The last few months have been very intense. I studied to become a certified wellness coach, passed the exams, navigated highly challenging times in my personal life, discovered I had SIBO, finished writing/making my book and sent it for print, while continuing photo work & you know, personal life… My body was asking for a deep restorative pause and although I first was scared to ‘not do anything’ for a week, I gave myself what I was really longing for.
What did I want from this Home Retreat?
When I lived in Paris, I found it so difficult to rest & restore my energy. Even on weekends, having slow days didn’t do much. On paper, I was ‘doing nothing’ but it didn’t work. I didn’t feel I have re-gained any strength. Now that I live in Marseille, I don’t have the same feeling at all, I’m much more grounded on a daily basis, but I knew last week that on top of needing a break, I could reach new levels. New levels of bliss, of grounded-ness; creating days where the compass is a regulated nervous system, and not to-do list! :))) I love my to-do lists, but like in any relationship, sometimes you need space to strengthen the bond. ;)
I needed to unplug, re-install a sense of calm in my days, have a regulated nervous system and re-center. I wanted to be able to clearly hear my inner voice & intuition. What I have learnt over the years is that re-centering is a daily practice. When you think about it, we have a daily habit of brushing our teeth and getting back to equilibrium after each meal, so why wouldn’t we do the same for our emotions which are just as impacted during the day... ?
And when you’re hyper-sensitive like me, going all the way with these Home Retreats (I started trying this out a year ago), is SO powerful, like necessary actually.
What do the days look like?
It looked like a Holistic Retreat but at home. Let's be honest, I spent a lot of time in my pjs in my bed :))) The key is to take a complete break from Insta and have a rather chill week on the work side. Started my days with a prolonged version of my daily practice which includes breathwork, meditation, journaling with pilates & yoga, spent time with friends over home cooked meals or on the phone, started learning new things, tended to things I never feel I have time for and I kept my 1:1 coaching sessions and worked circa 1/3 of the time.
Why at home?
Because I felt like it (loooove my home) :) and because the goal was to tap into this state of being + reinforcing resilience in rituals and feelings for daily life. I’ve often felt that when I came back from a retreat away from home, I didn’t know how to fit everything I had learnt and experienced into my daily life. There was disconnect. I still think retreats away from home have tremendous value, but what I’m interested in this year is how to create an environment where it’s easy and automatic to harness the benefits of a practice to unplug and re-center exactly where the de-centering process happens.
How do I feel at the end of the week?
A-ma-zing. So grounded. Gained so much clarity, focus, energy, power and excitement. :) I’ve already noticed a change in how I react to certain situations. Re-writing those old patterns to make them serve us best, is LIFE.
Honestly there are so many benefits to this, I’m gonna do this again regularly. Maybe first week of May already! Can’t wait to get back to work tomorrow and can’t wait for the next Home Retreat as well <3