Revitalise your body and mind with wellness retreats for the New Year

A retreat from the noise, hurries and expectations is a good New Year’s gift to give to your body and mind.

Capitalising on the Christmas holidays is more than a global trend in the world of tourism. It is, above all, a smart idea. It is about taking advantage of your rest time to optimise your body and mind through rest and come back in a better shape and with a higher performance.

Wellness retreats are a great way to say goodbye to or to welcome the year. In these programmes, you not only rest, but also learn how to manage stress, improve your diet and improve your performance through meditation and mindfulness – two ways to reconnect with our inner self and give the body an overall reset.

Outdoor walks and contact with nature are two great benefits of retreating during these holidays. Professor Bruno Ribeiro, head of the Cognitive Development unit at SHA Wellness Clinic, explains the benefits of walking in nature for 20 to 30 minutes a day. “Walking has two aspects: when you walk in familiar places, and when you walk in new surroundings. If you walk in places you already know, the first positive effects are cardiovascular activation: if you move your legs, you move your heart. As you walk, you turn your head: your field of vision changes and you encounter visual stimuli to the right and to the left. In this manner, both hemispheres of the brain are activated, the walk gets them talking to each other. This is great exercise, because, in the brain, one hemisphere tends to dominate the other,” says the professor.

These walks in nature are a unique opportunity to do grounding, the practice of walking barefoot on the ground or grass –  a grounding that fills us with negative electrons and discharges all the electricity we carry with us because of living surrounded by Wi-Fi networks and electronic devices.

At SHA Wellness Clinic, the Rebalance & Energisehealth programme , designed for a four-day stay, is ideal for those who do not have a specific health objective, but need to relax and disconnect from their surroundings, while learning how to incorporate new healthy habits into their lives. The programme includes a personalised health and healthy eating plan. It is the perfect gift for those who make it their New Year’s resolution to start taking care of their health, but don’t know where to begin.

Rebalance & Energise combines natural therapies and state-of-the-art technology, including SHA Detox massage and electric lymphatic drainage, combined with oriental therapies and traditional massages designed according to the needs of the guest. It also includes private mind and body balancing sessions and access to Healthy Living Academy activities, including walks in nature and healthy cooking classes.

Another great plan for this Christmas is to do a yoga retreat, whether for the initiated or for beginners. It is never too late to begin this practice and, according to the teachers, it is the only physical discipline that can be started at any age and you will always improve.