Winter is the best time to start planning your next wellbeing holiday for spring and summer, there’s time to contemplate and then enjoy looking forward to the holiday.
We have lots of retreats on offer that provide activities from yoga and Pilates to windsurfing and mountain biking. Take your pick! Read more…
Christmas is fast approaching and that means you might be experiencing quite a few emotions from excitement to anxiety, stress or depression.
Christmas has always been portrayed as a happy, joyful time, where we spend the day with family and loved ones, but it’s not always easy. If your budget is tight, then the weeks leading up to Christmas Day can be very worrying too. Read more…
Ayurveda relies on balance of the three doshas – vata, pitta and kapha – for good health. A healthy digestive system therefore relies on balance of the doshas and in particular – pitta, which governs the metabolism and digestive system.
Digestive problems are common and usually caused by a combination of poor diet and eating ‘on the go’. Many people rarely take the time to eat a good breakfast, usually eating a slice of toast in the car on the way to work, or not eating anything at all. Lunch time is much of the same with people eating at their desks or wolfing something down quickly before their next meeting.
Ayurveda can help improve our digestive health by not only focussing on what we eat but how we eat it. Ideally we should eat in a comfortable, relaxing environment or at least sitting down without distractions. This helps us to focus on the food, the taste and smell, and when we focus, we eat slowly, which helps digestion.
Another way to aid digestion is to stimulate the digestive fire or ‘agni’
Another way to aid digestion is to stimulate the digestive fire or ‘agni’, which is controlled by the pitta dosha. If the agni is weak, then this can make us tired after eating. If it is too strong, then it can ‘burn’ the food. Ayurveda recommends finding a balance so we can digest efficiently. To boost your digestive fire, try eating a 1-inch pinch of fresh ginger with a drop of lemon before meals. Read more…
Chef Heston Blumenthal recently went to Bali where he spent four days on a detox retreat to recover from …‘exhaustion’…
He lost 8lbs and said it was ‘amazing.’ He also enjoyed yoga and meditation. You can read about his adventure here. Read more…
Travelling around Christmas and New Year can be expensive but instead of forking out huge amounts, you can save money – we’ve done the research for you. Cheap train fares are available, you just have to know where to look.
Did you know you can actually split your journey in half and buy two tickets instead of just one for the whole trip? It’s called split-ticketing and it’s completely within the terms and conditions of train operating companies. Read more…
By Jane Feinmann
If menopausal symptoms strongly interfere with your daily life and your sleep then you may be considering HRT (hormone replacement therapy).
Most women apply a skin cream before bedtime. My daily regime is a blob of oestrogen gel, a hormone replacement therapy that my GP has prescribed on the NHS ever since I went through the menopause. Yoga and a healthy diet has kept me healthy enough in my sixties.
But it’s the HRT that stopped hot flushes, mental fog and other menopausal problems – and given me strong bones postmenopausally. That’s not just my view. There’s evidence that it works.
But surely, you ask, there are huge health risks in taking HRT? Read more…
Previously we wrote about the rise of digital detox retreats. What’s also becoming popular is Vipassana meditation retreats also known as silent retreats, where, essentially, you don’t utter a single word for as long as you’re there. The days are filled with meditation, short breaks for meals and rest, a brisk walk – all in complete silence. Interaction with anybody else is prohibited.
Vipassana means ‘seeing things as they really are’ and is one of India’s most ancient techniques. These silent retreats are designed to help you focus on the connection between mind and body through self-observation, resulting in a balanced mind.
Overall the effect of being surrounded by silence can initially stir thoughts and over-thinking, but soon comes inner peace. We have an overload of information and too many distractions in our lives that we easily feel out of touch with ourselves. Silence can bring you back ‘home’.
While silent retreats are successful experiences for some, they are not necessarily the right thing for everyone. Sitting still in the lotus position may not be the best option for some to start with, and not for several days without speaking a word.
Neal’s Yard Holidays has a number of half term retreats available during this October and we’re featuring a selection of them below. If you’d like to see the full range of retreats available this October, visit this page.
At this luxury retreat in Marrakesh, practice yoga and Pilates and stay in the middle of the old town. What’s great about this retreat is, you won’t miss any of the sites – you can have guided tours of the souks and Imperial City. Surrounded by the snow-capped mountains, escape with yoga, Pilates and a Hammam.
Neal’s Yard Holidays also has this peaceful retreat in Spain available. Enjoy yoga, Tai Chi, Flamenco and swimming all nestled within the mountains. Optional extras include aromatherapy and Thai massage.
If dates aren’t an issue this October, visit this yoga retreat in West Sussex. Enjoy luxury accommodation with breath taking surroundings. Yoga, Pilates, meditation, and holistic therapies, detox cuisine, fresh juices and smoothies. Swim in heated indoor pool.
For more autumn retreats, also outside half term, check out this page.
Next time, we’ll be looking at silent retreats and other alternatives to help you clear your mind.
Hellenic Seaplanes will be launching their fleet of you guessed it – seaplanes – to make travel between the Greek islands faster. The seaplanes will fly from ports all over Greece including mainland Athens and Thessaloniki to the islands of Crete, Mykonos and many more. The seaplanes can take 19 passengers at a time and will have scheduled flights to the various ports. In addition, flightseeing tours of the islands will be available so you can bask in the Greek beauty from the skies. Read more…
STOP PRESS: This still continues to be a hot topic.
Since publishing this blog we had been interviewed by Grazia magazine about silent retreats and the need to switch off from technology. Their article was published in print in September.
Digital detox and silent retreats seem to be the latest travel trend. – Sainsbury’s magazine also contacted us and published their article in print in their October issue.
Here’s our blog on this hot topic:
Going on holiday is meant to be just that – a holiday. It’s time away from the mundane, from everything we would normally do. But for most people, we still don’t completely switch off from our lives back home.
On Facebook we often see people ‘check-in’ on holiday. On Twitter, we see endless tweets of people telling us about what they’re getting up to, and on Instagram we see the photo evidence of the fun they’re having.
Using social media, checking emails or listening to voicemails while on holiday doesn’t allow us to switch off. Sometimes we want to, but with our smartphones glued to us, it’s difficult to do, especially when sharing a photo or a tweet is so easy.
Have we become addicted to our relative newly formed habit? Doesn’t the use of our gadgets sometimes get in the way of our immediate experience of where we are and the person we are with?
So why do it? Spending hundreds or even thousands on a holiday is not worth it if you check your phone at every opportunity because you may miss things.
For people who truly want to switch off and get away from their everyday lives, there are digital detox holidays available. This type of holiday means leaving your phones and tablets behind, or keeping them locked up safely in your chosen retreat. There is no wifi and there’s no ability to connect, except to connect with yourself and nature instead. This can make for a healing and nourishing holiday in itself. Read more…
Know your rights – tips and advice.
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Here’s what you need to know.
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Things you can do to keep flights affordable.
Use our handy tips for packing the right things and avoiding unnecessary pre-holiday stress.
How to pick travel cover that works for you.
Help, tips and anecdotes for going sugar free and living a little more healthily.
A new focus on the health benefits of fermentation highlights how ‘good’ bacteria can contribute to a healthy digestive system, and body and mind.
Yoga poses you can do at your desk will help relieve stress and stiffness.
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Fancy taking on the vegan challenge?
Meditation and mindfulness are related practices that can improve your mental and physical wellbeing.
Are you a meat eater? How could a meat free Monday improve your health and life on our planet?
How to find the right balance when it comes to drinking water.
Post festive season could January mark the time to detox from alcohol and become a dryathelete?
Follow these tips and tricks to achieve a healthy Christmas in 2016. It can be done!
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