Most of us know that retreats have been created for us to nourish ourselves in some way - whether that is by taking a rest, learning about ourselves, creating new connections, or even learning new tools for business and life.
Most retreat marketing will claim that retreats are incredibly beneficial for our mental and physical health, sharing phrases like:
"Promotes mental calm and wellbeing."
"Improves health."
"Balances mind and body."
While all of that sounds lovely (and it's true), it's very vague. Why do retreats promote more calm? How is it that our health can be improved by a week or two away at a retreat?
I want to go deeper into this for you so that rather than just blindly trust that you'll "feel better" from a retreat, you'll actually know WHY you feel better and HOW it all works.
If you're anything like me - you're probably always asking "why", rather than just accepting what others tell you. I respect that attribute!
Why is a retreat good for you? How you can feel more physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy from a retreat.
The nature of a retreat is that you are literally retreating from your everyday life. You leave behind your responsibilities, often travel to an exotic location (like the mountains of Bali!) and you immerse yourself in an experience that is very different from your normal life.
A Retreat Gives You Space To Reset
Beyond having ample time to explore, rest, and rejuvenate yourself in the new environment (which is always refreshing) you are able to reset yourself in deep ways. If you feel stuck, or have certain habits (whether they are mental programs that are making you feel stressed, or health habits that are making you feel dull and sluggish) you get a space to reset yourself. It's really like turning on a "reset" button on a machine.
Because you're away from the norm of your everyday routine, you can more easily create new routines. Often, spiritual or health retreats will anchor you in a new routine of waking up, doing some yoga or movement or meditation, and feeding you fresh and healthy foods (on our Women's Retreat in Bali we even eat fresh permaculture food grown on-site!).
When you have this time away to reset some systems and create new habits, even if for a week or two, it'll be much easier to come home and bring those new habits with you.
A Retreat Gives You Perspective
Do you know when you're so close to something that you can't exactly see clearly anymore? The reason why a retreat can be good for you is the perspective it offers. You zoom out and focus on other aspects of your life (often your internal world, mental and emotional landscape, your spirituality).
That allows you to revisit your decisions and life path with new eyes, having deepened into yourself and perhaps giving you a more deep and refreshed way of looking at yourself and your life.
A Retreat is Generally Designed To Be Healthy For Your Body
The beauty of a retreat is that the way that the schedules, meals, rest & activity plan, and even the theme of the retreat are all designed to be beneficial for your health. The food is often fresh, prepared by trained chefs, or even grown on-site (like our permaculture garden at Bali Eco Stay where my women's retreat is held).
At a spiritual-based retreat, you can eat plant-based meals, get plenty of healthy drinks, and often get lots of yoga, meditation, and hikes. There are fitness retreats, retreats based on breathwork, or even different forms of aerial yoga - basically, anything you can think of, there's probably a retreat.
For example, at my women's retreat in Bali this year, the schedule goes a little something like this:
7am: Wake up in the eco-bungalow & drink fresh mountain spring water
8am: Head over to the open-air yoga shala for some meditation and light yoga
9am: Have a plant-based breakfast of fresh fruits, smoothies, juice (+ more) grown in the garden
10am: Go for a hike or relax and read
11am: Join a women's circle with reflections & sharing
1pm: Plant-based lunch of traditional Indonesian salads and vegetable bowls or rice paper rolls2
2pm: Bathe under the waterfall or swim in the fresh running spring water pool
Spend your afternoon relaxing, exploring, or meeting new friends, before coming back to meet the group for some transformational workshops, and then dinner and an early bedtime.
This is an example of what a typical day at our retreat would look like.
An additional reason why your health will get a boost is from getting a good amount of sleep! With no pressing deadlines, no one that you're responsible for, and the ability to go to bed nice and early and sleep to the sound of nature gives your body a deep rest reset. You'll get more sleep and your mind and body will thank you!
Create Self Trust, Confidence, & Build Self Worth
Simply signing up for a retreat is an act of affirming to yourself that YOU ARE WORTH this experience. That your life matters - your health, harmony, balance, and peace matter. That is big. Self-care isn't just taking a bubble bath and doing affirmations in the mirror - it's also about how you value your time and how you invest in yourself.
When you invest in a retreat (particularly one that focuses on self-development, (like our Bali goddess retreats), you are investing in your happiness, radiance, and wellbeing. There is no greater investment than that since everything stems from that. You can't give to others, show up for people you love, or work on your mission if you aren't first energized and full and clear.
A retreat experience gives you that, and signing up is the first step to claiming your confidence and trusting yourself in the decisions that you make being aligned with your greatest sense of wellbeing and joy.
What else?
Honestly, there are so many more reasons why a retreat can benefit your life beyond those I mentioned above. When you are choosing your retreat, really tap into your WHY. Imagine what it could give you, the value you would take away and inject into your life. Know that if you feel strongly called to something, it's an indication that you intuitively know that there is magic there waiting for you.
Want to find a retreat in 2022?
I would love to have you join us on our Women's Retreat in Bali this August, 19-24th. It's all about igniting your self-expression, claiming your most full, vibrant YOU, giving yourself the rest and reset you need.
Learn more about our Bali Women's Retreat here.
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