Taking time out to focus on our mental and physical wellbeing is a powerful way to start the new year. We’re all motivated in different ways, so here are five retreats that offer exceptional ways of nurturing the soul, from spiritual solitude and quiet, to the power of human connection.
1. The healthy eating retreat
Cal Pau Cruset is a Catalan farmhouse located in the village of Torrelles de Foix in the Alt Penedès, in the middle of wine country. It is home to the Alaya Retreat Centre, which hosts a wide variety of activities, workshops, courses and tours throughout the year. One of the most popular is their Eco Detox Retreat, which uses juices and superfoods to detox and restore the body, in combination with other activities like nutrition, yoga and mindfulness classes. Participants can also take advantage of other wellness services such as reiki, massage and energy healing. Those looking to enjoy the bounty of the centre’s excellent location can participate in cooking classes, wine tastings, biking and hiking excursions, and beach days. A full calendar of upcoming events can be found on their website. www.calpaucruset.com
2. The Coworking Retreat
Nectar is founded on the belief that working in a collaborative environment away from the pressures of everyday life can restore and empower us personally and professionally. Founders Tai Lomas and Olga Sureda are so committed to this concept that they decided to create a rural coworking and co-living experience in their 16th-century farmhouse, located in the heart of the Les Guilleries natural park, just an hour or so north of Barcelona by car. The farmhouse is an off-the-grid live-work space. It offers visitors private and shared rooms, common spaces, a fully-equipped kitchen, and of course, WiFi. Most importantly, the area of Les Guilleries-Savassona where they are positioned is a spectacular region from which guests can draw inspiration. The pair organise a variety of retreats including yoga retreats, boot camps, hackathons and workations for freelancers, digital nomads and companies who want to take advantage of the couple’s alternative vision of the integration of work and life. www.nectarconectar.com
3. The wilderness retreat
The Ecodharma Centre, based in a remote mountain valley in the Sierra de Carreu of the Catalan Pyrenees, runs a ‘nature-based practice and learning’ programme. It can perhaps be best described as a sort of Spanish Walden, seeking to connect participants to the environment as a source of nourishment, wellbeing and inspiration. They combine mindfulness practice and meditation with nature-based education and wilderness skills. In addition, the programme organises solitary time in the wilderness, ranging from one day to two weeks. Their website offers information about their philosophy and methodologies as well as their various retreats. They also use the Dana Economy, which operates on the principle of ‘give what you can, take what you need’. www.ecodharma.com
4. The zen retreat
The Escuela Kwam Um Zen is part of a larger network of schools around the world that teaches the practices of Korean Zen Buddhism to westerners, including silent meditation, chanting, prostration, and the use of mantras and kong-ans. Those interested in exploring the practices of Zen Buddhism can learn its ways in daily classes at their Barcelona location, as well as in retreats at their other centre, Bori Sa, in the stunning volcanic region of Alta Garrotxa, about two hours north of Barcelona by car. The two-day retreats, occasionally led by visiting Zen Masters, are entirely silent and focused on keeping alive the practice of attention at all times. The schedule is an intensive combination of sitting and walking meditation, chanting, prostrations and formal meals. Those new to Zen practices can learn more about it by participating in their daily sessions (offered mornings and evenings) or at the one-day introductory class, Zen Day, on March 5th (from 9am to 3pm) at their Barcelona location, Bori Centro Zen. www.kwanumeurope.org/barcelona
5. The co-living retreat
PandoraHub is an alternative coworking and co-living enterprise focused on entrepreneurship that takes its show on the road, operating at least part of the year in a 21-day caravan-like road trip throughout rural Spain, with stops in different eco or abandoned villages along the way.
The most recent trip was set up in 10 stages, with stops of several days to a week in each place, where participants learned ways to rebuild and repopulate these abandoned villages, while gaining new vision for their personal and professional projects. At each stop, participants connect with local startups, volunteer in eco-villages and co-live with locals, while participating in a variety of workshops and talks by local entrepreneurs, which might include topics like growth hacking, 360º sustainable business, visual thinking or dynamic governance. Participants not only benefit from co-living and co-working with startup founders, digital nomads and makers, but they can also take advantage of discounted rates and access to village houses and local hosts once their trip is over. www.pandorahub.co