I ended up at a retreat in the heart of the city of Siem Reap, on a slice of property that felt like a movie set for a vegan meditation retreat set in the deep jungle of some far away land. This retreat is run by a real gem of a human, Joel. He’s lived in India much of his life and studied underneath some of the most incredible gurus. At first glance…. It was hard to say for certain if Joel was the “real deal.” Let me tell you after a week with him….fully submersed in his program…. He’s such a special human. It’s an honor to have him as a guru. He’s authentic and kind and has SO much to teach me. Teach us all. I learned so much from him and cannot wait to return to his retreat time and time again, to continue to learn from him, alongside him, with him. The reason I start with him…is because shit rolls downhill. If something is shit, it’s because the top is shit. If a place or retreat or company or store or whatever – if it’s crappy, it’s because the leadership is crappy. Well, in the case of this retreat….Joel’s vision…. It’s an absolute GEM. And it’s because…he’s a diamond.

At the start of this retreat you are required…and I mean, REQUIRED, to turn over your phone into the phone box and your passport into the passport box. Both are locked in a safe somewhere and you don’t see them again until the end of the retreat. Full digital detox. This was perhaps the hardest hurdle for me to mentally accept prior to beginning this retreat. I hated the idea of giving up my phone. My lifeline to my “people.” After doing it though, let me tell you…it’s so fucking amazing to be fully untethered from life. More on this later. I want to share with you more about this experience here.

Since none of us have phones, the concept of “time” is invisible. I found it interesting, my first night, falling asleep…I had no idea if it was 9:30pm or 12:30am. And, when I awoke…I wasn’t sure…is it 2:30am or 5:00am? A part of me wanted to get up and explore the property in the wee hours of the morning but I was worried that “wee hours” was not 5/5:30am, but in fact, closer to 2:00 or 3:00am. Wee hour exploration in the Cambodian jungle seemed inappropriate at 2:00/3:00am. So instead, I went back to sleep…telling myself not to worry…that I’d hear the GONG when it was time to wake. Yes, that’s right, a GONG. Since none of us have phones to tell time, there’s a highly efficient system in place to notify us all of wake-up time, meal time, activity time, etc. A good old fashion GONG. Someone walks around “gong’ing” at 6:00am. That’s wake-up time. Then they Gong again 10 minutes before every activity, event, meal, etc. So at 6:50am, there’s another Gong and that means go to the yoga shala for morning practice.

Morning practice is 1 hour of yoga, 10 minutes of pranayama and 20 minutes of meditation. The yoga shala is decorated with huge photos of Indian Gurus and a large Khmer (Cambodian) Buddha. I found it beautiful that Joel insisted on having his yoga instructors have us do laying down asanas with our feet facing AWAY from the instructor – so our feet are never pointed toward the Buddha or sage teachers. His yoga instructors teach a very specific curated yoga practice according to Joel’s specific vision for his retreat. The yoga is gentle and very “yin” compared to what I’m used to in Thailand. But it feels good and I appreciate that he’s tailored his retreat to be attainable for all bodies, all experience levels. First-timers-to-yoga would be comfortable here. The pranayama (breathing techniques to hold/harness prana (air)) is very straightforward. The meditation is impressively strict. His retreat utilizes meditation benches as an option where you kneel on a wood block until your lower half of your body goes numb while you try to clear your mind. Since I’ve been meditating for quite awhile now, I forgo the meditation bench and go for traditional meditation posture (sucasana – aka, cross legged). In these moments I miss my grandmother, who used to pay me cash bonus as a child when I could properly sit in Lotus position. She was so wise and ahead of her time. Now I can do half-lotus. I’m working toward getting back to Lotus position, but meanwhile, sitting cross legged for 20 minutes is no easy task. It’s a lot easier for me now, after a lot of practice than it was before. Anyway, after morning practice, we immediately go to breakfast. There’s a community prayer around the food. Let me tell you…the food here is AMAZING. Vegan dreams come true! It’s family / buffet style beautifully prepared veggies / curries / magical creations with rice. Huge fresh green salads, and always some type of fruit. Breakfast also includes a fresh smoothie! A lot of the produce is grown on the property. The Khmer family that prepares the food is the sweetest family….I believe they are related to Joel. His wife and child are Cambodian. Even if they aren’t immediately related, he sure treats them like family.

The teaching “staff” at this retreat are also the most incredible humans. A collection of retreat “guests” who turn into permanent “residents” during their “teaching.” I developed a particular fondness for a beautiful yoga teacher with the soul of a gypsy. She was also the most incredible artist, musician and singer. A true flower child….honestly one of the most soulful humans I’ve ever known.

UPDATE: I never finished writing this but felt it was worthwhile to publish nonetheless.