If you’re a parent who has considered taking off on a mini-break or wellness retreat for a few days for some much-needed time out and recharge time, then this article is for you!
Too busy, too skint, too selfish: taking time out to travel without your family in-tow is often considered a luxury that parents simply can’t justify, but what if that weekend away renewed your ability to cope, boosted your overall wellbeing and allowed you to set clear intentions for navigating the road ahead?
Juggling work, family and admin gradually takes its toll. And given what we’ve been through in these last two years, the challenge of this balancing act has increased at least tenfold. A recent mental health review of employed adults in the UK highlighted parents as specifically vulnerable when it comes to mental health, with research that showed parents to be 50% more likely to have difficulty with their mental health than non-parents, and twice as likely to be in crisis or to have concerns about their ability to cope.
So, what then, do we do when we’re teetering on burnout and feeling stretched to the limit?
Life and leadership coach Caitlin Cockerton has helped many exhausted parents reset, rebalance and redefine their work, life and parenting existence. Here she talks about the Elevated Outlook Retreats she runs in The French Alps and explains why exchanging your every day for a life coaching retreat is far from selfish and, could in fact be the one thing that makes the biggest difference to yours, and in turn, your family’s well-being.
Gain much-needed perspective
We all have a tendency to fall into old habits, routines and a ‘default’ way of seeing our circumstances. In our busy and constantly bombarded lives, we tend to put the metaphorical blinkers on and see things in tunnel vision. It may be great for getting sh*t done, but it isn’t helpful for making changes or figuring out if what you’re doing really aligns with your hopes, dreams and values.
A retreat is a visceral step out of that mode and into big, open and fresh landscapes where we spend a lot of time outside. We build on that natural environment with coaching work that gets you to examine a bigger vision, explore your values and experiment with a broader set of perspectives. You will leave with an expansive mindset that allows you to make choices that feel right for you, less inhibited by the constraints and messages that keep you from a fulfilling life.
Tune inwards for greater clarity
You know the things you say to yourself but try to ignore with busyness? ‘Is this really right for me?’ ‘Could I bring more value to the world?’ ‘Does this really make me happy?’ We all have this kind of inner dialogue from time to time, and we’ve all experienced wishing it would leave us alone. But the truth is, the parts of you that know something isn’t right only grow louder until they are properly listened to.
The Elevated Outlook Retreats help you to get curious about your feelings around what’s out of balance in work and life. We help you tune into those inner niggling voices, and discover what they are nudging you towards or away from. When we get curious about our inner lives, what to do on the outside gets a lot clearer.
Make valuable connections with others
There’s no escaping that we are social beings who need others in order to regulate, create and thrive in the world. But this has been difficult to achieve over the last couple of years when many of us have been too isolated.
On a retreat, a collection of diverse views are brought together. People from different stages of life and several countries. A safe space is created for people to share with humility, humanity and creativity. A joyful, collaborative and empowering system grows from there. People feel seen, heard and energised by other perspectives. That’s why many of our retreat guests go away not just feeling good about their next steps, but also connected to new friends who can go on to support one another in their next steps.
Get out of your head and into your body
Most of us have grown accustomed to thinking that all powers of change are stored in our minds – we think of weighing costs and benefits lists, analysing things and deliberating about our decisions. The trouble is that our minds hold only a fraction of the useful information about making changes in our lives. We spend a good deal of time in our retreats getting out of our heads and into our bodies.
By moving with our challenges – through hiking, yoga, qi gong and wild swimming – we can discharge some of the anxious energy. We can also tap into what feels right and wrong in our bodies, which is a tremendous resource and skill that you will take away and continue to use much beyond the retreat!
Finally, we get reminded through our bodies that challenging ourselves very often brings about deep rewards. Whether that’s a 360-degree view from a mountain summit, melting into a yoga pose that releases a tension point that’s held on for months, or simply summoning our broader sense of courage and confidence because we feel strong in our bodies.
Let yourself be well and truly taken care of
After two years of on-and-off-again uncertainty and overwhelm – the admin, family care, home-schooling, remote working etc – we all deserve to be taken care of; to take a big exhale and relax. Choosing a retreat over a city break or beach holiday, means you can truly relax because everything is taken care of for you.
The retreat guests feel like they are in a luxurious environment that’s not stuffy at all. But rather that it fits like a warm housecoat and fluffy slippers. The food, the smells, the music, the cosiness of the rooms and communal spaces are all considered. Here, you can let go of the weight that you carry on your shoulders. You can allow the experience to take you where you need to go…
Bring home new skills and confidence
There’s something pretty sad about that feeling you can get the day after a typical holiday. When you’ve been in 10-hours of email overload, and you forget you were ever away from it all. On the retreats, however, you’ll receive both pre and post-retreat 1-1 coaching sessions, helpful exercises and handouts on the work we do and a journal of your experiences. You’ll leave the retreats with new tools, a shift in your mindset and 1-1 coaching sessions on either end… Effectively, it’s an experience that continues to work for you well after you pack up and leave the chalet. Additionally, our community of retreat guests have access to exclusive offers for ongoing support.
Caitlin Cockerton’s Elevated Outlook Retreats in the French Alps combine life coaching, daily yoga, meditation, Qi Gong, mountain hikes and forest bathing, with luxurious accommodation in a stylish Alpine chalet, and a delicious menu made with locally sourced ingredients.
Prices start at €2,000 / £1,672 pp, which includes full-board accommodation, all activities and coaching sessions for the four-night retreat and transfers from/to the airport.
