Sacred Service in Nepal: Chitwan

Program Dates:

March 22nd - April 5th, 2025

Embark on a transformative journey through the Himalayas, immersing yourself in the Indigenous, shamanic ways of healing, all the while supporting global health equity.

Join our human and elephant healing and bonding through the sacred jungles of Nepal.

We combine holistic therapies such as acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage/bodywork, energy healing, and conventional healthcare with education...

Chitwan Program Highlights:

  • Experience Nepal’s regal Himalayan range, home to some of the world’s tallest peaks

  • Immersion in the jungle of Nepal with opportunities to learn from local medicine keepers

  • Experience and learn about the Tharu people’s shamanic and animist ways of living

  • Learn about the rich ecosystems of the Nepal jungle, native plant medicine and wildlife

  • Visit monasteries, museums, and world heritage sites including serving at a temple hospice center

  • Witness majestic elephants, alligators, sloth bears, and the endangered white rhinos

  • Spend time in the healing space with local elephants and their caretakers, giving and receiving healing

  • And so much more!

Chitwan Program Objectives

  • Create strong relationships with the Tharu community to better understand their needs.

  • Bring vital supplies as well as herbal and allopathic medicine to dispense and/or stock for use during disasters

  • Offer attuned integrative healthcare and education to the Indigenous Tharu community

  • Evacuate, refer and follow up with patients who

    present red flag physical or mental health cases

  • Offer repair and energy healing to elephants who have been abused by human handlers

  • Learn how to respectfully enter into and give-receive healing to underserved Indigenous communities

Who Should Apply?

  • Acupuncturists

  • Herbalists

  • First Responders

  • NADA Practitioners

  • Bodyworkers

  • WFA's, WFR's, & WEMT's

  • Doctors

  • Energy Healers

  • Eclectic Healthcare

  • Workers

  • And anyone with a passion for service and love of adventure!

Program Fee Details:

Generosity Level: $5,275

Sustainability Level:$4,775

Access Level: 4,275

If you need help deciding which level to choose, or would like information regarding our Deferred Payment or Scholarship opportunities, please visit our Program Fees page.

Deposit: A non-refundable deposit of $500 will secure your spot.

*Your program fee, flight, travel medical insurance, and any supplies purchased to be used during the health clinics are tax-deductible. Licensed acupuncturists will be able to receive 40 PDA’s from NCCAOM.

There are only 18 spots available and they are on a first come, first served basis

Program Dates: March 22 - April 5, 2025

*The program begins on the 22nd therefore, plan to arrive in Nepal on or before March 22nd (often this means you will depart from the US on the 20th or 21st) and will depart from Nepal on the evening of the 5th or on the morning of the 6th of April.

The highlight for me (if I have to pick one) was the time in clinic. The openness and resilience of the Sindhupalchok villagers touched my heart and the whole clinic process was a lovely reminder of both the simplicity and immense healing capacity of truly holistic and integrative medicine. I also felt like I went on a really nourishing personal journey. I haven’t stopped talking about this trip to whoever will listen. I feel like it has energized me and as always with new experiences, it has brought something new and special into my regular practice at home.

-Dr. Katie Molloy, Australia

My trip to Nepal with Inner Ocean was beyond rewarding and just so much fun. Traveling to the remote villages of Sindhupalchok, one of the region’s hardest hit by the 2015 earthquake, to set up health camps was eye opening, deeply touching, and something I will keep in my heart for a lifetime. I carry a deep well of gratitude for this trip that filled my spirit and allowed me to meet Mindi and the wonderful people on her team. I high recommend a trip with IOEP and look forward to another adventure with them soon.

-Melanie Paquette, Canada

I have traveled with Inner Ocean to Nepal twice now for healthcare support in the villages hit hard by the earthquakes and now recently - flooding. It was an amazing experience both meeting and helping the local people. Some of the villages are very remote and we trekked from one to the other with our medical supplies. Mindi and her team are amazing and I would highly recommend traveling with them. I am definitely coming back for another trip as soon as it is possible!

-Bonnie Keller, Nurse, United States

Program Fee Includes:

  • Kathmandu International Airport Arrival and Departure Transfer

  • All in-country travel including domestic flights, buses, and jeeps

  • An amazing English-speaking, experienced guide

  • Several English-Nepali translators during our clinics

  • Sherpa and porters to assist you in carrying all of your belongings and all of our medical supplies while trekking

  • A wonderful cook and kitchen staff for our meals while trekking

  • All meals during your trip minus the few meals highlighted in the itinerary

  • Double-occupancy hotel rooms in Kathmandu and in Chitwan (option for single occupancy for additional charge)

  • All monastery entrance fees and tickets to visit world heritage sites

  • All Nepal restricted area daily use permits

  • And so much more!

Bonus Gift: Natural Medicine Travel Kit

  • Learn our founder's natural treatment protocols to prevent traveler's diarrhea, immune system challenges, jet lag, and altitude sickness while traveling

  • Get our insider's scoop on treating common health conditions that can arise when we are traveling internationally or for extended periods of time

  • See herbal medicine, vitamin, supplement, over-the-counter, and prescription medication recommendations as well as dosages to troubleshoot these challenges

  • Gain confidence in traveling abroad, learning the signs of when to take matters into your own hands and when to seek advice or care from a professional

  • As a volunteer with Inner Ocean you can customize your own natural medicine travel kit using our online pharmacy

Program Fee Does NOT Include:

  • International Airfare to and from Kathmandu

  • Nepal Visa (purchased onsite for approximately $25-$50 depending on length of stay)

  • Travel Medical Insurance (approximately $50-$200 depending on personal preference)

  • Tips for guides, porters, kitchen staff while trekking, etc.

  • The occasional lunches and dinners outlined in your itinerary

Serving Humans & Elephants

This is a one-of-a-kind program where we will be living and serving deep in the jungle of Chitwan National Park in the southern belt of Nepal. We will spend our mornings offering healthcare services to the Indigenous Tharu communities working alongside the eldest local Shaman.

Our late afternoons will be spent offering energy healing (acupressure, reiki, etc.) to the elephants and receiving their bountiful blessings via river baths and trunk nuzzles (no riding).

Due to the proximity to the national park (elephants, rhinos, bears, etc.) we will not be camping during this program, rather we will be staying in a beautiful resort with air conditioning and a pool.

There will be opportunities to camp on a platform in the national park during our stay if you choose (highly recommend it!). This program will involve the opportunity to learn to use energy healing tools and to offer them safely and effectively to the elephants using powerful energy centers, acupressure points and meridians.

The temperature in this part of the country during this time of year will oscillate between 60-90 degrees. We will take a break midday to accommodate the hottest part of each day.

*You do not need to be a healthcare practitioner to join our service immersion programs. We welcome non-healthcare volunteers to join us during each program with an approximate 1-4 ratio.

With Inner Ocean's trainings and certifications, these Nepali Mothers serve their communities year 'round...

Your Guides

Mindi K. Counts, MA, LAc. (she/her)

Lead Guide and founder of the Inner Ocean Empowerment Project, Mindi has been leading trips to Nepal since 2014. 

She will be guiding you on your journey of both inner and outer transformation as you step into the vast and deep territory of world service & wisdom exchange.

As the founder of Inner Ocean Empowerment Project, she has been engaged in life-changing world service in Nepal, India, Thailand/Burma, and in disaster areas in the US since 2012.

Being of true and genuine service is her life’s passion and she is more than delighted to share this experience with a community of incredible healers, practitioners, and heart-full service workers. 

Mindi is a graduate of Naropa University’s Contemplative Psychology program and holds a Masters degree in Classical Five-Element Acupuncture. She is a Wilderness First Responder and she lives with her family and rescued pit bulls in the foothills of Colorado.

Beebal Singh Limbu (he/him)

Founder of Into The Wild guiding company, Beebal is a true adventurer. His love for Mother Nature and the outdoors has led him into guiding people from all walks of life through the vast Himalayas for over a decade.

As a humanitarian, he has been providing direct aid and support to the victims of the devastating earthquake of 2015. Beebal has been supervising medical clinics and leading sponsored charity treks in the Sindhupalchok district, one amongst the most affected regions in the country.

Beebal has been co-leading trips with the Inner Ocean Empowerment Project since 2015. He continues to bring supplies into IOEP’s eight Himalayan medical clinics and conduct trainings for the Mothers in Wilderness First Aid and CPR.

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