. , rest

It is necessary to first stop before we can pause, and pause before we can rest. (Oooooooo, perhaps I just created a new tattoo design with this heading!)

Our unique point of difference with other retreats is our focus on pausing and resting, as opposed to filling your days with activities and programs. Yes, at times we offer specialised workshops when needed as it supplements our fundraising to offer more sponsored stays for women who need it, but workshops are not our main focus.

Pausing allows you space to:

• rest, refill and restore, especially if you are grieving, overwhelmed, distressed or exhausted (or all of the above!).
• connect with what you need to hold you amidst your current circumstances.
• give your nervous system a chance to stand down so that your mind may calm.
• think (or not think).
• process and consider what steps you may need to move forward.
• listen to your body to notice what she needs you to do for her.

Resting can be essential for self-care. What are self-care and self-love anyway?

Perhaps self-compassion is a more helpful term. What does that look like in action?

It could be as simple as asking yourself first thing every morning, “What’s the kindest thing I can do for myself today?”You might be surprised by your answer! Sometimes, if life is extreme and you not coping it could mean letting yourself answer that question every five minutes!

Being kind and compassionate to yourself is likely the greatest gift you could ever give yourself. As women, we are great at offering kindness and compassion to others but it is when we are able to offer it to ourselves that things really start to shift within us. It challenges conscious (and unconscious) beliefs that we carry from generations (or millennia) of expectations that women will always be available to care for the needs of others, even if it is to our own detriment.

Believing that you have a right to be kind and compassionate to yourself is a first good step but it is not enough. Actioning that belief is a powerful tool that will begin to rewire unconscious beliefs held within at a cellular level.

So …. What is the kindest thing you could do for yourself today?

Learn more about the Women’s Healing Sanctuary here…