I think right about now, we all could use a wellness travel trip. I know that travelling to Costa Rica for a surf yoga retreat is not a possibility at the moment. Instead, I am here to help you create your own DIY wellness weekend at home.
I love all things wellness. Taking care of my body, mind and soul has become a real passion of mine over the last 3 years.
Being a traveller, I have been able to embrace and reap the benefits of wellness travel on mos tof my adventures. Wellness travel has helped me to gain new perspectives and learn new ways of wellness from cultures all over the globe.
Wellness travel has become very popular in recent years and experts are predicting that it will continue to grow after the COVID-19 pandemic and international travel returns to our lives. And honestly I am not surprised.
At its core wellness travel is about using nature, movement, healthy foods, culture, and activities that take us out of our comfort zone to transform us. I think with all of the changes that have gone on in our lives in 2020/2021 I think people are going to be able to really benefit from a transformational experience.
Even though we can not travel to epic wellness destinations like Bali, Costa Rica, or India right now you still deserve to experience the relaxation, joy and enlightenment that you can get on a wellness trip. Which is why I am here to help you create your own.
So, how do you create a wellness retreat at home? Great question! Follow my steps below to create your own DIY wellness weekend.
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How To Create Your Own DIY Wellness Weekend
1. Make a schedule
The first step and helpful tip when you are creating your own DIY mini retreat is to create a home retreat schedule that you can follow during your wellness weekend. Depending on the type of person you are you can create your schedule two ways.
- If you are the type of person who thrives with a plan and needs to have every minute of your day planned, you can make a detailed schedule with times, and activities listed on it for you to follow. Pretend that you are at a wellness retreat, and take the time to plan out each day of your DIY wellness weekend. Pick a time to get up, write out what meals you will have, write out what activities you will do and for how long you will do them. When it comes time to have your at home wellness retreat, follow your schedule step by step, and enjoy your healing and relaxation.
- If you are the type of person who thrives and finds relaxation in going with the flow, create a general plan for your DIY home retreat. Pick the times that you would like to start and end your wellness period each day, and map out chunks of time that you want to be doing one activity. Instead of labeling each chunk of time with one activity, list a few options that you could do. For example, on your schedule between 1:00 pm – 3:00pm on Saturday you could write in “yoga, meditation or reading”. When the time comes for your wellness retreat, ask yourself what do you feel like doing in the moment and do whatever activity you feel drawn to.
No matter what type of person you are, if you are a planner or you like to go with the flow it is important that you make a schedule so that you can be organized and get the most out of your DIY wellness weekend. Creating a schedule can also help you to commit to your wellness retreat at home because you will already have an idea of how each day should flow.
2. Declutter and remove distractions
A very important step to creating your own wellness weekend is to take the time to declutter/cleanse your space and remove all the distractions.
We all know that a clutter free, clean space makes us feel more zen and can affect our moods. Before your DIY wellness weekend begins take some time to declutter your home and give it a
good clean. Your goal is to make your space feel as clean and peaceful as a spa. If you need help with decluttering check out this decluttering guide.
If it appeals to you, you can also take the time to cleanse your space with essential oils, essence or by smudging herbs such as sage, cedar, sweet grass, and lavender.
Once you have decluttered take some time to remove anything that might distraction you during your DIY mini retreat. If you are distract by the pile of work that you have on your desk, organize it and find a place to put it during your wellness retreat at home. Maybe you get distracted by your phone a lot, turn off your notifications. If you live with people who might come into your space and distract you, tell them in advance about your wellness retreat and that you are needing some space during the next couple of days.
3. Ritual bath
One of my personal favourite wellness retreat ideas is to take time to have a ritual bath. A ritual bath is simply just a relaxing bath. However, the purpose of a ritual bath isn’t necessary for hygiene. Instead a ritual bath is designed to help you to relax and heal. Oftentimes people will have an intention going into their bath to manifest a goal or let go of anything that is holding them back. There are many ways to do a ritual bath but here are my steps.
Ritual Bath Steps
1. Get bath essentials such as bubble bath, epsom salts, essential oils and bath bombs. I recommend finding natural products to use – my favourite is Rocky Mountain Soap Co.
2. Consider adding dried or fresh flower petals, crystals or herbs.
3. Get candles and light. Soft lighting like from candles helps us to feel cozier and more relaxed.
3. Before you get into your bath, set an intention to birth a new goal/dream, let go of a past memory, limiting belief, old relationship, etc or to cleanse your body and mind from negativity. You have the option here to write your intention on a piece of paper.
4. While you are in the bath take a moment to just be. Let your body relax. Breathe in and out. Close your eyes and think about your intention.
- If your intention was to manifest something in your head visualize it happening. Picture yourself living out your life with your manifestation. Make the picture bigger, make it brighter. Feel what it feels like to have your desire. Enjoy this feeling and get excited. Once you get out of the bath, as the water drains know that your intention has been set.
- If your intention was to let something go or to release something, take time to think about what you want to let go of. Relax your body completely, and as you sit in the bath visualize the thing you want to let go if leaving your body and mind and going into the water. As you drain the tub watch it leave and know that it has left you and is gone.
- No matter what your intention is, if you wrote it on a piece of paper at the end of your bath, rip up the paper and throw it out or burn it.
If a ritual bath doesn’t appeal to you, just have a regular bath with your favourite epsom salts, bubble bath, candles and oils. Sit back and let your stress melt away.
4. Yoga + movement
Movement is such an important part of a wellness retreat. Exercise is not only good for our physical bodies, but it also makes us feel better mentally and emotionally.
Yoga is a great workout to add to a wellness retreat. Not only is yoga great for your body it also allows you to quiet your mind and can help you to relax and destress. I highly recommend adding yoga to your DIY wellness weekend. I would encourage you to try different styles of yoga as well. Yin yoga is great before bed, and power yoga is great for a good sweat.
If you are new to yoga here are some of my favorite yoga workouts on Youtube
If you aren’t into yoga (you should really give it a try though) just make sure to add in some sort of exercise into your DIY home wellness retreat. Pick your favorite exercises or just go for walks around your neighbourhood.
5. Outdoors time
Your DIY wellness weekend needs to have some outdoor activities. Even if you just go for a walk around the block, outdoors time is a must. Connecting with nature is a great way to relax.
Hiking is a great outdoor activity that you can pretty much do anywhere in the world and it is free. It is a great way to connect with nature and makes a great addition to any wellness program. If you are new to hiking chech out my beginners guide to hiking.
6. Meditation
Meditation is amazing. If you don’t already meditate, I recommend that you start and you do some at your home wellness retreat. A great app for beginners is the Calm App – it actually has a guide that tells you how to meditate. Meditation is just a time where you are actively quieting your mind. It is very simple, but the benefits are amazing. Not only does it help you be more focused, it can also help boost your mood and improves your overall well being.
You can use guided meditations or you can just sit in silence or with a nice calming music/sounds. Focus on your breath and quiet your mind.
7. Eat healthy
A DIY home retreat is not complete without healthy meals. When you make your wellness retreat schedule, make sure you take some time to plan out what you are going to be eating. I recommend avoiding artificial sugars, fast foods, fried foods, anything processed, meat, and dairy. Focus on whole foods – eating lots of fresh fruit and veggies and getting plant based proteins. It is always great to start the day with a smoothie or fresh juice.
You also might want to add some teas to your diet or turmeric lattes. Herbal medicine can work wonders on your body, mind and soul.
8. Learn something new
As I mentioned above, transformation is a big part of a wellness travel trip. One of the reasons why we have such transformational experiences on wellness trips is because we get to learn new things, and we are open to new ideas.
When you are having your wellness weekend, try to take some time to learn something new. You could do some research on a topic you are fascinated about, for example I love vampire folklore so I might spend some time reading about vampire legends around the world.
Some some time researching about a culture, and learn more about their history, and traditions. You could also try to learn a new skill – maybe an instrument, art project, photography, cooking, write some poetry, take an online course etc.
It doesn’t matter what you learn – the point is that you pick something that makes you come alive and that you are interested.
9. Create a wellness playlist
Your DIY home retreat needs some calming music. I highly recommend that you find some calming sounds and songs and create a playlist for your wellness weekend. You can listen to the playlist while you meditate or do yoga or just have it on in the background through out your day. You can use my wellness weekend playlist if you would like.
10. Create a home spa for you DIY wellness weekend
A little pamper never hurt nobody! For your home wellness retreat give yourself a spa day. Wash your face, do a mask, do your nails, give yourself a hair treatment, give yourself a massage etc.
11. Let go of what is weighing you down and set new intentions for the future
This is so important. One of the greatest things you can do during your wellness weekend is let go of anything that is weighing you down and stopping you from being the best version of yourself and planning your dream future.
This could include relationships, habits, thought patterns, limiting beliefs, old versions of yourself, past failures, jobs, items, houses, personal items etc.
It’s time to let go of what happen in the past and a wellness retreat is the perfect time to do. I know that this is hard to do, but it is so important and is the key to a) your future happiness and b) so you can move forward.
You got to heal your heart and soul babes, and letting go of what is not working for you is the first place to start.
Here are some journal prompts you can use to figure out what you need to let go of.
• What do I need to let go of from my past, so that I can move forward in a positive direction?
• Which area of my life do I want to improve and what is stopping me from improving it?
• I let go of…(*just start writing and see what comes up for you.)
Once you figured out what you need to release, perform a letting go action. This simple action will act as a symbol of your releasing. Here are some actions you could use…
- write a goodbye letter to that person, place or thing you are letting go of, that you don’t send. You could tear it up or burn it after you are done.
- Grab toilet paper and write out your feelings or a goodbye and flush it down the toilet.
- Sell or get rid of any physical items.
- Write out on a piece of paper what you are release and tear it or burn it after.
- Declare it! Literally, drive to some open space and shout out that you are letting go and moving on. Shout out to the universe what you are releasing.
- Have a funeral for what you are releasing. You don’t have to bury anything, but you could take time to write out and a goodbye or eulogy and let the past die.
- Have a cleansing shower or bath and visualize that thing, idea, person or place washing off of you and into the drain.
After you let go. Give yourself space to feel any emotions that come up. When you are ready, it is time to dream up what can take its place. Get clear on what you want babes! The universe is endless and you can create anything you want. Create a vision board, write out some goals, create new affirmations, make a life plan etc.
Express a lot of gratitude, pray and get pumped babe because you are moving forward with your life.
12. Read
My last idea for your wellness staycation is to read. Pick up a self-help book and dive into it over your wellness retreat. You can check out my list of books that have changed my life.
If you really can’t get into self-help books (that’s ok they aren’t for everyone), then just grab a good fiction book in your favourite genre. It can be one of your favourites that you read every year or a new one.
Fun DIY Wellness Weekend Ideas To Try
- Pick a country and make it your theme for your wellness weekend. Pretend that you are in that country and base your learning, food and other activities around that country.
- Focus on one of the wellness activities. Depending on what your life looks like right now. You might be drawn to one of the activities more then the others, and that’s ok! Make your wellness program all about that activity. If you feel like you just want to focus on meditation, create a home meditation retreat schedule and spend your days in and out of different meditations.
- Leave your phone charging and don’t look at it for the whole weekend. Social media can really get us down, if you want a good cleanse, turn your phone off and enjoy a weekend free of your phone and all of its apps.
- You can make this as long or short as you want. I have been calling it a wellness weekend a lot in this post, but depending on your time you can make your home wellness retreat as long or as short as you want. A day, weekend, week, month – whatever you have time for is perfect.
I hope that this DIY wellness weekend guide helps you to relax, heal and transform. If you follow this guide please let me know – I would love to hear how your at home wellness retreat went.
Sending you all of the love and light,
