Written by Khadija Elrabti
“I remember going to a Yoga class with my Mum when I was a teenager but I was a very flexible gymnast and I didn’t like all the middle aged women commenting on it; It also hurt me because I didn’t know not to push myself into the extreme ranges that my joints could not support,” said 26-year-old UK-based physiotherapist.
Little did she know that through her travels around the globe, she would become a yoga instructor alongside her full-time job.
An older Harriet Yale first came across yoga once more at yoga’s garden in Honduras, but only actually gave yoga a second chance when she was away for work in El Salvador. She met, her now very close friend, a yoga instructor at the very hotel Yale was instructing her Pilates class.
It was completely different this time as Yale believes that the instructor gave her a full spiritual experience.
“I loved her classes and the way she taught finally made the physical side of Yoga click with me; I knew straight away that I wanted to teach and share this with more people, and of course do it myself,” said Harriet Yale.
“Anyone can teach yoga nowadays but it’s not just about attending a few yoga classes, stretching and that’s it,” she added.
She emphasizes that having an instructor that focuses purely on their expertise is really important because she believes that Yoga is about focusing, impacting one’s mental state and even one’s lifestyle, not just an activity to do for 30 minutes on the grass.
Yale later decided to travel to India to learn, train and become a professional yoga instructor. She knew she wanted to take what she had emotionally experienced and be able to help others experience it too.
“I have started to envelop yoga into my travel, and will continue to do so even in my day-to-day job; it is worth applying yoga philosophy in to what you are an expert in, as yoga can help in situations where someone is feeling anxious or even if a person develops difficulties breathing,” she said.
Backpack hopping from continent to continent
From Asia to Europe and the Middle East, this certified physiotherapist has been spending each month in a different country; experiencing each place differently with its own cultures, food, rituals and even healing methods.
Her first ever backpack travelling experience started at the age of 22, when she backpacked her way through Southeast Asia.
“I could’ve done Europe, but I wanted to experience completely different cultures,” Yale said over an instagram video call.
Her search for uniqueness and different cultures took her through Thailand, Cambodia, Bangkok, Singapore, Bali and Malaysia; spending about one month in each. One month so different from the other.
The Toktok Theatre
This therapeutic traveller took part in a very rare yet heart-warming project whilst travelling through Southeast Asia. A project that had its own way of therapy for the locals, it’s a way of giving back to these countries’ communities.
The Toktok theatre is basically a small screen attached to the back of a Toktok that plays cartoons for the children in that area. At times, even English cartoons were played to help some of the local children with their English.
“So many of these children are either working or taking care of their siblings and elders,” said Yale.
She explained that this Toktok gives them a few minutes of their childhood back which can be calming and therapeutic in its own way, for both the children and the volunteers, in the midst of a loud and busy Asian life.
Foot Treatments and Indian Mud Ponds
On one of her several trips to India, Harriet Yale volunteered to start planting trees as part of a project called Sadhana forest. Sadhana Forest is a reforestation project that takes place in Tamil Nadu, India; it has also become an area for sustainable living.
After their work one day, Yale and her fellow volunteers were shown another little piece of India just behind the bushes.
“We were then taken to this mud pond behind the bushes where I washed my hair and it actually cleaned my hair as well as clearing my skin too,” said Yale.
According to dermatologists who have contributed to the Piedmont Healthcare website, mud baths can be considered therapeutic as the mud used usually consists of Sulfur, Zinc and Magnesium which not only can help exfoliate skin, get rid of impurities and improve skin conditions such psoriasis and eczema; but it also can have the effect of relieving pain and relaxing muscles.
Aarogayam Spa at the Indian Aahana Resort is another place that uses mud from their nearby forest by digging nearly ten feet down to extract the rich substance. They believe that the mud extracted from the forest is a good detoxifying substance and can even be used for body wraps.
A herbal mud bath could cost around $46, excluding tax service, at an Indian spa. Yale however prefers a local experience over a luxurious one and to her luck, that all-natural mud pond was the exact definition of a local experience.
India was a country Yale kept referring back to during her video call; it was full of spontaneous experiences and funny anecdotes. There was a time her foot was in some sort of a painful situation. She was not sure what it was exactly but guesses it could be a result of her constantly walking, even at times of unpleasant weather, when her shoes and feet became uncomfortably wet.
“When I was volunteering in an Ayurvedic hospital they did a herbal treatment on my foot,” said the therapeutic traveller. “Although I don’t think it worked in treating my foot, it felt nice and I happily received it,” she added.
Due to having a professional background as a physiotherapist, Yale was not fully convinced with their examinations.
“They attempted a pelvic examination; but from my experience it’s not usually done the way they’d done it but it is important to keep an open mind as well as be cautious when travelling because what you might believe to be wrong is their right way of doing it,” she said.
Feeling empowered at a local Hammam
One thing Harriet Yale emphasised was that she prefers a culture-based approach to travelling more than a touristic one. She decided whilst in Morocco, that she wanted to try the famous, but local Moroccan Hammam treatment; a bathhouse that consists of steamed rooms used for cleaning and relaxing the body.
“There is something empowering about being in a place where you’re completely bare, after being fully covered outside,” Said Yale. To her it was very liberating to just stand there confidently; it helped her develop a sense of acceptance.
Yale also enjoyed the very thorough and quite rough scrubbing experience that the Hammam is usually about.
Traditionally, a member of staff at the Hammam would use some sort of sponge or cloth to scrape dirt and dead skin off.
According to a periodical published on to research gate on the health effects of a Hammam treatment, Hammams can actually have the effect of pain relief as well as the feeling of being relaxed; due to the moist heat exposure and high temperatures. The paper even stated that in general, people continued to feel better after the treatment.
It’s been around three months since Harriet Yale left her home country; the United Kingdom due to Covid-19 travel restrictions. She is already making plans for her next adventure but is quite content where she is at this moment.
“I think it’s important to be happy exactly where you are and not continuously longing to be somewhere else; that is something I’d often do when abroad meeting people from all over the world, hearing about their homes or their travels and I’d forget what an amazing place I was already in,” said Yale. “It’s already hard to finish your travels or holidays; what makes it easier for me is cherishing the memories but not wishing them back, and also being present and content in being home,” she added.
