Diary Of A Wellness Retreat: Top 5 Learnings

I hope you guys have enjoyed this week’s diary of a wellness retreat! I would recommend to everyone that they try something like this in their lifetime. The experience, and the learnings I have taken from it, will stay with me always. For today’s final post I want to share my top 5 learnings from this incredible weekend at Sagrada Wellness! View parts 1 – 4 here.

wellness retreat diary

1. Take time to be silent.

Challenge yourself to be silent for a specified period of time each day. For some people this may be extremely difficult; for others, not so much. Either way, it’s incredibly beneficial to your mental state. Think about the amount of conversations you have in a given day, and the sheer quantity of thoughts, responsibilities, questions, and hopes that constantly run in circles around your brain. It can be really overwhelming. Take the time to be silent – I recommend doing it outside. Find a peaceful spot where no one is around, and just be for a little while. I spent about two hours one day lying in a hammock by myself. I just listened to the sounds around me, and I felt so relaxed afterwards. The stress I was feeling just slowly slipped away.

healthy salad

2. Respect your body

Your body is one of the few “things” in life you get for free. Realize what an amazing gift it is, and respect it. Pay close attention to your body and what it is trying to tell you. If you feel stressed or anxious, it is likely your body trying to tell you something. Maybe it’s telling you that you need to rest, or that you need to feed it healthier things. This learning actually goes hand in hand with number one. In moments of silence, think about your body – think about each limb, and think about what is going on inside you. Give your body the attention it needs and deserves.

clarity stone

3. A feeling can’t be “wrong”

Have you ever felt something, and had someone tell you that you shouldn’t be feeling that way? Or maybe something is bothering you, and someone tells you you should be over it? It happens a lot – it has definitely happened to me – and we need to realize that if we’re feeling something, it isn’t “wrong.” If something is bothering you, acknowledge that feeling and let it exist. You don’t need to feel regret or guilt over having a feeling. Acknowledge the feeling, and face it head on. Maybe just acknowledging it will allow you to see if from a different perspective, or help you make peace with the feeling. Or maybe it will lead you on a path towards what the real problem is. When you face your feelings and emotions head on, everything starts to become clear.

crystals

4. You are stronger than you think.

Human beings have an incredible strength. It really blows my mind sometimes – our ability to overcome difficulties and tragedy is truly amazing. Until you are actually faced with a difficult circumstance, you may not realize your capacity to overcome. But know that it is there. We all have an amazing strength inside of us, and when you really challenge yourself you may just be surprised. It could be something as small as climbing up a hill – which always brings to mind the Pink Floyd quote, one of my favorites:

“You say the hill’s too steep to climb. Climb it. You say you’d like to see me try. Climbing. You pick the place and I’ll choose the time. And I’ll climb the hill in my own way.”

If your instinct is telling you you can’t do something, prove it wrong. Most likely you will.

buck

5. This society is not built to support creative & sensitive individuals.

Somebody said this during the fire ceremony, and it really rang a bell in my mind. Modern society expects so much of us. It expects us to follow a certain path, to act a certain way, to uphold certain values. But some of us beat to our own drum. An internal rhythm that nobody else can quite understand. But put us in a room together, and there’s a spark. We recognize something – one look into another person’s eyes and you see it – that instant understanding. “Oh! You feel it too.” When you come across these people in life, you know who they are. Don’t brush them off as weird or abnormal. Embrace their individuality, and embrace their beautiful minds.

Have any of you ever attended a wellness retreat? What were your biggest learnings? I’d love to hear!

Thank you again to Sagrada Wellness for an incredible weekend.

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10 years ago

Number 5 is so true! When we’re young everyone tells us to ‘be ourselves’ and ‘be original’, but somewhere along the way of growing up that message turns into ‘be like everyone else, or you won’t make it.’ It’s hard to nurture your creativity when it feels like every part of our culture is trying to squash it.

Laura
10 years ago

This was so beautiful to read. Thanks for sharing all the wonderful advice Julia!

10 years ago

I love all of this advice, and I really want to incorporate it into everything I do every single day. I have to agree completely with number 5. In high school I took all sorts of fun art classes because that is what I love. But as I got older, everyone told me to do something responsible, something that will “get” me somewhere. So I studied business in college and will be graduating with my Bachelors in Business this July. Although, I feel good for the things I have accomplished in 4 years while attending. I feel like my life needs to go back to my happy place, which is art! But now that I am finishing my BA everyone keeps telling me I “need” to get my Masters in Business. But I would much rather go to school for something I love more, Art and Photography!!!

Tori
10 years ago

Wow great learnings! Yes, number 5 is so so so important for to remind myself of because sometimes I feel I “should” be doing or feeling something everyone else is ,but often times I want to do what I want to do! Number three, honoring your feelings because they are entirely yours and represent your unique experience in this life is something I’ve gotten the hang of in the last four years…I feel like I can finally breathe when I just allow myself to feel whatever it is I am feeling. Thank you for a great diary series! Can’t wait to go to a retreat myself!

http://myomlife.wordpress.com/

10 years ago

It sounds like you had an incredible experience! For me, the first lesson is the most meaningful. It’s so important to just sit still and be. Yet so difficult! My life is so busy and often I feel flustered and harried but I feel so much more peaceful and alive after a session of yoga, meditation, or just prayer. Thanks for compiling this list for us.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/EarthChildArt?ref=si_shop

10 years ago

I loved number 5! You could tell from your words that you truly experienced all of these learnings over the weekend, thanks for sharing!

Meg
10 years ago

“Take time to be silent” I need to remember this. My life is always full of music and honking cars!

http://happinessiscreating.com/

10 years ago

This is so beautiful! This has reminded me to stay true to myself yet another day. Namaste!

Alexis
10 years ago

This post is wonderful! Im so greatful for people that understand and cherish their individuality. Everyone has emotions and feelings that are valid and important. I love the message this blog sends to it’s readers.

rhonna
10 years ago

Gosh. This is mindblowing.
Exactly why I get on this blog daily.
I really needed this! Thank you. seriously.