So this is what "achingly beautiful" looks like...

Tramping through Middle Earth, at times I felt such an expansiveness of heart I feared it would burst. 

Placed unobtrusively amidst this hallowed setting is a Zen temple to wellness; an architectural masterpiece and exemplary enterprise of sustainability, producing all its required energy (solar) and a third of its food (permaculture).  Aro Ha offers retreat from all the various forms of real-world toxicity that impinge upon us: pesticides, pollution, processed chemicals, carcinogens, computers.

THE most spectacular yoga studio anywhere!

 

Their no-nonsense recipe for good health may sound monastic: wake us before first light; restrict us to a raw diet of 1200 calories; lead us through twice daily yoga and push us up mountain tracks (49 kms and 2580 vertical meters in total); deny us coffee and alcohol – but it is all done with a graciousness and gentleness that makes us love them for it.  Plus, the rewards are manifold and marvelous: vistas of breathtaking grandeur; strengthened muscles; sound sleep; glowing skin; clarity of thought; spa time; some of the most delectable food I have ever consumed; and a massage every single afternoon!  I was delighted with how my body responded: leaner, lighter, cleaner, clearer – in just 5 days. 

Mindfulness is a much abused buzzword on the cusp of cliché-dom but the concept is a very very important one: Be more aware of how you get through each day.  What you put into your mouth, how you engage your mind, what comes out of your mouth, on what you expend your energy.

A year ago I thought little of chugging coffee all day, swilling wine all evening, scarfing potfuls of pasta, gorging regularly on animal products.  I would never have set out on a 3-hour strenuous hike without first loading up on a big greasy breakfast.  Just last month I was scoffing at others’ dietary restrictions and scorning the vegan options on restaurant menus. 

At Aro Ha we ate “a rainbow of vegetarian cuisine: gluten free, dairy free, and enzymatically active… a diet rich in trace minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients.”   Though gorgeously presented, all of us guests were taken aback by the size of the portions, but they were so dense in the right kind of calories that I was hardly ever hungry and never got noogy. 

Feast for the eyes as well

Detox to die for

Culinary masterpieces

I felt totally fit and alert -- and this was not a caffeine-fueled focus or a carb-induced energy, both of which are usually screaming for a top-up before you can say skinny-caramel-cappucino-and-a-light-lemon-poppyseed-muffin-please.  This was a natural high and I was lovin' those happy hormones.

It truly is about quality and not quantity.  About ingesting the proper things to keep the digestion properly doing its thing. Not that I was clueless about good habits of consumption but today I am totally convinced of the power of a healthy gut.  Lots of research has shown that diet can heal a myriad of physical, psychological, even emotional illnesses, and I now believe every word of it. 

And when I next look up at a mountain from the trailhead, my first reaction will not be "impossible" -- my legs are stronger than I thought -- sure at times on those hikes it hurt like hell but felt so damn good afterwards.  Putting one foot in front of the other can be very meditative, especially in such peaceful surroundings. 
Today, on my own hike, I made the extra climb all the way to the top just because I could.  And of course I'm a sucker for a jaw-dropping view.

I have long realized that Nature is my religion and time spent outdoors saves my soul.  Back home, besides regular forays into the forest, once I have bought a slew of new kitchen equipment, I will also be worshiping at the altar of temperance.