If you follow me on Instagram you will know that on the 20^th January, I went to the 3-day Women’s Re-Wilding Retreat held at Happy Buddha Retreats in the Blue Mountains.  I have been wanting to share my experience since I left but I also wanted to see how it would expand and transfer into my day to day life.  Would I be able to maintain that feeling and the actions I wanted to take when I left?

So, first things first, it was an amazing experience!  I was nervous about going as I was going by myself; it was my first retreat and I had no idea what to expect, plus I would be sharing a room with a stranger.  I had been wanting to go to some kind of a yoga retreat for a while but since I am not a yogi, nowhere near it to be honest, I was hesitant.  I chose this retreat as it had gentle yoga that started at 8am, I am on holiday I don’t want to be getting up for 6am yoga!  It also had women’s circles which I am interested in, as you know I run these, so love going to others as well as holding my own.  I should not have worried, as soon as I arrived, I was welcomed with a big smile and directed to the “house” we would stay in for the retreat.  Here again I was welcomed with a big smile from the facilitator and as I met the other women they were just as inviting.  No need to worry about sharing a room with a stranger, everyone was lovely and my roommate was great!

 With this retreat we stayed in our own accommodation/house.  It’s a nice setting for the retreat as we are in our own little world in a way.  There was a large dining room for meals and a snug area for reading and chilling out.  The location is amazingly peaceful.  It felt like we were 12 roomies for the 3 days.  The food was delicious, I have not tasted such amazing vegetarian food.  It helped me with my change to being a vegetarian (flexitarian if I am honest) at the beginning of the year.

 The women’s circles covered different things, we let go of things that were not serving us, we invited in news behaviours, we danced under the moonlight, we each made a vision board, we set intentions and we shared with an openness that seems to only come from sitting in circle.  We also did a lot of gentle flow yoga with some yin thrown in as well.  It was amazing to get back on the mat, I feel back in love with yoga.

 Our facilitator, Debs, was amazing.  She was wise beyond her years and put us all at ease.  She knew when to make us dance or laugh to lighten the mood.  She was like your best friend you had known for ages; she just had a way of communicating and making sure that everyone felt included but not pressured.  Debs made the space gently and nurturing which is just what you want when you are open and vulnerable with people that you have just met.  I felt that she made the experience, if you go, I hope you are lucky enough to have Debs but I am sure all the facilitators are great.

 I left with a full heart, buzzing with a renewed energy, ideas about what I wanted to change and behaviours I wanted to commit to.  One of the things that stood out for me while I was at the retreat without TV, yes without TV, was how much time I wasted aimlessly watching TV.  This is one thing that I wanted to change when I returned home.  I also got back into reading before bed, which is something that I used to love doing but had somehow managed to fall away and had been replaced with scrolling the feeds on my phone.  I also wanted to continue with my yoga practice, I loved the feeling that I got from moving my body in a mindful manner as well as the underlying foundations of yoga that you can bring into how you live.  I was also buzzing to get my business moving forward, ready to take more steps to help build my business so that it could become more than a side gig.

 I know you are wondering; how did I go with all that I wanted to carry back to my day to day life.  I have done pretty well, if I do say so myself!  I have joined a local yoga studio and I attend class most days and I am 3 weeks into my 4-week pass.  I have loved every second of it and will be signing up for a 12 week pass next week.  I am totally in love with yoga and the impact it is having on me.  I am more aware of what I watch on TV & Netflix and have definitely cut back on what I watch.  I am reading before bed, I went and brought a new bedside lamp, which I love and I read before bed each night.  The hard habit to break is scrolling before bed and I want to stop reaching for my phone first thing when I wake up, this is a work in progress but I am trying.  I am expanding my business and thinking of ways that I can include things that bring me joy, fill my heart and are aligned with my purpose.  There is a lot in the works with my business and what I want to do, so watch this space!

 My overall opinion is that this retreat was life changing for me.  I would recommend it to everyone, even if you don’t come away as buzzing as I did, it will be an experience that will make you stop and review your life.  I think we all need to do this every now and again.  We are always in a rush, hardly slowing down to take the time to reflect and connect with ourselves.  This retreat gave me the opportunity to do just that and gave me so much more!