I wanted to get out of the city. Preferably alone. Somewhere I could recharge, catch up on sleep, somewhere where the meals would be extremely healthy, time to workout. but most importantly, a place where I would have a bunch of free time and nothing was a ‘must’. My destination was Ibiza for a week of yoga and detoxing. I’ve been back for about a week now and I’m still completely in zen mode. My retreat on Ibiza changed me and I’m here to tell you all about it.

Off we go

A few days before departure, my schedule popped up in my mailbox and it consisted of a lot of “you-time.” So far, so good. There were options to attend workshops about nutrition and behavior, but like I said: optional. I wanted a week of rest, just like everyone who had booked the retreat. Ready to prep for a busy schedule I have ahead of me for the next couple of months. But there are plenty of other reasons to book a yoga retreat.

A couple of people that were attending were in the middle of a divorce, were recently divorced or had been left by their partners in the most gut wrenching way. Others needed to refuel after having battled a sickness, a burnout, needed time to wallow and some even booked the trip as a gift for themselves. “I’ve been taking care of four kids for thirty years and it was about time I did something for myself.”

Support group

If you wanted to, you could talk to each other to vent or your could make an appointment with one of the psychologists. “And then he took off with my best friend.” Or: “I have to start work again in a few months, but what if I’m not ready yet?” I was by far the youngest of the group, with the least amount of life’s experience so probably not the best adviser, but just being there for someone to talk to is more than enough.

“So tell me, are you craving a glass of wine just as much as I am?”

“Tell me about it. With a nice slice of Iberico ham.”

“Sigh.”

“Hey, it’s almost three thirty, time for another green juice.”

Out of the kitchen

I have never educated myself or actually been interested in vegan food (no meat, no fish, no gluten and no dairy) mostly because I felt that it requires too much effort. There are so many restrictions and a freshly baked piece of fish off a grill with a green salad doesn’t sound unappealing to me. Point is, you definitely don’t have to suddenly go entirely vegan, but what this week taught me are all the endless possibilities you have with vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts and seeds – because that’s what a vegan lifestyle comes down to. I had a slice of chocolate cake which was a dozen times better than the ones I’ve had at some of the best bakery’s in my city. Made entirely out of dates, nuts, raw cocoa and coconut oil.

It’s incredible to see the effect healthy food has on your body. Take a bit of green vegan curry with red quinoa for example. It doesn’t get more fresh than the products they used here and every bite made you feel so revived. 80% of what came out of the kitchen were vegetables and the rest was a combination of fruit, nuts and seeds all prepared by two incredible chefs (Edwin Sander who has worked for numerous top restaurants and Mayla Marianka, pro raw/vegan chef).

Greener than green

We spent three days detoxing– not everyone but those that were up for it (remember, everything was optional). And this meant: A. Lot. Of. Green. Juices. The overall goal of the week was to “get to know yourself better” and “cleanse yourself,” body as well as mind, and that works well when you’re slurping on kilo’s of vegetables every day. Detoxing was nothing new to me, but I had always done it while working, and this time around, I would hang out by the pool every day. Let me tell you: a much better way to detox. Your skin starts to glow, your eyes light up, you get a flat stomach (which is evidently what you wanted to know), you get an energy boost and you clear your head. And that food you get to eat a couple days later? Heavenly. (Still all vegan of course.)

Yoga it is

Two hours of yoga in the morning is quite a lot. I have to admit that I wasn’t always thrilled when I had to unroll my mat, but as soon as you notice that that “warrior stand” is starting to get a lot easier, it’ll give you an extreme kick. We would end our days with a very relaxed yoga class which sometimes even consisted of laying on our mats for an hour working on our breathing techniques. You can count on someone dozing off after at least five minutes.

I’m not the spiritual type, but I’m not against it either. I never shy away from talking about strengths and energies – I always think it’s a clear language.

“There’s always a negative energy at the office. You notice it as soon as someone walks in.” Get what I mean? During a week long yoga retreat on Ibiza I wanted to be emerged into everything that was healing, gives you strength and made you feel completely comfortable in your own skin. Even if it was just for a short while. Obviously the surroundings played a huge part; sun on my face, phone in my bedroom.

Back on track

The most important theory I took back home was that you have to love yourself first. And then you can love others.