For those that know me, I am a solo traveling Queen. It has been transformational to say the least. It’s been something I worked and sacrificed for. And without a doubt, it has changed and saved my life. It wasn’t until my first “eat, pray, love” solo trip to the island of Koh Phangan, Thailand (2017), where I began my first 200 hour yoga teacher training. This would forever change the trajectory of my path. The immersive yoga teacher training and a few months of travel around Thailand islands changed my life. And decisions to come upon my return back to the States. The experience showed me the power of travel and how adventures can lead one to the spiritual path. A weaving of nature, nurture and adventure. Since that first epic trip, where I was being held, I have continued to travel the world and trust the pushes and pulls of when and where. 

Time and time again, it was an adventure that led me to a spiritual path or mini-journey guiding me back to my heart. In many instances, I was pulled to certain places in the world where I was drawn to study yoga, meditation, Thai Massage, Reiki and/or layers of Shamanism. I’ve lived in huts on Thailand islands to an ashram in India to healing sessions in the red rocks of Sedona to sitting with plant medicine with a Shaman in the Sacred Valley of Peru. But beyond that, I began to notice I was drawn to the vortexes, spiritual energy towns and locations that were teaching me something profound about my conscious and unconscious mind. Our layers that eventually tap into our bliss space to our truest nature. When in travel mode, it sparks a courage to adventure. It has led me to meet some really amazing humans, strangers and now friends, and has given me the confidence to lead groups around the world to also participate in culture, yoga, hiking, and other adventurous sports. As I learned more about the destinations and path, I began to discover astrocartography. They call it a— “Soul Calling”

The concept of certain places in the world that energetically draw you in - is pretty empowering. Locations that are better for your living experience and life such as love, career, wealth, health, community, purpose, and more. As someone that has been solo traveling the world since 2017, I have always been amazed by why and how certain places in the world called to me. It wasn’t ego for the ‘gram, it was a deep internal push and pull. In 2017, I quit my “9 to 5” and traveled to the Thailand island of Koh Phanghan for a 200-hour yoga teacher training that would absolutely change the trajectory and path of my life. Why that specific island and location out of anywhere in the world? This was a portal into the field and work that I offer now. And since then I could go on with the destinations and the journeys … Bali, India, Sedona, Santa Fe, Costa Rica, Lake Arrowhead, Ojai, Sacred Valley of Peru, and more. Sometimes I laugh because the vortex destinations seemed to call me before I even knew they were vortex towns.

The point to astrocartagraphy is the idea that you have certain “planetary lines” that impact different parts of you and your pure being. These lines run along certain areas of the world. It has been cool to see where some of these lines align and where I had transformational experiences. But there’s more to travel and astrology and lines. There’s a deeper transformation that goes beyond some of the now outdated healing modalities in the world. Have you noticed that one trip can shift your direction more than years of thinking and talking through things ever did?

Talk Therapy — has not been a successful outlet for me. I ended up spending a lot of money and spinning on the same few topics and themes. I spent a good chunk of my life in talk therapy and handed medication that never truly solved core traumas and issues. This started in high school for me and learning how to manage anxiety, depression and trauma has been a 30+ year battle. I am 42 years old as I write this. Changes began when I had experiences in new environments, seeing the world, interacting with new destinations and exposure to certain humans, creatures, communities, plant medicines, new perspectives that would dramatically shift my inner world. Travel was the culprit. Talk therapy had me circle over and over again, stuck in my comforts, stories and limitations. I was repeating the same story. Softly spinning. Energetically I kept calling it back in.

More and more research is showing how travel is changing lives beyond talk therapy. Why? Because it is an experience! It reminds me of the power of a life coach or a spiritual guide. It is an experience that takes you from where you are today and helps you leap forward vs circle back in the past. Please know, I am not saying talk therapy is not valid nor should you close the books on your therapy sessions. There is a time and place for it. I do not believe it is the only and forever answer. But without a doubt, some of my biggest lessons came from an adventure. What I call — soulful adventures.

What’s surprising in travel and the mind

Researchers noticed a strange pattern: major life shifts often happen not after years of therapy, but after a single strong travel experience. People come back from a trip and suddenly quit jobs, end relationships, change cities, or finally start something they postponed for years. My first experience with this happened in 2017 in reverse order. I quit my full time corporate career and traveled across the globe to Koh Phanghan island, Thailand, where I had my first mega-spiritual awakening journey that forever changed my life. I felt magnetized to the island. Yeah yeah, I’ve heard it before - a white woman travels alone abroad on a spiritual journey to find herself. Yeah I did and the journey continues. And the courage to take this journey has been ten fold. The experience opened my eyes to the world, consciousness and so much more. At the time of my training, I was living next to a beach that felt like burning man with its music, clothing, textiles, colors, hula—hoops, and the electric variety of humans gathered. The terrain of Thailand was also just as magical. I had never seen anything like it. I felt present, connected, and joyous in the aliveness of the adventure.

Power of Travel

Travel can also help us break the illusion that there is only one way to go about anything. It breaks up the mundane cycle we can get stuck in back home. The experience and the lens becomes a mirror for how we see everything. When you travel, ‘your brain is forced out of autopilot’. And there you are with a route to take. You think, create and tap into finding your way - trusting your intuition. You’re asked to get to know new streets, neighborhoods, spots to sip & eat, take in nature, and get familiar with a new culture. Your nervous system can no longer rely on old scripts. This creates what scientists call a “plastic window,” when decisions are rewritten faster. We get there through not over analyzing, but through the experience of contrast.

You break your everyday roles and identity masks - releasing social roles. You can take a break from being someone’s employee, partner, child, or parent. On the road, those labels weaken. You become just a person moving through space. You can release the pressure of identity and proving; dissolving into what feels alive for you. There’s a layer of uncertainty that cultivates self-trust in your own inner compass. It’s empowering, especially when you are the one leading the adventure. Why I feel at least one solitude travel trip is a must for all - especially women. You might even get lost in the journey and you will find your way again. Boosting confidence and showing your courage to find your way. Data shows that the insight gathered in travel increases integration absorption which means that instead of just a weekly reflection, you are quite literally embodying the lesson through the movement, emotion and impact.

How has Travel saved my life?

I am a seeker at heart and in my DNA. There’s always been this inner voice inside that pulls and pushes me to certain locations in the world. I have this deep desire to experience and see the world. It’s exciting and fulfilling and it even sparks inner trust and aliveness. It goes beyond that first solo adventure in 2017 that “changed” the route in my life. It becomes a way to practice and play as I am on the road. It has shown me the state of my nervous system (mind & body) no matter where I am in the world. To see how my body, my temple (home), reacts or responds no matter where I am in the world. How my shadows and fears follow. It’s easier to flow through a new city with no pressure to be anything to anyone. I can just be quiet, in and out, take up “too much” or “too less of” time at a cafe, local market of artisan goods, or anywhere to be honest. There’s liberation and freedom in the destination. But there’s also the beauty in the journey to get there.

I used to think my “seeker” state was a form of escaping, perhaps at times. Two things can be true. But how has travel saved my life? Well in many instances during a life situation where I was activated into a mode of fight or flight - I chose flight. And although over the years I have learned this is my go-to nervous system reaction, I also see there are many life situations where I took a literal flight in order to fight for my life and for a deeper calling. I could feel it in the deep underbelly of lifeforce. And in moments of feeling lost, unheard, pressured, or stuck in a toxic relationship that I couldn’t speak my way out of - there was also this deep desire to find answers through experiences that would show me the path and bring about balance, insight and purpose. Every time in an unplanned way, an adventure led me into a spiritual destination or some type of training in the wellness and spiritual field. I feel like I have been on a journey absorbing, learning and taking notes. The call has always been this full ‘essence knowing’ delivered in a manner of gentle and fierce. You know to listen and trust it.

Sometimes I can argue this is a life coping mechanism. Yet it also has led me to see and experience some cool places in the world. It gets me to thinking that we can heal and integrate travel as a tool for our own nervous system regulation and healing. To notice how we expand and contract in the journey - internally and externally. As a 42 year old woman, I can see the unraveling to finding my voice, trusting my wisdom and leading a life with a courageous heart. It has been through travel and lenses of curiosity and creativity that guided me back to remember within; to my heart.

Image source: Frida Aguilar Estrada

Note: The views expressed here do not exclusively represent the views of Materia+ and its governing entities.