Who is a Retreat For?

We offer several retreats a year through Pause & Breathe, and it suddenly struck me that so many people see the word “retreat” and instantly think – “that’s not for me”.

You see, I think retreats have got a bit of a bad press over the years – people think about exclusivity, luxury, people wearing white wafting around doing not very much of anything. Except talking about themselves, and judging others. And there seem to have been a lot of murders set on retreats recently.

Can I just say that we’ve never had a murder.

Oh, and none of the rest is true either!

Retreats really are for everyone. They offer a chance to step away from the busyness of day-to-day life. To loosen the grip of the to-do list, to get off the hamster wheel. Time on retreat seems simultaneously to slow down and speed up. It’s amazing what can happen when we come away not only from our regular routines, but also to step away from our close relationships for a short period of time – to throw off the role of “wife”, “father” or “colleague” – and to come back to who we are.

Retreats Give You Insights

Retreats are a time of rediscovery – finding out long-forgotten things that make us happy, moving to our own rhythms rather than the rhythms of daily life. They are also a time of insights – sometimes we realise the things we need to change when we remove ourselves from the daily grind.

I love the invitation to shake things up a little on retreat – to do things that we may never otherwise try. Perhaps this is getting up early for a morning practice. Perhaps this is eating a meal together in silence. Perhaps it’s trying Qi Gong on the beach, or swimming in the sea. Even just spending time with a group of people who were previously unknown to us can push many of us out of our comfort zones.

**Three people in Loch Faig - taking a break from an organised walk on the Isle of Mull Retreat April 2024**

Can You Be Lazy?

One of the biggest parts to a retreat, I always find, are the time when nothing is organised. What do you choose to do in your downtime, when the things you may usually fall back on aren’t available? We don’t watch TV on retreat, and we ask that mobile phone use is kept to bedrooms only. When our screen-time is taken away, what do we choose to do? For many of us, this is when we start to enjoy exploring nature, sitting quietly or doing something like crafting which we never feel we have time for at home.

**Taking time to rest together on retreat in April 2024 - a Yoga Nidra Practice**

I first went on a mindfulness retreat in 2015, it was part of my mindfulness training. It was here that I first explored the concept of being lazy – as a good thing, not something to be berated for. We had a lazy afternoon and I spent it lying by the nearby lake, drifting in and out of sleep, completely content in my environment. What would you do with a “lazy afternoon”?

Pause & Breathe Retreats

All of our retreats are different. We have several each year on the Isle of Mull. We first went here several years ago for a long weekend away, and fell in love with the island. She is such a good teacher of slowing down – as soon as I arrive on the island I can feel my nervous system settle. Everything drops into a slower pace, and I feel instantly more relaxed. When we go to Mull, the island itself is so special that we have lots of day trips, including over to Iona – inviting our retreatants to explore the majesty of the islands themselves, as well as taking time to slow down and rest.

**A Qi Gong session outside on the Isle of Iona - retreat in April 2024**

2024 Retreats

Our September Retreat on Mull this year (2024) is all about “Awe” – Mull definitely inspires this emotion. As well as Qi Gong, Mindfulness & Rest Practices we’ll be exploring the island with the attitude of “awe” – tuning in to what Mull has to offer.

I’m also holding a second weekend retreat which is focused on “Rest”. This takes place just outside Edinburgh. I started to focus on rest a few years ago when I had trouble sleeping during the pandemic. I started to realise how little we value rest in Western societies – how busyness is valued above all else. So many of us don’t really know how to rest, and we feel guilty when we try to. During this weekend we explore the “7 types of rest”, to see how we can incorporate these more into daily life.

Want to Come on Retreat?

If you fancy coming on retreat with us, but you’d like to ask some questions and find out more, you can book a 20 minute free discovery call with me. Click here to book a call.

If you’re interested in the two retreats we have coming up this year, click on the photo below to get more information. If these don’t work for you, keep an eye on our retreats page to see what else we have coming up. News about 2025 will be coming soon! You can also email me for more details: susie@pauseandbreathe.co.uk

This blog was written by Susie from Pause & Breathe CIC. Susie has been attending retreats since 2015, and tries to go on one every year as she finds them so valuable. She’s been hosting retreats since 2018 and loves seeing the transformational effect of these on attendees. Retreats are her favourite part of what she offers. She loves bringing people together, creating safe spaces for people to truly be themselves.

Why Go On Retreat?