Healing retreats don\u2019t have to be silent, intense or confronting. Here\u2019s what one week in a women-only sanctuary taught me about rest, rhythm and coming back to myself.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all heard about retreats<\/a> \u2013 cleansing retreats, nature retreats<\/a>, yoga-only retreats, even the ones where you\u2019re meant to be silent for days.<\/p>\n But I could never quite see one that felt like me because I\u2019m a big fan of talking, of connection, of being lively.<\/p>\n I did my research though, and kept coming back to one name: Goddess Retreats.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve been changing women\u2019s lives for more than 20 years and come highly recommended by women from all walks of life.<\/p>\n Not all retreats are created equal<\/p>\n I love all things wellness. Heck, I\u2019m a host on The House of Wellness radio show<\/a>.<\/p>\n So, when I first looked at the Goddess Retreats website<\/a>, I was going to sign up for a \u2018wellness retreat\u2019.<\/p>\n It sounded safe, sensible.<\/p>\n But as I spoke with their team it became clear that given how full my plate was \u2013 the constant travel, presenting, media work, the pressure of always being \u2018on\u2019 \u2013 what I really needed was healing.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when I realised what sets Goddess Retreats apart: They don\u2019t just offer a menu of cookie-cutter retreats; they tailor the week to you.<\/p>\n They asked where I was at, what my nervous system felt like, how much rest I needed (I answered: \u201ca year\u2019s worth\u201d) \u2013 and gently suggested the Healing Retreat.<\/p>\n It was exactly the advice I needed, because I hadn\u2019t been entirely honest with myself about how depleted<\/a> I truly was.<\/p>\n Lessons I learned on retreat and brought home with me#1. Rest doesn\u2019t need to be earned<\/p>\n When I arrived in Ubud, Bali and stepped into the women-only sanctuary, it felt like being given permission to exhale.<\/p>\n For years, I\u2019d believed rest was something I had to earn<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the retreat, I learned that rest is required \u2013 and it doesn\u2019t have to wait.<\/p>\n Letting go of constant output, being allowed to simply be, actually gave me more capacity than I expected.<\/p>\n We signed up for activities but were told that if, on the day, we changed our mind, there was no pressure to participate.<\/p>\n Hang by the pool. Sip fresh coconut water. Choose softness.<\/p>\n #2. Healing doesn\u2019t have to be heavy<\/p>\n Healing, I learned, isn\u2019t always dramatic or confronting. Sometimes it\u2019s surprisingly gentle.<\/p>\n For me, it looked like slow mornings<\/a> that began with guided breathwork<\/a> instead of panic-checking emails.<\/p>\n Spa rituals and herbal baths that soothed more than my tired muscles (they soothed the part of me that felt \u2018too much\u2019).<\/p>\n Nature walks and temple visits that reminded me that I\u2019m part of a bigger rhythm.<\/p>\n And circle-sharing with other women, each of us with our stories, each of us learning that connection doesn\u2019t always have to mean performance \u2013 it can simply mean presence.<\/p>\n The program weaves together yoga and meditation, nourishing cuisine made fresh each day, spa treatments, cultural immersion, and workshops centred on connection and transformation \u2013 but nothing feels forced.<\/p>\n You\u2019re invited, not pushed.<\/p>\n #3. Structure matters<\/p>\n Even a \u2018healing\u2019 retreat benefits from routine.<\/p>\n But the routine here was gentle \u2013 a flow built around rest, movement, nourishment and community.<\/p>\n By the end of the week, I found myself leaning into that flow: waking up without resistance, moving without pressure, eating without multitasking.<\/p>\n Healing doesn\u2019t mean abandoning structure.<\/p>\n In fact, I realised I function best with some kind of rhythm \u2013 I just didn\u2019t know how exhausted I was by the rigid, productivity-driven version of it at home.<\/p>\n And yes, I became a little addicted to the feeling of being supported by a schedule that didn\u2019t demand anything from me.<\/p>\n #4. Both my loud and quiet selves belong<\/p>\n One of the biggest lessons I learned was that I don\u2019t have to choose between being expressive and being still.<\/p>\n As an extroverted introvert, I\u2019ve often felt like I need to commit to one version of myself \u2013 the social one or the solitary one. But in this space, both were welcomed.<\/p>\n I could share openly, laugh loudly, connect deeply \u2013 and then step back into my own quiet without explanation.<\/p>\n The retreat made me see that both versions of myself are essential.<\/p>\n #5. It\u2019s not separate from real life<\/p>\n The shifts didn\u2019t end when I left Bali.<\/p>\n Once back in Melbourne, I realised how much of what I brought into the retreat I\u2019d been missing at home: the permission to say no, the permission to choose rest, the permission to be gentle.<\/p>\n I noticed how those little habitual moments \u2013 previously dismissed \u2013 now felt like anchors.<\/p>\n The colour-coded calendar. The long black in the airport lounge. The odd gym workout.<\/p>\n They\u2019re all threads that I now understand aren\u2019t \u2018extra\u2019 but are necessary.<\/p>\n