I just returned from ten days of utter bliss at the healing oasis Sanoviv.

Grateful.  Zenned Out.  Uber healthy.  Relaxed.

For the first five days, 24 of our coaches and I detoxed, learned and relaxed during our Wellness and Business Training Retreat.  I stayed an additional five days for my Sanoviv Integrative Health Assessment.  Since I don’t really care for the annual “check-ups” in the US, I go to Sanoviv every three years or so to decompress, do preventative health assessments and to learn any new cutting edge mind-body-spirit health tips that I can add to my coaching, programs and my own health routine.

So what did I learn from this visit to Sanoviv? How can you take the learnings at a healing oasis and use them in “real life”?  How am I doing the same?

#1 Healing Lesson :  The power of women coming to together and how important that is for the female psyche.

Since days of old, women’s circles have provided connection, support and expansion.  It was amazing to see the transformation of 24 women in five days – not just from our raw food detox (and the ability of colonic conversations to shave off weeks of getting to know someone), but also from the bonding and learning from each other.  Rosy cheeks, smiles, relaxed foreheads and eye-corners…some of the tell-tale signs of women enjoying and relaxing into themselves…and into each other’s company.

As a reformed (and still learning) “type A, driven business woman” who used to not make time for hanging out with women (what was I thinking?), I’ve become aware of how important it is to connect my women friends on a regular basis. How good it feels.  How time with girlfriends increases my vibration, which in turn naturally helps both my business and life balance. Connect, enjoy, relax and everything else works better. Novel concept.

How can you use this in “real” life, outside of a retreat, knowing that connecting with women can naturally increase your life and business success?

• Create a Facebook group for a “tribe” of women that you resonate with. For your five best girlfriends.  Your book club.  Your friends at your Zumba® class.  We created a Feb 2012 Sanoviv Wellness and Business Retreat Facebook Group for our coaches and it’s been so fun to see the dialogue, support, pictures, recipes, questions and tips flying back and forth.
• Start a once a month get together for women in your area with a different topic each time – Prosperity, Health, Communication, Purpose. Create a “tribe” of women that come together to learn from each other, relax, expand, laugh and play.
• Join a women’s group that resonates with you. I just started a 5 Week Tantric Dance of the Feminine Power course with a group of women and I can’t believe how happy it’s making me feel.  How much that happiness has infused my business and life.

#2 Healing Lesson:  The power of stillness and how important it is for everyone’s psyche and nervous system.

With stress now being attributed as the one of the leading causes of disease, Sanoviv knows the necessity of creating stillness and downtime.  Curfew was at 9pm, which was welcomed since it’s amazing how tired one is after spending the day getting healthy!  Internet and cell phones are not allowed in the main areas or your room (cell phones don’t work and there is no wi-fi). We could use the internet in the business room if absolutely necessary, but were encouraged to disconnect as much as possible – which was SO healthy for me.   Stillness and non-busyness…hallelujah.

In addition, Sanoviv is built on the old Levi Strauss property and on/around an amazing energy vortex.  You can literally feel the calm, still, beautiful healing vibe throughout the property and buildings. Which is why, of course, Dr. Wentz, founder of my product partner USANA Health Sciences and Sanoviv, chose to build his healing oasis in this exact location.

The original Strauss house is still intact, sits on a third of the property and is home to  the meditation, psychology, piano, library and reading rooms.  As soon as you walk into the house, you feel enveloped by stillness, peace and an immediate quietening of the mind and spirit.  My favorite “part” of Sanoviv, I went there every day with a book and my journal. Staring out at the ocean, tucked up in a oversized chair, I allowed my body to relax into the stillness.  No talking, no where to get, nothing to solve…just to relax and be still.

How can do this in “real” life and not just at a retreat?

• Have a self-professed no cell and internet day. (Or 1/2 a day if that is too scary).  Sundays work great for this.
• Don’t think you HAVE to answer your cell if it rings. I never answer my cell unless the call has been scheduled or it’s a close friend/family member.  Even then, a lot of times I will let it go to voice mail so I can respond rather than “react”.
• Take time to sit for 5-10 min on your own. Journal, breathe, read a book – whatever it is that calms you.  Every day, do something for 5-10 min that encourages you to be STILL.  To slow down.  To feel your breath, your body and and your feelings. This is one of the best things to do for your long term health and enjoyment of TODAY.  And remember, “if it’s not scheduled, it’s not real”- Marie Forleo.  So schedule your 5-10 min like an appointment. I guarantee that your physical health and your emotional spirit will thank you for it.  You will ENJOY your life more today. I know this from personal experience.
• Slow down the things you usually rush. For example, when I return from any outing or errands, typically I’m rushing to get out of the car and get everything put away as fast as I can.  By the end of my whirling dervish ten minutes, I’m exhausted.  Try this…slow down the very thing that you’re rushing.  Imagine that you’re a “Zen Maven”.  Notice how much it relaxes your nervous system and that it creates enjoyment in the moment…which is what it is ALL about.

Well…that’s not all I learned, but this is as long as I want my blog to be today!  Stay tuned for more tips and Sanoviv recipes coming up….

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Be Happy….Be Vibrant…

Carmen xo