YAY! You have booked yourself a retreat. That is a beautiful step. You are carving time out of your regular life and routine to do something caring for yourself! You are putting your health and wellness in the highest regard, what a gift!
Here are some simple tips to get the most out of your retreat experience by preparing before you go!
1) Set Intentions
You have made space in your life, away from your regular routines and habits. You are taking an active step towards cultivating a state of better health and mind, body, spirit wellness! That is amazing! A beautiful way to make the most of this time is by getting clear prior to your departure. Spend some time reflecting and journaling. Set intentions for your retreat time. What do you want to experience while on retreat? How would you like to feel as you prepare to return home at the end of your experience? Retreats are a beautiful opportunity to visualize and intentionally create new routines, habits and inspiration in your life! How are you going to paint that canvas?
Journaling Questions:
What in your life is most important to you? What are your priorities?
How do you spend your time? (working and free time)
How does the way you spend your time honor or ignore your priorities? What could shift there?
What does health mean to you? How are you living in alignment with your definition of health? How are you out of alignment with this vision?
If you could have one week to do exactly what you dream to, what would that look like? How would you feel?
What beliefs and thought patterns limit you in your life? What would you let go of?
What are some of your strengths? How could you cultivate these strengths more?
What is your biggest passion?
What does joy mean to you? How can you cultivate more joy in your life?
2) Make Space for a Digital Detox!
Organize your work and social life in advance, so that you can use your retreat to really disconnect from your devices. Get the time off work and have an automatic email reply or colleagues supporting you, so that you don’t even have to look at your work email while away! Let go of that stress for one week. Let your family and friends know you are going on a retreat with the intention to have device free time. If you organize all of this in advance, it will feel perfectly natural to put your device down during your retreat. Allow yourself to be fully present exactly where you are in each moment and just watch the magic unfold from there! Trust us :) it is worth it….
3) Be a Minimalist!
Yoga ultimately is a journey inward. Yoga is an invitation to connect on a deeper level to yourself. From this place all else is possbile. The journey inward is a simple non material path, just you and your breath. Allow yourself this energetic space on retreat by being a minimalist. You will wear the same thing everyday, so you will need very little. This might be a big or different step for you and I think it will be an awesome one to cultivate that mindful retreat experience from the moment you leave your home. No makeup, frills, blow dryers or fancy clothes needed! Pack lightly, so you can travel freely with ease and start to feel that sense of lightness before you even step foot at the retreat!