Recently I had an opportunity to revisit a place I called home for two years.
Now truth be told, Miami Beach wasn’t on my list of hot spots to explore let alone spend extended amounts of time in, especially considering that I felt like a fish out of water the first time.
As a mountain girl at heart, the skyline, South Beach scene, and throngs of tourists weren’t exactly my style, which is why I left it in the first place.
But life has an irony sometimes in bringing you full circle to a place you never expected to return to. Funny it seems that I have chapters in my life that have felt this way.
With this in mind, I was open to the month ahead of me, the first of a 5-month stretch of travel, because in hindsight, I realized that everything in life is a teacher. Whether that’s people, experiences, or places, there is something to be gained, even if we don’t feel like we are in our natural element.
So instead of resisting the time in front of me, I embraced it, and what I found was astonishing.
Not so much in that Miami Beach changed, but that I had changed, and because of this, I was able to see the same place from a completely different set of eyes.
Out of all of the places to explore in this beautiful planet, Miami Beach was where I found my zen, and in this blog, I want to share my insights and self-discoveries with you, so perhaps you too can explore this place from another lens.
I came back to Miami Beach at a time where I genuinely needed a break from the mountains. For most of my adult life, I have pushed myself, physically, mentally, emotionally. At times to my detriment. From daily anxiety to burning out and everything else in between, I felt like my soul was craving stillness.
The mountains have a raw, powerful energy to them. It’s an energy I love, but an energy that also turns on my quest to keep pushing. I found they weren’t serving me like the used to, so the mountains and I needed to take a break.
What I had been missing for years was another powerful element of the Earth.
WATER.
In my quest for spiritual connection recently, I’ve spent more time studying the elements and how they connect to our chakras - the energy centers of our body.
Water is linked to the Svadhisthana chakra, which is the second or sacral chakra located around the lower belly. It’s tied to the feeling of flow, when we are completely in alignment with who we are, and you can make this chakra stronger by being by water.
Water is fluid. It’s feminine. It’s sensual. It’s freeing.
Miami Beach just so happens to be surrounded by it.
And give me exactly what I needed.
So if you find yourself curious about this vibrant city and how one can find zen within it, read on.
I’ll share 4 experiences that I had with you on how I found it and will take it with me.
If you are planning time in Miami Beach, time it with the full moon if you can.
During a leisurely stroll along the southern point of the beach, I came across a crowd of people unlike anything I’ve seen here.
Loud music and yelling were replaced with gentle singing and laughter. As I looked closer, I could see various lanterns, candles, and torches scattered around the beach as people looked off to the horizon.
Some were standing in silence. Others were silently chanting and going through various asanas, while others were giving offering of fresh flowers to the ocean.
Then all of a sudden, the full moon made its debut, cresting above the ocean and casting it’s light onto the waters of the Atlantic.
There in the moment everyone had gathered to honor this sacred time in the lunar cycle. A time of cleansing and new beginnings.
I was with my people and found myself staying for hours.
Apparently this happens every month here. People gather, commune, and honor the power that is the moon.
Miami Beach is a foodie city. You can find every type of food there, especially of the South and Central American flair.
But what my body craved was clean, pure food, especially knowing that I’d be going without cooking my own food for sometime.
Luck so had it that I found a gem just a few blocks away from where I was staying. I turned the corner and saw a pink and green lotus logo. I figured that was a good sign, and indeed it was. I had just found the home of SunLife Organics, founded Khalil Rafati. His story alone is inspiring enough to support what he has built.
In Khalil’s words, “It’s an experience fueled by the simple but profound joy of human connection and an unrelenting commitment to quality.”
If you’re close to one of SunLife’s locations, I highly recommend the mint chocolate chip, but every smoothie I had was impeccable, not just for the taste but for the superfoods it is jam-packed with.
Once I found it, I felt grounded with my food, and that is everything when you travel.
I think we all accumulate emotional residue over time. From triumphs to traumas, wins to wounds, it builds up if we don’t purge it, and at some point, our bodies will tell us.
Buried emotions can manifest in so many ways, and I can see how my body as carried all of the stress, fear, and insecurities over time.
In the thick of this travel season, I knew that I needed to give my body stillness and a reset that goes deeper than nutrition, but down to the heart of who I am. So I set a clear intention:
“Help me find the people I need right now.”
And I found two beautiful souls during my time in Miami Beach. I’ll share one with you. The other, well, I see as sacred, and will keep that as my own. Just know that there are people around you, no matter where you are, who can help guide you on your path.
One healer who came into my life was Dr. Nathalie Cabrera, a gifted acupuncturist skilled in Chinese and Japanese disciplines, but of all the gifts she possesses, the one that stands the most is her genuine spirit. When you can find someone who is an expert in their craft while having the intuition to tap in to what you need, keep that person in your life. They are a gift.
When I came to her, I was holding on to so much tension, shame, and anxiety that my energy was all over the place. Within a few sessions, I experienced such a deep reset. I had found my Zen on another level.
Not only have I felt a need to get away from higher altitudes and barren rock, I was craving the earth in its most gorgeous, green, and lush form. Now while my eyes are set on Costa Rica to experience that, I found an incredible gem right in the heart of Miami Beach.
What I was seeking was a spa. What I found was a spa in a jungle.
The Standard literally sets a new standard in wellness hotels. An oasis tucked secretly enough along the Venetian Causeway (because you would easily drive right by it), you step into an unassuming, casual lobby.
But once you check in, you are greeted with tucked in corners filled with lush tropical vegetation, hammocks, nest chairs, and the sounds of local birds to immerse yourself in a secret corner of the world.
That’s how my first hour at the Standard started.
Hour 2 went something like this…
I’m sitting poolside while having views of Biscayne Bay to my left. I get up and stroll to the other end, so I can dip into the cold plunge for a few refreshing minutes away from the humidity, then shock my body with some contrast in the Roman style hot tub and waterfall.
By hour 3, I was hooked, famished, and ready for cocktails and an early dinner at Lido, just steps away from the pool.
Two hours later, I wanted to take advantage of the spa that was my initial motivation to coming here, and the bliss kept coming.
To enter the spa, I walked through a dark wooden corridor to a set of glass doors that open to a tiers of heated marble, where you can lay down and let the heat penetrate your body. Then you have a choice, walk right or walk left? In each direction there are multiple separate rooms like an aroma steam room, sauna, treatment baths, and an ice room.
All designed to detoxify your body and give it the exquisite contrast of hot and cold to flush the body, mind, and spirit.
When I thought Miami couldn’t get better, it just did.
So when you visit, book a week at the Standard. Just know that you probably won’t want to leave.
With love and zen,
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