Heal Yourself Naturally While Travelling
That Time an Indian Healer Saved Me
But let’s start from the beginning…
Are you ready to discover how we managed to travel for two years with a small child and only three backpacks?
Yes, you read that right, THREE BACKPACKS! 😄
When we left for Asia, we decided to embrace the charm of minimalist travel. We had no idea how long we would spend on the road; our final destination was Australia, but we didn’t know when or if we would ever get there.
Minimal Travel with the Family
Traveling light was essential for us, especially since Giulia could barely walk and one of us (read: ME) had to carry her in a sling. ❤️❤️❤️
We bought two backpacks 🎒 (60 liters and 90 liters), which are still our faithful travel companions, and filled them to the brim. I still remember when I put mine on my shoulders for the first time and fell over. 🤣
Let’s just say that traveling with a backpack didn’t mean being minimalist, but I didn’t know that yet…
The first stop on our Asian journey was Sri Lanka, and after two days, I obviously tripped on train tracks and twisted my ankle—not exactly the ideal start!
We were in trouble because our first stop was climbing Sigiriya Rock with its famous 2500 stone steps.
That day ended at the hospital, with a nurse who barely spoke English scolding me for being “too fat for a 29-year-old and who knows how long it would take me to heal.”
Humiliated and angry because continuing the journey seemed impossible since I couldn’t walk and Matteo couldn’t carry the backpacks alone with Giulia, we decided to change our itinerary.
The guesthouse owner called a driver who would take us to Trincomalee, a seaside location, not very touristy and even less serviced, but it was the only place not affected by the monsoons at that time. If you’re interested in how to avoid the rainy season, check out my article: When Not to Go to Sri Lanka.
Everything seemed to be going wrong from the outside. 😔
We decided to reverse the itinerary and leave Sigiriya Rock for last so my swollen ankle could heal.
The Meeting with the Indian Healer
The driver who came to pick us up was a completely crazy guy 🤯 who, when he saw I couldn’t walk, assured me that by the time we arrived in Trincomalee (5-6 hours by car), I would be walking as before. 🚶♀️
I thought I had misunderstood because the language was a big barrier, but we didn’t have much choice… so we trusted him.
After a few hours of driving 🚙 through the forest, Sarath, our driver, announced that we had arrived.
But where???
We were in the middle of nowhere, ☘️ when a young man, no older than 25, arrived, took me to a hut, and started praying and massaging my ankle with hot oils: I think I’ve never felt such intense pain.
Every part of my body hurt in an inexplicable way. I started shaking like a leaf and crying, unable to stop… Matteo told me that I cried for hours even after leaving the hut.
I don’t remember anything else from that encounter… my mind erased everything, even the boy’s face. Everything I know is because Matteo told me, even though he stayed outside the hut with Giulia during the ritual.
I know that Matteo, Giulia, and Sarath talked at length with the healer while I slept… Matteo found out that the boy supported himself with free offerings from villagers (we still have no idea which village he was talking about because there was no one around for miles) who gave him offerings when he performed his rituals. ☀️
He was part of a family of healers; his father was one, and so was his grandfather, and so on for 300 years. It was a practice passed down from father to son, which he could not avoid. 🌳 A fascinating story of which I remember very little; I have no idea what ritual he performed. I know for sure that he used only herbs and oils produced naturally by himself.
When we arrived in Trincomalee a few hours later, I stopped shaking and started walking as if nothing had happened. 🔥 My ankle was still wrapped in banana leaves, which I removed the next day when the pain completely disappeared. 🌈
This story may seem unrelated to our minimalist travel, yet after this episode, I started emptying my backpack, leaving clothes, shoes, and everything I had in excess along the way. YES, despite living on the road for an indefinite period, we had brought too many things.
Traveling among people who lived with just a few clothes and a pair of sandals opened my eyes to all the time we wasted on clothing, and so I began to get rid of it.
From that day on, I never risked tripping or falling over and truly started enjoying the journey!
Giulia was growing fast 👶, and at every stop, we gave her clothes to local kids, along with the few toys she carried. 🧸
It was a way for her to learn to share and an opportunity to have different stimuli/toys, as she could only carry a few items in her little backpack.
The deal 🫱 🫲 with her was that she could have whatever she wanted, but she had to carry her own backpack, so she had to choose wisely.
Here’s a little secret, but don’t tell Matteo: when I saw her struggling to choose a toy because her backpack was too heavy, I would hide it in mine! ☀️
I don’t know if it’s because of this little pact between us, but Giulia is still not attached to material things and quickly bonds with any child she meets on her path.
Today, traveling/living minimally has also become an environmental issue, but I firmly believe that it primarily improves our lives and our journey.
Do you ever think about how much time you “waste” on shopping, 👗 cleaning the house 🧼, and washing clothes worn for half a day 👔?
See you soon,
☀️ Sara ☀️
