5 Life Lessons From a Month in India

What I learned in a small village while having traditional health treatments

I’m just back after 4 weeks in the south of India.

Last year, decades of pain vanished after my three-week treatment here. Like a miracle. That’s why I keep coming back.

But because I neglected to understand and address the root cause of my condition and change some old habits, the pain returned. And so did I, again this year, to Kerala.

Photo by DLKR on Unsplash

My first stop in India is most famous for traditional Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatments. Think oil massage, herbal pastes, herbal decoction drinks, enemas, and sauna-type purification.

Recipes and treatments honed over hundreds or thousands of years.

Simple food, housing, and routine.

Effective for resetting your health as a whole.

The surroundings let your breath go deep and your muscles relax. The clinic is in a small village, full of temples, cows, coconut palms, and rice paddies. Peacocks roam around, and brilliant green and turquoise birds flash by.

Your body soaks up the herbs, the quiet, the sage advice from the doctors, and the rest. As you slowly unwind, your natural healing energy and balance return.

And, other than early morning calls to prayer from a mosque, church, or temple, the place is rich with silence.

Until the festivals begin, that is.

Photo by Vineeth Vinod on Unsplash

And festivals are on the street, full of drums, singing, dancing, costumes, fire, and fun. You’re welcome to join in, as you try to figure out whether we’re celebrating the harvest, tribal beings, or the great Lord Shiva.

An unforgettably rich, surprising, and joyful experience.

That was my Kerala fortnight. Sublime and soothing.

Now for the life lessons:

1. There are endless ways to live a happy life. It depends on your mindset.

Every day here, I saw beautiful village women bending, with strong straight backs, to plant rice. I met young women with beaming smiles and soft, loving hands who do their massage work with reverence and grace. And expert herbalists who sing as they pluck grasses and stir enormous pots of medicine.

And dancers whose fingers tell us stories.

Every one of them smiles as they pass.

To live a happy life, you don’t need to wait until you’re wealthy. Or have “followers.” Or a partner. Or your dream job. Or your own home. Or live somewhere else.

You do need to choose the lens through which you see the world today.

And find contentment where you are.

2. There are innumerable ways to create health. It’s not the same path for everyone.

The more you explore some possible solutions to your health challenges, the more attuned you’ll be to what works for you. And feel confident that you’ve done your best.

Some doctors diagnose by taking blood tests.

Some doctors diagnose by feeling subtle changes in your pulse.

Some remedies are simple. You might need to introduce or avoid a certain food in your diet. Or sit with more attention while you eat. Yes, these were recommended to me!

Some tips are thousands of years old. Others have been trialled for a few decades.

You need to trust your own experience and results. And keep an open mind as to what will work for you. It may involve what looks like mud!

3. You find fellow life-travellers everywhere with something to teach you.

Of course, you meet new people from different cultures when you travel overseas.

But where I live in Australia, you’re likely to find a Balinese, Columbian, Canadian, or Scot on your own street. When I planted a garden in my front yard, I got advice from people with all kinds of accents!

So the joy of learning from other cultures can start today at home.

It starts with curiosity and a willingness to start a conversation.

4. Drama, ritual, reverence, ceremony, costume, and theatre are as human as breathing.

And being a part of it both deepens your breath and makes your body come alive.

My heart responded to these festivals instantly.

The joy and sense of community were irresistible.

I felt fed through all my senses in Kerala.

I know I need more of this primal celebration in my life and plan to seek it out.

5. Connection with others through images, music, and words gives our lives context and meaning.

Whether it’s a blog post we write, a photograph we take, a song we compose, or a story we tell, the act of expressing who we are helps us own our deepest nature. And the joy comes when we find that same essential nature resonating with ours in other people.

Recording and sharing

• our experiences of travel

• insights about life

• feelings and revelations

is a gift to ourselves and others.

I will be returning to Kerala!

Photo by pavan gupta on Unsplash

But the Kerala experience was far from the buzz, smoke, and blare of the ginormous cities of India And that’s where I went next, to Hyderabad for two weeks—meditating with 10,000 people.

I’ll tell you about it next time. With a few more life lessons from that experience.

With love,

Jeanette

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