Felicitas Vallot is a spiritual entrepreneur, medical anthropologist, yoga teacher, and lifelong student of healing modalities from a variety of cultures. She curates our InnerGardens program and is the wellbeing consultant at Scorpios.

What do you want people to take from your work?

I want people to move away feeling more connected to their creative selves, knowing their place and role within the living world around them. I try to facilitate this through working with the teachings of ancient wisdom traditions, systems thinking, and the latest research in neuroscience. It’s about cultivating a holistic worldview and building more authentic and intimate relationships with oneself, others and nature.

What’s the oldest thing you own?

An edition of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Book of Hours: Love Letters to God from 1946.This is one of my favorite pieces of poetry:

“I live my life in widening circles

That reach out across the world.

I may not complete this last one

But I give myself to it.

I circle around God, around the primordial tower.

I have been circling for thousands of years,

and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,

a storm, ora great song?”

Who/what was the last thing that made a significant impact on your thought processes/creative processes? ‍

The dancer and educator Anna Halprin, who I worked with in California a few years ago. She says “Dance is an art form in which everybody can participate and find meaning.” She inspired me to go through life as a dancer and artist, and to meet life challenges in a creative, life-affirming way.

What are you currently listening to?

I’m listening to Native American flute music. I recently purchased a Native American flute myself, which is tuned to the frequency of the heart chakra. Playing this instrument allows me to connect to a deep spiritual source.

I’m also listening to a lot of Queen at the moment. It kind of represents the spring mood and manifesting energy I experience during this time of the year.

What are you currently reading?

Next to my bed lies Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. During the day I’m reading The Artist’s Way byJulia Cameron and Thus Spoke the Plant by scientist Monica Gagliano. It’s about exploring plant consciousness through the lens of science, shamanic practitioners and the plants themselves, revealing plants’ capacity to listen, learn, and remember. It changes the way I see the world.

What are your thoughts on boredom?

I don’t think there is such a thing as boredom. I actively integrate moments of non-doing

into my daily life. Moments of simply being, where I become aware of the wonder of what life

is, really seeing the beauty of the sky, the shapes of the flowers, or hearing the depths of Chopin’s nocturnes.

In complete presence, these are the moments I connect with a feeling of wonder, and a sense of belonging. When I return to the doing, I feel like there is more intention, clarity, and purpose in what I do.

What’s themost enjoyable thing in life?

Being creative, laughing with friends, and connecting with nature.

What is a ritual? Why are they important?

Traditionally in a ritual we leave ordinary life and move into a so-called “liminal zone”. This is a space in which transformation and renewal can happen. Rituals can serve many purposes, such as marking transitions in one’s own life, acknowledging seasonal changes, and honouring the living world, or renewing one’s connection to oneself, the community, and place.

Many people are physically footloose and always connected (to work, to the act of being busy) through technology. What is the ritual's role in all this? Can rituals help us maintain a sense of place or belonging? Can a ritual act as a balm against burnout?

A ritual is an opportunity to connect with one’s intuitive and creative self, which lies beyond one’s rational and linear thinking. It can offer us a larger view of our lives and creates more space in our internal experience. A bigger internal space can help us to see more possibilities in life and helps us to make more empowered decisions, because we have more options to choose from. Ultimately, I think this gives us more freedom.

How do you think Inner Gardens contributes to the overall Scorpios experience?

Scorpios embodies a holistic lifestyle, and it’s a celebration of togetherness. The Inner Gardens mindfulness program offers pathways for personal development and transformation. It offers ways to connect even more deeply to oneself, those around us, and the spirit of Scorpios as a place. Inner Gardens helps to anchor the overall experience in an energy of presence, gratitude and awareness.

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