The Retreat Industry has Changed. So Have the Needs of the Soul
I hope you are well on this auspicious eclipse morning!
Sending love to you as we enter this year of the fire horse
As some of you know i have been leading retreats for fourteen years now 💗
Long enough to have seen cycles come and go. Long enough to remember when retreats were niche, slightly alternative, and quietly radical. Long enough to feel — viscerally — how much has shifted in what people are arriving with, asking for, and needing.
There was a time when retreats were about escape.
A break. A pause from busy lives. A yoga holiday, a little reset, a little sunshine and inspiration before returning to “real life.”
That is absolutely no longer what people are coming for.
What I see now — again and again — are nervous systems that are tired. People who are overwhelmed, hyper-connected, carrying more than is reasonable for one human body and heart to hold. People who are functioning, coping, even succeeding… but not necessarily feeling safe.
And safety — real safety, not comfort — has become the central theme of my work these days.
In these times, retreat work can be misunderstood.
It can look self-indulgent from the outside. A luxury. An optional extra. Something frivolous in a world that feels heavy, polarised and uncertain.
But what I witness on retreat tells a very different story.
The work that happens in these spaces is not indulgent - it is regenerative. When someone finally exhales after years of holding themselves together, that shift doesn’t just affect them. It ripples outward — into their families, their relationships, their workplaces, their communities. A regulated nervous system parents differently. Loves differently. Leads differently.
When one person softens, the whole system around them feels it.
What people need now is space.
Not just physical space, but inner space. Time without devices. Time without constant input, outrage, comparison, performance. Time where the body can drop out of survival mode and remember how to rest, feel and listen.
Souls need support right now.
Not fixing. Not bypassing. Support.
And this is where retreats matter - when they are held with integrity.
Yes, there are more retreats than ever before. And in many ways, that’s a beautiful thing. It speaks to a collective remembering that we cannot heal alone, that we need rhythm, ritual, and togetherness.
But it also brings responsibility.
Holding space is not a buzzword. It is a skill. A practice. A lived embodiment. It requires nervous system literacy, emotional maturity, ethical clarity and the ability to stay present when things get uncomfortable because real transformation often does.
A retreat is not simply a rented villa with a schedule and a mood board.
It is a container. And containers shape outcomes.
In a world where people are more vulnerable, more open and more depleted than ever, the quality of leadership matters deeply. Who is holding the group. How safety is created. What happens when someone cracks open. Whether the facilitator knows how to ground, integrate and close - not just open.
For me, retreats have become less about peak experiences and more about deep holding. Less about doing, more about being. Less about transformation as spectacle, more about steady, embodied change that lasts.
People don’t need more stimulation.
They need to feel met. Seen. Safe enough to soften.
And when that happens - quietly, reverently - lives change. Not loudly. Not dramatically. But in ways that endure.
That is why I still believe in retreat work, indeed why I LOVE my retreat work. Perhaps now more than ever ...
If this is speaking to your soul, perhaps it's time for a SOUL ADVENTURE ...
We have just added another Menorca date to our 2026 offerings - Safe to Surrender - will happen in October in majestic lands here in Menorca.
And I so very much look forward to sharing these deeply healing days with some of you.
Full details are below:
View the SAFE TO SURRENDER Webpage Here
And this week, we are into week 3 of our 4 weeks of free classes from THE SKY CIRCLE - I for one have been absolutely LOVING these weeks with our fabulous teachers and literally like an old mother hen, I couldn't be more proud of them for all the incredible healing energy they are pouring out into the world and honestly it's not the performance, it's the intention and LOVE and CARE that each and every one of them is putting into their offerings that is bringing me to tears each and every time ...
You can see this weeks schedule here and sign up for free.
View the SKY CIRCLE Webpage Here
AND I'm excited I get to teach myself next Sunday.
Join my class below:
If you managed to get to the end of this - thanks for reading.
Sending love to the max,
xTrish