ON RETREAT

Ensemble co-founder and our resident wellbeing enthusiast, Rebecca Wadey, on the wellbeing products and practices she’s enjoyed recently. This week, the power of the health retreat.

Iam ah eal thr etreat junkie .I love turnin g up by mysel fi n toas lightl y co nfronting situation, findin gso lace in th ek inship of strangers (a d emon share disad emon halved, afte ra ll) and abdicatin gr esponsibility for the boring parts of life (cookin g, c leanin g, b ein go n time) to othe rp eople. My first heal th r etreat was in Koh Samui, Thailand, in 2000. I did two coffee enemas a day, dra nk n othing but pineapple juice and coconut wate r,a n dd eliriously observed rats run through the floorboards and roof of my thatched hut at night.

Blessedly, Aro Ha is nothing like that. No attention to d etail has been spare di n this Scandinavianinspired architectura lm asterpiece overlooking

La ke W akatipu in Glenorchy. Here , th el andscape is the he ro f eature an d th el uxe buildings (including possibl y th e world’s most Instagrammable yoga studio; Rees eW itherspoon has practise di n it) simply serve to enhance it.

The daily schedule at Aro Ha goe sso mething like this: Wake toasi nging bowl outside your room at aroun d 6a m (time is a mere construct at Aro Ha, the leaders are vague on the fine rd etail s,a n dw e are encourage d to not use our phones), yoga in said studio shortl y th ereafter, breakfast (all meal s ar e plantbased, with up to 45% of the food grown on site, but substantial .Th e stand-out breakfast was a raw bagel with realistic ‘salmon’ of cured carrot with nut ‘cheese ’a nd sprouts), then an off-site hike followe d by lunch, a massage ,a lesson or learnin gofso me k ind (fermentation workshops, pilates, breathwork and journaling practice sw ere all on offe r) a nd/or time spen ti n their dreamy saun aa n dp lunge pool with a vi e w, b efore dinne r fo llowe dbyasp ecially crafted shot of lavender, tart cherry and magnesium ,th en yin yoga before bed. Honestly, it’s a vibe.

An dfora nyone who is able to treat themselve s to this luxury in today’s world it’s ve ryw ell worth it.

But Aro Ha is sanguine about how practical it is to liv el ike that (although the delightful, joy-fille da nd compassionat e le ade rs a ll seem to r eadily embody the spirit, hiking aroun dth em otu togethe ri n their spare time ),d escribing our time on th el ast day as ‘an intensive’, n otar eality.

The retreat’s emphasis o nn ature , fr esh air, fresh wate ra n dbr eathin gisi nspiring; those reall yar e the fundamental sofw ellbeing; they’ve simply enhanced them for us in th em ost supercharge dofs ettings. My late-40s’ foggy brain came away feelin gsor efreshed an dr evived, I’ve yet to go back to a lcohol or coffee. An dtoh elp me kee p th e vibe sa live? Aro Ha handily has a YouTube channel that houses movemen ta nd breathing practice stor emin dustobr eathe in the outside world. – Rebecca was hosted as guest of Aro Ha