By: Jools Sampson | January 26, 2022
In mid- January we had the first Reclaim Yourself retreat of the year at a beautiful new venue in Sussex. And what a success it was!
Jools designed the retreat to be a winter warmer – an opportunity to nourish the body and warm the soul in mid-winter. And we got that in buckets. What we didn’t expect was the backdrop of beautiful blue skies, crisp, frosty mornings and bright winter sun. And it was all exactly what we needed.
Our wonderful chefs Kirsten and Jo worked tirelessly to make sure we were well fed with warming, nourishing meals that were a great kickstart to the year. The many recipe requests they received, as well as offers of work in guests’ homes – tells me they did an outstanding job!
As always, our guests loved the yoga with Adam Husler and as a little surprise were also treated to some wonderful sound healing by the lovely Holly Husler. I was lucky to join one of the sessions too and found the waves of bowls and Holly’s soft voice the perfect way to unwind for the day. Matt, who specialises in Ka Huna massage – a unique type of massage hailing from Hawaii, treated and soothed tired bodies and minds.
On Sunday afternoon, I hosted a vision boarding workshop for retreaters that wanted to take some time to connect to themselves and what they wanted to create for themselves for the year. Together we did some journaling and a visualisation about the new story we wanted for ourselves for the year. There’s something so soothing about sitting together around a farmhouse kitchen table with steaming mugs of Chai, some cinabuns, the warmth of an aga, and flickering candles – simply cutting and sticking.
And throughout, Jools and I made sure everyone was comfortable, cosy, happy and getting everything they needed to have a fabulous experience. I shan’t divulge them here – but there’s no request too unusual for a retreat host!
We’ll be back in Sussex in November for our Digital Detox retreat with Anna Ashby – it’s booking up quickly but there’s still free spots if you’re interested. Find out more here.
Emma works behind the scenes on Reclaim Your Self operations and hosts retreats too.