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War Doesn’t Begin Outside — It Begins Within
Peace doesn’t come by simply wishing for it or talking about it, but by thinking and acting peacefully. The outer world is a reflection of our inner world. So what can we do? We start with healing ourselves so that the world around us can heal!
My Journey to Myself
More than 15 years ago, I started a very special journey — a journey inward. I was physically and mentally exhausted and had lost myself completely. In 2014, my then partner and I got into our converted old Land Rover and set off from Hamburg toward South Africa — a journey that was as much about the inner landscape as the outer one.
Between two surgeries, a long history of anorexia, emotional exhaustion, working 90-hour weeks in TV, and trying to support my partner through his burnout and depression, this trip felt like a last hope. I promised myself I would not return until I found the key to feeling truly alive and present in everyday life — not just on vacation.
Yoga – The Beginning of Everything
Amid this turbulence, I discovered yoga and immediately started my yoga teacher training. Balancing my TV job during the week with training on weekends, yoga became a lifeline and the starting point of my healing.
Read more about how yoga transformed my life here!
Just before my 28th birthday, we packed everything we thought we’d need — surfboards, yoga mats, crochet needles and wool, a hula hoop, and skateboards — into our Land Rover and drove off toward South Africa in the pouring, chilly autumn rain. However, instead of South Africa, our journey became a two-year, 46,000 km trip through West Africa.
The Inner Conflict in a Small Space
Anyone who has traveled long-term knows: you always take yourself with you. Two years, 24/7, in 2 square meters — two wounded souls with their own pain, expectations, and conflicts. That intense closeness brought a lot of potential for conflict but also incredible opportunities for growth.
Journaling and yoga became my first responders whenever the atmosphere felt heavy or I felt sad and angry.
We often aren’t aware that life isn’t just a mental or external issue — it must be lived and felt in the body as well.
Yoga as a Practice of Presence and Peace
At first, I was often stuck in my head while doing yoga poses, just mechanically going through the motions. But the more I committed to my yoga practice and focused on my breath, the more I understood what yoga truly is: a gift to yourself, teaching you to be present, quiet the mind, and connect deeply with your body.
Yoga led me to Reiki, Reiki led me to meditation and Vipassana, meditation brought me to Tantra, Nonviolent Communication, and finally to Sound Healing and Eckhart Tolle. African dance teaches me to connect with the ground, release emotions, and be fully present in the moment. I know this journey will continue for my entire life.
Today, I can say: I am at peace, joyful, and curious about what I still have to learn.
Finding My Peace in the NOW — And How You Can Too
It took years, but eventually I understood: peace begins inside me. It’s my responsibility, no matter how chaotic life outside is, to return again and again to my center — for myself and those around me.
That is why I warmly invite you to my Free Your Soul Retreats on the African continent — my favorite place, our shared mother continent. Here you can find your inner peace and joy in the spaciousness, earthy energy of this powerful land.
Find all the information about the retreats here:
www.lena-wendt.com (feel free to embed this link directly on your site)
My Favorite Exercise for Finding Inner Peace
When you don’t feel well, ask yourself:
- What is going on inside me right now? Is there anger? Fear? Sadness? Stress?
- Notice your feelings and how they affect your body.
- Observe how your body reacts when you say to yourself: “I am against…” and then, “I am for…”
- Become aware of the space beneath all your emotions — the stillness where all potential lies.
Imagine your worries as a bird flying in the sky — small, surrounded by a vast, wide horizon. Feel how this perspective diminishes the weight of your feelings and gives you new strength.
When you get up and start your day, consciously choose which “thought garment” to wear — the one of solutions and inner peace.
