Gabriele Wahl-Multerer: That’s correct, I actually come from a classic industrial background. I studied business administration with a focus on industrial management and empirical business education, and then I acquired a company after the reunification in the new federal states in Thuringia. In 2003, I sold my company but continued to be active, first on the Board of Directors and later in the Supervisory Board. Throughout my career, I constantly dealt with stress; the world was always changing. When reunification was approaching, no one was prepared. For example, there weren’t really any good sales engineers, and many markets disappeared, meaning you had to start from scratch—just like I had to here in Alt Rehse, starting from zero or even in the negative.

In my opinion, the greatest damage to our society is caused by stress. Stress leads to illnesses because regeneration is prevented, and emotions are heavily influenced. I have experienced this myself in my life—I have had two failed marriages, my work always took precedence, and where the pressure is highest, you tend to act. The topic of stress management has truly occupied me throughout my life as a hard-working businesswoman. In 2013, when I was already in early retirement, I stumbled upon a project that wanted to establish a community here. Unfortunately, the team then fell into financial difficulties, so I wanted to step in as a sort of business angel. However, I quickly realized that there was nothing to save because they were not failing due to a lack of money but because of the many, many conflicts. If there is no mediator to resolve the issues between various groups and individuals, it is simply difficult. The group ended up fighting so much that they eventually left the park. You could then observe how the area gradually fell into disrepair, and it was already in a bad condition before. I simply couldn’t accept that; such a beautiful area with so many qualities was for me an ideal place to draw new life energy and truly focus on regeneration.

Exactly, I had no idea what was coming. As soon as I signed a contract, 40 representatives from various authorities showed up, and I had to deal with 40 different interests. One had the problem that the summer and winter quarters for bats could not be disturbed, another was concerned about the lake and the nature reserve around it. Others were focused on the buildings and the window radius that needed to be installed. And it didn’t stop there. I must honestly say that what the politics of the old parties have brought upon us is no longer manageable. Nevertheless, a large part was completed by 2020, so we could host our first guests, and then came Corona.

Yes, it was such a catastrophe for our planning that we incurred high losses for three consecutive years. In 2022, I flew to India and spoke with various people to see if they would be interested in offering Ayurveda authentically in Germany with their own people. The response was very positive. Unfortunately, however, the next major problem arose: getting the people to Germany. The authorities initially posed many obstacles, wanting to know if they spoke German and if they had a recognized qualification in Germany, etc.—here, too, bureaucracy nearly overwhelmed me. But I found a way through a specific paragraph in the Residence Act in combination with public interest. Only because of this are our Indians allowed to be here. They make such a wonderful contribution! Meanwhile, we also have an expedited skilled worker procedure connected with public interest, and this is the only way we could prevent having to close this location. This is the situation in Germany in 2024. The crazy thing is that I have so many guests from different backgrounds here, and they all tell me the same thing. The emergence of this project is very closely linked to our current reality in Germany. And it is a catastrophe that leads to enormous stress. If I weren’t working in this wonderful nature in Alt Rehse, I would have already lost my mind, but this place gives me so much peace and strength. And that was my motivation—I wanted to create a place where people can find peace, where they can repair their emotions and bodies.

I think one first has to realize that we no longer live in 1934. Those who were once here are no longer around. Today, a good middle class lives in Alt-Rehse, consisting of doctors, lawyers, and administrative employees. But yes, the history is known here, and we deal with it openly. For example, we also collaborate with an association that possesses all the documentation from that time. The strength lies in the fact that we can constantly transform history, and we do that here—we transform suffering on so many levels. Our guests should leave here transformed, turning exhaustion into new strength. This place should provide space to generate new thoughts.

We have very different guests here, ranging from their early 30s to 80 or even over 80. The reasons for their visits vary greatly; they might include food intolerances, exhaustion syndromes, or even bone fractures. Our everyday lives have become so complex, and so many people are constantly burned out, especially leaders. Our society suffers from a severe exhaustion syndrome, both physically and mentally. Recently, we even had a former top politician here.I believe that our society has the task of rebuilding strong communities, managing conflicts, and resolving them positively. We should learn from the past, which has often led to humiliation and injury, and communicate non-violently again.

I believe we just need objective insights; Ayurveda is not necessarily a panacea. To stay healthy, one doesn’t have to undergo treatments every day; it is more about changing our lives in small steps so that we can remain healthy in the long term. However, this also requires support from politics. Unfortunately, they tend to support harmful excesses like alcohol consumption. This leads to a state where there is hardly any joy without alcohol. That is a huge problem.

You always need techniques; it can also be meditation or yoga. Both have increasingly appealed to younger generations in recent years. Here, we aim to promote mindfulness-based work, looking at what is good for us and what is not. It always starts with nutrition and morning habits. For example, drinking warm water before the first coffee makes a big difference, just like avoiding sugar.

Absolutely. We will also undergo structural changes, with a new building that will create an additional 30 rooms. Renovation of the villa is also a priority; a therapy center is to be established there with significantly more treatment rooms, and we will open up more to natural medicine. We also want to increase the amount of yoga offered here. We are focusing on very effective formats that enable stress management and regeneration. We need a turnaround in our country to counteract exhaustion syndromes. More and more young people are burning out before they have even really settled into their professional lives; the pressure of leadership is simply too great.