Retreating

I don't know if it's because I've read Eat, Pray, Love recently, or just because I've always loved travelling, but I've been looking at trips that I wouldn't have previously taken.

I seem to be hitting some kind of strange, quarter life crisis thing - and it's bugging me. A friend and I were discussing it this evening; she wonders sometimes if she's too young for a serious relationship, and I wonder two things. One is why I'm not progressing faster in my work; I want so badly to be successful at my job, and have that responsibility - I know people my age in better places (then again, there are some in less successful places and I know I really shouldn't compare). The second is I wonder if this is the right thing for me to be doing. It sounds so deep and a little bit insane - I'm not unhappy, but nor is it my dream. Part of me just wants to pull a Liz Gilbert and go and 'find myself' for a few months.

Even if that isn't going to happen any time soon (I'm far too responsible and boring to leave work and do something so spontaneous), it will begin this year with an independent trip to learn something, about somewhere and explore. I'll be going to the south of France to study (more on that later), but I can't help but already look into the potential next trip - somewhere that's more of a detox, a retreat from general life, ideally for 2 weeks or more...


Going away for a month really rules out the option of a spa type holiday, due to the cost and quite possibly the boredom! I've always fancied some sort of retreat though, be it wellness, yoga, food, creativity... so I have been looking at that general option as a start. I'm not one for taking a rucksack and backpacking through the mountains - I'll need something a bit more structured!

My wonderful friend Triné will soon be doing a yoga instructor course in India - it made me think to look further afield at some of the amazing courses and retreats offered on that side of the world. I love the idea of this wonderful place in Sri Lanka. This is a 22 day retreat focused on yoga and wellbeing - I love the fact that everything is included so you can just lock yourself away in a little bit of heaven. I also like that there are excursions included to understand more about the culture of this country. In spite of the journey time and flight costs, this is definitely one to keep in mind. As a starting point, and a bit closer to home - I might also keep this in mind for my first yoga trip - it has such good write ups, and looks to be a really relaxing trip, the only problem is that it is shorter than my aim!

A detox retreat also appeals to me. Ti Sana has some amazing detox programmes. The only thing I fear about this kind of trip is that it doesn't really allow time to 'find oneself', as it is designed as a short getaway. Even still though I think it would be a good start and I'd be happy to give it a try. I like it because it's a great combination of everything, and I'm sure it would give some great ideas to carry on with for life. There seems to be a thorough focus on food, body and wellbeing for the whole time you are there - ideally it would be good to go for more than two weeks, but these things can be expensive.

There are so many fantastic examples out there, I'd love to try them all! I am hoping to take one of these trips later in the year - because of work and lack of holiday etc, it will probably only be for a week or 10 days and is likely to be in Europe, although Asia seems to have the best, most authentic retreats of all. One day I will take myself over there to try one for a longer period, but for now I will probably stick with Turkey or Croatia and see what they have to offer!

[image credit here and here]