RETREAT YO' SELF!
Who doesn’t need a retreat sometimes? From the hustle, the expectations, the responsibilities, the adulting?
Retreats offer that sacred space where we give ourselves permission to just take care of our own minds and bodies. Pausing and exhaling our weariness and anxieties. And it is so needed, especially after the year we just had.
Retreats as a form of temporary escape from the day-to-day grind and to enhance well-being have been around for centuries. Ancient Greek baths were social hubs to connect with friends and soothe the body's ailments. Hot spring areas became beacons of activity for tourists to book wellness getaways, first across Europe and then in the United States. And over the past decade the rise in popularity of wellness retreats has exploded.
But a retreat is more than just an elite wellness vacation. Retreating is a method of self-care that is part of our human story. The peace and contentment we all seek is not experienced by doing, but by being. It is the radical act of retreating from your mind.
Your mind creates stories that tell you who are you in relation to your external life: your Self at work, your Self in your relationships, your Self who has a mile-long to-do list, and most importantly your Self who wakes up at 3 AM worrying about all sorts of things that have no way of being resolved in the middle of the night.
The problems start when we become convinced that these various public-facing “selves'' are actually who we are. We can no longer tell the difference, and we become dependent upon the external validation to feel good - or even just to feel OK.
When our goals are being achieved, or we are feeling temporarily fulfilled by our life circumstances, we never think to take a time out and reflect. Yet, when we feel our lives are out of our control we grasp at respite. That’s when we naturally want to take a time out - to try to regroup and heal.
But what if we started to practice taking “micro” retreats every day? What if when things were going well we still took time for ourselves, to reflect and feel a greater sense of connection?
What I mean by a “micro” retreat is anything that serves as a way to step outside of your thoughts, and get some space and quiet to allow yourself to settle your nerves and reconnect with your deeper self.
Here are some ideas (in no particular order) to incorporate into your daily routine that range between 10 minutes to an hour:
meditating
walking in nature
taking a bath
journaling
practicing yoga
stretching
walking away from work during lunch hour
blocking off your calendar for screen-free time
playing or listening to music
taking a long drive
working on an arts or craft project
running
swimming
preparing and eating a nutritious meal
Retreats can be simple, short daily respites, and they can also be extended, fully-immersive experiences in a totally different environment. As long as the point of them is to take a break from your “usual” self, you are getting the point.
If taking time out of your day, week or year to cease your normal productivity leaves you cold, it might be worth examining your motivation behind staying busy. Just because productivity is widely celebrated in our culture doesn’t mean it is always healthy. In fact, taking time to schedule regular retreats to replenish yourself is MORE responsible and allows you to be MORE productive in the long run.
There has been a lot of discussion lately about our hustle culture and how, as we enter life post-Covid, people are really starting to examine their lives with more discernment. Your life’s worth is not the sum of your productivity. Your value is not dependent on your resolve to get every last thing on your to-do list checked off. And your worth is certainly not defined by any job title, relationship status, or societal marker of success.
You are enough. You are perfect, just as you are.
Next time your mind is off to the races, and you feel that busyness creep in, give yourself permission to stop, breathe, drink a glass of water, look out a window, and offer yourself the “micro” retreat you deserve.