FREE 4-Day Retreat Program: Slow Living
Special offer: get Growthcation's first retreat program materials FOR FREE! (Normal price: 39 €)
In this retreat program, you will dive deep into the concepts of slow living, both theoretically (through reading) and practically (through meditating, yoga practices, goal setting, etc.). During the program, you will explore at least four ways of slowing down and simplifying your life: decluttering, de-owning, mindfulness, and digital minimalism.
By the end of your retreat, you will come up with specific goals and detailed steps on how to start simplifying your life back home.
The program’s schedule is intended for a 4 days / 3 nights retreat. Feel free to alter it to your needs.
If you are staying for a longer period, you might want to focus on just one topic per day. In this case, your day 1 will extend over 2 days, and so on. If you have just a short weekend at your disposal, start with days 1 and 2 during your retreat and continue with days 3 and 4 once you are back home.
Why slow lifestyle is important?
Today's number one disease is neither diabetes nor obesity, but constant rush. Fast living, fast food, quick loans, flash sales, instant purchases, fast profits, and all the time such a big rush. So much needs to be accomplished, bought, acquired, and demonstrated to others. It seems that there’s never enough, that we are never enough. When working overtime, we anxiously wait for a day off, but the moment when it finally arrives, we are unable to enjoy it and truly relax. Boredom and dissatisfaction flow over us. And again, we are out there, in the fast-paced world to achieve even more. More money, things, savings, brand clothes, luxury, status, cool social media images. An eternal rat race, at the end of which, there is still the same result - frustration, feeling of inferiority, and burnout.
Even if the current pace of life has already slowed down with the pandemic, did it happen in a positive way? Or has the overwork routine just been replaced by overeating, over worrying and overconsumption (of things, TV-watching, social media, videogames) in order to fill the void created by too much free time and too much uncertainty regarding the future?
Have you ever dreamt of escaping the rat race and/or the boredom and confusion of the post-COVID world and make your first step towards a more conscious and meaningful life? Give yourself a few days away from the over hurried and overstressed world. During the Growthcation slow living retreat, you will learn more about slow philosophy and start practicing a lifestyle that is more sustainable, fulfilling, and satisfying.
“When we let go of ... stress, tension, clutter, excess, expectations, shoulds, obligations, judgements, ego, ownership, trying to please everyone, specific outcomes, total control, perfectionism, impossible standards, being everywhere, being everything to everyone … we gain lightness, clarity, space, time, energy, purpose, compassion, acceptance. We allow ourselves to move forward. And slowly, we discover that contentment and simplicity lie on the other side.”
- Brooke McAlary
Have you ever wondered how to:
- have less and be more
- do less and live more
- hurry less and accomplish more
- buy less and buy better
- consume less and create more
- stress less and smile more
- have more space and less clutter
- be more in the present and less in the past or future?
Slow living might give answers to any of these questions.
“From tree changes to urban living, tiny homes to ethical consumption, self-sustainability to slow food – there is no one way to describing the external indicators of slow living, because there is no one way to a slower, simpler life.”
- Brooke McAlary
Before your retreat
Step 1: Sign up for a full program
Press Download the program above to receive access to the full retreat program.
Step 2: Buy the study book
“Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World” by Brooke McAlary will be your guidebook into a slow lifestyle.
Step 3: Choose your retreat venue
See tips on how to choose an ideal retreat venue and reasons why home retreat is not recommended.
Step 4: Prepare and pack
Familiarize yourself with pillars of a self-led retreat and guiding principles of a self-led retreat, then make necessary preparations and pack.
We also recommend you print out blank goals and action steps worksheets to fill them in by hand for better convenience during your retreat.
Daily Action Steps Worksheet - compact version on 1 page
Daily Action Steps Worksheet - extended version on 2 pages
Step 5: Make it happen!
Mark your transformational retreat dates in your calendar and go for it.
Included in the program
- daily guidelines
- daily retreat schedule
- goal-setting worksheets
- healthy nutrition guidelines put together by a professional nutritionist
- recommended yoga and meditation videos from YouTube
For this program, you have to buy the guidebook (“Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World” by Brooke McAlary), if you do not already have it in your personal library. The rest of the materials are included in the program.
What to bring
- e-reader (If you buy an electronic edition of the guidebook, we strongly recommend reading it in a distraction-free device rather than on your tablet, smartphone, or laptop)
- pen and writing pad/diary
- candles and incense sticks for mood creation
- warm and soft loose clothes from natural fabrics
- comfortable clothes for exercise, meditation and (nature) walk
- comfortable underwear
- comfortable shoes
- warm socks
- slippers
- towels
- eco-friendly toiletries
- organic tea
- lemons
- ginger
See the full packing list here
What else to bring
- an open mind
- positive energy
- determination
- grit and perseverance
What not to bring
- expectations
- perfectionism
- self-doubts
- old negative habits and thought patterns
- materialistic desires