“Sometimes stepping away from your usual routine is exactly what you need to see what you really need.” NATAMIRI RETREATS
If you’ve never been on a wellness retreat before, you might wonder what actually happens.
Is it yoga from sunrise to sunset? Are you expected to meditate for hours? Do you have to get up at 6am and drink green juice while everyone else looks impossibly serene?
Honestly, no.
At Natamiri, we believe a wellness retreat should give you space to feel good, not give you another schedule to keep up with.
There is some structure, of course. There is yoga, mindfulness, manifestation, lovely food, walks, workshops and time together. There is also plenty of time to relax, chat, laugh, read a book, sit outside or simply do nothing at all.
Our first retreat, The Autumn Reset, was a perfect example of what we mean.
Arriving, settling in and setting an intention
When our guests arrived, the first thing we wanted them to do was slow down.
There was time to settle into the house, find their rooms and get to know the other women before we began our first yoga session.
We also started the retreat by asking everyone to set an intention for their time at Natamiri.
It wasn't about setting a huge goal or deciding you were going to completely transform your life in three days. It was simply an opportunity to think about what you wanted from the experience.
Perhaps you wanted to rest, clarity, to reconnect with yourself, meet new people or simply have some time where nobody needed anything from you.
Those intentions stayed quietly in the background throughout the retreat, before we came back to them over our final breakfast.
That was one of my favourite parts.
After a few days of stepping away from normal life, it was lovely to look back and consider what had changed, what we had noticed and what we wanted to take home with us.
So, what does a day at Natamiri actually look like?
Our mornings weren't about rushing.
Guests could choose an optional gentle wake-up with a drink of their choice in bed to start the day with.
There is something rather lovely about waking up knowing you don't have to be anywhere.
After that came morning yoga, followed by breakfast and one of our Relax Me Happy workshops with Zofie.
The days had a rhythm to them, but they weren't rigid. There was time for lunch, mindful walks, afternoon tea and relaxation, another gentle yoga session in the evening and, of course, time to simply enjoy being there.
You could join in with everything or take some time for yourself.
That balance was important to me when creating Natamiri.
Wellbeing shouldn't become another list of things you feel you have to do.
Yoga, mindfulness and manifestation
The MMY Method™ sits at the heart of Natamiri: Manifestation, Mindfulness and Yoga.
Each brings something different to the experience.
Yoga gives you the chance to move, stretch and reconnect with your body. Mindfulness encourages you to slow down and become more present. Manifestation gives you space to think about what you want, what matters to you and perhaps where you'd like to make some changes.
During The Autumn Reset, our yoga sessions each had a different focus, from our first practice to ‘Forest Walk’, ‘Pause’and our final ‘Back to Routine & Rhythm’ session.
You didn't need to be experienced at yoga. You didn't need to be particularly flexible.
You simply needed to turn up and give yourself that little bit of time.
There is plenty of time to do absolutely nothing
This might actually be one of the most important parts of a retreat.
We are so used to filling our days that having nothing we need to do can initially feel quite strange.
At Natamiri, there was time for mindful walks, afternoon tea, relaxing around the house and enjoying the surroundings. There was time for conversations that didn't need to be squeezed into a ten-minute coffee break.
There was also plenty of laughter.
Connection is a big part of wellbeing for me. It isn't always about being alone in a quiet room with your thoughts. Sometimes it is sitting around a table with women you have only just met and discovering that you have far more in common than you expected.
Sometimes it is a long conversation.
Sometimes it is laughing until your stomach hurts.
Sometimes it is simply feeling comfortable enough to sit together in silence.
All of those things count.
Then there are the little surprises...
Not everything about a Natamiri retreat appears on the itinerary.
On the first evening, our guests received their Natamiri goodie bags, with a few carefully chosen treats to enjoy during their stay.
There were luxury Monuskin skincare products, satin pillowcases and some lovely little extras.
By the following morning, the house had become something of a Monuskin face-mask club, with several of the ladies wandering around with their face masks on.
It was one of those moments that made me smile.
Everyone had only just met, yet within a day they were completely comfortable sitting around together in their face masks, chatting and laughing.
Those little moments are difficult to put on an itinerary.
They are also often the moments you remember.
Food is part of the experience too
For me, food was never going to be an afterthought.
I wanted meals to feel homemade, generous and comforting, with everyone sitting down together and enjoying them without rushing.
We had homemade pea and mint soup and tomato and red pepper soup with fresh bread rolls, homemade lasagne with salad and garlic bread, and roast chicken with roasted vegetables, mini roast potatoes and gravy.
There were desserts such as chocolate ganache and homemade Eton mess with berries and cream, along with wine and other drinks to enjoy with dinner.
There is something about sitting down around a table when you aren't thinking about who needs to be somewhere next that makes a meal feel very different.
Wellness doesn't have to be serious
This is something I really want Natamiri to stand for.
Wellness can be meaningful and reflective. It can also be fun.
There were walks, tennis, table tennis, time outside, conversations, games and plenty of silliness.
We had moments of quiet reflection followed by moments when we were laughing like we'd known each other for years.
That balance is important.
You don't have to spend three days being perfectly calm, perfectly mindful and perfectly behaved.
You can eat the dessert.
You can laugh too loudly.
You can put on a face mask and wander around in your pyjamas.
You can have a proper conversation over a glass of wine.
You can simply be yourself.
The final morning
By the final morning, the pace naturally started to slow again.
We had our final yoga session, ‘Back to Routine & Rhythm’, followed by brunch and some free time to pack and get ready to leave.
Before everyone headed home, we returned to those intentions we had set at the beginning.
It was a simple but meaningful way to close the circle.
What had we noticed?
What had shifted?
What did we want to remember when we got back to normal life?
After checking out, we headed towards Stockbridge, with some of the group continuing on to The Fallen Willow Saunafor a final sauna experience and farewell.
It felt like a lovely way to finish a few days of slowing down before everyone returned to their everyday routines.
So, what actually happens at a wellness retreat?
The honest answer is that it depends on the retreat.
At Natamiri, you can expect yoga, mindfulness, manifestation, good food, time outdoors, meaningful conversations, laughter and space to simply be.
You can expect some structure without feeling as though you're following a military timetable.
You can join in with the activities or take some time for yourself.
You can come with a friend or arrive alone and meet people along the way.
You don't need to already know how to meditate. You don't need to be a regular yogi. You don't need to have your life figured out.
You just need to arrive.
The hope is that you leave feeling a little lighter, a little clearer and perhaps with a few small things you want to bring back into your everyday life.
Because the real point of a retreat isn't to create a life where you need to escape from your everyday life.
It's to help you create an everyday life you don't constantly need to escape from.
A little Natamiri thought
“You don't have to change your whole life to feel differently. Sometimes one small change in the way you spend your time can be enough to begin.”
The beauty of a retreat is that you don't have to bring the whole experience home with you.
You might find yourself getting up ten minutes earlier just to enjoy your morning coffee in peace. You might make more time for the people who make you laugh, put your phone away during dinner or finally say no to something that has been taking more from you than it gives back.
Those small changes can matter more than we realise.
You don't have to recreate the retreat. Just take one little piece of it with you.
Natasha x
Natamiri Retreats