Many of us might remember the devastating news in late April, when the forces of nature shook the Earth, and Nepal, home of the worlds greatest mountains, felt the impact of a force 8 earthquake. Thousands died. Many more were injured and many homes of the capital city and ancient Kingdom of Kathmandu were brought to the ground. That was the first earthquake. May 10 there was a great aftershock in the Himalayas, further destroying the nation.
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| Ruined rooftops in Baktipur, Kathmandu |
Suffice to say 2015 was a challenging year for Nepal. The Earthquake and the destruction of many people's homes and national monuments was one thing. Mourning the loss of loved ones deeply, was another. But adding to the very unsettling Earthquake has been the loss of jobs, a long monsoon season, political upheaval and the current fuel crisis - stemming from the Indian blockade of the border - which has taken many vehicles off the road, stopped children getting to school, and inhibited food and gas resources.
I had planned a trip to Nepal with a group of yogis in May, however the expedition was soon cancelled, and when my Dad said to me, 'remember the deal Jess - I go before you,' I cancelled my flights, hoping to come and visit when the time was appropriate.
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| Teaching the team 'marma points' for Ayurvedic Face Massage |
Six months later I was invited to volunteer at
Vajvarahi clinic, run by a Tibetan Buddhist foundation in a small remote suburb of Kathmandu. So I recently made my way back to Nepal, dedicating time to nourishing the inner worlds of the Nepali people after a challenging time for the country.
Life is hard here in Nepal, especially at the moment, in the wake of the earthquake and in the clutch of a 3 month border blockade without signs of abating. As the weather turns colder and colder I wonder how many will get through the winter ahead. Many patients I treat have lost their homes and are living in tin huts with no blankets, having lost all their possessions. Many patients too have symptoms that manifested themselves at the same time as the earthquake, no doubt due to the fear, anxiety and trauma it caused. For me the greatest positive to take from the experience has got to be the people. With so many problems a-foot and times so hard, and with some in so much pain, everyone still has a smile on their face. The Nepali people are the most friendly and warm hearted I have ever met, with such resilience and humility.
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| The local monks |
The clinic is a simple small concrete building next to a gompa, home to many young monks. It was here I met with four other international volunteers; acupuncturists, herbalists and massage therapists, working side by side in a treatment room. Each morning we would wake up for morning yoga on the rooftop to watch the sun rise over the foggy city, share breakfast and chai, and begin a long day treating local patients.
'My time at the clinic came to an end last week, so throughout the week I was saying goodbye to the patients that I had been treating for over a 3 month period. The whole experience has been invaluable to me. Patients only have to pay 15 rupees per treatment (the equivalent of 80 pence) this means they return again and again and aren't put off by the cost of a treatment as in the West. We therefore see some patients as much as 2 times (sometimes 3 depending on the severity of their condition) a week. "Seeing patients on such a regular basis has really allowed me to experience which treatment strategies and point combinations are most effective for particular situations," explained my friend Jack Weaver, acupuncturist at the clinic. As a volunteer I was offering Ayurvedic Massage Therapy along with Yoga to the patients. I was so amazed by how much of a difference it made to them. It humbled me to be reminded of how nourishing human touch can be, how restorative and healing it is to really move and ease some of those knots and tensions that the body can hold on to. Seeing the lovely Nepali faces after a gentle relaxing massage really touched my heart.
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| Practicing yoga at the mountain nunnery |
One of the highlights of my time volunteering was our visit to Nagi Gomba, the nunnery, which was an adventure. The nunnery is tucked in the hillside of the mountains that tower over Kathmandu. It's a beautifully magical place, basked in sun and prayer flags while surrounded by pristine jungle. It's got an amazing energy as it hovers above the smog- ridden capsule of the Kathmandu valley. After our bones had been rattled around for a couple of hours, the jeep dropped us there and Annie Sonam (the nun in charge) greeted us as we organised our schedule over the coming week. Every morning we welcomed the sun with the nuns in yoga classes and dynamic meditation. Coming from yoga, it brought me such deep appreciation to share some gentle yoga movements and breathing exercises with these peaceful and happy ladies. While we couldn't speak the same language we seemed to connect on a level of understanding that had us all in a fun flow together. After the morning yoga class we opened a small clinic to treat the nuns with acupuncture and massage therapy.
The whole experience of volunteering with Vajravarahi Clinic was one of the most heart warming I have ever had. It reminded me that even in the most challenging times of our human experience, in the depths of grief, loss and pain, we can find ourselves again, and that there is a ray of grace found in the little things - the kind gestures and acts of thoughtfulness - that take us out of ourselves in support of one another. The ancient scriptures of the East speak much of the microcosm of a person's inner world; how from this place we can heal and emanate the wholeness of our being to the macrocosm of our planet. One thing we all can do is nourish our inner worlds, create balance, and calibrate our internal systems so that perhaps, when we reach out beyond our own little worlds and the limiting conditions of upbringing, and when we remove the warm cosy coat of culture, we might connect to another and speak in a language of the heart to those around us, inspiring balance, nourishment and ultimately healing and wholeness for us all.
Special thanks to Candice Quartermain of Circular Economy and Jeffrey Harlan of The Dream Flag Project and family, for their kind and generous support for this project.
