The first feeling after a long day of travel was peace. It was a common feeling during our five-day stay on the breathtakingly beautiful Dutch island of Curaçao. The island has an innate healing energy. Life feels slower. You are surrounded by nature, it’s calming, and you are challenged to mirror your surroundings in a way that brings ease and flow. The environment is healing in itself, and if you let it, you will reap its benefits.
Aside from the shining faces of strangers, the warm, hot heat of the island climate and the gradations of azure and turquoise of the vast Southern Caribbean Sea were a consistent undercurrent of unmistakable self-care. Deeper than that, self-care is community care, and never felt more clear during my time in Curacao. The island’s healing power is complemented by the neighborly element of the locals, whose gifts nurture and nourish you.
Upon arriving at Universal Alchemist, a restorative space offering high vibrational health and lifestyle products, my travel group and I were greeted with Ellie’s embrace, little did I realize that that warmth paled in comparison to the workshop she hosted for us and how alive each of us felt, seen, felt and embraced at the end.
A photo of Mallery “Ellie” Sambo at the bar at Universal Alchemist.
Sheriden Chanel/xoNecole
Universal Alchemist owner, Mallery “Ellie” Sambo, is a woman of many hats: microbiologist, alchemist, clinical and community herbalist, yoni steam specialist, etc. As she led us through her farm and had us sit in a circle under the large mango tree on her property, we could see the many plants she grows there and the intention she puts into growing healing and products from the earth.
For Ellie, the Earth is not only what roots us, but also what gives us birth.
The mango tree under which we gathered was also 150 years old and ancestral. She encouraged us to see all plants in that way. The warmth felt in that first greeting with Ellie continued as the group shared their stories and gave each other similar hugs. Ellie told the group about the life-changing journey that brought her back to her home in Curacao after many years away.
The situation was that she was diagnosed with two benign tumors in her breasts, which led to a health scare. She refused surgery to remove the tumors, instead choosing to make a “medicine” out of fruits and ginger to shrink them. However, within three months of relying on a holistic treatment approach, she found that the tumors had completely disappeared.
She found that the more she focused on healing her physical symptoms, the more her emotional and mental symptoms subsided. “I went deep within myself, and I think that’s why the tumor went away,” Ellie explained to the group.
She also communicated that community care and connecting with other souls is important in healing, saying the more you connect with yourself, the more you connect with others, and the more you connect with others, the more you connect with yourself. It was the art of happiness. She left Curacao to pursue a career as a microbiologist in the Netherlands, but her healing work on the island paved the way for a business rooted in expansion, self-development, and high vibrational healing. She co-founded Universal Alchemist with Femi and has been there for eight years.
Her story, plus our truths, brought each of us to open up so easily, to be so vulnerable, that we almost felt like we’d known each other for years, not just one night. Finally, as if in confirmation, the leaves on the trees around us rustled in the wind, and we felt liberated. And after each of us had told our stories, Ellie stood and hugged each of us, reinforcing the release with the tangible act of safety.
Without realizing it, the workshop with Ellie had already begun, the first step in tapping into the happiness hormones: releasing oxytocin, the love hormone, through hugging.
Sheriden Chanel/xoNecole
Sheriden Chanel/xoNecole
Sheriden Chanel/xoNecole
Through a guided meditation practice led by Ellie, we naturally transitioned to the happy hormone serotonin. Soon after, we enjoyed a healthy and hearty happy hormone-inspired snack prepared by Femi under the mango tree. This was the start of a farm-to-table meal we all shared that morning, inspired by the hormone that inspired our activity. Between the food, the activity, and the closeness, the morning was the epitome of mindfulness. The balance was amazing.
The next part of the workshop was the MOOD table, created by Ellie, focusing on joy. This was more hands-on and involved creating a DIY happiness infused oil incorporating essential oils. Mandarin and lemongrass resonated with me the most so I used them in my body oil blend. Through the essential oils we stimulated our endorphins. A key part of creating the “potions” was naming the pieces for the intentions we would tell them and ourselves each time we used them.
Sheriden Chanel/xoNecole
Sheriden Chanel/xoNecole
Sheriden Chanel/xoNecole
My favorite part was the tea-making workshop, where I made my own tea blend from seven different herbs. They all had different physical and mental benefits that she taught me, and were easy to combine and enjoy. The purpose of the workshop was to cultivate what I felt wanted. Completing this assignment and engaging in a self-care activity gave me a nice dopamine hit.
The herbs that stood out to me were the melissa plant, also known as lemon balm, known for its ability to restore clarity and reduce stress and anxiety; the mood-boosting moringa (which Ellie calls a “master healer”), which promotes harmony; and raspberry leaf, which can be used to balance hormones and address emotional imbalances. I named the three teas “Eternal Sunshine,” “Heat,” and “Everything’s Right Where It Is,” respectively.
Courtesy of Universal Alchemist
The MOOD Table session ended with us taking turns giving thanks for the transformative time we had spent together that day and the healing we had cultivated. We each answered our own question, “Are you happy?”, shed tears, hugged, and created a safe space to be with each other and let go. This further reinforced the recurring message that a crucial aspect of healing is engaging with those outside of ourselves as much as it is working within ourselves.
By the time we left the MOOD table hosted by Ellie and Universal Alchemist, we were no longer strangers but sisters. We were reborn and healed through each other and it was beautiful.
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