Burnings & Learnings – New beginnings for 2019

“At the start of the New Year it is all too easy to set ourselves unrealistic goals, to punish or plan to deprive ourselves. We spend too much time focussing on how we think we need to improve, rather than celebrating the beautifully imperfect perfect humans we already are …”

by Larah Davis – Owner and Co-Director of Ibiza Retreats

 

Happy New Year Ibiza Retreats familia and friends…

After a very full-power year of joys and challenges, saying goodbye to 2018 felt very strong for me.  I felt exhausted, out of inspiration and in need of a retreat for the space and time to reconnect with myself and how I want to manage the many beautiful responsibilities of my life as Larah, a woman who LOVES music, horses, yoga, dancing, laughing, singing, cycling, travelling, sharing LIFE with dear sisters, friends and family. 

Because I had been trying to do it all, and had not been having enough “Larah time” to just be myself, I was completely out of balance by the end of the year. 
I was giving too much to my work – BECAUSE I love our incredible organization of Ibiza Retreats (in fact, Ibiza Retreats was my FIRST baby!) it was too easy to become totally immersed, which meant other areas of my life were neglected.  

Caring for my business feels GOOD because we serve a good purpose in supporting many of you to heal, grow and transform! Yet this was also causing me to feel guilty, frustrated and like I was not enjoying enough what I SHOULD be celebrating every day: my amazing, loving family and friends.
 
So I got on a plane on December 28th with my two year old daughter and went to meet a dear sister and soul-mate with whom we could retreat together, walk, talk, laugh, cry, download our “burnings” and share our learnings from 2018,  to begin 2019 centered, clear and connected to our new visions, heart-felt wishes and dreams. 

And what I received, whilst retreating myself, was time and space for my head to unpack the spiders webs of thoughts and self-analysis.
It gave me fresh natural views of mountains and trees that fields, sheep and blue skies that were NEW to my eyes, free of memories, thus offering new HEAD space for contemplation and self-reflection.
With this head space I could listen in more clearly to my body’s intelligence, reconnect deeply with my TRUE physical needs and actual energy levels, & recognising what was depleting me practically and emotionally.
I came away with clarity, peace and, after sharing tears, joys, life stories and laughter – I returned to my family, home and daily life REFRESHED, with clarity about how I want to LIVE this new year, at work, at home and at play.  I feel stronger, lighter and FREER and able to let go – yep DROP what no longer serves me.
I have got a true sense of higher perspective again and my HEART is singing and happy!
As we are all now into this new year, it offers a new opening…. a portal to infinite new possibilities. 
It is a blank slate, energetically and physically, onto which you can write a new story and become again the conscious creator of your life the way you REALLY wish it to be.And the wonderful thing to remember about this, is that this new blank slate is offered to us EVERY SINGLE DAY! In this first flush of the New Year enthusiasm, JANUS, the January God of two heads, invites us to look back without regret over the last year and then focus forward to the future.
A wonderfully simple strategy is to make a 
burn list and a learn list.
It is a simple way to accept, forgive and release what no longer serves you – and get your heart, mind and energy field focused in YOUR right direction for a magical year ahead.
 
You can lovingly and non-judgmentally look at each behavior/habit/or stress-causing pattern that you want to leave behind or “burn” and instead consider what you are “learning” to do, think or be differently instead.
This will clarify your new life choices and help focus your intentions for the year ahead.
 
A good way of looking at what you are “burning” is writing down everything you are aware of that creates stress in your life.   And yes… you may note that a LOT of the stressful situations arise from blurred lines between WORKING LIFE and HOME/FAMILY/SOCIAL/PRIVATE life which can create a state of serious overwhelm.
 
The Burning of what no longer serves you…
 
BURNING / LEARNING
1. Feeling overwhelmed by many responsibilities? / Keep things simple with only one meeting per day
2. Work Whatsapps / emails interfering with being able to happily “manage” family/social life? /  Create a phone altar to check in at designated times of day AND purchase a separate personal phone and choose when you feel most calm and clear to read/respond to emails.
3. Reaching for the chocolate every evening after supper?  / Only purchase chocolate on weekends and buy choco chilli tea instead! 

And then, from a more personal angle – these are some of my own…

  • Depending on others for positive feedback /   Appreciating all that I do, give and am and checking that I am not “doing to much” when I am demanding appreciation from others.
  • Saying “Yes” to requests because it feels good to make others happy  / Checking in with myself “does this feel like a pleasure or a pressure? Do I have enough time and space to commit to this right now?
  • Looking at what my husband doesn’t do around the house /  Using the power of appreciation to show my gratitude for everything he DOES to keep us warm, support the family – keep the laundry cycles flowing!
  • Putting pressure on myself to make it to every yoga class (and feeling bad when I don’t) / Choosing a flow of yoga classes that offer me time to be more dynamic and active and more nourished and receiving – less IS often more
  • Feeling guilty when I shout at or react to my children (rather than being the conscious mother I aspire to be!) / Writing up my lunar cycle – so that I can track the Spring, Summer (ovulation), Autumn, Winter (bleed) times and be gentle with myself on the more sensitive days, advise my family and diminish activities and responsibilities on those days!
  • Picking at food throughout the afternoon / Creating and sitting down to mindfully

Once you have your own selections of ‘burnings’ either outdoors, or carefully over a candle flame, release the burnings with gratitude (because EVERY thought, word and deed has got you to where you are NOW – today!) as much as you can…. And, with this purification process complete, and your inner-space cleaner and clearer, find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed to listen to this MANIFEST YOUR HEARTS DESIRE GUIDED VISUALISATION.
 
This will prepare you perfectly for creating a dream/vision board for which you just need magazines, newspapers and shiny things and this link will take you to a Guided Visualisation in how to make a Vision Board to align with your intentions, wishes and needs.
 
I WISH YOU an AMAZING 2019 where you truly can be your own POWERFUL creator of happiness and health BECAUSE you are living in harmony with yourself…

Larah xxx
 

It’s January – How are you doing?

By Susie Howell – Co-Director of Ibiza Retreats.

December is such an intense month, isn’t it? The social and family plans, the food shopping, the present buying and possibly some expensive travel arrangements to visit relatives thrown into the mix mean that stress levels are already understandably high before we even get to the build up to the end of the year –

It can feel super ‘strong’ on our nervous systems & on our emotions…

And then the expectation is that when the clock strikes midnight on the 31st of December, heralding the start of a New Year, we will wake up full of enthusiasm, clarity, inspiration and ideas and we jump out of bed in order to begin this exciting process of complete transformation!

Ok, so the reality is more often than not a little different, to say the least!

Many of us feel really exhausted after the over-indulgences of the festive period – be it food, alcohol, sugar, family and of course the pressure that we put on ourselves… it can mean January the 1st might leave you feeling a little flat and less than fabulous, with a definite air of uncertainty on how to make a change in your life. It can feel like an onslaught of all the things you ‘should’ be doing to go into this new year as a ‘better’ version of yourself, and this can be incredibly overwhelming.

I actually dislike the whole concept of New Year’s resolutions, as I feel that they make us look at what we think we need to improve about ourselves. This intrinsically means we are not accepting ourselves as we are and are looking to ‘fix’ things about ourselves that are not good enough.

I prefer a slightly adjusted version of the word ‘resolution’ and I thing it sounds so much more kind to say “I resolve.”

Instead of making a resolution to do, eat, behave differently, ‘to resolve’ is like a kind promise to yourself.

For example;

  • I resolve to take myself on a walk outside, or in nature as much as possible.
  • I resolve to treat myself kindly and give myself a little time each day.
  • I resolve to not push myself too hard and to listen to what my soul really needs.
  • I resolve to regularly nourish myself with good, healthy food.

Rather than start the New Year off with a whole bunch of stuff you say you ‘shouldn’t be doing’ each day, try resolving to bring some wonderful practices into your life that will make you feel enriched and alive, instead of pressured and deprived.

Here are some of my personal & really practical tips for easing into 2019 and for creating the smoothest start possible. These tips are not about punishment – they are about reward. So you ended up having a glass of wine on January 3rd – who cares? Every day is a new beginning. You have not failed, you are human and you are doing your best.

 

  • Resolve to spend more time coming back to yourself and taking a moment to focus on your breath. It’s ok to start at the next breath – each breath is a new beginning, a fresh start. So never feel like you’ve missed the boat. Just take a deep breath and…start again
  • Resolve to nurture yourself by drinking plenty of water. It’s easier to do this in the summer when we feel parched more often, but resolve to hydrate your body a little more every day. Clear your system from the inside-out and clean your internal space. It’s funny how once you begin the process of self –care with tiny steps, each step feels that much easier. So start small – from tiny acorns the tallest oak trees grow,
  • Resolve to take a few minutes each morning, before you do anything else, to connect to your breath. To ground yourself and root yourself . Set a very simple intention for the day ahead – rather than a very long list of unrealistic goals. Be specific! Take one day at a time but have an overall goal of wellness and self-care in your head. One daily task achieved is better than a long list of uncompleted aspirations.
  • Resolve to be kinder and more forgiving to yourself. Every day, every hour, every minute, every breath is a new start. Rather than tie yourself to a day on the calendar  – that will come around again soon enough – try looking at each moment in life as a new beginning.

 

We’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to join us on one of our incredible healing and transformational retreats.

 Our soulful retreats offer peace, relaxation but plenty of fun with inspiring holistic support alongside practical techniques to learn and take away with you, to incorporate into your day-to- day life. We offer a unique blend of yoga, mindfulness, life-coaching, holistic wellness workshops and tailor-made strategies for on-going self-care.

If you need to change something in your life, then along with the little things, take a really positive step and start planning your own Self Care for 2019.

If you feel you would like to dive deep, join us on one of our Harmonise or Nourish retreats – where your experience is very held and you are guided through the process.

Or if you like the yoga practice to do the work for you, as you trust in the magical process which takes place on the mat , try our GLOW retreat.

If you book before the end of January, then we will offer you a 10% discount and the choice of either an Indian Head Massage or Reflexology treatment, to add to your complimentary diagnostic, holistic full body massage. 

Remember – as we forge forwards into 2019, Kindness is Key – say something lovely to yourself every day.

I hope we will see you on the mat here at Ibiza Retreats soon!

Namaste

Susie x