When was the last time you took a break? I'm not talking about a vacation where you go just as hard as you do at work. I'm talking about a deep, nourishing, restful experience.
I did this recently at a yoga retreat in Belize last month. When I signed up, I thought I would be recuperating from the stress of the past two years. But once I got there, I realized it was much deeper than that.
I did yoga once or twice a day, napped every day, and woke up to eat healthy, home-cooked meals like conch chowder and ceviche with fresh, local ingredients. And I realized that the last time I slowed down this much was back in college when I'd visit my mom. I would catch up on my sleep and wake to her home-cooked meals and care. She joked that if she hadn't done the same thing when she was young, she'd think that I was sleeping so much because I thought she was boring or something.
I hadn't done that in about 20 years. Two decades is a long time to push yourself without slowing down from one major life event to the next. So it was long overdue to take time out and experience that deep nourishment and rest again.
I had another reason for taking this trip too. I've felt the international travel bug calling to me the past few years. I've hosted in-person writing retreats in Colorado. First at my local library and then at the Glen Eyrie Castle in Colorado Springs. While I've known that I want to take my next retreat international, I've also been realizing that I don't want it to be just a writing retreat.
More like an opportunity to deeply reconnect with yourself in a way that you haven't done in years. A chance to step away from your day-to-day life and recenter, refocus. To check in deeply with your most authentic self and make sure you're living your life on the track you want. To reflect on exactly what you want to be doing with this one shot at this big, beautiful life you've been given.
I'm still exploring exactly what my next retreat will look like, but I know it will be good when it does happen.
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