Exhausted? You’re in good company – more than half of the women in the UK claim to feel tired, overwhelmed, depleted and even anxious.
It’s small wonder, when females are frequently expected – whether by others or by themselves – to wear multiple hats: mother, sister, wife, daughter, boss, employee, friend, homemaker, cook, fashionista, lover, PTA representative … the list is endless. We all know that aircraft safety advice exhorts us to put on our own lifejackets and oxygen masks before assisting others, but how often do we practise this in real life? Yet, with our own energy reserves depleted, how can we expect to help anyone else?
It’s perhaps no wonder that wellness and mindfulness retreats have seen such an astonishing surge in popularity in recent year – yet even despite the increasing range of choice offered by providers, not every person in need of the rest and help they offer can actually afford the time nor money to participate.
With these issues in mind, Fiona Arrigo, qualified Biodynamic Psychologist, life teacher, mentor and founder of the award-winning Arrigo Programme, has created a haven of healing and transformation in West London. Based in Holland Park, A Place to Heal combines a programme of events, lectures and workshops with empowering personal consultations in calming cocoon that feels as far from the ‘busyness’ of London as imaginable.
New this summer, Arrigo’s Urban Retreat programmes have been designed to give exhausted clients a space in which to recharge and transform while acknowledging the reality of jam-packed schedules: the retreats are non-residential and treatments, including meditation, private consultation and breath work, can be taken over the course of one weekend or 28 days.
With a long history of facilitating powerful and long-lasting mental shifts in clients, this new addition marks the first time that the Arrigo offering has been so readily available to stressed-out Londoners, with a Place to Heal offering a sanctuary in which techniques to assist with the demands of busy and, frequently, physically and emotionally taxing lives can be learned.
A one-day weekend retreat is priced at £860 and a 28-day non-residential retreat is priced at £1,895.