By Joie Goh
Rest and relax? More like train and transform – not just your body, but your mind and soul as well.
Holiday hangover – we’ve all experienced it. After months of anticipation, you finally embark on that much-deserved adventure you’ve been planning. Naturally, you want to play hard (why not?) so you cram your itinerary with a plethora of sightseeing, shopping, delicious food and an endless supply of vacay cocktails! However, once your holiday ends, you’re back at the daily grind, except that you’re even more exhausted and feel even less motivation to be productive. Instead of feeling refreshed and rejuvenated and ready to get back to work, you’re yearning for your next break.
But holidays are for traveling and eating good food and having fun! I hear you protest. Who wants to waste precious vacation time on working out, let alone make it the focus of the entire holiday?
Well, for starters, if you’re imagining being locked in a drab, grey gym for days, forced to work out bootcamp-style with fierce trainers yelling in your ear from sun up to sun down, and having only sad salads and bland protein shakes for all three meals, then stop. That’s not a fitness retreat – that’s joining the army!
Instead picture something like this: a gorgeous, luxurious private villa, set within a picturesque locale. Your days are filled with a plethora of rejuvenating and restorative activities, all curated for your maximum well-being. There’s yoga in the garden, bootcamp by the beach, meditation sessions and spa therapies. Instead of stuffing yourself with rich, greasy food and sugary alcohol, your system is nourished daily with delectable farm-to-table cuisine exquisitely prepared by a private chef.
Exercise makes you happy
While exercising might be the last thing you want to do on holiday, it’s probably one of the best things you can do for yourself if you want to properly recharge. “The link between exercise and mood is pretty strong,” says Michael Otto, PhD, a professor of psychology at Boston University. “Usually within five minutes after moderate exercise you get a mood-enhancement effect.” In short, to quote Elle Woods, exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy.
A complete stress-free holiday
And it’s not just the many happiness-inducing workout sessions and healthy, clean eating you’re getting during the retreat. You’re also detoxing yourself from the stress of your everyday life and giving yourself the chance to just breathe and focus on the present. When you’re on a retreat, there are no stressful traveling mishaps in the itinerary, no tourist jams to contend with: just several days of finding peace and rebooting your system, both mentally and physically, amongst likeminded retreat-goers.
Build better habits
Finally, when you’re back home and headed back to the office, instead of finding yourself wiped out and bloated, you’re rested, focused, and stronger than ever to tackle any challenge. All that healthful foods, daily workouts and calming meditation sessions have not only given you a mindset-reset, they’ve become your holiday souvenir as you continue to practice those habits in your daily life to prolong that post-retreat afterglow!
That’s what I call a real holiday.
