Can't Keep My Mouth Shut - My 10 Lifestyle Changing Tips from Experiencing a Solo Wellness Retreat

Episode Date: April 10, 2023

​​I just felt, how do I say, 'stuck' and needed to reconnect with my inner self, which is why I took myself off to REVIVO Wellness Resort in Bali for a wellness retreat. It was my first ever wellness retreat and I had no idea what to expect, but it exceeded all my expectations.   Check out what happened during my stay there and my life-changing takeaways from my trip.   For more awesome content to read including beauty, fashion or dating & love features, please do head over to my digital platform www.nixalina.com.   Don't be shy, come say hai! Head over to my Instagram or Tiktok to slide into my DMs.

This podcast contains strong language and discussions about relationships, sex, and love. It may not be suitable for younger listeners. This is the Can't Keep My Mouth Shut podcast, and I am Nixalina. Hi everyone, it's Nixalina, and welcome back to my podcast. today, we're going to have a very calming, rejuvenating, holistic, beautiful, immersive episode. Oh, I really love my sexy voice then. We all appreciate that. It is called My 10 Lifestyle Changing Tips from Experiencing a Solo Wellness Retreat. That's right, people, a wellness retreat. So I decided I needed to go and try for the first time in my life

a wellness retreat because I felt very stuck. I felt very, I don't know, I think stuck's the main word. I didn't know what to do with myself. I felt like I was just living days on repeat on repeat and like not really getting anywhere that I really wanted to be in every possible aspect. I felt like I was still ruminating on the past, which doesn't serve me, but I couldn't really stop myself. And also, you know, love a takeaway. Love a little night out, couple of drinks, and then a takeaway. And I was just like, I just feel like I need to reconnect with myself, my body, my mind again. And of course, I've never tried a wellness retreat, ever. So, enter Revivo. I found Revivo while I was Googling. Also, if I say Revivo wrong, I'm so

sorry. I'm such a British basic bitch here. Revivo? I think it's Revivo. Yeah, that sounds better. Revivo, Revivo. Anyway, it's spelled R-E-V-I-V-O, and it derives from the Latin meaning of I live again. And I did a little Google research, stumbled upon Revivo and found that it was in Bali. I think there's another one in France, but of course, Bali is super close to me living in Singapore. And as soon as I went on the website, I was like, I need to be here. So the reason that I wanted to go and try Revivo Wellness Resort is because I like the way that they have this four core pillar retreat aspect that they focus on which aims to help everyone who go like leave feeling refreshed revitalized and basically connecting back with themselves

they also have actual coaches therapists and movement specialists on site these professionals they come in and as soon as you arrive at the resort you are taken into a consultation you You know, you have this really deep in-depth chat and everything's tailored towards your individual needs. I love that part because it's not just like broad spectrum retreat where you go, this is your schedule, you do this, this, and this, and this, regardless of whether those things serve you or not. This is not how this place works.

So looking at the four core pillars, it's based on food, movement, sleep, and holistic treatments. so we start with remissio which is the spa they have all kind of different treatments and hydrotherapies including hot and cold plunge pools steam rooms saunas and even a nail bar they focus on the skin health and also understanding that like you know your external health and wellness also really deeply affects your internal as well. And I feel like a lot of us, we think like spas are just like an unnecessary indulgence, whereas actually here they understand it's kind of part and parcel of your whole healthy living package lifestyle. The second core pillar

is Muvio. Am I saying that right? Muvio. Muvio. It's a fitness center, of course, based on a complete range of physical activities on the resort site that you can engage in as you wish. They have a large yoga room for up to 20 people. They have a huge gymnasium, a lap pool for aqua workouts. There's a beautiful garden area as well for outdoor exercises. And of course, there's also coaches on site constantly to help you go through all of these activities. Say you've never tried Pilates. Okay, go for it. Try it out. There's a Pilates area there as well. Basically, you can really give everything a go that you want, including meditation, which I will touch upon later. But yeah, there's loads of different things for you to do and to

keep you busy and to keep your body moving, which is the main important thing. Physical activity, of course, is integral to our wellness. The third pillar is Nutrio, which is food and beverage. So on site, they have the most incredible restaurant, right? I can't get over the food. it is fantastic. Everything is organic where possible, fresh, balanced. And the food, the plates are created with everything in mind. Things are not put there just for show or that they are created because this is what you need. You need these ingredients to really help your internal self get the best. Of course, we all know nutrition is a huge part of how we live our best lives. And of course, if you don't feel good on the inside, you know, like you, it affects your

mental health as well. I mean, I've said it before, like a lot of serotonin, I think the majority of your serotonin, which is your happy stuff, comes from the gut. So what you put inside your body, what you consume, huge deal. And the fourth pillar is nocturnal. So this is sleep, of course, and everything in the room is designed to make sure you have the best possible sleep you can which of course after a day or full of activities spa treatment sunshine swimming like you're gonna feel tired anyway they have the most incredible beds they have lamps inside with different lighting modes soft amber at night and stimulating blue lighting in the morning like everything is designed in that room for your own comfort, but also to make sure you can have the best night's

sleep because sleep is when our body repairs itself. And it's such an integral part. I feel like sleep is so underrated now. Everyone's like, oh, I live on like three, four hours sleep. No, no. Your aim should be eight hours if you can, people. And I know that sounds like a lot, but honestly three to four hours a night it's not doing you any good so those are the four key pillars of which revivo revivo revivo oh what should we go with the revivo it sounds much nicer doesn't it and that's what they base their whole experience on and with those four core pillars in mind they have six different signature immersive retreat programs. The retreat programs all have a minimum of three nights stay,

which is what I did. So I went for a really beautiful long weekend. And each retreat program is also tailor-made to suit the individual guest's needs. Okay. So the six that they have is press reset, de-stress and relax, longevity and anti-aging, mindfulness and emotional balance, sleep well and then finally detox weight loss and reshaping so of course it depends on what you currently need at the time so if you're looking to just relax if you're looking for some you know emotional change like each different retreat program is tailored to what to make sure you get the most out of it that you can and also they're really good at educating transformational technique so they know like it's not a quick fix this is you don't go for three nights and come

back like a new human but it's actually a fundamental change in you where you like educate yourself you learn and you take that back into your real life your normal routine and you consistently practice this over time and that's when you see the growth but to go to these wellness retreats like this one that's where you can really kick start that change and I think that's what I needed. That's why I reached out to them. So for my personal experience, when I arrived at Revivo, like immediately, I was like, oh, I'm going to love it here. I'm just going to love it here. Apart from the fact that the service staff were just excellent from the get-go, the whole setting is very tranquil. It's so peaceful. It's spread across three hectares

of teak tree forest, right, in South Bali. And when you go in, because it's surrounded by dense tropical rainforest, it's just so calming. I can't really explain unless you go there, but you just sort of like, as soon as you walk in, okay, everything's very calm, peaceful, and spacious. There's so much space. And I stayed in a garden suite. I was under the impression that there was this one large lap pool and that was it. No, no, no. Garden suites share a semi private pool with another one. So my garden suite was number five, which is my favorite number. And I was born on fifth of the fifth. So when I got number five, I was like, yep, I'm meant to be here. And I had this incredible pool in like, literally I opened my door, there's another pool

and it's like empty. There's no one around. I was just like, wow, it's just so calming and spacious. And in the actual suite itself, incredible, huge, like king size, four poster bed. There's a lounge area, desk area, massive sunken bathtub. Oh God, I was in my heaven. Then there's an indoor rain shower and then there's an outdoor rain shower as well and a pond with fish in it. If you want to go to my Instagram at Nixalina, N-I-X-A-L-I-N-A, you'll see the bath, you'll see the room. Oh my God, it's incredible. So even when you're just chilling in your suite, you are surrounded by so much comfort and luxury, but it's not like luxury. I feel like when we think of a luxury resort. We feel like very, it thinks very over the top or surplus. This isn't like that at

all. It's got such a beautiful underlining like eco-friendly, sustainable structure to it, which is actually a theme throughout the whole resort. And it also uses a lot of that beautiful Balinese traditional architecture and design to really just make you feel like you're in such an incredible space. So I didn't know what to expect. I walk into this. I'm a very, very happy girl. And I'm checking in, looking at my schedule. And I'm like, right, okay, the first thing I need to do in the morning is yoga. And it's early, but pre-breakfast. And then I have the day's activities ahead of me. I'm not going to go into the ins and outs of what I did for three days because, you know, you guys don't want to hear that. What I do want to do is talk to you

about the 10 life takeaways that I have since I've been at this resort and what it did for me and afterwards. Because I think that's what we really come for to these places, right? We want the change. We want the self-discovery. And we also want something that's going to really help us move forwards. I mean, disclosure, you don't need to feel any certain way to go to a wellness retreat. I think everyone should go on a solo trip to a wellness retreat at some point in their life. Hands down, that's like my baseline. Because of the stuff I'm about to talk about, the takeaways you get, I think everyone will benefit from it and make it solo. That's important. And that leads me on perfectly to my first point one.

Spending time alone can be painful, but beneficial. I discovered this pretty instantly when I got there. I have done solo trips before, happily, in fact, but this felt like I was alone in a very calm, quiet space. and I realized yeah quite quickly on that it's quite painful because you get very stuck in your head and I felt like I was starting to really push forward with that rumination which is one of the reasons why I went in the first place and it came out in the silence I wasn't at the retreat alone alone of course there were other guests but you're going through this experience alone

I stayed in my garden suite alone and I did the activities solo. I ate breakfast alone. I was by the pool alone. And it's quite painful. And that was quite a triggering thought process for me that I always thought because I live alone at home and I'm single that like, I'm okay. Like, I'm okay. No, because I go to work because I'm around my friends because I have plans all the time.

This is a different next level alone. And it is. It's painful, but I think it's also extremely beneficial. It helps you understand how much you clutter your life with stuff to keep you mentally busy, to avoid those dark, deep areas of yourself that if you did address, you would really come through as such a better person. which leads me on to point two unresolved trauma comes to the surface I did my morning yoga and it was you know like as per most yoga classes we started off with some really deep breathing exercises at the beginning 10 minutes of deep breathing which of course you know is a meditative state. And I was so uncomfortable, so, so uncomfortable. I just wanted to run out the room.

And I was like, what the is that? Where is that come from? And my brain just took me back to my fiance and everything he did to me. And I'm sitting there being like, okay, it's been a whole year since I left him. I'm in this beautiful wellness retreat. I'm currently doing these wonderful exercises for myself. Just be present. And I was trying to really talk myself into being present. And my brain was like, but do you remember that? But do you remember that? Do you remember when he did that? Do you remember why? Why do you think he did that? Do you think that was your fault? Oh my God. It was awful. I did not know that was still there. And I've done therapy for the past year as well you know like I really thought I was over what he put me through no and I only realized

in the last year how much I am not healed as much as as much as I wish was in that morning yoga practice and it scared me I like ran off to breakfast afterwards I say ran I mean I put my flip-flops on and walked to the nice bar area and I sat there and I just had my coffee and I was just like wow that was intense where does that come from and why am I not healed very strange but I think a lot of us would experience that when we if we go like you'll be like wow like just didn't know that was still a thing it's such a good thing for me to know that because it means I'm you know I'm not ready for a relationship just yet even though I thought it was it means that I need to recognize that was such severe damage and trauma of what that man put me through and that's okay

and it's okay that it still gets to me and it's okay that my subconscious brain is still in that and it's okay but wow I mean it's it was a lot point number three rediscovering passion for proper nutritional food I didn't realize how much I've become reliant on takeaways I'm very lazy until I had the most incredible dishes at this place I had like two lunches at one point I just kept ordering food because I was like it's too good it's incredible and I was trying all of these foods out that I haven't tried before like I've never had vegan cheese in my life and had this beautiful three tomato salad and vegan cheese oh my God, even now I'm just like, I want it again. It was so tasty. And the kind of things

that they were putting on the plate and the, I just got a passion for wanting to explore new flavors, different tastes, meat substitutes. Yeah. I didn't realize how much rubbish I do eat until this like three day healthy eating cleanse. And I was like, wow. So not only am I now trying to not eat as much takeaway, I'm also buying fresh foods that I can cook and create myself that I want to explore just new taste. It really ramped that up for me. And I loved it. I love the fact that that's part and parcel of it because I come back thinking like, right, I did a huge food shop as soon as I got back. Fresh veg, fresh fruit. And I was even thinking about trying to create some of their dishes at home. I can't because, you know, I'm not a qualified professional

chef with years experience. Point number four, you experience new activities that enrich your body. I've never done an ice bath before until this retreat and if you were on my socials you would have seen I really struggled I really struggled with the ice bath oh wow it was a lot um but it was also so hot I was so lucky with the weather when I went that I really craved it but my god I was like wow and I feel like people can go like have you ever meditated before have you ever tried Pilates? Have you ever done certain things in the gym? Have you ever been in an infrared sauna? There's so many things that your body that you've never tried before that you can put yourself through. And new experiences are always a good thing in my eyes. Like we should always be craving

new things for ourselves. And also, you know that these are designed with your body and mind. So whatever you do there, it's good for you. That's fantastic. Like whatever I do with my day-to-day is actually going to replenish me and nourish me and is good for my body. So let's go. I love that thought process. And you can obviously only really get that when you're at an actual wellness retreat. point five reigniting your old passions so for me I discovered I love my books I stopped reading quite a while ago actually when I was very intent on listening to YouTube videos and self-help YouTube stuff because I was feeling you know not my best and yet I love a fictional book so I took one with me thinking that like any spare time I have I would just pick it up and you know

oh my god I finished it the whole weekend I would like I would literally be waiting for pool time or evening time to finish my book so like on my Sunday night I ate dinner quite early three courses because it's so good and I finished like I don't know 7 30 and I was like right going back to my room. And then I read my book until I fell asleep. It was just so good. I was like, I forgot how much I love to read. And I feel like only in those spaces where you are with yourself alone, do you get to do things like that? You know, like some of us might bring our journals or I don't know, a notepad or some paper and a pencil and you might end up drawing or I don't know, or maybe swimming maybe you stop swimming and then you start doing laps in the lap pool again you know

it's just I love that for me finding my love for books again while I was in that space is such a huge takeaway and as soon as I come back I got a new one off my shelf and I started reading it and I was like yep this is what I remember doing before bed and it was my thing and I don't know why I ever stopped. Point six, realizing your dependency on technology. There is no TV in the room. I don't know if they put TV in the villas, but there definitely wasn't a TV in my room. And I'm so glad for it because like I said, I got to reconnect with my book, but also you do realize like, wow, I am so dependent on phones, TV stuff, noise, noise, noise. Keep me occupied. Keep me entertained, occupied, entertained. That's not good. And only in that space of quiet

do you realize how dependent you are on external disturbances to you to keep you occupied. I did not miss TV once. Didn't even think about it. Didn't cross my mind. I wasn't bored once. i sat with myself and yeah really enjoyed the moment was in the present and just addressed all those thoughts that i've previously discussed um and did it head on without any noise yes there is a wi-fi throughout so you can access your netflix on your phone you can access your podcast, can't keep my mouth shut, cough, can't keep, cough, can't keep my mouth shut. You can if you want to. I chose not to, and I'm really glad I did. Point seven, understanding the importance of the body and the mind connection.

I don't know how many of you ignore this fact, but yes, physical movements and the way you treat your body and the food you put in really affects your mental health and can greatly change like everything. And I think some of us, we go, okay, mental health, maybe I pop these pills. Oh, I'll do therapy. I'll do this. I'll listen to this. I'll read this self-help book. I do this. Your mental health is great. And they focus on that without realizing that like, are you doing enough exercise? Are you taking care of your skin? Are you having your self-care moments? Are you looking at holistic therapies? Are you looking at treatments to better yourself? Are you looking at your toxins, your lymphatic drainage? How much are you moving a day? Are you sitting down doing

meditation? Are you working on that part? You know, it's a huge connection, a 360 experience to be basically your best self. Because also other people go like, sod the mental health, I'm just going to focus on the physical activities. Okay, good. You're at the gym five hours a day. Why are you still sad when you get home? You know, it's a whole thing. It's completely integrated. And I feel like I left this retreat really refocusing on that and grasping that aspect. Point eight. Leading on from that, spa time isn't just overindulgence. It's actually part of a healthy living. I did an hour foot reflexology when I was there. Then I did an hour head, shoulder and neck massage. And then I did an hour papaya body wrap followed by a bath.

and oh yeah loved it but even that when I booked those in I felt like oh am I being just a little bit too self-indulgent here the foot reflexology I absolutely knew I wanted to do and I know the benefits of the foot stuff I know like people that like how dare you call it that but I know it helps your physical body and all the nerve endings connecting to the soles of your feet affect different organs, etc. So I 100% knew that. But even like the body wrap, I've never done a body wrap before. And I was like, you know what, I'm gonna give it a go. And I looked at the menu and the papaya one stood out to me for things that I would like with my body. And I generally left feeling like, well, you know, that was a little bit surplus, Nix. No, it isn't. It's self

care and self-care is so important massages are so important please get one once a month if you can release the toxins release the muscles it's no good you you know exercising your body to the nth degree and then not looking after the muscles it also relaxes you gives you a space for your brain to calm down as well like i'm for it spa time is not an overindulgence people you heard it here first. Point nine, I found appreciation for my life back home. For instance, my cats, my babies. I came away feeling like, oh, I'm so thankful. I'm just so grateful. That's the word. I came away with so much gratitude and appreciation for my life, my friends, my work, my home space. I just couldn't wait to get home and cuddle my babies, not because I wanted to leave,

I could have happily stayed there for another week. I just was like, wow, like, I'm so lucky. And I think it was just that mood of reflection that helped me put that into place. I did a lot of journaling while I was there as well. My manifestations, my gratitude. And I really, yeah, being in that space and being alone, like, even just having my fur babies around me is external stimulation. And with Take That Away, I was like, wow, I'm actually so grateful that I have you guys,

like your everything and my girlfriends and my plans and being able to go to these press events and just live the life that I have it really reset me mentally because I like I said I went because I felt stuck and I came away just so grateful and finally point 10 I realized that vacations and holidays and trips away do not need to be fueled by alcohol and groups. And I feel like a lot of us now, we go plan a holiday like, yeah, let's get everyone, let's go away, let's hire a boat, drink, barbecues, food, partying, let's go to the clubs. Yeah. And I'm not saying that that's not awesome, but that's not the only vacation that exists in the world I discovered animal conservation and volunteering at animal projects years ago and I

do it as much as I possibly can that fuels me right and I always pretty much go alone I met a best friend there and I go with her here there and everywhere to other different conservations but like I just did Borneo alone in January that for me is really like what I love but I think a lot of people wouldn't like they're just vacations must be with someone vacations must be at least with your partner or your boy group or your girl group vacations must be based around alcohol events festivals drinking day partying no no it's a no guys from me it's awesome to do that stuff but you will get so much more from a trip like this because of course a wellness retreat and a resort like Revivo is still a vacation it was still a holiday for me it's still something I

needed but it was a holiday that nurtured me so much I didn't come away with blurred memories bruises on my leg from a drunken night out that I can't remember and some guy's number who I'll never see again. I didn't come away from my vacation like that. I came away with so much that I can also use to move forward and continue in the ethos of which the retreat has been created, where it's transformational in the moment that you can then consistently use forward to change how you are, how you approach your life. And even if you just take away a little bit, Like the food. Maybe you just eat a little less junk food. Or the movement. Maybe you just add an extra exercise class that week. Or maybe you sleep an extra hour or two hours than you would normally. Any little changes like that, it's just a huge win. And I certainly wouldn't have felt any of this if I hadn't experienced a wellness retreat by myself, for myself. so on that note I want to send a huge thank you to Revivo for having me on board and for

creating such an incredible space for people like myself and I think anyone to go and just reconnect with who they are I also think it's an incredible experience that you can enjoy with your friend or partner if you want to, if you're both willing to be together solo, if that makes sense. And yeah, just an awesome vacation. I would post photos and everyone was like, oh my God, where are you? Where are you? How can you go? What's the website? I'm like, yeah, I get it. It's incredible. The website is www.revivoresorts.com. That's R-E-V-I-V-O resorts.com. You can go there, you can check out on their website, the six different retreat programs that they have that you can sign up for, what you need, what you feel is going to help you

the most. And yeah, get booking because I don't regret it. And I think at some point we all definitely should go and experience one of these for ourselves. And that is the end of this episode. Thank you so much for listening, and I will see you all next week. every Monday evening. Please do give me a five-star review. It helps other people also find my podcast. For more content and features to read, you can check out my website, nixalina.com. That's nixalina.com. I'm also on social media. Simply search at Nixalina, N-I-X-A-L-I-N-A, to find me. Don't be shy. Come say hi. Thanks for watching!