Alto Paraíso de Goiás, Brazil, Jul 2, 2022 (AFP) – Michelle Ximenes, a yoga instructor in a temple in the mystical town of Chapada dos Veadeiros, in Brazil, captivates a group of adults who, after undergoing a clay bath, they march and wave their hands. “The energy of Mother Earth!” exclaims Ximenes to the participants, who follow the shamanic cult with their eyes closed, barefoot and in bathing suits, surrounded by the dense vegetation of the Cerrado biome (center). Famous for its waterfalls and natural trails that for decades have attracted those seeking a break away from the big cities, Chapada dos Veadeiros, 230 kilometers from the country’s capital, Brasilia, strengthens its mystical profile and is experiencing a new “boom” of spiritual retreats after the pandemic. “People are looking for a connection with the divine after having gone through very difficult times. They are looking for happiness within themselves,” says Ximenes, who due to high demand went from scheduling a retreat every two months to two monthly. Many Brazilians have become interested in this type of spiritual therapy after two years of a pandemic that killed more than 670,000 people in Brazil, the second most mourning country in absolute terms after the United States. Retreats appear as an antidote to deal with the loss of loved ones and anxiety disorders, say the participants. “The energy of this place is different. Doing a work of connection with spirituality, of healing, in this environment is really special,” explains Juliana Abdala, 34, a participant in the retreat. Centelha Divina, the temple of Ximenes located in the city of Alto Paraíso, offers energy practices, meditation, yoga, shamanism and cleansing through clay and contact with nature, all in a place considered “sacred”. – Mystical aura – La Chapada is home to a 240,000-hectare natural park recognized by Unesco that is home to thousands of species of Cerrado fauna and flora threatened with extinction. At 1,200 meters above sea level, it has countless waterfalls of icy, crystal-clear water, which, seen from above, emerge in the midst of enormous rocks that at some point cracked and separated. But it is its mystical aura that has captivated dozens of religions, mythologies and sects. The fate and fame of the Chapada changed abruptly in the 1980s, when a photograph by the United States Space Agency (NASA) allegedly showed that the region rested on a gigantic subterranean plate of quartz crystal, something demystified by science but converted into popular belief. In addition, Alto Paraíso is located on the same parallel as the ruins of Macchu Picchu, in Peru, a fact that has contributed to its becoming a spiritual center. The locals, meanwhile, also feed the reputation that the Chapada is an ideal place for the sighting of extraterrestrials, whose small and green representations adorn shops and tourist spots in the city. At another point in Alto Paraíso, Carol Cianni, an instructor of the Mindfulness meditation practice, provokes the participants with a challenge: savor a small piece of dark chocolate in seven minutes in full attention, a way to work on the feeling of anxiety. During the pandemic “people stayed home, many perceived that they were more anxious, but in reality they already were, they just realized it. They put a magnifying glass on what they are and decided to see how to deal with it,” says Cianni, who organized a retreat at Paraiso dos Pandava, another center in Alto Paraíso. “It’s not just about tasting chocolate, but about life,” adds Cianni. Karla Moreno, a public official, tells AFP that she decided to make a retreat in Alto Paraíso with her husband, physical education teacher Alexandre Mallman, after losing her father during the pandemic. “It was a moment of introspection, of looking inside myself again and starting a search for self-knowledge,” she says. msi-val/app/yow ——————————————- ——————
After the pandemic, the “boom” of retreats in mystical refuge in Brazil