You Just Got Back From a Wellness Retreat… Now What?
You packed your bags, you double checked your room to make sure you left nothing behind, you checked out, boarded your flight, and now you’re thinking, “now what?” After a period of pampering, coaching, and a diet and routine that left you feeling your best at a fabulous wellness retreat, it’s hard to go back to the stress and unpredictability of every day life. While stress and matters outside of your control can be inevitable, there are some ways you can inject some wellness in the day-to-day. Maintaining a routine that is realistic and makes you feel strong, well, and stress-free is easy to do if you start simple. And what better time to start than right after a reset like a wellness retreat?
1. The Food
A common theme you’ll find throughout this article is focusing on how things make you feel. You were likely fed some highly nutritious meals that also tasted very good while you were on your wellness retreat. To carry that over into your daily routine, just focus on how your body feels eating certain foods. Simply consume what makes you feel good physically, focusing on energy levels, digestion, and even your skin, and, equally importantly, what tastes delicious to you; after all, this has to be sustainable. Starting there and focusing on adding more goodness, either through fruits and vegetables, protein powders, bone broth powders, or superfood blends can make a huge difference to how you feel and look.
2. The Exercise Routine
Many of us are guilty of overcommitting when it comes to working out. It doesn’t have to be a huge chore for it to be beneficial. Think about the exercise you might have done on the wellness retreat. Was any of it enjoyable to you? The biggest trick to maintaining a good exercise routine is to practice enjoyable movement. If you haven’t found what you enjoy yet, what are you waiting for? Join a class! Be kind to yourself and set realistic expectations, and you’ll find yourself exceeding them in no time. Did you enjoy pilates on your wellness retreat? Great! Set a goal for yourself to practice pilates for at least 15 minutes three days a week and build from there.
3. The Mindfulness Practices
Have you ever heard of the 5-4-3-2-1 mindfulness technique? It’s quite common and it’s also fairly simple, I like to combine it with some gratitude practice in the end, too: sit down somewhere comfortable, you can even do this in bed first thing in the morning. Then, look around the room and find five things around you that you can see. After that, you want to focus on four things you can feel, one of those things could even be your clothes against your skin or your feet on the cold floor. Once you have done that, you can move on to three things you can hear. If you’re lucky, you might be able to hear birds outside, or maybe you can hear the sound of your ceiling fan. Then, bring your attention to two things you can smell. Could be a warm cup of coffee or your favorite essential oil diffuser. Lastly, think of one thing you are grateful for today.
The Good Index is Australia’s leading retreat guide, created to inspire you to take a break with health as your number one priority. One platform with hundreds of wellness destinations to discover. Reconnect with what’s important to you and experience the benefits of retreats first hand.
Written and edited by: Dalia
