Are health retreats worth the money
3 Jan 2014

Are health retreats worth the money?

2 mins to read
Are health retreats worth the money, or are you better off having a self-guided adventure?


Going on a retreat is no small commitment. A week away can cost up to $3,000 – food and accommodation included (flights not!).

So are retreats worth it, or are you better off having a self-guided adventure?

Earlier this year I travelled to Bali for a women’s-only health retreat, called ‘Bali Goddess Retreat’. I paid the amount listed above, plus $600 for flights and insurance.

I was skeptical prior to leaving. Going wasn’t my idea. I’d had a hard, stressful start to the year, and as I teach at university, my best friend suggested I spend one week of the mid-semester holidays doing yoga and eating Balinese food.

“I’d rather go to India!” I protested. “What you need, Rosie, is to be still: quiet down your mind, focus on your health and have time to think,” she replied.

What I got was this: a peaceful room of my own (I shared my bathroom with others), about 2.5 hours of yoga a day (optional – you can attend the sessions you wish to), and almost every meal catered for, shared on a long table with 11 other women who ranged in age from 21 to 71.

The meals were presented with love and finesse, but they weren’t uber healthy. The yoga was amazing, but our teacher, though loveable, had an ego the size of Mount Kosciusko.

I had a lot of free time in which to think and be still. I also had a psychic reading, which was perhaps one of the highlights! (Apparently my life is going to work out just fine???).

Oh, and I had three ‘goddess days’ whereby I selected activities such as bike riding through Balinese villages (amazing), cooking and stand-up paddle boarding; as well as 12 hours of spa treatments – all of which I spent on massages and a facial.

At first, I didn’t love it. I thought the retreat was over-priced and the constant reference to guests as “goddesses” seemed cheesy. It also took a while to connect with the other women – I thought there was a dearth of ‘listeners’ and a surplus of ‘talkers’, the latter vying for conversational air space. I should also add that the retreat was based in Seminyak, which is a busy, trendy, scooter-filled part of Bali.

By day three, however, I was really getting into the yoga, and I felt a mood shift occur. Most of my stress dropped away, I listened more freely, with less resentment. I also soaked up the opportunity to focus on my body via massages and deep sleeps. I found friends, too – surprisingly via the quieter women, who themselves took a bit longer to relax and open up.

The retreat gave me a chance to notice how much anxiety and stress I carry through my life at home, and let me see that I make little time for myself to be at peace. I began to view yoga as a way to build mental, as well as physical, strength. I’d previously battled to yoga a little bit, having found it too slow.

In short, wellbeing retreats let you step back from your everyday, examine your health traps and see patterns that are ripe for change. They also allow you to form lovely, deep relationships – you meet women at crossroads, and women from all over the world (depending where you go!).

Would I venture on this one again? Probably not. I’d genuinely rather have an adventure and I did expect a bit more for my buck. But there are times in everyone’s lives when we’re in a rut – emotional or physical – and retreats can fast-track better habits.  Personally, I got a lot out of going when I did.

Have you been to health retreat yourself, would you recommend it? 



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