Travel as Therapy: Life Coaching Retreats
Travel can do wonders for everyone if done regularly and with awareness – and life coaching retreats are real game changers. The difference between travelling and going on a retreat is that with travel, we’re often running away from our problems and stress. With a wellness retreat however, we’re not only going to relax and rejuvenate, we’ll also deal with those problems head on.
The benefits of a Life Coaching Retreat
Travelling, particularly if you are in a foreign country, can sometimes put you out of your comfort zone, and so you often have to adapt to those differences. This challenge strengthens the ‘openness’ dimension of your personality, according to a 2013 paper by Zimmerman and Neyer. The paper adds that this adaptation makes you less emotionally reactive to day-to-day changes, improving emotional stability, while meeting new people can also help with agreeableness, depending on the size of your existing social network.
5 reasons you should use Travel as Therapy
1. Sail away from the Grey
The Facts: The sun has an effect on our mood and emotional well-being. Research shows that too little exposure to sunlight can lead to so-called seasonal affective disorder (SAD) – a type of winter depression. Sunlight also helps our bodies to form vitamin D underneath the skin. This vitamin helps us to build and maintain teeth and bones and helps the body to absorb calcium.
2. Escape from Routine
The Facts: The effects of travel aren’t felt only during and after your trip. People are at their happiest when they have a holiday planned, a study by the University of Surrey found, and are also more positive about their health, economic situation and general quality of life.
3. Quiet Time
The Facts: When you feel like you are stuck in a rut, taking a holiday and having a change of scenery, even if it is just a couple of hours down the road, can work wonders, and it has been scientifically proven that travel provides a number of benefits to your mental health. Just one trip away could help change your outlook on life for the better.
4. Manage Stress
The Facts: Margaret J King of the Center for Cultural Studies and Analysis has said this about the stress-relieving abilities of travel, “With a short list of activities each day, freed up from the complexities of ongoing projects and relationships, the mind can reset, as does the body, with stress relief the main outcome.”
5. Re-evaluate your Goals at Life Coaching Retreats
The Facts: You may have goals already in place that you’re working towards or you may want to set some new ones. Being ‘away from it all’ will provide you with the creative focus you need to drill down into the why’s of your goals and create a tangible plan of action for when you get home. It’s a great way to kick-start any projects you want for yourself for a better you.
So, go ahead and book that trip right now. Imagine the humidity of touch-down, toes in the sand, shore lapping at your feet, room service and breakfast buffets, mountains and views for days, soaking up cultures and experiences and all those great feelings only travel can bring.
If you’re looking for Life Coaching Retreats with results, then have a look at my upcoming ones here.
I’m Puja McClymont. I specialise in coaching senior leaders who make an impact to help them expand the possibilities of their potential, creating further growth and meaningful impact.
Through my distinctive approach which combines ancient wisdom with modern psychology, clients enable every facet of their lives to thrive, creating extraordinary outcomes.
