Tips For Planning A Family-Friendly Wellness Retreat That Will Fuel Your Mind, Body, And Soul
The purpose of wellness retreats is to fuel your mind, body, and soul. They give you the opportunity to take time off of work or school and free your mind from the pressure of your obligations. Instead of focusing on all the daily checklists you have to complete and all the to-do lists that need to be handled, you get to hone in on strengthening your mental health.
Although wellness retreats tend to be shindigs people sign up for solo, it makes sense to experience the benefits of a fulfilling wellness retreat with different members of your family in tow. Since a common goal of wellness retreats is to achieve self-improvement and self-growth, people of all ages should feel comfortable participating.
However, planning a family-friendly wellness retreat with all the people you're closest to can be so stressful to figure out. It instantly gets easier if you know which details you should be paying attention to the most. These are some tips for planning your next wellness retreat so that all members of your family feel included, appreciated, and fulfilled.
Narrow down your familial invite list
As much as you might want to invite every single person in your family to your wellness retreat, it might make more sense for you to narrow down your familial invite list. If there are certain members of your family who are constantly butting heads and picking fights with each other, it probably wouldn't be the best idea to have both of them on the same trip together. If there's a member of your family who's way too busy with work and simply can't request any time off, there's no need to pressure them into showing up.
Some members of your family might be going through major life transitions, including pregnancy, new jobs, new home ownership, and more. It's perfectly fine for them to focus on whatever transitions they're dealing with instead of dipping away to a wellness retreat. When you take all of these things into consideration, it becomes easier to narrow down who should be included on the final invite list.
Keep your budget in mind
As you begin planning your family-friendly wellness retreat, you'll quickly notice that various locations offer different price points. It's important to keep your budget in mind as you start plugging away with travel plans. Some of the things you have to remember include flight costs, hotel stays, and meals if you aren't opting for an all-inclusive program. You end up saving yourself a lot of stress if you choose an all-inclusive program that fits everything into one solid package.
In that same token, you can't get as creative as you want with all-inclusive programs since the folks running the wellness retreats decide everything for you ahead of time. Wellness retreats are considered a luxury, which means you might prefer to do things your way. Figuring out your budget is a must before you do research on different places because you might fall in love with one that's completely out of the price range.
Book well in advance
Being a last-minute planner isn't going to do you any favors if you're trying to plan a wellness retreat for your entire family. If you were going on an individual wellness retreat by yourself, it probably wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to wait until the last minute to do your research. When planning a trip for multiple people at once, though, you will have to handle things ahead of time to ensure that everyone's needs will be met.
Booking well ahead of time gives you the chance to find a destination that everyone in your family can equally agree on. If everyone is in agreement about the location you've chosen, you won't get any pushback from people who feel resentful about not having any say on the matter. Booking well ahead of time allows everyone the chance to request time off of work or school in an appropriate manner.
Make sure your chosen retreat offers heathy and nutritious meals
Going on a wellness retreat with your family means you're probably hopeful about everyone improving from the inside out. One of the biggest things to pay attention to when trying to become a better and healthier person is the food you're eating.
For these reasons, you must ensure your chosen retreat offers healthy and nutritious meals. While you and other members of your family are working on healing your mental health, it's also vital to consume healthy foods so that all parts of your body can function together properly.
Eating junk food consistently can lead to type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and other forms of cancer. Taking a break from greasy and processed foods in your local area could be one of the more life-changing aspects of a wellness retreat. Plenty of wellness retreats offer freshly cooked meals made with wholesome ingredients.
Figure out what goals you want to reach as a family
As you prepare to embark on the adventure of a wellness retreat with your family, it's important to narrow down the goals you want to achieve as a group. You and your family can look at each other like teammates who are on the same page about trying to meet the same aspirations.
If your family's goal is to improve on communication, you can spend your time talking to each other more openly, honestly, and candidly during your wellness retreat. If your family's goal is to be less judgmental, you and your family members will have to go out of your way to treat each other more respectfully during the retreat.
Everything you learn as a family during the wellness retreat should be practiced at home once you've returned to reality too. It would be pointless for your whole family to grow closer during the retreat without taking any self-growth home.
Know exactly what to pack
Figuring out what to pack is crucial before heading off to a wellness retreat with your family. The first step is narrowing down where you're going and researching what type of weather patterns you'll expect. If you're headed to the mountains, where you'll be surrounded by fresh-fallen snow, you need to make sure you're packing thick coats, warm pants, gloves, boots, and hats to keep your body warm.
If you've decided to book a wellness retreat on a tropical island with tons of sun, it's key to ensure you've packed sunscreen, swimsuits, shorts, tank tops, and comfortable summer clothes to move around in. Other thoughtful items you might want to pack with your family members for a wellness retreat include healing crystals, natural supplements, and journals. If you have young family members joining in on the wellness retreat, they'll likely need a bit of help when it comes to packing their bags.
Try yoga classes
You don't have to participate in yoga classes at a wellness retreat with your family, but it's certainly something to consider. Yoga can change your life for the better if it's something you practice consistently. Since you have to position yourself in many different poses during a typical yoga class, it naturally helps increase your flexibility, muscle strength, and tone. It also improves your energy, vitality, and respiration.
Anyone in your family who might be struggling with balancing their metabolism or reducing their weight will see how beneficial yoga classes can be in their own life. Although yoga is considered a low-impact workout, it still works wonders for your heart regarding cardio and circulatory health. The more flexible you are, the easier it is for you to stay protected from common injuries that happen to people with stiffer bodily movement.
There's nothing to lose when reaping the benefits of yoga classes during a wellness retreat with your family. And, if classes aren't your thing, you can start an at-home yoga journey and still experience the wonder of yoga when you return home.
Be open-minded to meditation sessions
Meditation can change your life if you're willing to be open-minded about it. It isn't easy to get started with meditation at first when you notice how many times your mind wanders off to other things. When you begin to meditate and find that it's hard to focus by keeping your mind clear, you might even feel like throwing in the towel and giving up altogether. Instead of turning your back on meditation, you and your family can try it out on a wellness retreat to see if it will add value to your life.
Meditating regularly helps you gain new perspectives, build skills to manage your stress, increase your self-awareness, and keep you grounded in the present moment. Meditation also helps reduce negative emotions, increases your creativity and imagination, and raises the level of patience and tolerance you have. There's no denying that meditation certainly takes a whole lot of self-restraint when you're just getting started with it.
Connect with nature in the great outdoors
Wellness retreats are the perfect excuse to connect with nature in the great outdoors. Becoming one with nature typically means you're grounding yourself by spending time walking barefoot through soft grass or sand. You might even lie down outside to give your body the full experience. If your wellness retreat includes a field of flowers in any capacity, it would be spectacular for your mental health to spend a bit of time there.
If you notice that the people in your home spend most of their time indoors without natural sunlight every day, this is something you should all focus on during your wellness retreat. Your family members may spend way too many hours on different devices, including laptops, phones, and TVs. During your wellness retreat as a family, technological distractions won't get in the way of nature's beauty. Once everyone feels connected with nature after spending an ample amount of time in the great outdoors, you might even notice the positive impact on everyone's moods.
Indulge in spa day activities
While it's true that you can book a spa day in your local area at any time, indulging in spa day activities while on a wellness retreat with your family is still special in its own right. Different spa activities to consider include massages, facials, aromatherapy, foot scrubs, mud masks, manicures, and pedicures. Most of these activities will work perfectly for specific members of your family, while others may potentially feel a bit excluded.
You should ensure that everyone will be able to enjoy a handful of spa day activities that individually suit them, so no one is left out. A teenage boy probably wouldn't care about a manicure, but he'd certainly appreciate a full-body massage or a foot scrub. Even if a particularly picky member of your family isn't interested in any spa activities, there are still plenty of things they can do inside a spa to pass the time. That includes smelling scented candles, listening to soothing music, and relaxing in the ambiance.
Learn about manifestation methods
One of your main focuses during a wellness retreat should be nurturing your soul. A wellness retreat is a great time to investigate different manifestation methods and techniques that could possibly change your life. When your whole family is involved, it gives everyone the opportunity to improve their mindset for the better.
This is especially great news for any family members who are on the younger side since it's easier to shift your focus toward the positives that come from manifestation when you're young, and your brain is still somewhat of a sponge. As the classic saying goes: You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Unfortunately, it's a bit true that teaching older generations about manifestation methods and techniques isn't always the easiest thing to do. Still, older family members shouldn't be excluded from conversations about manifestation during your family-friendly wellness retreat. This is a great time to open up some dialogue about such a life-changing subject.
Connect with your spiritual side
Whether you're into manifestation or not, you can explore other facets of spirituality throughout your wellness retreat with your family. If your family is super religious, you can opt for a retreat that caters explicitly to the religion you all personally follow. There are tons of retreats focused on Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Catholicism, and more.
If your family doesn't subscribe to any organized religions, there are still ways you can dive deep into your spirituality to discover more things about yourself than you've ever known before. This is a top-notch idea if you have members of your family who are feeling lost in life or confused about which steps to take next. Wellness retreats that open their mind to the depths of spirituality can put them on the right track as they decipher how to move forward in life.
Look into the SHA Wellness Clinic in Spain
If Spain isn't already on your radar for a wellness retreat, it should be. The SHA Wellness Clinic in Spain is a wonderful place to go with your whole family if you're seeking out knowledge about natural therapies, healthy nutrition, and medical innovation. This wellness center aims to teach you how to live a longer life with minimal health issues as you get older. Everyone ages, but some do so more gracefully than others.
This location is an excellent choice if there are members of your family who are struggling with weight issues or hormonal imbalances. One of the programs they offer is an intensive and advanced detox meant to help you achieve your optimal weight. They also provide a separate package of deep-cleansing detox of the entire body. You can choose how many days work for your family as you plan this trip out since they have seven-day, 14-day, and 21-day options.
Consider Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in California
Taking your entire family somewhere new for a wellness retreat doesn't have to be an international experience. Cal-a-Vie Health Spa is located in California, with tons of incredible experiences on the table. If you and your family decide to book a wellness retreat here, you'll be able to admire the gorgeous mountain views outside of the San Diego area. This wellness retreat serves delicious meals, fantastic fitness courses, and several other unforgettable services that will have your entire family feeling better from the inside out.
You can choose to stay for three, four, or seven nights, depending on how long you all collectively need. Since Cal-a-Vie Health Spa was built on a 200-acre property, you'll have the freedom to hike across the area to get some much-needed physical activity throughout your days. You'll also be able to sign up for kickboxing classes, yoga sessions, and other exercise activities that are guided by talented instructors.
Think about going to Aliki Yoga School in Paros, Greece
There's something special about Greece. Greece is widely recognized for inventing the Olympic Games and is the birthplace of ancient monuments and philosophers. Aliki Yoga School is a divine retreat to go with your family, especially if everyone is on the same page about learning everything there is to know about yoga. The yoga instructors on site are beyond inspirational with the way they lead classes.
Yoga isn't a form of exercise that's reserved for one gender or age group of people. Anyone can participate in yoga classes at any time. Many yoga moves you'd consider to be a little more complicated can be modified for people who aren't able to move around so easily. This includes members of your family who are currently pregnant, on the older side, or those who are still quite young.
Contemplate Pura Vida Wellness Retreat in Yelapa, Mexico
Ultimately, it's your call to decide which wellness retreat location makes the most sense for you and your family. Still, experiencing Yelapa, Mexico, would be a magnificent and unforgettable trip for everyone. Pura Vida Wellness Retreat is the place to go if your family members are itching to spend time in a place that reminds them of a tropical paradise. This is also a great option if you or other family members are vegetarians.
A lot of the food served at this retreat is vegetarian-friendly while also being delicious and nutritious. Booking a slot at Pura Vida Wellness Retreat gives you and your family members the freedom to relax and unwind from typical daily stressors waiting for you back home. It's also an excellent opportunity to take a break from social media and technology since this retreat — or any retreat, really — offers one-of-a-kind spiritual experiences above anything you'd be able to encounter while scrolling through social media or Netflix.