Marcus Chen

I was a trauma surgeon for 14 years before burnout sent me to a silent retreat in the Highlands. That week changed everything. I trained in MBSR, Wim Hof Method, and wilderness therapy, then built a practice that combines all three in the landscape that healed me.

The irony of being a surgeon who could not heal himself was not lost on me. I spent 14 years saving lives and slowly losing my own to exhaustion, insomnia, and emotional numbness. A colleague dragged me to Scotland for what he called a 'walking holiday.' It was actually a silent meditation retreat on the Isle of Skye. By day three, I was sobbing in a peat bog. By day seven, I had resigned in my head. Three months later, I made it official. Five years of training later — MBSR certification, Wim Hof Level 2, wilderness therapy — I now lead the same kind of retreat that broke me open.