By Guest Contributor: @SaraMercado
Gifting yourself the opportunity to go on a wellness retreat is one of the best ways to decompress, connect with yourself and create new experiences. Here are five simple reasons why you should take a break from your busy, hyper-scheduled life and take a step towards enhancing your life.
1. Unplug
Decompressing and unplugging from your crazy and busy life is one of the most important things you can do for your health and your self-care.
One of the best ways to relieve stress is to unplug from your digital devices and disconnect from your daily life in a way that is productive and proactive.
Stress is one of the silent killers in our society. If you are not fully aware of your stressors and you are not managing your stress daily, your health and well being can be at risk. Stress can break down your immune system and make you sick as well as allow you to spiral out of control mentally and emotionally if you are not keeping your mind in check through simple practices such as yoga and meditation.
Some people go on camping trips, some people go out in the desert, some people go on retreats all around the globe, but most everyone knows that they need a digital detox, and a detox from the mayhem that resides in the “real world”. When you intentionally unplug from “your reality”, magical things seem to happen.
2. Connect within
How do you connect to yourself? And what does that even mean? Being connected means being aligned with your highest self. On a wellness retreat you will connect in a way that makes you get out of your comfort zone. Escaping from a daily ordinary routine and indulge in a place completely outside of the norm will allow you to have a lot of room for thought. You will also learn how to breathe and let go. By slowing things down for a week, you will replenish and restore your energy, so you’re ready to take on the world once you leave.
Things that happen when you connect with yourself:
• Your immune system strengthens due to the lack of stressors.
• You press restart on your body and mind and essentially get to reboot your health, and your spirit.
• You are able to melt the stress away by just “being”, while not having any duties or responsibilities holding you hostage.
• You are able to detox your body and your mind from any negative emotions that are making you feel physically ill, or just not 100% yourself.
• You are able to foster new experiences and relationships when you fully unplug, and become present with the rest of the world around you.
3. New adventures
Traveling opens up the mind and creates an opportunity for new experiences.
“We travel because we need to, because distance and difference are the secret tonic to creativity. When we get home, home is still the same, but something in our minds has changed, and that changes everything — Jonah Leher”
It is important to always expand your horizons and experience new things. If you live in your container where you are comfortable, out of your norm, you are not able to actually see the world for what it is. With unfold opportunities and less possibilities for growth and for deepening your understanding of your purpose, and your life. When you travel and go on a wellness retreat you open your mind and you spend your neurons and you actually train your brain to grow and see different parts of yourself reflected in a world around you.
4. New friends
Going on a wellness retreat would be a great way of finding people who have similar interests. We are so captivated by our phones and computers that sometimes we might forget to experience what is really around us.
When you go on a retreat where you are essentially in an incubator like-minded individuals who want to get the same experience as you are, you are able to generate a new group of friends, a new community, a new tribe.
It is a profound happening when people come together for a common goal to heal, and love, and enjoy experiences together.
5. Whole Food (and we’re not talking about the chain)
At a wellness retreat, your meals are carefully planned and made with whole foods that fuel your body and mind. On these retreats, you are empowering yourself to take the next step in your journey to a healthy, holistic lifestyle. First, others are helping you and holding you accountable. Second, when you eat clean your mind clears up and you will kick-start your life. Third, when you get back into the real world and choose to maintain that lifestyle you will be in the best position for success. Just a week of eating right can reset your habits, so it’s easier for you to make good decisions even after you leave your retreat.
If these reasons aren’t enough to convince you to invest in your health, your mind and your spirit, let’s chat further! My only hope is that we all take time to connect with our inner selves in the best way possible. It’s the cherry on top that you are most likely adventuring to a place your heart desires and opening you to a new culture and experience. I guarantee you that a retreat will transform your life more than you could ever imagine.
Always with light,
Chenoa
