Wednesday 26 March 2014

Mamas Retreat

I have been meaning to write this post for so long as I wanted to share the amazing 24 hours I had with other fabulous, escaping Mums on this wonderful retreat. Held in Cornwall, we had the run of this wonderful house at Prussia Cove
image from Porth-En-Alls website
We honestly couldn't have asked for a more stunning location. I think the view took everyones breath away as they arrived and were continually wowed during the stay. Heavenly, is the best word I can use to describe it.
Driving down the lane to the house this hedge reminded me of a secret doorway to a hidden place. The sea view makes it all the more perfect too. 
The doorway to our retreat
Once inside I was greeted by the ever lovely Pippa, who instantly dispelled any nerves and made me feel completely at ease. She showed me to the room I was sharing with Hannah and I couldn't have been more overwhelmed. The sun streaming through the windows, the sea view looking utterly wonderful. Spoilt is how I felt, utterly spoilt (and possibly a little guilty as I feared we must have the best room in the house!).
The lovely room I shared with my buddy Hannah

The gorgeous view from our room
On our beds we found a little box for each of us. Inside were three most delicious homemade sweets and a personal note from Pippa. I was starting to feel like royalty with the amount of time that had been lavished on me in preparation for our arrival.
My thoughtful welcome gift from Pippa
We had three delightful yoga sessions during our stay. Some I found a little easier than others, I'll admit. I don't have photos as I was busy doing and concentrating and trying to relax at the same time. Doing an exercise that requires relaxing is a very new concept to me and one that will require ooodles of practise, I have no doubt!

Later on we did another excercise which was right up my street. CUTTING AND STICKING!! I love it! Making a collage of pictures you love is brilliant and theraputic too. The idea was to use pictures which jump out at you along the theme of "What nurtures you?".
Now, I feel I should explain mine, especially Will.I.Am. I'll start in the middle:
The eye of the tiger: we all have days where we have to keep going, keep your inner fight and put one foot in front of the other.
Will.I.Am - He is totally... DOPE! Ha! I love the way he describes things. He has a totally different perspective and I love that. He's a little bit "out there" and it's brilliant!
Standing on a horse: Look at things from a different perspective, you may be surprised by what you discover.
Love is all you need: because it is!
A tropical beach: I would love to trip off there anytime
A bed: Sleep is the most underrated, under achieved, priceless commodity we have yet we all try to manage without it. I love sleep and the more cushions and fluffy duvets the better!
Jordans Muesli - I just love it!
Live for Adventure - Take chances, Climb rocks, visit new places. Don't miss a thing
Desk - I would love my own little corner in our house so Im working on it.
Horses - I've always loved horses and am sad I never got to ride mine along the beach or go swimming
Cooking - I want to get a bit more adventurous and try new foods rather than sticking to what I know and love all the time.
Experience the Unexpected - exactly that!
My collage of things that nourish me
The next day we had some time to ourselves to enjoy the nature in our surroundings. Most of us were mesmerized by the sea. I got this photo as a wave came a bit by surprise. I love the timing of it but not the fact that she got soaked. I think it is my favourite photo of the trip for that reason.

My fav photo, due to the timing not watching her get soaked! 
I took a few other little pics of things that caught my eye while we out walking about. I have missed using my camera. I must make more of an effort to go and unearth it from the piles of yet unpacked boxes upstairs.
Daisy

A pink rock

Amazing wall pattern
Gathering together at the end of our nature walk. This group of ladies were the most wonderful people I could have wished to spend the day with. I thoroughly enjoyed their company and was sad that we had to say good bye and that we all lived so far away. I really hope we can all meet up again very soon!

Getting together
One of our last activities together was to make our very own Mum Trumps (like the kids card games). We all created our own characters and gave them special skills so they could defeat other Mum Trumps. We stuck them on a card once we had finished. Inside we wrote ourselves a note to remind us about self care and looking after ourselves once we were home again. Last week I recieved my card in the post. Pippa had collected them all and posted them back to us as a reminder to look after ourselves. Here's mine:



I cannot thank the three amazing ladies who brought together 24 hours of amazingly inspiring activities, gentle nurturing yoga and deliciously nutritious food. These ladies should box it, sell it and make women the world over as insanely spoilt as we were! Thank you to Pippa, Leif and Kate.

If you would like to recreate your own mamas retreat you can now buy a retreat kit online! If you would like to read more about it and order your own please hope on this link to the Story of Mum page.

2 comments:

  1. That looks totally stunning! You must have had such a wonderful time ;) xx

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  2. Thank you for sharing your experience Kat! It was such a pleasure to have you and such an amazing time - wonderful to finally meet you in person, with such a lovely group of women. Let's do another one soon! xx

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