Health retreats for any budget
New year, new you - it can be an easy goal, as Raewyn Ng explains.
Question: I have had a very hectic year. I have been focused on getting a promotion at work and with the long hours and networking events, I haven’t had much time for exercise.
Lots of my girlfriends are kicking off the year with health retreats in Bali, but I can’t really afford this.
How can I get the same restart benefits without spending a fortune or even leaving my home?
Raewyn Ng says: Health, wellbeing and yoga retreats are really taking off all over the world as people are finding it more difficult to get away from day-today stress. We can all do with a fancy retreat each year, but this isn’t realistic for most of us.
An alternative is to plan your own retreat at home, whether it’s for a weekend, a day or an afternoon. A little self-care can go a long way and it doesn’t have to be expensive.
Focus
What are you wanting to achieve on your retreat? Is it about relaxing and restoring energy? Do you want to be creative and productive? Do you want to reflect and plan how to make life better moving forward?
Activities
Choose activities according to your focus, interest and enjoyment and be mindful not to plan too many.
Food
Plan what you’ll eat on your retreat and prepare.
You might need to shop beforehand to make sure you have everything you need to create healthy nourishing meals, decide to go out or organise to have your meals outsourced.
Here are some activity ideas for your at-home retreat.
Moderate cost
❚ Take a local yoga class, or book a one-on-one session with your favourite instructor.
❚ Book a massage, facial, beauty treatment or float tank experience.
Low cost
❚ Read an inspiring book with your favourite cup of herbal tea.
❚ Make your own face mask: - avocado mashed with 2 tablespoons of honey for all skin types (leave on for 20min+)
- 1 banana mashed with 1 tablespoon of honey for dry skin (leave on for 10-15min)
- 1 tablespoon honey with teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg for oil/normal skin (leave on for 20min)
❚ Soak in the bath with some epsom salts and a few drops of your favourite essential oils.
❚ Get an attractive journal to write in.
No cost
❚ Meditation – download a meditation app on your phone, or search YouTube for a guided meditation course that suits you – there’s lots available that range from a few minutes to a few hours and there’s sure to be one that catches your attention.
❚ Yoga – for free yoga at home, check out Yoga with Adriene on YouTube.
❚ Digital detox – limit phone, email and social media use.
❚ Take a walk – on the beach, among the trees, or up a hill. In New Zealand we’re lucky to have easy access to these from everywhere.
❚ Raewyn Ng is a movement and wellness coach at mybod.co.nz and kulawellness.co.nz. Send her your body and exercise related questions to life.style@fairfaxmedia.co.nz with Dear Rae in the subject line