I had been in a state of high anxiety for months, with serious doubts over my relationship and my life choices. I felt completely stuck in life and needed help finding a way forward. I was originally looking for a yoga retreat to help bring me out of my anxious state and to bring clarity of mind, so that I could make the big life decisions that were currently holding me back.
When looking through BookRetreats, I came across Pingel’s retreat, and something made me look into it more. Being completely honest, a dance retreat was completely out of my comfort zone and not something I would ever have considered previously.
However, I decided to reach out to Pingel, and I had an initial call with her to discuss my needs. It was this discussion with Pingel, coupled with all of the amazing reviews from people who had been in a similar situation, that made me decide to book the retreat. I liked the fact that the retreat was 1:1, and so would be completely tailored to my needs. The other reason I chose this retreat was because I felt that I would connect better and be able to open up more with a female therapist rather than a male.
My week on the retreat was really amazing. It was a very emotional, eye-opening week, during which Pingel really helped to calm my nervous system and taught me how to come out of my mind and back into my body. I learned who I am as a person and how to accept and fully embrace that. I also learned to listen to my body, understand what it is telling me and how I am truly feeling, and to use this to guide my decisions rather than letting my mind run wild with fear at the ‘what ifs’. The week really helped bring clarity of mind, so that since returning home, I’ve been able to look at my life choices and make my decisions going forward with love instead of fear.
In terms of the dance aspect of the retreat, I’ll admit that I was really apprehensive in the lead-up to the retreat. However, I found that I actually really loved it, and I looked forward to it each day. As the week went on, I felt more and more comfortable dancing, and it was truly incredible how dancing can bring out certain emotions and help you to be more in tune with your body and understand what it is feeling.
Other things to mention are the beautiful setting of the retreat – I attended in March so it was a bit cooler and the pool wasn’t in use, but it was still warm and sunny enough some days to sit out in the lovely garden and on one of the cooler days I had the log burner on in the guest house to snuggle up by.
The food cooked by Peter was so delicious and carefully prepared each day from scratch. Pingel and Peter also went out of their way to get me some decaf coffee in so I could enjoy a cappuccino each day, which I really appreciated!
One thing I was anxious about before attending the retreat was being by myself (as it was 1:1), but I found that I wasn’t by myself very often, and the times that I was alone, I actually welcomed it as I wanted to rest or reflect on the activities of the day. Peter, Pingel, and I would often sit and chat over tea and cake about both my learnings from the retreat, and also other non-related topics – they are both easy to talk to and very interesting people.
Finally, I just want to say that I am so glad that I chose this retreat. I’ve already been able to make some huge life decisions that I was previously struggling with, and although I don’t have everything worked out just yet, I know in my heart that everything will be ok and that there is now a way forward.
Thank you, Pingel and Peter!
