GAIA RETREATAUSTRALIA
HIGHWOOD HEALTH
RETREAT, VIC
IN A NUTSHELL:Life starts today
BEST FOR:Moving forward
If you need a hand to kick a self-
defeating habit or behaviour and
learn better coping tactics, pack your
stuff off to this 102-acre property in
Victoria’s Yarra Ranges. The idea is
that guests leave Highwood Health
Retreat with tactics and skills to
manage the parts of life they’ve been
avoiding or tripping over without
turningtovicessuchasalcoolor
food. If you do suffer anxiety or
depression, the retreat’s external
supportteamisequippedtomonitor
medication. Tailored to guests’ needs,
the five-, 12- or 19-day blocks can be
structured to tackle everything form
nicotine addiction to chronic fatigue
syndrome (CFS). With a jacuzzi,
clay wraps and wholesome meals
made with produce from the on-site
organic garden, you’ll also get your
sleep and nutrition in order.
Visithighwoodhealth.orgOVERSEAS
F**K IT RETREATS, ITALY
IN A NUTSHELL:Break up with BS
(two words)
BEST FOR:Getting real about what
you want and owning it
$:From $1,465
SAVE THE DATE:Various.
Check website.
The claims are as crude as the
name: your life will change, promise
the founders of this no-nonsense
retreat in the Italian countryside.
They can afford to be arrogant with
eight years’ worth of testimonials
from people who have severedties with BS and found their ‘flow’.
There’s no obligation to ditch the
corporate ladder for making toys
from recycled tyres, though. Change
can be as simple as pruning your
acquaintances to free up time for
what matters. We love that there’s no
airy-fairy pseudo scientific system.
Here it’s about having the time
and space to stumble on your own
truth – and what better place than
in the barn that’s been converted
into a heated pool and spa, or doing
qigong on a 400-acre estate near
Urbino? You’ll learn to follow your
instinct in a small group of similarly
cool transformers.
Visiteff-it-helps.comTHE LIFE CHANGE
PEOPLE CHANGE
PROGRAMS, THAILAND
IN A NUTSHELL: High-speed
personal development program
BEST FOR:Self-help junkies
If you’ve got an iPad full of Covey
and TED downloads, these retreats
could save you a whole lot of data.
According to The Life Change
People, their seven-, 10- and 14-day
programs condense four months of
life coaching and counselling into
a tailor-made vacation in northern
Thailand’s Chiang Mai. You’ll decode
your life with a counsellor or coach
alongside private tasting tours of
local food markets and pilgrimages
to Buddhist temples. The package
includes a clinical personality profile,
16 to 20 hours of individual sessions,
a change plan and three-month
follow-up support and a day spa
voucher.
Visit thelifechangepeople.comShe wasn’t the perfect mum. You weren’t the perfect
daughter. But now you’re both grown-ups, why not spend
a few days getting to know each other as people? Find out
what makes each other tick as you sip herbal tea above
the hills behind Byron Bay and continue the bonding
over yoga, massages and manicures. It’s mother-daughter
bonding luxe.
Visit gaiaretreat.com.au
OVERSEAS
RELAX & RENEW, KAMALAYA
KOH SAMUI
IN A NUTSHELL: Stop doing and learn to be
BEST FOR: Busy women who confuse doing with being
Cute convertible Alfa, top-shelf health club membership,
purebred pooch? Check, check, check. It’s all too easy
to get swept up in the appearance of success and daily
grind it takes to maintain at the expense of ‘me time’
and a conscious evaluation of how well the life you’re
living honours your values and purpose (oh, right,
those). Kamalaya’s five, seven, nine and 14-night Relax
& Renew stays provide the space and distance to take
a meta-perspective and view your life from afar (yes,
the office will go on without you and your 4G signal).
Your personalised retreat plan is deliberately low-key to
allow you to reflect and spend your time as you wish. If
that happens to feel like complementary and alternative
medicine treatments, the Wellness Centre is at your
command.
Visit kamalaya.com
WORLD EXPEDITIONS VARIETY
MOUNTAIN BIKING CHALLENGE,
VIETNAM
IN A NUTSHELL: A holiday that helps others
BEST FOR: Philanthropic thrill seekers
If you can’t find time to give back and feel the burn, this
unique cycling trip is the ultimate mash-up. Every mile
on this picturesque pedal tour through Vietnam’s rice
paddies, villages and tranquil highlands will help to fund
a bus for a NSW school with a high proportion of special
needs students. After sculpting killer calves, mingle with
locals as you help with a local building project. The local
homestay accommodation is a privileged invitation into a
simpler way of being.
Visit varietyadventure.com.au
Mind