🌴💛🌴 The safe haven - 'The Sanctuary' - Fasting, Yoga, Meditation, Healers, and more. 🌅

A safe haven is truly The Sanctuary, a wonderful place with great people and many opportunities to do something good for yourself. I arrived in pouring tropical rain on April 4th and it was time to say goodbye again on April 19th, in glorious sunshine, which resulted in a small sunburn. I was ready to move on, but with a heavy heart, as the time there was extremely valuable on my spiritual journey.

Where do I begin... I came here to do yoga, meditate, and fast for 10.5 days. Fasting therefore dominated most of my time there, but I will discuss it separately. The fasting package I had booked included ten yoga or Pilates sessions, ten spa treatments, and various other amenities.

YOGA

Nadia, Hayley, and Jonny (with the beautiful last name Rose) accompanied me on my journey into the world of yoga and helped me progress. They had all spent some time in India and strongly incorporate the philosophy and spiritual origin of yoga into their classes. Perfect! That's exactly what I had wished for!

Yoga is a sport, but only to a small extent and mainly from a Western perspective. Yoga is energy flow, aimed at achieving the unity of body, mind, and the energy body that surrounds us. That's what motivated me last summer to start - I wanted to do something for my body and soul, take care of myself holistically. The asanas (physical yoga) serve the purpose of calming the mind through conscious breathing, and preparing for the still sitting meditation. There are also pranayamas (yogic breathing exercises) that activate the seven chakras - the body's energy centers - and balance one's lunar (female) and solar (male) sides, so that energy can flow freely. Yoga, meditation, pranayamas, and the chakras are essentially one, and that's how it is taught and practiced in the little paradise called 'The Sanctuary.' It is an exciting different world that I am only touching on here, and one in which I still have much to learn, but it makes a lot of sense to me and gives me the opportunity to discover my spiritual side.

Here are some beautiful quotes from the yoga classes:

'We do not have a soul, we are a soul that has a body.'

'We are all made of stardust, come from the same source, and are connected.'

'Yoga does not exist, yoga means a state - the state of unity.'

'Let your breath guide you, it is your inner guru, it leads you to your inner wisdom. Trust it!'

'EVERYDAY LIFE' AT THE SANCTUARY

Many of my days there started with a jump into the waves, often as early as 8 am. This is an incredible luxury and I am once again infinitely grateful to be able to experience all of this and to have come across this somewhat secluded place. The best way to get there is by boat, which can be impossible in heavy rain and rough seas. I was lucky, although the boat ride was like a rollercoaster. The jungle road to get there is unpaved and can become impassable in the rain.

At this place, you can relax and let your soul truly unwind, take a break from the outside world. The daily coconut (during fasting only the water) was also part of my everyday life, as was the aforementioned jump into the sea and regular massages. Yes, I treated myself to a lot there and I am happy that I am worth it.

THE TEA TEMPLE AND ITS HEALERS

But that was not all, because there is also the Tea Temple where a number of healers offer their services. I understand if this may sound a bit far-fetched for some people, but I am mainly curious and generally open-minded. The offerings range from Reiki, Tarot, astrology, acupuncture, reflexology (foot massage that affects the whole body), channeling and consulting an elder council, to transformative breathing. And that's not even everything.

I had a Reiki session and a tarot reading, not knowing what to expect, being open, but somewhat skeptical, and I had two wonderful experiences that confirmed my path.

Reiki:

Here is a (too) brief explanation...

'Reiki is the Japanese name for universal life energy. It is also a method of channeling life energy through the hands. Reiki activates self-regulation and supports personal development. As a side effect, it has a relaxing effect and feels good.'

You go into a session with a certain intention. Mine was to strengthen the connection to my heart and clear the blockages that are hindering me. I made myself comfortable on a couch and was guided into a meditation by the lovely Morwenna, which connected me to my higher self. For the rest of the hour, my eyes remained closed, and I focused on the connection and, above all, on feeling. There was a back and forth between light and darkness, between feeling light and feeling heavy - floating and feeling grounded - all quite intense. At times, I wondered if I was imagining it... Meanwhile, Morwenna felt my energy flows and tried to direct them in line with my intention. Afterwards, she told me about her experiences. She felt that my throat chakra had absorbed a lot of energy - which stands for the ability to clearly and confidently express one's desires. Above my heart, she said she got goosebumps, indicating that I give a lot of love (even though it often feels like not enough), but have difficulty receiving it in return - she hit the nail on the head there. Apparently, I have good intuition and can trust myself more. What she said (there was so much more) and how she said it deeply touched me, and a few tears rolled down my cheeks. Afterward, I felt great, I felt empowered.

Tarot:

I mainly did this out of curiosity, but with a healthy dose of skepticism. I was not supposed to tell her anything about myself, she drew nine cards, and then she spoke for 20 minutes while I tried not to show any emotion and listened attentively. It was difficult because she mentioned so many things that resonated with me immediately. I had many fire cards, indicating that I have the energy of fire on my side and that I should take action, be active - one card also showed that I am already doing a lot, but everything needs to be more focused so that I can fully unleash the power of fire. My main card was the Emperor - he is a strict ruler who holds the sword firmly in his hand - for me, that means that I am taking full control of my life right now, taking self-responsibility. My mind was symbolized by the card '8 of Swords' - the swords represent the blocking thoughts that are hindering me. At the same time, I have the Justice card on my side - I just need to listen to what is good for me and what is not, then I can break through the blockages. For the immediate future, I had the Sun - it represents innocent energy and joy of life. The message was: Just do what makes you happy in the coming time, be curious, it could have far-reaching consequences that I can't even imagine at first... in a positive way, of course. I also drew the Magician card, which means that I currently have a lot of creative power and everything I need to create is already within me. The cards also revealed that I like to think, but I am also capable of letting my heart guide me. She said so much more, and it all made perfect sense. She could sense that a lot was in motion for me and that I had intuitively already made some right choices. Even afterwards, I felt good, empowered, and had the extremely satisfying feeling of being on the right path.

CONCLUSION AND FAREWELL

My time at The Sanctuary was characterized by a lot of mindfulness, being with myself, listening to myself, observing myself, and loving self-care, which was a valuable step towards gaining more self-confidence. I felt incredibly comfortable there, walked barefoot for two weeks, except for a few exceptions, cuddled with cats, read a lot, spent a lot of time in various hammocks, and so much more. It was not easy for me to leave, I had a lump in my throat and felt lost when I arrived in Thong Sala, the capital of Koh Phangan, and was catapulted back into the outside world. I spent two nights here and acclimated a bit, went shopping, explored and took a very pleasant guided bike tour in not very pleasant 34 degrees. Now I'm heading to the island of Koh Tao. Koh Phangan has a special place in my heart and I can imagine returning one day.

P.S.: If you want to see me on a bicycle, just click on the following link and enjoy: :)

http://www.phanganbicycletours.com/gallery-item.cfm?album=Classic%20Tour%2020%20April