Waiting to exhale: A ‘life-changing’ women’s wellness retreat in Otago

A women’s wellness weekend goes deep and what is shared on the retreat stays on the retreat, writes Stephanie Holmes

I’m on a dance floor on a Saturday night, whirling like a dervish without caring about the world. No alcohol was consumed, no illegal substances, and yet I cut loose like I haven’t done in years – dance like no one is watching, throw shapes, fling limbs, smile, sweat, gasp, and have mine Life.

I’m not the only one – a group of 17 other women do the same around me, lost in their personal groove on a late summer night in a darkened room. Outside, the previously calm weather is disturbed by an increasingly wild breeze, as if the wind were reflecting our frenzied energy on the dance floor. As they have been for thousands of years, the mountains remain unmoved.

Our efforts on Saturday night bring an emotional day to a close as part of a four-day wellness vacation for women at Camp Glenorchy, an eco-retreat in the heart of the Alpine city, a good hour from Queenstown.

In addition to yoga, Pilates and breathing workshops, Nurture Me Women’s Wellness Retreats offer the opportunity to immerse yourself in the beautiful nature of Glenorchy. Photo / supplied

Nurture Me Retreats are the brainchild of two Kiwis, Emma Ferris and Sarsha Hope, who have joined forces to give women the opportunity to pause and redesign their everyday lives.

“Women give so much, and we constantly offer so much to the outside world, putting other people’s needs, wants, and wants before our own,” says Sarsha, a New Plymouth-based yoga and dance instructor. “It’s so important that women take the time to feed themselves. I know when I had young children, I went to meditation retreats twice a year and knew I could be there for my children if I had my own.” Cup filled. For my partner, for my family. “

It seems easy, but taking a break from the pressures of “real life” isn’t always easy.

“”[Women] It is difficult to do this without feeling guilty, “says Sarsha.” This is a big reason we chose to offer this retreat because we know women need it. “

Twelve months after a global pandemic began, it is clear that many women need this more than ever. The retreat, the first since 2019, is sold out. Women from all over New Zealand come together to learn from Sarsha and her dear friend Emma, ​​who is a physiotherapist and trainer on breathing, stress and trauma.

Camp Glenorchy is set up like a rustic alpine resort. The main building consists of a reception, a dining room, a communal kitchen and lounge, a communal outdoor area with picnic tables and an open fireplace, as well as separate huts on the pretty landscaped grounds. The atmosphere is like a rugged backcountry homestead – lots of wood and masonry, reclaimed materials, high vaulted ceilings, shutters, and kitschy Kiwiana accents. Not only is it cozy, but it’s also one of the most eco-friendly places you’ll ever stay. It has a sustainable design, including composting toilets and enough solar panels to produce more energy than it uses each year.

On the subject of matching items

Camp Glenorchy is one of the greenest places you’ll ever stay, thanks to some clever, sustainable design features. Photo / Stephanie Holmes

To begin the retreat, we come together for the first time as a group and try to sit in a circle on yoga mats with pillows and blankets while Emma and Sarsha explain more about their intentions for the long weekend. They want to give us a space where we can sit back, reconnect and live with all our hearts, surrounded by the positive energy of other women. We will practice yoga, journaling and breathing techniques, as well as learning tools that will help us with sleep, stress, trauma response and much more.

They emphasize that whatever is shared in the room stays in the room – a lot of emphasis is placed on confidentiality and trust so that guests can be sure that what they say will not be judged or repeated elsewhere. So, while I would like to tell you what every woman shares as her intention to be on the retreat, I absolutely cannot.

There were common issues – stress, busy life, always doing anything for others, never focusing on their own needs, and work pressure, which means everything is done in a rush … including breathing. The group is made up of various age groups and backgrounds between 20 and 70 years old from across the country.

Emma shares a bit of her own story – and I don’t tell stories because she did a podcast about it – she found out a few years ago that the man she was in a relationship with for six months was actually a convicted cheater was trying to cheat her out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In a zoom chat after the retreat, she tells me that the heartbreaking and stressful experience made her “more persistent” [retreat guests] To be vulnerable and brave and brave because I know that is where growth is taking place “.

“It seems strange, but Covid was a walk in the park for me after what I’d been through with the Conman, but it helped refine the things that are important to us as women,” Emma tells me. “Take some time off, listen to my gut and be brave enough to tell my truth – whether this is only for one person, whether it is for many, or in my case [with my podcast]to the globe. “

If we’d talked before the retreat, I might have a better idea of ​​what I’m getting into on the long weekend. While I thought I was learning about breathing, doing yoga, and taking gentle walks in nature, it’s actually much more intense.

Our days fall into a routine – at dawn for an invigorating yoga session with sarsha, followed by a healthy breakfast and herbal tea (coffee available at an additional cost for caffeine addicts), a workshop session, followed by lunch, a nature walk, further workshops, dinner, Relaxation, then bed.

The food is plentiful and while more virtuous than many of us are used to, it is absolutely delicious – prepared with care and talent by the team at Mrs Woolly’s General Store across from Camp Glenorchy. The best thing, as many women notice, is that they don’t have to cook it themselves, don’t have to cook a separate option for picky kids, and don’t have to put away or do the dishes after we’re done.

The food at a Nurture Me Wellness Retreat is healthy, tasty and – best of all – prepared by someone else. Photo / supplied

The workshops, led by Emma and Sarsha, aim to uncover and understand what our body and mind need to be calmer and more peaceful. We are encouraged to dig deep and really get to the bottom of the emotions and experiences that hold us back from living authentic, joyful lives.

“We are often so busy that we only realize the effects on our health when the wheels fall off or we switch to crisis mode,” says Emma. She realizes that there isn’t always time to stop and notice what stress, trauma, and busyness mean to our overall health, but during the retreat we learn more about how to notice these effects, how to stop, or slow them down and how to encourage healthy change.

It’s not always easy. If your mental image from a wellness retreat is a group of women sitting in a circle, talking about their feelings, and crying, then you wouldn’t be far wrong for much of the Nurture Me experience. But there are also moments of pure joy – loud laughter, forged friendships, shared stories and a real feeling of solidarity with these women of all ages and backgrounds.

Breath Trainer Emma Ferris is teaching a session as part of a Nurture Me Women’s Wellness Retreat at Camp Glenorchy. Photo / supplied

Although I cannot tell you what the other women in our often very emotional “exchange circles” are talking about, as I have to respect the privacy policy of the retreat, I can tell you how the experience was for me. In a word: intense. In more than one word: an incredibly tough but rewarding and potentially life changing experience.

Throughout the retreat, I am challenged, frustrated, resilient, and angry. There are many moments that I struggle with – revealing my feelings has always been difficult for me, even for friends and family, let alone a room full of strangers. I can be cynical and skeptical – maybe a journalist’s default setting? – but towards the end of the second day I start questioning myself. What exactly am I resisting and doing me good?

On the third day, I vow to fully immerse myself in the whole experience, and my real lightbulb moment comes during the “Ecstatic Dance” session on Saturday night when Sarsha turns the lights down and the volume up and us through the most satisfying Freeform training leads I’ve had in my life.

The next day, after a really emotional graduation ceremony, I return to my real life and feel more confident, more open to new ideas and more connected to my real self.

You could say I was on a dance floor on a Saturday night.

Camp Glenorchy is one of the greenest places you’ll ever stay, thanks to some clever, sustainable design features. Photo / Stephanie Holmes

CHECKLIST: GLENORCHY

DETAILS

Emma Ferris is a breathing, trauma and stress trainer, physiotherapist, acupuncturist and Pilates teacher and leads online workshops thebreatheffect.com. Find your podcast, Conning the Con on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts.

Sarsha Hope is a yoga and ecstatic dance teacher, offering workshops and dance classes across New Zealand. sarshahope.com

The next Nurture Me retreats are scheduled for May 8th to 9th, May 20th to 23rd, August 13th to 16th and November 4th to 7th. More are in the works. Prices start at $ 620 per night. Camp Glenorchy also offers year-round cabin accommodation, a campsite and RV parking. campglenorchy.co.nz

For more ideas and inspiration for New Zealand travel, visit newfinder.co.nz and newzealand.com