Sarah is a model, dancer and world traveler, who’s own path to healing led her to also become a naturopathic nutritionist, yoga instructor, and reiki healer.
Because of losing both of her parents at a young age, she began to explore many different types of healing modalities to overcome physical and emotional imbalances. Now vibrant as ever, she hosts wellness retreats in Ibiza, where she shares her knowledge of what she has learned over the years and helps others step into their best selves.
Here she shares about her journey to self acceptance, what helped her on her path, and why the mind-body connection is so important in healing.
Name: Sarah Kali
Age: 30
Your sign: Cancer
Where are you from? French but I grew up in Holland. My heart is in Holland, as all my childhood memories are there.
Where are you going? I have no idea 😀 I’m trying to follow the flow of life as much as I can and see where it takes me…
What inspired you to start Gaiatri Retreats?
I started Gaiatri retreats because I wanted to bring together some of the healing techniques that have helped me overcome my emotional and physical imbalances in my life so far and share it with others. Yoga, intensive meditation, Kinesiology, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, nutrition, energy healing and many more therapies has helped me overcome grief, low self esteem, lack of focus, skin problems, poly-cystic ovaries, etc. And after a long process of trying different things and looking for the solutions, I wish to share what I had learned.
I organize retreats where I believe it is the most effective way to disconnect from daily life and reconnect within. I’ve had powerful breakthroughs during retreats that I’ve gone to around the world and I believe it is a great way to accelerate any healing process. I bring together the best teachers I can find and different healing activities with the aim for people to let go of whatever is holding them back from living a happy and balanced life.
How did you begin your healing journey?
Losing my parents at a young age is what triggered all sorts of questions on life, death, and how to deal with negative emotions such as grief, sadness, dealing with loss, eating disorders, self destructive patterns etc. I had two choices. Continuing spiraling down and be the victim, or embracing the challenges, and learning from the lessons, to grow and free myself from suffering. Now I see it as a gift really, and thanks to my sisters I have been inspired to take a self healing path.
Has learning to accept yourself been a journey for you or has it come naturally?
This is a tough one because I’ve been struggling with self love for a long time in the past. I would say self love isn’t an easy process but I have learned that what has blocked me from it was suffering from past experiences and identifying to those experiences. But the truth is, we are not our past, we are not what people, family or society has told you to believe about yourself.
For example, (just to name one) I’ve always been very tall, and when I was at school I was picked on for being so much taller than anyone. It has created a huge complex within me and for years I believed I was a monster for being so tall. It created huge sadness and suffering in my young age. Until at age 17 I got selected to be part of Elite modeling agency and started working as a model and they would tell me that my height was one of my best assets. Crazy world I thought! Today I wouldn’t want to change my height for anything! I actually love to wear heels on a night out.
To sum up, I believe some of our lack of self esteem, and self love issues are mostly originated from society, family, people, religion, past wounds or traumas. The best way to detach from those beliefs is to face those wounds and heal them for them to be released. What you believe is a disadvantage might be your biggest asset! Its not easy, it takes courage and time but once released, the feeling of freedom is worth every second of the process.
What do you do to stay feeling grounded and connected?
My biggest challenge for me is to stay grounded. I’m very airy fairy. Since I was a child, I’ve always been in my own little world, in my own thoughts, and I think this is why people think I am patient because I can easily disconnect and travel far into my own fairy world, without paying much attention to what’s going on, on the outside. So what has helped me stay grounded is yoga and meditation. They both require discipline, consistency and focused attention. They have definitely helped me a lot! Also being in nature and walking barefoot in grass or sand helps me reconnect to the earth. There are many articles and scientific research showing the benefits of walking barefoot in nature. I highly recommend it!
What are your superpowers?
I feel that being human is already a super power. I am amazed by our body’s self healing capacity. Your body’s ability to heal is greater than anyone has permitted you to believe.
What makes you feel the happiest?
I feel happiest when I travel, when I give/receive love from an animal, when I feel free and balanced, when I see my friends or family succeed, when I see acts of kindness and compassion towards animals or people, when I feel hope, when I feel inspired, when I have faith…
What are you the most passionate about in life?
I am the most passionate about animals. Since I’ve been a child I’ve felt deeply connected to them. My dream is to open my own animal shelter. I am planning to study animal osteopathy and animal therapy related studies so that I can offer them therapy in the shelter. This is a long term plan as the osteopathy study alone is 5 years! But I believe if you feel passionate about something it’s never too late to start.
Who inspires you and why?
My sisters have been an immense source of inspiration for me, they have always supported me even in my most difficult moments. And they have inspired me to continue on this holistic path. One is an acupuncturist/massage therapist and the other one is a Kinesiologist as well as being a professional dancer. We are always sharing findings of new techniques, therapies, books, and inspirations with each other to improve and expand health and consciousness. I feel very lucky to have sisters like them! One day we said we would open a therapy center together! Fingers crossed!
What would you tell your younger self?
Don’t be scared, it’s going to be alright.
