Fly like a bird

It’s hard to miss them and they look tempting. You see them in wellness spas and yoga studios, read about them in magazines or on line: beautiful advertisements, promoting a retreat. Yoga retreats, detox retreats, wellness retreats. Sometimes nearby, but usually in some exotic place in a country far away. 

Retreats are certainly nice. They give you the opportunity to check in with yourself, relax, and from there focus again on what is important for you. Especially if you feel stuck, busy and overwhelmed, they look like the perfect cure to solve all your problems. But they are also often out of reach. If only they would not be so far away, so expensive and take so much time... And you muddle through, still keen on getting the project you’re working on done, although your pace slows down and you wonder when it will be done, and if it will be good enough. 

Well, the truth is, you are much closer to your own special retreat than you think you are. And at a much lower price. Retreating is good. If you take a step back, which is the literal meaning of retreating, it enables you to see the entire trajectory and where you are in the process. What you have accomplished already, the progress made. You have an overview. 

So why not have a mini-retreat? Set a timer on 5 minutes. Close your eyes, take 3 deep breaths and imagine yourself a praying bird, gliding for a while, using the thermals, the rising columns of warm air, to gain height. Then fly to your favorite place in the world, where you feel at ease. Use your senses to smell, hear, see and feel the beautiful environment. Be there. Then fly back to your project, look down, just observing and gliding, see where you’ve come from and where you are heading to. Picture the outcome. When the timer goes off, take 3 deep breaths again and open your eyes slowly. 

This is a mini-retreat and it has the same effect. But it is a lot easier to do, at work or on your couch at home. It’s free. Far away retreats are nice but not necessary. And by making the retreat such a big thing, financially and time-wise, you probably keep postponing them anyway. Mini-retreats, to recover, are relaxing, energizing and within reach. Don’t postpone them. Make them an everyday routine. The paradox is that by taking small breaks, you restore your energy and resilience. You become more effective and productive than by muddling through...

 As you find out that they are enjoyable and work, try to build in more recovery moments. 

Short breaks every day, and at least half a day every week, e.g. by walking in a park nearby your house. Try to have a weekend out of town every three months. It’s less expensive, it means having fun more often, alone or with family and friends, and enhances your feel-good-feeling, because you’re regularly taking care of yourself. Enjoy the flight!