New Habits, New Life: A Transformational Women's Retreat in Colombia with Edwige Gilbert

Feel your mind, body, and spirit begin to flourish as soon as you step off the plane in gorgeous Colombia. Our destination is a retreat center located in the safe, mountainous coffee region of Perera City of Armenia known for its ideal weather safety and beauty. In this quiet landscape, you'll find a space where you can rejuvenate yourself and reconfigure your relationship with holistic health. After a transfer to the retreat, we'll check in, drop our bags, and head to an orientation. A welcome dinner featuring nourishing, delicious food will then lead into a group meeting where we will announce the schedule for the next few days. The day ends with a Joie de Vivre circle where we will celebrate life and engage in guided meditation and self-reflection.

Today is all about teaching you new habits that you can use to work towards a healthy life long after the retreat comes to an end. We'll begin the day with a mindful walk where you'll connect with nature and find a state of inner calm. Breakfast will then lead into a session of qigong, an ancient Chinese practice that helps generate Life Force called Qi. We will use specific movements and breathing related to Tai Chi to channel this energy through our bodies. We'll continue our focus on the connection between our physical and spiritual forms with a yoga/pilates class. Here, we will strengthen, stretch, and create proper posture and alignment, all of which will have long-lasting benefits.

Lunch will be a wonderful meal with a discussion of mindful eating, a practice that can help keep weight down, promote health, and establish a better relationship with food. We will then shift to our mental well-being with an introduction to meditation. During this workshop, we will also learn emotional regulation strategies that we can use whenever we are feeling stressed out or upset. After some free time, we will attend a fire ceremony, eat some dinner, and wrap up the day with a celebratory Joie de Vivre circle.

Are you ready to get out and experience the kind of beauty that will fill your soul? Good! After a grounding morning routine of qigong and breakfast, we're off to Salento & Cocora Valley, two of Colombia's stunning gems. Salento is a town exhibiting the classic charm of the region, home to absolutely incredible coffee and countless picturesque palm trees. We'll then continue to Cocora Valley, a mountainous area with sweeping views. Take in views of truly untamed wilderness and feel at one with Mother Nature before we return to the accommodation for free time, dinner, and a Joie de Vivre circle. What a day!

Our journey towards a healthy lifestyle continues. We'll attain mental and physical balance in the morning with a mindful walk and qigong practice before a pre-lunch session of dance movement. This will further help you understand the mind-body connection and improve your posture and alignment, eliminating pain and allowing for more graceful use of your own body.

In the afternoon, sit down and eat lunch with the group before we head out to soak in some nearby hot springs! More than just a fun excursion, this trip will help you achieve deep relaxation in your muscles, once again promoting bodily health and giving you a chance to release any tension or negativity that you might be carrying.

Good morning! Rise and prepare to spend one last full day in rejuvenating Colombia. Our day starts as usual with a mindful walk and breakfast before an invigorating session of yoga and pilates. In the afternoon, we will meditate before reviewing qigong, helping instill solid technique so that you can continue honing your practice once you return home.

Following this, it's time for something truly unique: a self-hypnosis practice. During this time, you will access a state of complete open-mindedness where you can create powerful intentions that will then become an integral part of you. By selecting healthy intentions here, you will help secure a healthy future for yourself. After free time and a dinner where we can reflect on the experiences we've shared, we'll have a final Joie de Vivre circle featuring a dance celebration where you will step into and actualize the new, victorious YOU.

It's day 6 of the trip, and that means we are heading home today. On our final morning, we'll clear our heads with a mindful walk and tap into powerful energy with qigong before grabbing breakfast and heading back to the airport to fly home. Although our time here may be over, you now have the tools and habits needed to continue living a healthy, happy, and thriving life. We're so excited for you to move forward and continue growing! Safe travels and be well.