The Power of Retreats: Why Every Woman Deserves Time Away to Reset and Renew (Ep.35)

In this episode we look at the power of retreats for womens health, the benefits and chat about some of the more scary aspects like leaving your comfort zone!

Hannah shares some funny personal experience and we hear genuine testimonials from past retreat attendees about what benefits they found personally.

Find out more about our retreats here: https://www.holistichealthcollective.co.uk/retreats/

We can even create personal 1:1 retreats or healings for you. Just reach out to us by email to hello@holistichealthcollective.co.uk and we can co-create together.

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Where you can find out more about of women's health retreats, our healthy products. our online health membe...

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Yes. Welcome to the Holistic Health Sisters podcast of Wellness and Real Life Sisters Hannah Carr and Sarah King from the Holistic Health Collective. In this podcast, we're going to be sharing our passion for, of course, holistic health, but also spirituality, healings, hormone, plant medicine, seasonal living, our love of nature, and our love of community. So we are gonna invite you to take a pause and take a nice deep breath. And join us on a path of healing, of self-discovery and self-love, and of stepping into the brilliance of who you really are. This is a podcast for the seekers out there. Those of you who know there's more to life than just surviving or going through the motions, and you want more, more health, wealth, happiness, love, compassion, connection, trust, surrender, and more faith, and you want that for others too. So we can make this world a better place for us all to go and grab a cup of ceremonial grade cacao and join us as we explore what moves through us, that which is divinely led, so we can all move from fear to walls, more faith. Thank you so much for being here with us today. Hello, and welcome to this week's episode with me, Hannah Carr. We're gonna be exploring what it really means to truly take care of yourself. This is your mind, your body, and your soul. We are diving into a topic that we believe so many women need to hear, and that's why retreats are not. A luxury, but an essential part of women's health and wellbeing. So this is for you if you're a mom who rarely gets a break, you are a woman looking to build healthier habits, or someone who's just going through a really big life transition. So perhaps that's the perimenopause. Maybe it's a job change or even a breakup. This episode is for you. Okay, let's get real and honest for a moment. There are so many women that are in a constant state of go. So between your job or raising children, supporting a partner, caring for your parents, and keeping everything running, it can feel like there is no pause button apart from when you crash out at the end of the evening. But here's the truth, when we never stop, our bodies and our minds don't get a chance to reset. So retreats create a space where women can step away from the pressures of daily life. They can take a breath and they can connect back to themselves. There's been so many studies that show if we remove ourselves from stress and immerse ourself in nature and or meditation and or mindful practices, our nervous system shifts from that fight or flight into rest and digest. So this isn't indulgence, it's actual biology. And for moms especially, who often put their needs last, a retreat can be the first time in sometimes years or even decades, that they experience true uninterrupted rest. So this restoration actually trickles down to their family. So this is what we love about this practice. It is because you return to your family more replenished so everyone can benefit. So Tony Robbins actually teaches about this. He teaches about immersion, and rather than learning things bit by bit, say perhaps like a meditation and try and spend five or 10 minutes each day and building and learning that way, that's one way to do things. But immersion is when you actually go away from your home. And you're immersing yourself, I'd say at least for two to three days, could be longer, seven to 10, even 14 days or even longer than that, and you're actually immersed in yourself. It might be in a culture, it might be in a practice, it might be into relaxation and restoration. And this immersion has a profound effect on your learning, on your ability to rest. Have you ever been for a massage before and just you've got to the end. You felt like you're only just beginning to rest Some retreats require their attendees to go for a two to three hour walk when they first arrive on site, to start to actually get them out of their mind and truly connect them to nature. And that is how long it can actually take before we start to even get to the beginning levels of relaxation. Another powerful reason why retreats matter is they can be a spark for longer lasting health challenges. So think about it. At home it can be really hard to break a routine. You might want to start meditating, journaling, or exercising. But your daily routine, your daily demand, they take over. So on retreat, you step into a new environment surrounded by other women who are supporting you, guided by mentors or facilitators, and immersed in healthy new practices. So this is like a pattern interrupt. It's giving your body and your brain a chance to experience a new way of living. Maybe one that you can't even envisage for yourself. You can't even imagine it for yourself, but you go and live it, and then you know how to live it when you take it home. It's very different from just reading about self-care. You're actually practicing it daily with no distractions. And this makes it easier to carry those habits home. So if you are eating delicious food or you are remembering how good you feel after a really restful night's sleep, you're going to feel very motivated to continue those habits when you get home. So whether it's morning movement or mindful eating, or just carving 10 minutes out for yourself to sit down with maybe a herbal tea and look out a sunny window. Retreats can be that reset button that helps you to follow through. I've got a great testimonial to read out here from one of our retreat attendees, Karen S. And she says, after a retreat with us, i've never felt more like myself. The itinerary was spot on, as was the company not forgetting a delicious food. It was the perfect weekend to reset and start afresh. My new positive, calm, and healthy journey has finally begun. The retreat confirmed what really matters to me and makes me tick, and I can't wait for the next one. So thank you for sharing that testimonial with us, and we can't wait to see you this September in Glastonbury, our Autumn Equinox retreat. So how can retreats help you at your transitional life stages? So the times when you feel like the ground beneath you is shifting. That may be the perimenopause, a changing career the end of a relationship. It might just be your children moving from little school up to big school or up to college, or up to university, or even fly in the nest. And these are really tender and vulnerable, but also deeply powerful stages of life. But they can feel overwhelming. So what a retreat can do is provide a safe and supportive space for you to process, reflect, and reconnect with who you are actually becoming, which may not be the same version of you as before. In fact, when we try to hold onto the old version of us, things start to get very uncomfortable in our lives. So if you're perimenopausal, for example, a retreat can be a place to learn how to support your change in body through nutrition, movement, stress reduction, and community with other women who are all going through the same thing. we're gonna be gathering together in Glastonbury, our Autumn Equinox retreat. to make some winter remedies that are gonna protect your health through the autumn and winter seasons. That slowing down on retreat can help you tune back into your intuition. It can help you to, vision your next chapter. It can just help you press that pause button when everything's feeling too much. Away from the noise and the expectations of pressure. So it's not just about relaxation, it's actually about transformation as well. We've got another lovely testimonial from another retreat attendee. This is Kelly J who says, retreat was amazing, enlightening, joyful, peaceful, and so much more. I can't quite believe the energy I feel right now. So alive and I actually never feel like this. I adored the weekend. I love every single one of you who made it the experience that it was. When can I sign up for the next one? So we've got a little bit of a theme running there between people sharing that they love the experience, and can't wait to come to the next one. If I think back to my very first retreat, I'd been on spa breaks. And I had girls weekends, but not what I would class an actual, like a health retreat. And the first time I went to one was with Sarah, my sister, and one of my sister-in-laws. And there was so much that I loved, but there was also so much that was outside of my comfort zone, you don't really know what you're signing up for. You're taking that leap of faith, which is where all the beautiful things happen in life outside of your comfort zone. I knew a couple of people there, so I had a little bit of a safety blanket, but honestly, it wouldn't have mattered if I didn't. If you've never been on retreat before, you won't know how welcoming the community is. But it's literally like-minded people going away for like-minded reasons, and they're all super excited to be there and get together despite any nerves. There was definitely uncomfortable periods for me, so the retreat that I went on, we visited an ashra and we had to do a lot of prayers before dinner. Now, this is something that I'm really used to in my life at this point in 2025, but back then when I went to that first retreat, I wasn't used to doing that. And I love the idea, but actually the amount of time that it took. I just started to get the giggles and do you know when you can't stop yourself? My shoulders were going up and down. It was so inappropriate. And I think I might have got Sarah giggling as well because she knew what I was laughing about. It was thinking, come on, bring the food. We're hungry. There wasn't many snacks on that retreat, and I do remember that I was a little bit hungry because I wasn't used to that. Now again, now that wouldn't be a problem, but these are all things that we've learned from that. When people are new to our retreats, we make sure that there are plenty of snacks available so people aren't going hungry, that there's a warm welcome and any prayers before dinner or not going on for too long. But I remember for doing really great friendships on that retreat. As I said, meeting like-minded people and moving to deeper levels of authenticity with these people, they seem to be sharing their hearts openly, which made it safe for me to do and really listening and sharing on a level that I'd never done before, which actually felt very soul nourishing. Very uplifted and at peace. That's the way that I would describe it. I love the opportunity not to cook for a whole entire long weekend, to be away from mum duties and to have the healthiest, most delicious food cook for me. And so that is something that we do on our retreat. Sarah is a trained plant-based Ayurvedic chef. I'm a trained naturopathic nutritionist. So between us, we take trained in Ayurvedic wisdom, traditional Chinese medicine wisdom, so our menus are always planned around the seasons. And what might be going on for people's health in those seasons. And so they can walk away feeling very loved and nourished through food, but also like they've had a healthy break from all of the normal culprits like dairy, gluten, sugar, that tend to weigh down our day-to-day diets and impact our energy and our health. So talking about moving outside your comfort zone. I've got one last testimonial here. This one is from Claire E and she said everything was so far out of my comfort zone, the drive in the socializing, so many new experiences. Everyone was so lovely and welcoming and I loved every minute. Oh, and the hugs. We do tend to hug a lot, quite a lot on retreat, but we do ask permission. So if you're not a hugger, it's actually okay to say no. But we tend to step into this, deep trust and abundance of love for everyone that's there, and most people love that she says so many of them, and it's just what I needed. I can't wait to come back again. So thank you Claire, for sharing that testimonial with us. We love to hear your feedback actually, whether it's a free session that you come to online, whether you listen to the podcast, absolutely love to hear your feedback. It can feel for us sometimes otherwise that we're just talking into the void a little bit. So we want to know what's working, what's not working for you. So let's share a little bit about our retreats. We usually run one on the autumn equinox. This is a really big portal, obviously from summer into Autumn, but a big portal for our health where the body's going through a natural cleanse there can be a lot of toxins that the body is trying to shed that can show up as coughs and colds, and we find that having a retreat at this time of year energetically is very powerful. But also for the body to actually have a clear out to spend time with like-minded women to, bond with oxytocin to get those healthy foods into the body makes such a difference for your health. So if you're interested in trying a retreat for the first time, do go to our website, holistic health collective.co.uk. You can go to slash retreats and you can find out what our latest offerings are there. Sometimes we're in Kent at the. Ultimate Equinox. Sometimes we are in Glastonbury. It's one of our favorite places to hold retreats, and it's where they've got some really strong lay lines and energetic portals. In Glastonbury. It's said to be the heart chakra of the planet, and we really feel the energy is when we're there in Glastonbury and there's so many beautiful sites. You can go to see the White Springs, the Red Springs, you can go to the tour. You can visit the Abbey. The high street itself is absolutely amazing and we love the gardens that are just opposite the spring as well. So that particular retreat is full now, and maybe have a little look at our Instagram if you want to see any of the UpToDate pictures. But our next retreat after that will be our first silent retreat. And the reason that we are running a silent retreat for the first time is both myself and Sarah and one of our friends and fellow space holders, Haley B, have all been experimenting with silence ourself this year. So we've all individually felt the call to explore more of the depth of ourselves really, and wondering, we can all be quite external, we can all be quite sociable and what would it feel like not to talk and what would it feel like to get beyond the mind and move into deep meditations and not. Be interrupted in that process, but if you'd love to learn a little bit more about silence, then I'm gonna direct you to go back to episode 27. Now it hasn't got the word silence in the title, but it's called Lighting the Way, supporting Someone's Spiritual Path. And that is where I interviewed, Paul Ray, who's an energy healer, and he's been on 12 silent retreats. And he was sharing all about his experiences in those silent retreats, the benefits that they've brought him, why he's been back so many times. So I think that's a great overview if you'd want to understand why someone might go into silence, but often it might be someone who's struggling with mental health, anxiety, depression, health challenges in general. Again, going for a life change or also just wanting to explore spirituality on a deeper level. A silent retreat doesn't have to be to explore spirituality. It may be just to take a. Break from your monkey mind, but for some people, certainly for Hailey, me and Sarah, we was exploring spirituality at a deeper level. The retreat in January, 2026. So you can step away from that noise and you can step into stillness. And this is a three day luxury retreat really for your peace. So you can tap into presence and you can tap into clarity as well. This includes a plant-based Ayurvedic food daily meditation, yoga. Breath work sessions and a beautiful sound bath led by Hailey with reiki healing in that session as well, access to a sauna and a cold plunge, and we'll be doing beautiful opening and closing. Circle so people can ask questions, share their experiences. And this is held by the three of us in a safe and nourishing space that is going to be in Tonbridge, which is in Kent. And the reason that we're holding that in January is winter is really a time to go inwards in our life to reflect on how the rest of the year has been to replenish to restore, to sleep a lot, to build up our energy before we come back round to spring. But life can actually be quite the opposite with Christmas going on and perhaps lots of Christmas parties, maybe the children off for Christmas, maybe the family are visiting. It can end up being a really busy time and we don't get that time inwards, which the body is really craving. So we've planned this retreat to happen on the first New Moon in January, so straight after Christmas, the first New Moon in January. We are gathering the 16th to the 18th of January at this luxury retreat in Mount Field. So do go to the website and have a look at that. If you are listening to this in the future, just go to the website and have a look at what retreats we've got on. Then we've got different retreats all of the time. We are always updating the details on that retreats page for you to get the latest information. If you are at a point in your life where it literally is impossible for you to get away for a weekend, then I really recommend that you look at day retreats, half day retreats, even just events, even if you can. Just get into nature, into the woodlands yourself for a day. This can make all the difference to you feeling really overwhelmed and struggling, and then feeling like you've got a little bit of space to actually think to grab a breath. And to restore your own energy, and not just through food, or not just through exercise, but through nature as well, through sunshine, through the earth, through the wind, perhaps even through the rain. So if you've ever thought, I don't have time for a retreat, or maybe one day, then I invite you to see it differently that retreats are not a luxury. They're actually a gift, and they're a gift to your own health, your relationships and your future self. Here's a question to reflect upon. What would I change in my life if I gave myself the space to truly reset? Rosie found when she came to our retreat. She did have time to reflect and she realized that she was burnt out. She realized that she wasn't enjoying life and she generally wasn't actually that happy. So after the retreat, she had a massive transformation. She actually left her job. She went back to a previous industry that she actually loved, which was running a restaurant. In the new job, she feels that she's so much more active. She's being sociable, and she's got more time to spend with her daughter. So it is the gift that can keep on giving. Here's the thing, you do deserve it. You deserve rest, healing, the chance to come back to yourself. So whether you're a busy mom, build new habits or standing right at the edge of a new chapter, giving yourself some time to process what you're going through is so important. If this episode has resonated, then share it with a friend who might need a little reminder to take some time for herself. If you've been thinking about attending a retreat, maybe this is your sign. Until next time, take care of yourself and remember, you are worthy of the pause Thank you a million times, over for joining us on this podcast episode. You can support the show by giving us a follow on any podcast platform you're listening to this on. If you already follow us, then thank you so much and maybe share this episode. If you think of someone, someone comes to mind where you think they'd really benefit from listening to this. This is one way that we like to spread the love with our friends, is sharing podcasts or playlist. So let them know that we are thinking about them. So just send it on to them with a few words about why they might enjoy it. And if you'd like to check out any of our in-person events or retreats or our online offerings, head over to our website, www.holistichealthcollective.co.uk. We'll see you in the next episode.