I was talking with a group of friends over coffee and we all realized that the only ‘holidays’ we had taken in years consisted of going to weddings, funerals and other family gatherings and work seminars and workshops. Now we all know that although many of these things require travel, they are certainly not holidays. The discussion flowed as to what was a real holiday. We all settled in the end after some really hot debate on two things: a cruise with all the benefits and a retreat.

Retreat: to withdraw; to rest; a place of restoration, a place set aside to recuperate, regenerate and revitalize; a haven; a refuge; a sanctuary.

We all felt the same need I know you do, a need to withdraw from the madness of our daily world and take some time to rest in a place where we can regenerate and revitalise our energy levels, our body, and our soul. A place where we can take the time to just breathe. The place where we do this regeneration needs to feel like a haven for our body, a refuge for our soul and a sanctuary from all the pressures we feel in our daily life. A retreat.

Just the words conjure up images and feelings of breathing in and out without feeling stressed, of warm hands massaging away the knots in our body, of sitting still and quiet while the sun shines, leaves rustle and the wind caresses our body as we drink in the stillness. What about you, what does retreat mean to you? Think about it now.

Massage, meditation, laughter, stillness, sanctuary, breath, yoga, pilates, great nutritious food, gentle discussion about life, the universe and everything with others, and nothing more important to do than do decide which of these wonders of nature will come first on your agenda for the day. Imagine that.

We need to retreat, regularly. Doing our best means being at our best and the only way to do this is to honour our needs for rest and recuperation. In my life as a naturally practitioner I spent a lot of it advising people to take the time to fill themselves up again or there would be nothing of them left to give. I put it like this: “Imagine you are a jug of water and you kept pouring out your water anywhere that needed it, eventually you would run out of water, unless you replenished it regularly.”

This is exactly what you are, a vessel of energy of various types, emotional energy, physical energy, mental energy and spiritual energy and you keep pouring out your energy into your life, your work and your family and if you do not take the time to fill yourself up again, soon there will be nothing left to give. Many of us are already running on empty, and this means that all the places in your life that need your input  are not getting the best you can give.