How traveling can turn your life around: from working as a police social worker to becoming a Reiki & Sound healing teacher - Isabel in India

Today, my guest Isabel is sharing her journey going from a police social worker to becoming a Reiki and Sound healing teacher in India. Learn how she was able to find her real passion and purpose in life through traveling in countries like Bali, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia.

Listen to this episode if you want to learn:

• How to overcome the fear of being alone when traveling solo 
• How to finance traveling through South East Asia at the age of 17
• How to overcome the criticism of family and friends and how they become more supportive over time
• Why it is hard to come back home after traveling 
• Why quitting a job is scary but turned out to be the best decision for Isabel 
• How to find your career passion through travelling 

These are my favorite quotes of the episode:

• 6:52: “Am I going to be lots alone, and how is it going to be in a hostel, and is it going to feel naturally to me to talk with lots of people that I actually don’t know? I was so scared for this."
• 7.35: “Lots of people are traveling alone, and you’ll meet them anywhere.” 
• 13:09: “I came back after my first travel, and it was kinda hard. To be honest, I actually really didn’t like to go back home.” 
• 15:39: “Of course I was kinda scared, because it's so nice to have the safety, but I am even more scared to feel stuck.” 
• 26:23 “This was the best experience ever, really. I was so amazed by how much you can give and how much they were willing to give and there was just so much love to share."
• 42:28: “In India, as soon as you go outside, everything is a struggle. I kinda like it because it’s an adventure, but I am missing the comfort sometimes.” 
• 48:07: “I think you will go through so many low moments where you will learn so much about yourself, but then the high moments are higher than you could imagine. You’re living, live the fullest.” 

If you have more questions about sound healing and Reiki, then reach out to Isabel on IG: @isabel.branderhors

Do you have any questions, tips for improvement, or you're seeking more inspiration for moving abroad? Then follow me on: IG & TikTok: @chrigerdes and YouTube: Beyond-an-ordinary-life
If you like this podcast, then please hit the subscribe button and give me a rating or review. This helps more than you know to get this podcast out to like-minded people who want to learn how to move abroad, too! I appreciate your help a lot!

Chapters

• 1:37 Introduction to Isabel
• 2:20 How easy it is to get to know people when being abroad / traveling
• 3:30 How Isabel went from studying at the police to traveling in SEA to figure out her life
• 4:40 Why she started her travel journey in Bali
• 6:47 Why Isabel was scared that she was not going to make friends traveling solo in Asia and how she was able to overcome it
• 9:29 How Isabel financed her travels
• 11:13 How she continued her 8-month travels through Thailand, India, Malaysia, & Australia
• 13:09 Why reverse cultural shock is real and why it’s hard to return home after traveling for 8 months
• 13:40 One year in the Netherlands: working as a police social service worker
• 15:34 How she took the confidence to quit her job
• 16:20 Why it was hard to explain her dreams to family and friends
• 17:22 Next stop: Isabel traveling to South Africa
• 17:47 Why Africa wasn’t for her and why she wanted to go back to India
• 21:53 Why her love brought her back to Sri Lanka and why it didn’t work out
• 27:42 How traveling helped Isabel to find her real career passion
• 29:06 How she ended up in Rishikesh and got introduced to sound healing
• 34:10 Isabel introducing us to sound healing and giving recommendations
• 38:08 Why Isabel choose to stay in India for 3 months and why she can see herself living in India long-term
• 42:12 What she is missing from home and how she was able to see family and friends
• 47:00 Wrap up