Voluntourism

By Dr. Sally Bassett

One of the greatest joys of leading “voluntourism” retreats to Costa Rica–trips mixed with travel and service–is the range of ages within a group. Recently, I had 20 people join me, including high school students, an 11 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. Our oldest was 70 years young—Bernadette was a delight as she zip-lined through the rainforest for her first time. Grey, our 5 year old from Zionsville, kept everyone joyfully engaged throughout the week as we worked at our International Center for Girls. Learn more

Mindful-Wellness Immersion in Costa Rica

By Dr. Suzanne Nixon

With the pace of the modern world getting faster and faster, the pace of our everyday life gets faster. Caught up in the rush and the fury, it is challenging keeping up with demands on our time, energy and resources, stress builds. We fall out of alignment with our healthy, centered self, and fall prey to unhealthy behaviors, habits and patterns of living. How do you begin to come back into alignment with yourself? How do you let go of stress and nourish your mind, body and spirit? How do you establish healthy practices that create a feeling of “goodness” and sustain it in your everyday life? Where do you go to recharge, renew and regain a sense of yourself? Learn more

Recharge with Self-Care

By Stephanie McKenzie

When was the last time you took a moment for yourself? A moment to gaze at the sunrise or to sit with nature and observe her rhythm. When was the last time you took a moment for yourself and did not feel guilty? A moment to recharge. A moment to remember who you are and why you do what you do. Even if you can answer these questions with a truthful “yesterday”, how do you feel? Deep down at the core of who you are; how do you feel? We all need moments for ourselves to tune-in and discover how we are feeling. Moments dedicated to taking care of ourselves. Learn more

Wisdom of the Jungle

In times of stress, is your natural reaction to retreat to nature? The majestic beauty of Mother Nature has no demands on us; yet, like a calming mandala, she draws our attention to her serenity. She silences the constant ‘thought-chatter’ in our minds and allows us to take a break from the craziness of our noisy world. Our whole being relaxes as we expand into the natural landscape and begin to feel at one with all things. An experience such as this is what people are calling nature therapy, also known as “ecotherapy”, “earth-centered therapy”, or “green therapy”. Learn more