The Collective Contraction.

I went to write this piece around twelve months ago, and had hoped I wouldn’t have to. At the time I had welcomed clients through the door to one of our Australian Detox Retreats. Afterwards I quietly made my way to a spot high on the Caldera overlooking Mt. Woolumbin, the first spot in Australia each day to be touched by the morning sun. There was a sense that this retreat, over a year ago now, would be different.?

There was more than the ‘first day nerves’. We expect guests to be a little anxious upon their arrival, not knowing exactly what they’ve got themselves into. But this was something far more palpable - they’d all been holding on for dear life (HODL) for almost a year now, as they witnessed the structure and certainty of their external environment dissolve into a sea of uncertainty, fear, and polarity. It was like everyone had their fingers wedged deep in the crevice of an overhang, legs dangling out into the abyss below them, and were not letting go come hell or high water.?

It was like everyone had their fingers wedged deep in the crevice of an overhang, legs dangling out into the abyss below them, and were not letting go come hell or high water.?

Deep in the sympathetic nervous system, clients were in a heightened state of ‘flight or flight’, a stress response not uncommon in some of our individual clients. But this more than the individual. This was a collective contraction. And while I had hoped and assumed at the time that the deep release would soon come as ‘things’ changed externally, here we are another year on - still holding on for dear life - the body yearning for a deep unraveling, a deep release…

As our bodies contract so too does our internal landscape - the invisible energetic pathways (meridians) that guide the unseen world within us. And over time the contraction fosters a stickiness and stagnation. And eventually sickness. Without allowing the body to release the tension, without allowing the unraveling, we set ourselves up on a path towards the inevitable breakdown of our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.

As the past retreat unfolded the first three days were heavy. Our hosts kept bringing clients back to their bodies through yoga, meditation, and the physical detox process. Understanding that initially growth can be uncomfortable, we continued to create a safe and nurturing retreat space for clients to be held, allowing them to lean into the uncertainty and trust the process of letting go.?

And then it came. On day four. The collective release. It was ugly and beautiful all at once. Bodies discombobulated. Minds disheveled. Spirits disordered. And then slowly and gently our clients came back into their bodies. And there they and felt spaciousness. And where there was clouded confusion in their minds they now found clarity. And where there had once been a disconnection, there was now a sense of innate wisdom. They understood that despite the collective chaos around them they now had tools to navigate their response.

It was ugly and beautiful all at once. Bodies discombobulated. Minds disheveled. Spirits disordered... And where there had once been a disconnection, there was now a sense of innate wisdom.

I slowly made my way back up the hill. It was day eight and our Australian retreat clients had broken their fast around the communal table at Gymea Eco Retreat. There had been lots of laughter. A lightness.

And now they were on their way home. And as I looked out over the caldera I dropped to my knees and had a release of my own. I’d been holding on for dear life myself, and now had the space to let go.

Natural Instinct Wellbeing have upcoming Australian residential retreats in February, March and May 2022. For more information and bookings call +61 1800 875 169 (toll free) or discover online here.