You probably know by now that I am a huge fan of adventure, travel, and a good self-care retreat!

I wanted to go overseas when I was in high school and had my sights set on going on an exchange after my final year but I didn’t manage to take off until I finished my university degree.

In 2012 I went and toured Rajasthan in India for three weeks with my university friend.

Once I started working full-time after uni, I took planned annual leave from my full-time job to tour around Europe and I even scored a job in Aid & Development taking me to places such as Fiji, Manila, and Jakarta.

But now that I have a business, I can travel the world whenever I like (and take my work with me), here are some of the trips I’ve taken:

• Run retreats in Melbourne and Palm Cove (2014 & 2015)
• Canada to work with my (then)coach (2014)
• Tulum, Mexico on a retreat where I was a speaker (2015)
• Attended the Emerging Women Event in San Francisco in 2016
• Attended amazing mastermind retreats in Santa Fe and Mexico (2017)
• Bali on retreat (2017 and 2018)
• Amsterdam to run a business workshop (2019)
• Fiji to attend a big conference (2020)
• Informal retreat to Denise Duffield-Thomas’s Rose farm (2021)
• Solo writing retreat in Cairns (2021)
• Solo trips to the Barossa or a local hotel during covid (2021)
• Lord Howe Island to attend a retreat and Byron Bay with a biz bestie for a creative retreat (2022)
• Bali for a creative retreat (2023)
• Business Conference in Noosa, Australia (2023)
• Upcoming retreat that I’m Hosting in Tulum in August

Covid put quite the spanner in my international travel plans but I’m well and truly back into my Travel in 2023.

By far my favorite way to travel in my business is to sign up for (or design my own) self-care retreat experience.

The benefits of going on a self-care retreat – let me count the ways

Self-care retreats provide time to reset

One of my favorite benefits of going on a self-care retreat is the time to reset from day-to-day life. When I’m at home, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day activities and routines.

Do this, do that, do this, do that… then go to bed and do it all again.

Where is the time for new ideas? Where is the time for creativity? Where is the time for play?

But on retreat, you get all of that. And it helps to reset you and ultimately come back from the retreat feeling refreshed and so much more productive.

As women, and especially for us mothers, we can feel so guilty about putting ourselves first. Let me tell you now that taking a week away (or even just a few days) will have far-reaching benefits for your relationships and your kids (if you have them) and I’ll talk about this later on.

Using an airplane analogy, you need to put your life mask on first before you can help anyone else.

Can you feel the Bali Bliss?

A Self-care retreat can provide opportunities to Explore new places, cultures, and experiences

I love planning an overseas self-care retreat into my year. I’m a Sagittarius with an almost insatiable need to travel but my husband is happy to go to the same place every year!

What I discovered was that I could meet this need through my business and travel to new and exciting places while having new experiences like swimming with turtles in the Cenotes in Tulum or getting naked under the moonlight for a skinny dip (totally optional!) and fill up my soul cup doing things he just.doesn’t.get!

In Bali, I visited a water temple and explored Ubud. In Tulum, I swam with the turtles, went skinny dipping, and attended a divine outdoor sound healing. In Santa Fe, I went to a beautiful mud mineral spa and saw the snow for the first time!

You don’t need to lose yourself and the things you used to love just because you are a mum or a business owner.

Download your next steps

When I went on a retreat to Mexico, in 2017 I’d been feeling really flat in my business and was still unsure of my new direction. I hadn’t felt any creative spark for a while and was still downloading inspiration for my new offerings. But then Mexico happened and I had so many amazing experiences. I came home from the retreat and launched five new offerings in the space of two weeks! Now not all of these projects materialised but it was the start of a new direction brewing.

I know I wouldn’t have been able to access that clear and prolific energy if it weren’t for the opportunity and time to reset. And for that, the retreat was so worth it! One of the offerings was my Your Soulful Year program which I have been running annually ever since!

Space to connect with sisters

I’m a self-confessed introvert and while I’m often connecting and working with women in the online space, I don’t get a lot of space to connect with others in person. While I certainly don’t believe you have to go on retreat to connect with sisters, it is a beautiful opportunity to fully commit to connection (without day-to-day distractions and demands like young children).

In 2021 during the height of Covid I was lucky enough to visit my biz bestie Denise Duffield Thomas and some other amazing entrepreneurs for a couple of days of self-care and masterminding at her rose farm.

Retreats are also a beautiful way to deepen existing relationships. A few years ago I got to go on a retreat to Bali with a good friend Ellissa (who lives in a different state from me) and it was such a nice opportunity to connect with her in a way that we don’t normally get to do. So grab your business bestie and come on retreat with me (scroll down for more info).

And from a business perspective, I have watched so many beautiful connections and collaborations come from self-care retreats. In fact last year I met and bonded with an amazing Astrologer Kira Sutherland whilst on retreat on Lord Howe Island and she has become a big supporter of my work and a mentor to me.

Opportunity to experience creative flow

Without a doubt, I do my best creative writing work on retreat and I often take myself away when I have a big writing project to do. I’m heading away this week to Bali for a week to write my first advanced course for the Level 2 Advanced Business Astrology Certification.

And this creative flow isn’t just reserved for the retreat accommodation, I always get bursts of inspiration on the plane to retreat and on the way home!

Seriously how blissed out do I look in this photo!

There’s something about self-care retreats that just allow you to experience true creative flow!

Participate in Soulful Rituals and release and let go

There’s nothing I love more than a retreat to get together with a group of women and dive deep, share ourselves, take adventures together, and participate in beautiful soulful rituals and healings.

Yes, there are times it is hard. Yes, you will likely experience fear or resistance. But by the end of your time together you will have moved through deep blocks that have been blocking your true potential.

I’ve seen women heal deep mother wounds, manifest pregnancies (yes really!), let go of childhood traumas, make life-changing relationship decisions, and much more.

Self-care retreats have the magic ability to soften you. To open your heart. And to allow you to let go of all those heavy things you’ve been holding onto.

• Disappointed about the results you’ve had in business?
• Feeling fear about what’s coming next for you?
• Ready to let go of the limiting beliefs that keep holding you back?
• Feeling stuck in your relationships?
• Have trauma that you are ready to release in a safe, healing space?

Then a self-care retreat is perfect for you!

Before I went to Santa Fe in February 2017, I was upset with the state of my relationship with my (then) 3-year-old. She was moving away from me and it felt like she was outright rejecting me. Going away (ironically) to Santa Fe helped me to get clear on my priorities again. I thought I was going for my business but really, I was going to connect to my vision for my family. I came home with a clear plan on how I could make things better and within just a few months our relationship completely shifted.

When I went to Bali in June 2017, I wasn’t happy with the state of my intimacy with my husband… let’s just say things shifted during that retreat through time to think, self-healing, and some activated kundalini energy. And when I got home, things were very different! He says I can go to Bali anytime 😉

Time to Relax!

Seriously when was the last time you experienced deep relaxation? Away from your home, your partner, or your kids.

No responsibilities, all meals prepared for you, and plenty of free time where everything is optional (after all, we are all adults right?!).

Plenty of soul sisters and support staff to be your soul guides through a transformational week.

I believe that in the busy modern world, EVERYONE needs one week a year to do this – preferably away from your kids and partner.

Time to read a book. Watch the sunset (wine optional!). Get a massage. Read. Work uninterrupted on a creative project. Go exploring. Talk for hours with soul sisters. Process and heal your emotional ‘stuff’.