wisdoms with the world(s) even more!
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How To Travel Without Money in Sweden
/Or How To Travel the World for Free
We got in to Luleå early in the morning, where we spent the day in nature together with yet a magic yogi friend. As the late afternoon came closer, we got on the local bus to Överkalix, where we were to spend the coming week in the mythical wilderness of the Northern forest.
The saga-like Light shines its glitter over us where we stand in awe in the deep forest. Nowhere but in the North will you find endless forests, swamps and light like this.
From here our story takes a different route as we decided to buy a car and name it Björnen (The Bear)- bringing with us some of the medicine from the north! And even though traveling by car might be the cheapest way to get around (and most definitely the easiest!) Sweden and the North, it is part of another story. So, let’s summarize How To Travel Cheap in Sweden for ya:
Transportation:
Combine sightseeing and transportation Like we did with Inlandsbanan
Combine transportation and sleep There are few over-night travel options in Sweden, but in the North is where you can find them. Sleep poorly while transporting yourself and you save one night worth of lodging, like we did between Umeå and Luleå.
Use local buses Harder to find and time consuming but generally cheaper, offers a lot of fun through random countryside experiences and take you further than you might think. Even across county borders, like when we traveled Dalarna!
Hitchhike might be time-consuming and expensive in terms of buying shitty food and snacks in every gas station you end up at in between rides. However, when wanting to get around a certain area (i.e. shorter rides and without the heavy packing) I recommend giving it a go, like we did in Rättvik.
Drive freerider cars Especially good when you want to get from A to B quick and B is really far away, like the first part of our trip.
Food:
Travel with a portable kitchen, in that way you can cook your own food basically wherever you are and save in on a lot of money. Check out foodbymagie for tips and recipes on easy and cheap food to cook both indoors and outdoors!
Use Allemansrätten and the common fireplaces at resting areas near the roads and by the lakes. Just be mindful with the fire! Read more about how I used it and what it allows you to do here.
Learn the local plants, mushrooms and berries and just like that you have free food all around you! I will write more about this topic, if you are interested? In the meantime, check out foodbymagie and coming events and workshops here.
Accommodation:
Forest Camping & City Camping Travel with a tent in Scandinavia and you always have a place to crash. Read more about Allemansrätten and how we camped in Umeå.
Staying with friends & Couchsurfing We actually didn’t camp all that much, staying with good friends and locals always offer great experiences!
Work exchange Psst, there are cool work exchanges too, not just for accommodation, like we did on Yoga Camp and at Läkegården.
Hidden Costs: You know what I’m talking about; toilets, Internet, and most definitely where to store the bags when you don’t have a hotel/car or the like!
Library hangout: Good place to charge your devices + use the Internet for free. I’ve used the library both in big cities like Malmö and small towns like Kalix, you might need a library card in some places tho!
Toilets: The church. Even if you can’t find public toilets, you will find a church- go check their opening hours! In addition, I like to hang out in the often times very beautiful old buildings.
Backpack storage: Can’t find any lockers? No worries, locate the tourist information and ask if they have any suggestions. Both in Mora and Umeå they let us store our backpacks and bags for free!
Do you have any great tips about traveling without money you think I should add? Or a great idea you think I should try? Comment below!
Next post: about the sacred waters and mountains of Arjeplog and how we ended up visiting a Samí family.
Pura Vida!!
Yoga Teacher Training Costa Rica
/Guanacaste province is located in the northwest of Costa Rica. This province is the warmest in the country and between November and April there is hardly any rain (dry season), resulting in dry forests and a desert like climate.
During one of these hot months is when I decided it was a good time to do a Yoga Teacher Training. It happened to be located just outside of Tamarindo, which is basically as far as you can go from Puerto Viejo (southeastern corner of the country). And it was indeed hot, even I used air-condition! And, occasionally, I really missed the green jungle and all its sounds, movements, rain and humidity. I was surprised, however, that the howler monkeys woke us up around 5 am still, and they were close! Strolling around the surrounding areas showed me the many mango trees and it started to make sense why heaps of monkey families were hanging around in the desert.
Sunset Playa Negra, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
We started late in the mornings (6:45), when the sun was already up, making the sun heat the shala to a boiling temperature by the end of practice (9:30). Everyday we also practiced teaching, had philosophy class, anatomy class and Yin Yoga. In total, we did more or less five to six hours of physical practice everyday. I truly enjoy that kind of intensity every now and again. The regularity takes my practice to new levels and the wisdom from the physical asanas (postures) grows deeper inside me. For anyone wanting to experience profound transformation, I recommend trying longer retreats (no matter what level you’re at on your path). And of course, I recommend joining me and Yoga By Magie for any workshops, classes and retreats :)
Reversed Prayer. Sunset Jaco Beach, Puntarenas province, Costa Rica
Every seventh day we had a day off. If you’re a yoga junkie, it’s hard not to do any practice at all, even though the body really needs some rest to process what it’s learning. I kept my morning meditations, in addition to going with some of the girls to Playa Negra to try Stand Up Paddleboard Yoga for the first time! We went to an empty beach where the ocean was quiet enough to not knock us of balance. Doing yoga outside can be challenging, but if you’re used to it and have a good drishti (focus) you will enjoy SUP yoga. My favorite part was lying in Savasana (on my back), hands touching the water, looking up to Father Sky and Grandmother Moon, noticing the shore with its trees in the distance while the sun was setting over the west coast of Costa Rica. Big hug to Naturalbeautyyoga who showed us this place!
I am grateful for having met such a beautiful group of strong, independent and open-minded women. Already a couple days in, I asked to experiment with them by guiding them through a drum meditation and ended up doing another one the week after. Thank you all for being so receptive and for everything you shared during these weeks!
Me and two of the girls drove down to Jaco for a couple of nights to get a different scenery and some beach. While they headed back home to Canada, I went visiting another yogini in San Jose and together we bussed down to Puerto Viejo to watch the craziness of the last Easter days. That is to say, I am now back in the buzzing jungle doing yoga, writing on the porch, doing sweat lodges and work at the wellness center.
Sabeena, Megan, Magie at Jaco Beach, Costa Rica
What did you do for Easter?
Pura Vida
Famous sunset Jaco Beach, Costa RIca. Foto: Magdalena Larsson
Work Weekend in San José
/Every time I visit the capital of Costa Rica I have a list of things I need to get done and buy and people to visit. It is busy, but I like it! This last time, I went to buy yarn for Made By Magie’s famous Yoga Socks and material for the MBM jewelry. Thanks to having done some research on where to shop for these rather specific things during my first year in Costa I crossed of the list fairly fast and had time to visit a friend in Ciudad Colon for a cooking gathering Friday night! In addition to bulk up with even more stuff to carry around (hrm), I was gonna try selling some products at the organic market Feria Verde where my friend sells his raw food. This is the place where you find vegan ice cream, raw food, the coming week's veggies, handicrafts, incense, and organic and local everything. In addition, it is a good hang out with amazing people and a tranquil oasis in down town San Jose.
Vegan CocoChoco ice cream YUM! At Feria Verde de Aranjuéz, San José Costa Rica
From 7 am to 1 pm Saturday I was eating yumminess, catching up with friends, meeting new ones, selling some tinctures and buying a great deal of good-to-have things.
As I’ve mentioned before, Saturday is when people in San Jose hang out in the parks all day, doing all kinds of fun stuff together. Needless to say, we went straight from the market to chill in Parque Morazan where we listened to bongo drums and watched some kind of silent operetta.
Barrio Escalante, Feria Verde
Hula-hoops is the new thing here, are they popular in Sweden and other places too?
Parque Morazán, San José Costa Rica. Enamorate de tu ciudad.
How Lonely Planet can claim this city to be grey, dirty and boring is to me a great mystery. Backpackers are happy to sign their statement and on their website LP has a list over the world’s worst cities, where San José comes as number 10. Why?
By singing, dancing and playing music together, your heart frequencies become the same and, thus, you are spreading good vibrations to the world where they bounce on to other people, sharing the love. Too me, that's the opposite of grey and boring!
What is your least favorite city?
