And just like that, summer is here. A season for new beginnings, for fun, and for playtime! Summer has always been my favorite season and I’ve spent the last decade of my life chasing that endless summer. Last weekend marked Summer Solstice, International Yoga Day, and International Surfing Day! Happy all of that – to you! The Universe couldn’t be more intent on telling us to go outside and play! I celebrated with outdoor acro yoga! What’s your favorite way to welcome summer?

Attachment and Letting Go

The theme that has been recurring for me the last few years of my life and especially in the last few weeks has been the idea that with every new beginning, there are inevitable endings. Each time I create my desires into form and manifest new opportunities, I must let go of other opportunities and miss out on things I created before or in other places of the world. We can’t be in two places at once, after all. At least I haven’t figured out how to be, yet. To create space for the new, there must be some old that gets squeezed out. And so the work is:

• To create space for the new and to grieve what won’t be anymore in a healthy way.
• To allow ourself the time to release attachments to titles, situations, or belongings.
• To see ourselves as independent of our circumstances so that we can truly be free to flow with the current of life.

Once you put energy into motion, it doesn’t stop flowing just because your path takes a turn. In my life, this holds true as I live in different places throughout the year. The people I meet, the jobs I take, and all my inspiring students and clients that I have in San Clemente don’t cease to exist simply because I go to Costa Rica, and all that I created in Los Angeles over my 20s doesn’t cease to produce opportunities for me simply because I don’t live there anymore. The energy I put into creating relationships and opportunities in days past continue cycling no matter where I go. Not getting caught up in the sadness of saying goodbye over and over is the hard part!

The absence of those opportunities in my life or ways of life that once were have the potential to feel like losses, and at times, they do feel that way. The human part of my brain wants me to stop and question why I’m turning things down and if it’s really in my best interest. The part of my brain that wants comfort asks me if I’m crazy for saying no to things that I’ve worked so hard for and I think, “Wouldn’t it be easier to just settle here with all these ‘things’?” I remind myself that we must create space for what’s to come, even if that means releasing opportunities that you created back to the Universe, and I tell myself that we are always in the right place at the right time. Part of elevating yourself means starting to be a little pickier on what you spend your time doing and where you place your energy.

Letting Yourself Grieve

And so with letting go of circumstances to make space for new ones comes a grieving process. Of course, it’s not comparable to the grief one experiences when losing a loved one, but it’s a sort of grief none the less. Grief is not something we should look upon negatively, but rather as a necessary process we go through as part of the human condition. As infinite beings, we come back to the earthly realm specifically to experience the wide range of human emotions available to us, and to marvel at how real it all seems. 

Grief is one of those emotions that can be all-consuming and can make us act in ways we might otherwise not (like by choosing the easy road to alleviate our discomfort), so handle gently and with caution. There are many ways we can feel about the things that come and go for a season. We can think about them with nostalgia, with yearning, with sadness… or we can think of them with gratitude for the purpose they played in our lives and with appreciation for the lessons we learned through these experiences. The more opportunities that I have to miss out on is a clear sign that I am actively manifesting more and more new things in my life. And for that, I am beyond grateful! When I notice that feeling of grief or nostalgia start to creep up, I start to feel a bit down or anxious. I take deep breaths and change my mindset about the situation. Instead of thinking of what won’t be, I start to daydream (and “manifest”, if you will) about all the possibilities that lie up ahead. I breathe in gratitude for the people and places that have shared such beauty with me, so I may live my life fully aware in each moment, trusting the process as it unfolds instead of questioning it.

It’s easier said that done, for sure, and you’ll get better with practice. My best friend, Jacqueline, and I, have had the above dialogue for the past four years or so. Since fully dedicating to a spiritual path, things go haywire sometimes! We might think we are all cool, calm, and collected, but then life throws you a curveball that leaves you guessing. A time in my life when this process of letting go to create space was really prevalent was when I was deciding whether or not to leave my Venice Beach apartment for bigger and better things. I knew then I wanted to live in Costa Rica and that I had a really big dream that was developing (and I had just learned about Rima the Jungle Girl which, from the story I tell in the About section, you can see was a major sign for me!). Everything in my life was telling me to let go of the “anchors” in my life so I could be free to fly (anchors being leases, physical belongings, jobs that were unfulfilling, weekends that seemed fun but left me empty during the week…). I started selling my possessions through eBay and Craigslist, and was intent on only owning enough possessions that would fit in my car,  while simultaneously clearing out the emotional and mental junk through my new yoga practice (all this happened at the same time – January 2013).

My Venice Beach Apartment

My apartment building was right on Pacific Avenue, one block from the water and the boardwalk. it was the first apartment building built in Venice in 1905 by Abbott Kinney himself. It was a quarters for sailors back then with all studio and one-bedroom apartments that opened up to a main lobby area with a shared balcony. All the energy of generations before still inhabited it, and it was quite a magical place to live. In my early to mid 20s, it was the perfect place to be. Rent controlled, my work at the Hotel Erwin rooftop lounge (cocktail serving my way through my therapy internships) was literally across the street, and all my best friends lived in my building or around the area. I was in love with Venice culture and the relationships I had. I remodeled the apartment myself – painted all the walls, put shelving up, and assembled all that damn Ikea furniture myself. It was my space and every single day was blissful. I just had to open my front door to be amongst my best friends.

When I came back from Costa Rica the first time in September 2012, I knew that I had to let go of my lifestyle in order to “make space” for my new dreams to manifest. Easier thought than done. I had no reason to move other than the fact that the lifestyle I was living was all-consuming and very fast paced, and left no room for growth as I was working 7 days a week to make rent and student loans. I knew I had to slow things down. I moved out and let my friend sublease for a few months, unable to actually turn it over. In May 2013 I finally made the decision to release my lease. Through tears of sadness as I painted over my green and purple walls, Jacqueline and I kept repeating, “We’re creating space… we’re creating space.” We trusted that, and looking back it was the right decision.

We manifest our dreams into form immediately, but they don’t show up in our life until we have created the space for them to do so. That might mean moving, getting rid of unhealthy relationships or habits, changing your daily routine or simply changing the way you talk to yourself. Whatever it is that you need, meditate on your heart, and then follow it. Sure, the Venice days will always be a magical chapter in my life, but so are all the chapters that have come since and all the ones that came before. I visit Venice now, gazing upon the places that used to contain my life, seeing my friends that still live there doing their thing, hearing the stories of my new friends that move there and all their adventures, and I am at peace. I am happy with what I have created and look back at all that has come since I left Venice, knowing none of it would have happened if I had remained stagnant. I was more than comfortable back then, but that’s not what living life is about.

The absence of people, places, or things in my life have the potential to feel like losses, but I instead view them with honor and adoration for what they were and are to me, taking pieces of the past with me wherever I go as I integrate all that I learn.

It’s a new feel to the old saying,

Insert “worked with”, “lived at”, “known”, or other in place of loved. The adventure and mystique of each day and all the possibilities each day holds keeps me on the edge of my seat, enjoying each rise and fall of the roller coaster as it’s happening. The temporary nature of each thing in your life is what makes it so special, and knowing nothing lasts forever will help you to let go of the grips a little. Next week I head back to Costa Rica to explore some business opportunities… ones that might cause everything to be turned upside down, but this week is all about enjoying the NOW. Squeezing every bit of juicy life out of San Clemente and my life here because any day, things could change forever.

Call to action

• Enjoy each moment as whatever title you embody while simultaneously acknowledging it as temporary and separate from who you truly are and what you want to be.
• Allow yourself the space and time to grieve the letting go of attachments and the past. See the past with gratitude and appreciation.
• Marvel with wonder at the beauty of experiencing your story unfold, and hold on tight for what’s around each corner.
• Finally, create space for the things you want to become. We manifest our dreams into form immediately, but they don’t show up in our life until we have created the space for them to do so. 

Starting tomorrow, the next two weeks mark a very important turning point in my life! I head back to Costa Rica to explore new & life-changing business opportunities. The projects I have been working on the last year and a half has lead me to meeting some very influential and important people, and I am so blessed for that and for what’s to come! I won’t go into too much detail about my business opportunities in this post, for reasons of discretion, but I can say that I am going to meet with a potential real estate buyer for a friend’s hotel that I linked up and I’m also going to explore a job opportunity in another part of Costa Rica. The buyer gave me a tentative arrival date as I was finding out about this new job opportunity, and just like that, the winds of Costa Rica called me back, requesting my presence. The chain of events that took place led me to book my airplane ticket on the fly, without having any certainties that the buyer would come through or that the job offer will be all it appears to be. 

The outcome of what will happen these next few weeks, I know not, but I do know that I must trust the process completely and let go of any negative or doubtful thoughts that come up (and they do!). In my human mind, I do not have the capabilities to fathom or understand what will happen or why things happen the way they do. The recurring theme since deciding to plan my trip back is to not plan anything! The Universe is telling me, 

Each time I try to make a plan, something changes 5 minutes later. I try to rework the plan, and it changes again! I booked my ticket for 6/29 and let my dear friend know in case he was around. His name is Ricardo, he is a fellow vegan, and he is from Costa Rica. His father is well-known in Costa Rica because he runs an aviation company that handles air medical transport within Costa Rica. Ricardo has helped me out in immeasurable ways throughout my trips to Costa Rica, from picking me up from the airport and taking me the 6 hours to Santa Teresa (with my cat, Zuko!), to introducing me to the man that married Pete and I, to arranging emergency air evacuation for my friend when she got sick, to connecting me with the guy that I will be meeting for a job opportunity, and more! He has been an amazing friend and I feel very blessed to have met him through the online vegan community.

Coincidentally (or not), Ricardo had plans to be in LA this weekend and him and his father planned to return to Costa Rica the same day as me. This was his reply to me about my trip, literally minutes after I booked my flight: “Did you already pay for the flight? Because we’re actually coming back on one of our flights so it’s free, so if you want you could go back to CR with us.” A rich guy chartered the jet from Costa Rica to LA, and we would be able to catch a ride on the jet on it’s way back.

Dang it!! Why didn’t I message him before booking my flight? And why did I book with such gusto!? To be fair, who can imagine that their friend has a free private jet ride to Costa Rica for you on the exact date you want to return? Anyway, he did! Immediately I looked up cancellation policies and found I would have to pay $200 to cancel and retain the credit, which to me, is worth it for a free ride to Costa Rica! I know I will return to Costa Rica many times, so the credit will be used and I could look at it as a $200 jet ride, and a priceless experience. I would never charter a private jet no matter how much money I had, but if there’s one going anyway, why not hop on board? You know you would, too! The chance to do that ever again seems slim, so I really wanted to take him up on the offer.

The problem is he couldn’t confirm it 100% since the rich guy hadn’t confirmed it. My husband, Pete, suggested I keep my flight to be sure that I can go and not get stranded. I enjoy the novelty of life so much that I really wanted to go for it. I struggled with canceling my flight, but kept it just in case for a few weeks, since the fee is the same regardless. Canceling my flight means canceling my return ticket as well, leaving myself in Costa Rica without literally any plans. 

Depending on how things work out, I could be on the last seat on Delta’s flight squeezed between Joe-Scmoe and Sam-who-knows-what on the red eye to Costa Rica or I could be flying in luxury on a private jet. If I was rich and always flew private, the excitement would wear off, and if I simply took the safe route of keeping my flight, I would be bored with the predictability. The not knowing what’s going to happen is what makes life exciting!

Aside from that situation, I have been blocked repeatedly when trying to make plans for this trip. The real estate buyer gave me an approximate date weeks ago but didn’t confirm his plans until yesterday (long after I already committed to heading to CR). Because I wasn’t sure on his plans, I couldn’t plan if I was going to Santa Teresa first or to the other area first where the job is (not close by!). Not knowing when exactly I would arrive in CR, I couldn’t book any transportation on the ground in Costa Rica, and I couldn’t make any hotel reservations! I couldn’t arrange my way to LAX because I didn’t know the exact time the jet will leave (first it was late 6/29, then it was 8 am, and now it’s 4 am!) And now, I have no return plans! The Universe is intent on teaching me the lesson of completely letting go and letting her have me and I surrender.

I found a ride to LA with Pete’s brother and his wife since we all spent the weekend at my parent’s house today. I literally just booked my shuttle to get to LAX by 3:30 am (it’s 7 pm the night before!) and I’m still unsure on if this jet will actually take off with me on it. Pete is beyond worried for my safe arrival, and I’ve realized that worrying it not going to change a dang thing. The worry and anxiety we experience over the uncertainty of outcomes is something we create by choice, through our internal dialogue. Having a plan doesn’t guarantee things will go a certain way, either. It’s a mental trick we play on ourselves, thinking we can predict the future with “plans” and from this trick we calm our nerves down! But in reality, no one knows what will happen – so we can instead learn to trust the process as it unfolds and to trust that we are in the right place at the right time.

The greatest lesson I’ve learned from Costa Rican culture and from living amongst Ticos is to let go of the reigns when trying to plan and control a situation because it will all turn out perfectly and exactly how it’s meant to if you just show up. My wedding in Costa Rica exemplified this, as I designed it all from scratch, had no idea how it was all to be executed, trusted the process, and then enjoyed the experience of watching it all come to life before my eyes. I understand that people want things to be set so they have make sure they are safe, but expectations can also be the roots of disappointment. When we expect things to go a certain way, we close ourselves off from the current and flow of what the Universe has planned (do we really expect that we know better than the Universe?). The details seem to work themselves out moment by moment if you can trust the messages you receive and take care of yourself in the moment (not in some uncertain, unexpected future).

Am I nervous about how everything will unfold? Of course I am, I’d be a damn liar if I said otherwise! The work lies in constantly reminding ourselves of our true nature, to come back to the present moment, and the breathe through the nerves. It’s normal to feel nervous but it becomes a problem when we let it take over. So, will I fly to costa Rica in a private jet or sandwiched between two strangers? Will my and Pete’s lives change forever in the matter of a week, or will I return to San Clemente with no progress? I have no idea. You’ll have to stay tuned and find out as I do!

Call to action:

• Follow the path your life paves willingly, rather than forcing the road with a jackhammer. Know that the process of letting go is scary and anxiety-provoking at first, but that you can breathe through it and remain calm.
• Take care of your friends and they will take care of you! Just be a good person and your energy will be your currency.
• Try not to predict outcomes of events. Rather, see plans as a way to put you in a certain place at a certain time so that something could manifest (whether it was what you were expecting or not!).
• Let the Universe have you! She will take good care of you when you do.

Costa Rica Recap

Hey there! I’m back home in California after two weeks in Costa Rica… I cut my trip short because of some unexpected circumstances (more about all that below) that led me to feeling homesick and realizing over and over that Paradise isn’t paradise without the ones you love. When you arrive in certain places, you know in your heart that you’re meant to be there and other places, you’re just not. Your intuition tells you before you go usually but we do a good job of tuning that out to varying degrees, depending on our level of growth. Overall though, it’s clear to me that through traveling, we learn lessons much faster than we have the ability to learn them at home and this is simply because we remove ourselves from the barriers of our homes and offices and routines and instead put ourselves in the way of the unknown, of adventure, and of new opportunities.

Today, I talk about the beauty of Santa Teresa (the place I call home in Costa Rica) and about the  valuable lessons I learned both in life and in business on this trip! It was quite possibly the most important trip of my life. Santa Teresa is one of those towns where people get “stuck”. There’s no other way to describe it really. For some people, it may seem like an ordinary surf town in Central America but to some, it can only be described as magical.

“But What About the Private Jet?” you ask.

If you missed my post about this, a few weeks ago, I needed to get to Costa Rica to meet with a client. My trip was planned for 6/29. My good friend Ricardo’s dad had a private jet flying from LA to San Jose that exact day, and they offered to give me a ride if the flight gets confirmed. It ended up working out beautifully! It was amazing living like the 1% for a change. No lines… flight was at 4 am and I showed up at 3:50 am. They didn’t even check my passport! Just hopped on board and got comfy. There are some videos and footage of it on my Instagram at @rima_danielle. 

To get from San Jose to Santa Teresa, it’s quite a journey. You have to take buses or shuttles and a ferry, or a commuter flight. I didn’t know how I was going to get from the capital to the town of Santa Teresa as we didn’t know the exact landing time, and all the modes of transportation (bus, flight, shuttles) left by at 2:50 pm.

We landed at 2:30 pm… not enough time to transit to the next method of transportation. Rciardo’s dad runs the air medical evacuation company and jokingly, we hoped for a non-lethal accident in Santa Teresa so I could hitch a ride with the flight over to pick up the patient. 10 minutes before landing in San Jose, his dad called his crew to check in and turns out a girl had hit her head surfing, so there was a flight to ST! My friend was shocked – “You’re so lucky!” No one could believe my “luck” – I hope the girl was okay. She ended up refusing the flight midway in the air but the paramedic, Sergio, convinced them to turn around again and take me to ST. I really am a blessed girl.

Good karma, eh? Flying home coach in the second to last row of the plane sandwiched between Jamal from Georgia and Susan from 1000 Oaks was dismal in comparison.

Getting Stuck in Santa Teresa

I’ve talked to many travelers that got stuck in ST (some were traveling for 5 years when it happened), and I personally instantly felt like it was home the first time I went there. I always feel joy when getting to the main road and always feel sadness upon leaving. I’ve heard theories as to why this is the case. One local, who was hanging out by the super mercado with another local boy, told me that the ocean is lined with different kinds of Quartz. The ocean cleanses the crystals and the moon charges them up with moonbeam magic or something. People who vibrate at certain frequencies resonate with this magnetization and feel drawn to it. It’s the most believable theory I’ve heard yet, and I have found many different pieces of Quartz along Santa Teresa’s beaches (though I never take them from the ocean… only admire them, take in some of their healing powers, and leave them back for others to enjoy).

I love ST because of the solid sense of community I feel when there… one I haven’t felt in other places that I’ve lived. In Los Angeles, it was very difficult to find genuine friends (listening to the clients I had back then, this wasn’t an uncommon dilemma). Being straight with your word and not “flaking” on people is seen as a rare and valuable trait. I commonly have to make plans with 10 people when I head that way because I know 9 of them will flake. It’s the home of the “LA Flakers”, after all! I find people there don’t want to make the commitment to drive or invest time into relationships unless it serves their agenda in some way, but in Santa Teresa, people truly live alongside one another without any hidden agendas or itineraries…. Simply being. It’s a place I dream to live full time alongside my husband and is what I’ve been working to do these last 2 and a half years (this last trip was a business trip with that end in mind).

It’s a difficult place to make a decent living. Running yoga retreats is fun but let’s be honest – they don’t yield high returns and they’re difficult to sell (getting people to invest a couple grand into your event when there’s many options and destinations these days takes a lot of time and effort). I saw real estate as a viable option to get my family and I a solid footing in the area and for my eventual treatment center to become a reality. So I started CostaRima.com last year – a website to market my friends’ and connections’ real estate properties as well as my own events in the area. It’s turned into a sort of resource for people traveling to the area.

Purpose of my Trip

Through CostaRima.com, I met a client interested in buying a hotel in Santa Teresa. I know the owners well and it’s not publicly on the market because they want to ensure the right buyer will take over. The interested buyer (we’ll call him Dave) and I have been establishing a business relationship and rapport since December of last year and with his crazy work and travel schedule, he was unable to make it out to see the property until July. I have met with many clients that are interested in property in ST, but with Dave, it was different – Based on the questions he asked, the persistence, and the vibe I got, I knew it was worth it for me to invest the time and effort to head to ST to meet him… to oversee the meetings for the sale. The hotel is a dream property, the first hotel I ever stayed at in CR, and the property that led me to fall in love with ST. The whole thing was very symbolic and came full circle.

My best friend Jacqueline asked me, “Why don’t you try to work with Dave and help him run this hotel?” Of course – the thought had crossed my mind – but I hadn’t met him yet so I didn’t want to jump ahead or get caught up in attachment. The sale of the hotel was already enough of an emotional roller coaster! My practice with yoga and meditation helped me to stay present and detached from outcomes. I committed to showing up where the Universe was taking me and to be present with the process, breathing it all in.

My other business venture was to check out a retreat center near Parrita for future events and to explore a possible job opportunity that I was contacted about. The resort is on a stretch of land that’s surrounded by estuaries so it’s considered an island. I was excited to explore new lands! My heart is in ST (it’s where Pete and I got married and it’s where I want to live, but the new town was close enough so I figured I could spend a week in each place and see how everything feels.

The First Leg of the Trip

The first day I got to ST on 6/29, many of my friends were out of town and Dave wasn’t arriving until 7/1 so I had a a day and a half to myself to work and get ready for the meetings. I walked on the beach and a man approached me who recognized me from last year when I was putting flyers up for a yoga event. We said hi and chatted for a few minutes and then parted ways. Then there was an insane storm that knocked the power out from 8:30 pm to 3:30 am. With the power goes the Wifi and the water, and everyone basically went to sleep at 9. The next day was right before the full moon – I noticed that I started doubting myself in many ways. Negative thoughts began to emerge like: “Why am I wasting our time and money chasing these dreams?” “What am I doing here alone again?” “I miss home!” Whine, complain, feel sorry for myself – for no reason at all really. Being an entrepreneur and paving pathways for yourself out of thin air can be a scary thing.

A lot of time and resources goes into investing in yourself, and at the end of the day, you either get what you are striving for or you don’t – the risk is big! (My dad reminded me this evening, though, “nothing ventured… nothing gained.” So true, pops! Love you!)

The weight of the moment started to crush me down. Talking to Jacqueline, I realized that she was having similar feelings about other things, and that the moon and stars may have been affecting our rationale. I know that I am truly blessed and that it’s silly to complain about things that are so amazing in my life! Nonetheless, I found myself feeling lonely, alone, and uneasy.

That night, the friend I met on the beach earlier came to the hostel I was staying to see a friend, and we began chatting in a group. Eventually everyone left, and him and I sat on the patio talking. I told him about Pete (my husband) and what I was doing in Costa Rica. Turns out he is a reiki healer/channeler and for the next 30 minutes, he placed his hands on top of mine on the table and proceeded to answer all the questions I had been asking that day and the day before. He offered wisdom, advice, and clear messages that left me feeling joyful and reassured. He said that when he saw me on the beach, he knew he had recognized me and felt compelled to approach me, but didn’t want to seem creepy or come off the wrong way. He simply had a feeling that he needed to talk to me. I got chills over and over and tears in my eyes throughout the conversation, because I had the distinct feeling that angels were communicating to me through  the voice of a fellow human, and I felt very grateful. 

I told Jacqueline the next day and she called it my full moon release. That totally made sense to me and it’s how I felt. The buyer arrived the next day amidst local strikes from people trying to persuade the municipality to pave the roads around the peninsula. As an activist, I’m all for a good strike, so I couldn’t be too upset, but poor Dave was stuck in his car trying to get off the ferry for 3 hours! I nervously laughed as we waited to see if he could get through. I let fate decide as I had no other choice! There were riot police everywhere, but Dave is an adventurer and got a kick out of the whole thing (once he finally made it to ST and had a nice, cold beer!). 

Him and I hit it off amazingly. He met with the owners of the hotel and I took him to dinner the first night. He told me stories of his past and it was great to get to know his history. On paper, he’s a corporate bigwig from England that works in the United Arab Emirates and since we had only corresponded through e-mails, I had no idea what to expect. It turns out he is a self-made success that started from the bottom and worked hard in different fields before arriving at his current position. He’s a paraglider, completely down to earth, and loves to chat about all kinds of things! I could already sense that he was loving ST and the hotel, so I casually mentioned that Pete and I would be interested in partnering with him to run the hotel. He said, “Hmm. that’s an interesting idea… let’s talk more about that.”

Over the next couple of days we had more meetings and dinners, and I could tell that Dave was in paradise, having a grand old time! He loves to take photos so he went around exploring a lot. The last night he was there, we went to dinner and I had my spiel ready for why our partnership would be a great match. He heard me out intently and asked about Pete – his background, his desire to relocate, and more – and accepted the partnership immediately. 

Some people visit Santa Teresa and just find it to be beautiful or relaxing, but they may not feel the magic. That’s okay – for them, it’s still a profound and blissful experience. But for some, it’s as if you’ve been bitten by a bug. That night, I asked Dave to notice how he felt upon leaving ST and the few days after… if he felt any sort of sadness or yearning to return. That would be his clue that he’d been bitten by the bug. We laughed over drinks as he imagined what it might be like to tell his powerful and very corporate boss that he had been magnetized by the moon Quartz and couldn’t return. When he did actually try to leave the next day, he got lost an hour into the drive and ended up back in ST. He considered not paying the airport exit tax of $30 so he had no choice but to stay.

He had definitely been bitten. He let me know that he’s in for the hotel and to work together, and we’ve communicated a lot since, but I’m not getting too attached to any outcomes until things progress further with the sale. For now, we’re all back to our schedules and routines and have many logistics to work out. If all goes according to plan, though, Pete and I could be living in ST by the end of the year (basically all of our dreams will come true)!

After he left, I had the task of leaving ST and heading to the other part of Costa Rica. I had put it off for a few days and decided to stay a whole week in ST. I told Pete before leaving that I was nervous to go to ST first before the other place because I knew I would get stuck there and not want to leave. Well – I was right. My best friend in Costa Rica, Gingi, came back from his trip, as well as a few other friends, and I was having a blast hanging out at Gingi’s hostel where I always stay. Part of the work of letting go of attachments for me is letting go of people, situations, and places. I knew in my heart that I didn’t want to leave and the person who I was going to meet near Parrita for a potential job opportunity had made some shifty claims since I arrived in CR that made me question going at all. 

The Second Leg – What Happened?

I cancelled my ticket when I took the private jet, so I didn’t have a return date. Since things went so well with Dave, I contemplated skipping Parrita. After talking with friends and family about it, I decided it would make sense to at least go check it out and see how I felt there. Since I didn’t have any business left in ST and knew I would just be vacationing if I stayed any longer, I made my arrangements to get to Parrita and arrived early in the afternoon on 7/7. I’ll spare you all the crazy details and just say that it didn’t feel right. Although it was a beautiful resort on a stunning beach, the energy in the town and with the people wasn’t what I feel back in ST. On paper, it would appear that the person I was going to meet would suit me better in terms of personality and interests than Dave would, but it was actually the opposite.

I felt marooned on this island that I was on and I could immediately tell there was no Quartz on this beach. I felt lonely and trapped, like I was a million miles from home. They had me staying in a musty, dirty house alone, I had no way to get decent food and I didn’t feel comfortable (for reasons I won’t elaborate on because this post is long enough). The first night I cried to Pete on Skype for an hour and I definitely realized that moving to CR isn’t about just being anywhere there, but about taking the time to set it up in the way that works for us and retains our quality of life. I didn’t want to be so attached to ST that I didn’t give this new opportunity a chance, but the experience solidified for me where I want to be. A paradise – when you are alone and feeling uncomfortable – is simply not a paradise. I didn’t feel a connection with anyone there and I was hardly given the time of day, attention, or respect that I deserve as a professional. The offer wasn’t what it was made out to be and I felt I was wasting my time by staying there any longer (I have clients to work with and yoga classes to teach, dammit!). I booked my flight for two days later.

I felt so much relief to know I was returning home to my husband, cat, and home! Obviously, nothing terrible happened but the whole ordeal was slightly traumatic for me. Even though I was safe, I felt shaken and apprehensive. The last day, I spent all day on the beach practically alone (there’s no one on this dang island!) practicing yoga and being a mermaid all day. I let all the experiences soak in and away as I found presence, peace, and gratitude for the beauty surrounding me. I had a handstand breakthrough on the beach and was able to hold it for the first time for 15 seconds! I felt strange that I could be so uneasy in such a beautiful location, but I didn’t judge myself for it – I just let it be the process it needed to be. I figured I would enjoy it while I was there, and it helped me to appreciate the experience for what it was and what it taught me. All of the negative emotions that came up throughout the trip had their place, for sure. They all needed to be processed so I could truly understand my place in this world a little bit better.

I learned the lessons that: 

1. Things aren’t always what they seem, and you can find miracles in the most unexpected places. Do the work, show up, don’t judge, be open, and trust the process.
2. Home isn’t home without the ones you love.
3. Don’t worry too much about planning anything out. If you release yourself to the Universe, she will carry you through.
4. Try not to get attached to any outcomes before they manifest into form. Just flow with it and trust you’ll be in the right place at the right time, and that the Universe has to get us there somehow (it may not always be in the way we envision).

I made it back to San Jose in time for my flight and got to see my two friends there for lunch. Carolina, owner of Sulara Wear, & my friend Ricardo. We had an amazing time! I hope you enjoyed the recap of my crazy adventure! 

Come to Costa Rica with me in September and visit the magical land of Santa Teresa! We have a few spots left! Register here!

If you follow me on Instagram (@rima_danielle), you’ve probably seen that I’m hosting a weekly summer giveaway called #JetSetYogi! I’m featuring a different amazing brand or company each week to give my lovely followers a special prize. All prizes are perfect for the wanderlusting yogi!

This week: You can win a free year subscription to Udaya.com’s archive of quality, on-line classes!  

Rules to play below!

Since I fell behind and didn’t get to do this for the first 4 companies (Daughters of Culture, Vagabond Goods, Yoga Travel Tree, and Sulara Wear) I’ll go back each week and feature them on Tuesdays! 

But for today, let’s talk about what makes Udaya Yoga so amazing!

Who is @UdayaYoga

UDAYA produces and manages the distribution of high quality yoga content and health and wellness programs like The Ultimate Yogi, Yoga Warrior 365, and Deepen Your Practice. They own Udaya.com, an online subscription based platform for the distribution of it’s HD yoga classes and fitness related content.  Members receive 5 new yoga classes a week, unlimited access to the entire online library, Free Shipping on all products within the continental USA, & more.

Classes from 5-minute tutorials to 60 minute full-length classes, and you can filter by level, teacher, style, and more.

Teachers featured on Udaya.com

• Rudy Mettia
• Vytas Baskauskas
• Jules Mitchell
• Sianna Sherman
• Caley Alyssa
• Calvin Corzine
• Travis Eliot
  • And more!

They use state of the art camera equipment and an Hollywood-quality film crew. They use multiple camera angles to depict every aspect of each pose and instruction.  Their goal is to ensure that you are getting the ultimate home-yoga experience.

Why I Love @UdayaYoga

The teachers are down-to-earth while being some of the best in the world. Many times when I’m traveling or just having a busy week, I’ll put on a 40 or 60 minute class in my living room and get my practice done. I feel like I got amazing instruction and you really feel like you’re in a class! Invest in a few props (a block, a strap, and a bolster) to get the most benefit out of the classes. 

Check out the Udaya videos I was in as a student

1. Blindfold Practice on Udaya.com with Vytas Baskauskas
2. Left Side First on Udaya.com with Vytas Baskauskas
3. Vinnie’s Class on Udaya.com with Vytas Baskauskas
4. Yin Yang on Udaya.com with Vytas Baskauskas
5. Yoga Butt on Udaya.com with Vytas Baskauskas
6. Lifting the Back Ribs on Udaya.com with Vytas Baskauskas

How to play to win on Instagram

Update: Week 5 has officially ended but check in each Sunday with @rima_danielle on Instagram for the next week! #JetSetYogi has a new sponsor each week until Labor Day! Congrats to @Micheled03 for winning!

That’s a total of 12 ways to enter each week!

BONUS: Get an extra FIVE ENTRIES this week if you join my newsletter (I promise not to spam you). Enter your information below.

Use this spray on all your fruits and veggies!

Washing your produce thoroughly, whether you purchase organic or not, is extremely important! I make homemade veggie broth (which I’ll talk about it a future post) from my vegetable scraps so I even clean the parts of the vegetables that we don’t consume (no dirt in the broth, please!).

You can buy produce cleaners from the store, but they tend to be expensive considering you can make a quality vegetable and fruit spray at home using 4 simple ingredients (one of them is water!).

Depending on how dirty the produce is, you might want to consider spraying the produce and allowing it to sit for 5 – 10 minutes with the spray. Then use a scrub brush to clean completely (such as with beets or potatoes, or anything non-organic). This will help to remove dirt, pesticides and chemicals from the skin. Use your discretion!

Share to Pinterest!

Ingredients

• 1 cup distilled water
• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 20 drops organic grapefruit essential oil

You’ll need:

• Spray bottle
• Large pitcher

1. Combine all ingredients in a large container, like a pitcher.
2. Transfer to a spray bottle with a pump.
3. Spray mixture on produce, and let sit for 1 – 10 minutes, depending on the produce. 
4. Scrub (if necessary) with a scrub brush and rinse thouroughly with water.

Notes

• The reason for mixing in a large pitcher first is because the vinegar and baking soda will create a reaction that will cause it to fizz up out of your spray bottle and overflow everywhere!
• For a 32 oz bottle, you can multiply the recipe by 1.5. Adjust based on the size of your bottle.
• Distilled water only if available – tap water works too, since you’re rinsing with tap water anyway.
• Keep spray bottle in the “Off” position when not in use because the vinegar/baking soda reaction can cause it to fizz in the bottle and leak out (especially for the first two days as it settles). Keeping it in the off position prevents this.
• Grapefruit essential oil is available at health food stores or on-line. You can also substitute for tangerine, lemon, lemongrass, or orange (citrus oils have a disinfecting effect).   

Sponsor for Week 4 of #JetSetYogi Summer Giveaway

Since I was traveling around Costa Rica the last few weeks, I didn’t get a chance to feature the first 4 brands of #JetSetYogi and that’s really uncool! So I’m going to go back and give them some love. When I got to San Jose to depart, I got to have lunch with Carolina, the owner of Sulara Wear. At Bulali Restaurant. I love her! Since we met last year through Instagram, we have been able to hang out three times in San Jose, once in Santa Teresa (were she currently sells lots of her clothing), and once in Venice Beach! We plan to travel together September around the Caribbean side of Costa Rica before my retreat starts.

Last week, Sulara Wear and I gave away a Sulara Wear Meiosis bra for Week 4 of #JetSetYogi. The winner was Blair Lancaster (@blairrlancaster). Congrats! 

Who is @SularaWear

Sulara Wear is a yoga and activewear line based in Costa Rica that believes in the liberation of the modern woman who wants to integrate the balance, strength and flexibility in her daily life. Owner & designer Carolina Trigueros studied design and fashion at IED Madrid (Instituto Europeo di Design) and has lived in numerous different design capitals around the world, honing her skills. 

The word SULARA means “daughter of the earth” in Talamanca mythology, or a person that was important in the creation of the world. SULARA, echoes the connection to the land or Pacha Mama and our appreciation for all that we are given.

Where can you find Sulara Wear 

SularaWear.com is coming SO SOON but for now, you can e-mail Carolina directly to fill orders at sularastyle@gmail.com or you can find Sulara in these places around Costa Rica:

1. Entre 5inco in San Jose (@entre5inco)
2. Pranamar Villas in Santa Teresa (@pranamarvillas)
3. Body Tree Yoga Resort in Nosara (@bodhitreeyogaresort)
4. Andamio Escuela de Movimiento in San Jose (@andamiooficial)

How to play #JetSetYogi to win on Instagram

Unfortunately, week 4 with Sulara Wear is already over but there’s 12 weeks of #JetSetYogi – it goes until Labor Day! Check in on Instagram with @rima_danielle to find the current week, sponsor, and rules!

BONUS: Get 5 entries to the current week when you join my newsletter (I promise not to spam you). Enter your information below.

I love my Sulara Wear outfits!

ponsor for Week 6 of #JetSetYogi Summer Giveaway

I love Om Shanti Clothing Company (@OmShantiClothing)! Their style is funky and fresh. I was first introduced to them by Alexis (@yoga_warrior_goddess) during our #OmOpener challenge, which they sponsored alongside Om Soul Shop (@OmSoulShop). It was such a pleasure to work with them! They are super interactive with their customers/followers and were very gracious to us as hosts, as well. We love brands that support the community and really dig in with us! The yoga challenges on Instagram take A LOT of work to do well, so it means a lot when our sponsors are there supporting us and getting to know our participants. 

How to play #JetSetYogi to win on Instagram

1. FOLLOW @OmShantiClothing & @rima_danielle to enter & for 1 entry

2. LIKE the post #JetSetYogi post on @OmShantiClothing & on @rima_danielle’s page for another 1 entry (must like both)

3. REPOST the image on the right using @OmShantiClothing, @rima_danielle, & #JetSetYogi, and let us know what life lesson you’ve learned while traveling!! – for another 5 entries!

4. OPTIONAL: For additional 3-5 entries, tag 3-5 REAL friends in the comment section. (No celeb, giveaway hosts, or fake accounts allowed or your entry will be disqualified.) 

Sponsor for Week 3 of #JetSetYogi Summer Giveaway

I met the ladies of Yoga Travel Tree last year through Instagram or an online search (can’t remember exactly now). I had just moved to Costa Rica, had just started my website Costa Rima, and was really getting into yoga as a teacher, traveler, and practitioner. I began writing for them and our entrepreneurial love affair has blossomed from there. We have partnered on many projects together (from Instagram challenges, to our yoga retreat to Costa Rica in September, to the time we gave away a FREE yoga retreat on Instagram!).

A couple of weeks ago, Yoga Travel Tree and I gave one lucky follower a “Will Travel For Yoga” tank top and a luggage tag for Week 3 of #JetSetYogi! My essentials for traveling! The winner was @solitaryritual. Congratulations and thanks for playing!

There are 12 weeks in all of #JetSetYogi and we’re about to launch Week 7 with Buddhi Box (@buddhibox)! If you didn’t get a chance to play with Yoga Travel Tree, tune in Sunday at 12 pm PST when we kick off next week’s 72 hour giveaway for a chance to win a Yoga Lifestyle Box. 

Who is @YogaTravelTree

Yoga Travel Tree is a boutique yoga and travel adventure company that specializes in yoga retreats & teacher trainings all over the world as well as teaching about the business of yoga. Their adventures go all over from Bali, to India, to Costa Rica (with me!), to Mexico, to Italy, and everywhere around there and in between there.

The Faces Behind YTT

Brooke Roberts, the Founder & CEO of Yoga Travel Tree, “is a world traveler and entrepreneur with a bit of a yoga problem.” From Kansas originally, she rose to the top of the youth travel industry as senior VP for a successful online resource for travel abroad. Then, she left it all for Yoga Travel Tree, and has been using all the skills she cultivated to create bad-ass programs and adventures for yogis and people wanting adventure all over the world. Connect with Brooke on Instagram and Twitter as @TheNewDorothy and check out her blog The New Dorothy where she “chronicles the triumphs and tribulations of a start-up life.”

Sarah Monk is the marketing and content director at Yoga Travel Tree. She has been an asset in getting Yoga Travel Tree to where it is today and considers yoga her salvation! She is physically active and outdoorsy in many ways, including being an avid runner! She is a certified teacher as well and lives in Colorado. Connect with her on Instagram and Twitter.