Marie van der Heijden
In June 2022 I travelled to the buddhist paradise Ladakh to capture a glimpse of the last healers of the Himalaya. After a grueling journey along the steep ravines and thin peaks of the Himalayas, I finally reached the last shangri-la, the last heaven on earth. And then the real journey began. I attended mystical healings and prayer ceremonies with oracles, lahmos and yogis, and learned for a lifetime. One moment will stick with me forever: that's when my heart opened with a soft 'plop'. As if it literally expanded. During that brief moment I realized, there wasn't only a whole world to discover outside of us, but also inside ourselves.
P.S. This may sound a bit heroic, but standing in front of a group of strangers in my underwear or peeing on command, made it an uncomfortable experience at some moments as well.