Stepping away from it all on a nurturing day retreat with Wonderbreath in London
Sasha Bates reviews Touching the Soul, a one day nurturing retreat in London, and discovers two wise women, a secret rose garden and the joy of cocooning
Ground down by overwork, stress and insomnia, and with a shouty internal critic turned up to the max, it was hard to imagine that a day spent not far from central London could make much of a dent in my exhaustion. But the minute the gates swung open to reveal Andrea Lucas’ petite, but perfectly formed, cottage with its immaculate pink and white rose garden, I felt transported.
Within minutes, I knew I was in the presence of healing women who do what they do from a genuine love of helping others. Justine Clement is a breathworker, and her business partner Andrea is a body psychotherapist and masseuse. Together, near the western end of London’s Metropolitan line at Harrow-on-the-Hill, they work their magic on women, who, like me, need to release tension and heal.
Between them they made me feel immediately wanted, welcomed and fully safe to let go and just allow myself to be cared for. That’s a tough thing to do at the best of times, but particularly when you only have a day in which to do it.
“When it was over, I felt buzzy, more awake and more alive. I was fully inhabiting my body - more aware of it and listening to it better. I’d gone in shattered, had worked quite hard, and yet I felt energised”
A straight-to-the-point chat over a warming herbal tea in the cottage gave these intuitive and compassionate souls a pretty good idea of what I might be needing, what I might be defending against, and why I’d let myself get to this state of overwhelm.
I was soon whisked through the garden to the annexe, a soothing, creamy off-white space, with accents of baby blue. Light filtered through floaty curtains and fairy lights twinkled. The mattress and armchair were laden with cushions and blankets.
It was here, as I lay on the mattress, where Justine spent the next two hours inducting me in the art of conscious connected breathwork. This is the opposite of pranayama breathing, with which I am more familiar – the latter being about controlling the breath, while Justine’s connected conscious breathwork is about release and accessing our shut-off, defended places of holding.
It was hard work, uncomfortable at times, both physically and emotionally challenging, yet I could feel strong sensations shifting my very cells and molecules in a way that allowed them to resettle in a different, seemingly healthier configuration.
When it was over, I felt buzzy, more awake and more alive. I was fully inhabiting my body - more aware of it and listening to it better. I’d gone in shattered, had worked quite hard, and yet I felt energised, but also grounded. It was powerful stuff.
I was grateful to have half an hour alone afterwards, curled up in the armchair with a blanket and hot water bottle, able to journal in the lovely notebook Justine and Andrea had gifted me for my notes.
But the breathing and processing had left me very much ready for my lunch and this turned out to be delicious, made by local chef and herself a therapist, Lila Gladwell. In the bijoux cottage dining room, it was served on elegant glassware and crockery, beautifully arranged atop a white linen tablecloth.
As we ate, Justine, Andrea and I chatted about the various ways we let ourselves get bogged down and how hard it is to get out of that busy cycle. But they gave me some practical tools to help me think differently about some of my ingrained habits.
Lunch and new ideas digested, I was treated to the most delicious massage. A good two hours to melt into the bed in the annexe while Andrea worked her surprisingly firm yet gentle and instinctive hands into all my various knots and niggles.
The day ended with another nurturing chat with Andrea and Justine. Together, they have decades of experience in a breadth of modalities, and they rightly have confidence in what they provide, which makes for a very safe and held day.
Feelings of guilt, or not being entitled, are dissected and banished. The overriding, and very necessary main message is that whatever comes up, we can allow, listen to and be in the moment with.
Encouraged to walk away from all the ‘shoulds’, I left feeling I was also walking away from a secret garden where time had stopped. I was surprised by how much relief just one single day cocooned away from real life can provide, when everything is all about you. It had been time for relaxation, care and rejuvenation with two experienced, wise women, and it may have been just for a day, but what a powerful one.
