Josh Wrest's Photo

Unverified Profile

  • Payment not verified
  • Phone not verified
  • Government ID not verified

Maybe Accepting Guests

  • Last login over 5 years ago

Join Couchsurfing to see Josh’s full profile.

Overview

  • 23 references 10 Confirmed & Positive
  • Fluent in English; learning Indonesian
  • 39, Male
  • Member since 2010
  • Researcher for the Australian Parliament, and a Breathwor...
  • Studied a Bachelor of Arts/Asian Studies as the Australia...
  • From Australia
  • Profile 95% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

To be open, congruent, integrated, present, loving, kind, fun(ny), to laugh, to cry, to look people in the eyes and listen deeply, and to be in my body. Engage with nature and the breath (I am a breathwork practitioner after all!)

ABOUT ME

Raised a country kid in rural Australia, now a researcher for the Australian Parliament by day, and a breathwork therapist by night. I live in Canberra, Australia with my boyfriend, Sam, our pug, Norman and three chicken (Tathra, Red and Brown).

I've grown up pretty focused on experiencing the world beyond my small town upbringing. Growing up I studied and lived in Indonesia and Japan, then went for a few random trips to SE Asia in my late teen years. In 2009 I commenced a two year journey starting in the Middle East, the Caucuses, Europe, North Africa, South Asia and finishing up in SE Asia in late 2010. This time abroad was truly life-changing (no surprises there) and has shaped so much of my life since returning to Australia.

After finding my feet back in Australia, I returned to Canberra where I worked at the Australian National University. This then was followed up by a random career change into politics (please don't hate me for it). As a counterweight, I am a meditator, love yoga, engage with nature-based spiritual practices and plant-medicine journeys. I am also a breathwork practitioner, which I started my own practice in 2019. Other highlights include: plant-medicine journey with a tribe in the Ecuadorian Amazon; two-weeks in an Ashram in India; and travelling with my love, Sam in Sri Lanka; and travelling and learning to truly love my homeland, Australia.

PHILOSOPHY

To be guided by my breath, my body and my heart. When in doubt, spend time in nature.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I am a surfer and I will host. Canberra isn't a tourist hot-spot and hosting opportunities are far a few - that said, our door would be open to anyone that wishes to come visit me.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I was introduced to Couchsurfing during a two year trip abroad in 2009-10. During that trip, I couchsurfed in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Georgia (also helped run a hostel for a couple of months), Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Serbia, Switzerland, France, Germany, Egypt, Nepal, India, Thailand and Burma/Myanmar. I hosted with my former flatmates here in Canberra a number of times.

Interests

Traveling, reading, music, meditating, hiking, scuba, nature, trees, fun, life family, friends, learning, snowboarding, photography, breathwork, animals, food and cooking, learning from people, altered-state therapies...well, there are a lot and I feel super awkward listing them all.

  • photography
  • meditation
  • partying
  • reading
  • tv
  • traveling
  • music
  • hiking
  • camping
  • scuba diving
  • snowboarding
  • rock climbing
  • anthropology
  • languages
  • nature
  • breathwork

Music, Movies, and Books

I love cinema and TV series (Netflix and chill kinda guy), and typically engage with most genres, although I have a soft spot for sci-fi. Music is super diverse, although I typically keep away from hip-hop, rap etc. I use music therapy in my breathwork practice, so I listen to a lot of electronic, instrumental (classical) and "healing" music. I read a lot, but my breathwork study and love to learning about altered-state therapy means I read a lot of those types of books.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Mountain climbing in the Himalayas, Caucuses and the Swiss Alps. Petra, the Egyptian ruins, desert camping with the Bedouin, meditation in Burma and here in Australia, scuba diving in Dahab, partying in Istanbul and Berlin. Vision Quest in the Australian bush, plant-medicine journey in Ecuador, snowboarding in Lapland, Finland. Exploring the beaches of South Coast, New South Wales. Staying in an ashram in India. To name a few, of course.

Teach, Learn, Share

Well, I studied human security, development studies, Indonesian and anthropology at university. I've done a lot of inner-world work and am more than happy to talk about that - also, happy to exchange my stay with a breathwork session :).

Countries I’ve Visited

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Serbia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, United States, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Georgia, Indonesia, Japan

Old School Badges

  • 4 Vouches

Join Couchsurfing to see Josh’s full profile.

My Groups