Seven years with Nøsen

Seven years ago Nøsen was a run-down hotel on the mountain. It was old, it had not been cared for in many years, and it had stood empty for a long time. The roof leaked, the walls had no insulation, and in time it had become home to more than one mouse.

At Easter 2013 Alexander Medin came driving over the mountain with his son Benjamin, on the way from Beitostølen to Hemsedal. They took Panoramavegen, and at Nøsasvingen they stopped to enjoy the wonderful view. Nobody had words for how beautiful it was. Suddenly Alexander said to Benjamin: "Imagine having our own yoga retreat centre here! Wouldn't that be fantastic?" Then they drove on without thinking any more about it. At least not for a while.

At the time Alexander taught yoga at Puro Yoga in Oslo, and he had only just started the project that is today Back in the Ring (BITR). He was also about to leave for India on the very first trip with former prisoners and addicts. Life was busy. Even so, the thought from the drive over the mountain stayed and hummed. It would not let go.

Can you tell us about the beginning, Alexander? How did you come to start at Nøsen?

"In the autumn of 2014 I held the first yoga course at Nøsen, a kind of trial with some ladies from the west side of Oslo. They thought the location was fantastic, the buildings horrible, and they were frightened by mice in many nooks and corners. I saw only possibilities, and from 2015 I started renting on a trial basis. In the autumn of 2015 I bought Nøsen, and straight after came the refugee crisis. A week before Christmas Eve, Nøsen became a reception centre for 100 asylum seekers for three months. It was challenging on very many levels, but the year after it gave us the chance to fix the roof, upgrade the hotel and repair much of what needed maintenance."

"Then we were off. We played at running a hotel. Little did we know what we had got ourselves into.

Luckily, yoga was the driving force. It was our greatest offer and what we knew best. Slowly but surely people came here who wanted to go deeper into yoga. Some were paying guests, while with many we exchanged services: yoga, board and lodging in return for some maintenance, help in the kitchen or tidying and cleaning. Gradually we gained a professional staff who wanted to be here and burned for what we did. We became more professional, found joy in the work and felt the strength and joy of genuine service. It enriched everyone who worked here, it was good for the place, and our guests thrived. It laid the foundation for what we have become today: service and karma yoga."

Today it is not only yoga that draws people to Nøsen. The kitchen gets a lot of praise too. We hear of devoted meat lovers who eat vegetarian food for days on end, smiling from ear to ear.

But in the beginning the food was not quite the same?

"Oh, the food has been quite good from day one. But not everyone cooked with their heart. For many it was just a job, a chore, something they did as a favour or to prove something. Everything was at its darkest during the pandemic, but a few weeks before we were to open in the summer of 2020, Prasad arrived, and soon after came Lise. First as visitors, but after two weeks both were given permanent jobs. They have turned our kitchen into a temple where a feast is served every single day. It is a privilege everyone bows to in gratitude, every single day."

These days several building projects are under way. The attic has become a new floor, with extra room for yoga, a library and a conference room. The view from up here is indescribably beautiful.

What are the plans ahead?

"We hope to finish the new floor in the spring of 2022. In the autumn of 2022 we will extend the dining room by 200 square metres. The yoga hall downstairs will also get 150 square metres more, and we will make a small spa with a sauna, a jacuzzi, a cold plunge pool and a chill-out lounge. Above the restaurant we will build a large terrace where you can enjoy the view and experience the Nøsen magic at its very best.

Little did we know how much could happen in seven years. We look forward to the next seventy!"

Photos: Nicki Twang, Darja Olsevskaja and Malene Saxebøl.