Part 1
What is the threshold for enough is enough? It’s subjective, of course, and having reached that threshold a few times makes it easier every time to recognize when it is time to pause and… take oneself for a trip.
I chose to begin the year with an 11-days solo trip to Kerala, India, because I know of no better way to navigate the tipping point of burnout and heavy heartedness. I measure my solo trips in timeless moments.
Kerala, Kochi, Cherai
I flew to Kochi, the second largest city in Kerala, a gorgeous part of India, which I will definitely continue to explore. Why? Splendid nature (mountains, lakes, waterfalls, backwaters), beautiful tea plantations, wildlife sanctuaries, delicious cuisine and of course the motherland of Ayurveda. The capital of the state of Kerala is Thiruvananthapuram and the state language is Malayalam.
Getting to Kochi from Bucharest is a smooth, roughly 15-hour trip, via Dubai. Having landed way too early for resort check in, on 30-Dec, I spent the morning thrilled of getting acquainted to the Arabian Sea. Before the sunrise, I could watch how fishing nets were diligently raised, as fishermen at the Beach Park of Kochi were getting ready for a lucky day at the fish market.
Timeless moment #1
My favorite place for taking in the immensity, the beauty and the mightiness of the sea was Cherai beach, on the Northern side of Vypin, a barrier island, lying between the Arabian in the west and the Kochi Backwaters in the East.
That whole morning at the Cherai Beach is imprinted in my memory as one indefinite moment of total stillness.
The seagulls and me savoring the palpable peace, freedom and hope, while watching faraway fishing boats masterfully conquer one wave at a time, on the rhythm of passionate tunes of the restless waves.
Timeless moment #2
By noon, I reached Elephant Pass, a wonderfully peaceful ayurveda and yoga retreat on the shore of Periyar River, where the noises to put up with were singing birds and the occasional squirrel on the roof. The 8 days I spent here were rich in timeless moments, although in different ways than I had imagined.
Watching the Sun quietly set every day in the Periyar River was an iteration of soul-filling moments of blissful gratitude, and marvel.
During sunsets, while time felt diluted, all by myself in the garden, in my journaling spot, I felt more present in my experience and more connected than ever.
Timeless moment #3
Yoga at 6:30 in the morning is something I never thought I would do, much less enjoy. Past the wake-up struggle, courtesy of the concierge religiously knocking on my door, I not only made it, but ended up loving those yoga sessions above previous attempts (to this day I take my twice-a-week classes with the yoga teacher I met there, via zoom).
What made that early morning flow of meditation, pranayama and hatha yoga stick for me was the mindful awareness of self and surroundings, astonishingly effortless control of pace in breathing and movement and incredible focus in balance asanas (which I find particularly enjoyable because they were hardest for me to achieve stillness in).
I still find the unparalleled mix of energy and serenity remarkable and still struggle to verbalize the state of simultaneously being fully present and fully detached.
Ayurveda, sāmyatva, shirodhara
Ayurveda therapies are marvelous ways of materializing self-love.
Translated as “knowledge of life and longevity” (from Sanskrit “āyus” (life or longevity), and “veda” (knowledge), ayurveda promotes natural remedies and lifestyle practices for the mind, spirit and body, meant to keep the three elemental doshas (i.e. vāta, pitta and kapha) in balance (sāmyatva).
Timeless moment #4
Every morning and afternoon, the ayurveda treatments helped me transcend long-standing barriers to relaxation.
One therapy particularly stands out: shirodhara (from Sanskrit “shiro” (head) and “dhara” (flow)). What happenss? Warm oil is poured on your forehead in a certain rhythm, for around 20-30 minutes.
The effect of the oil, the temperature, the rhythm and the sensitive areas of the nervous system stimulated make shirodhara an outstanding technique.
For me, this helped achieve the highest level of letting go and just being.
Timeless moments #5
My objective for the retreat experience was centeredness in my own inner world. I planned to achieve that limiting interactions that could interfere with my process. Thankfully, this did not happen, and for the better.
One of my favorite parts of this experience was the connection with some of the other guests in the resort. People with inspiring stories, at different points in their Journey, with takes to life that positively challenged mine.
Those breakfast, lunch and dinner stories were not only wonderful loisir, but also the source of questions and thoughts I might have been afraid to ask myself in the mirror. Yes, a bit uncomfortable at times, challenging my angle of a good vintaged corporate person striving to continuously defy limits by thousands of extra miles.
I am above all grateful for those witty, vulnerable, soulful, label-free conversations.
The ROI of timeless moments
I left the resort with many realizations, better questions, clearer direction, and a lighter heart.
How do you seek value in your solo trips? And if you are yet to experience one, what is holding you back?
To be continued…
A Journey of Journeys 