Delicious food at The Headwaters. Photo / Supplied
Mindfulness and me-time: Maggie Wicks enjoys an indulgent and guilt-free retreat in picturesque Glenorchy
On a cold clear day in Glenorchy recently, a group of women stripped down to their bathing suits (and some to their birthday suits), and plunged into the icy water of Lake Wakatipu.
I don't know exactly how cold it was, but I felt scared. As my head dipped below the surface, the air was knocked right out of me, and when I reappeared, I was left gasping, my heart racing.
As the wind whipped across the lake, my skin burned with cold, and after about 90 seconds, I felt my body begin to slow as the chill made its way right through my muscles. Despite the discomfort, endorphins flooded my body and I let out an entirely accidental "Whooooooo". Whooo'ing is not in my nature. But there it was. An elated and irrepressible "whooooo".
A minute later, I was back on the shore, laughing like a kid. I couldn't remember the last time I had grinned so easily. I was surrounded by similarly gleeful women, now wrapped in towels, and I felt on top of the world.
Science will tell you this is the cold-water response – an involuntary gasp, a rush of blood to the skin, a rush of adrenaline to the blood, and then euphoria. Studies have found there are all sorts of benefits to triggering this response – that exposing yourself to physical stress can impact the way we deal with psychological stress.
There are two parts to our nervous systems - the sympathetic and parasympathetic. The first is better known to most of us as "fight or flight". When you plunge yourself into freezing cold water, this system delivers you an increased heartrate, faster breaths - it's a state of arousal or stress.
The other state represents rest and recovery. When you're caught up in a relaxing activity such as yoga, art or cooking, when time seems to pass by without noticing – that's your parasympathetic system at work.
You can think of these two systems as the red zone and the green zone – one means stress or danger, and the other is healing. And the women standing in a shivering but delighted group on the shores of Lake Wakatipu were now firmly in the green zone. We warmed up as fast as we cooled down, with towels wrapped around our heads, and marched happily through the town for hot toddies at the local pub.
We were in town as guests at The Headwaters Eco Lodge's Time Out for Mind, Body and Soul retreat. Its three tenets are nutrition, mindfulness and playful creativity. Its goal? To teach us what it takes to put ourselves in the green zone, and to instil in us that doing so is essential for mental and physical health, as well as those around you.
We're here to be confronted with why taking care of yourself can feel unimportant or indulgent, and to learn how to let go of the guilt we sometimes feel when we do nice things for ourselves.
I arrived at Glenorchy on a late afternoon, as the sun set over the mountain ranges that surround the town – the Humboldt Ranges to the west, Mt Earnslaw to the north, and the Richardson Ranges to the east. With this backdrop, the town sits in a natural amphitheatre of jagged peaks that are lit up at the beginning and end of each day with incredible displays of light.
On the grounds of The Headwaters, you'll regularly see guests stopped in their tracks just to stare upwards – at the sunrise or sunset, or the clear starry sky at the end of the day. The Headwaters owner and founder Debbi Brainerd says she can feel a shift in energy in the air each time she arrives back here.
Debbi and her husband Paul have been visiting Glenorchy for more than 20 years. American entrepreneurs and philanthropists, in 2014 they bought the town's old holiday park, built a carbon-negative lodge, established a campground and opened Mrs Woolly's General Store.
These projects make up The Headwaters, a registered charity from which any profits are returned to the local community via a trust - gifts have been given to local radio projects, gone into environmental causes, sports and educational programmes, and more.
This means that when you stay at The Headwaters – whether you're camping in the campground, buying a flat white at Mrs Woolly's, or enjoying a week-long retreat at the lodge, you're contributing to a philanthropic gift to Glenorchy and its community.
At Time Out for Mind, Body and Soul, each day we're led through a simple timetable of food, activities and rest. We emerge from our cabins each morning for an hour's gentle yoga at 7am, then wander into the dining room to find a delicious and generous breakfast spread – spicy shots of ginger and tumeric juice, nutrient-loaded chia puddings, kimchi and roasted vegetables, piles of salad and fruit and grainy breads.
After breakfast, we go outside and we walk – to lakes, through the bush, and even along the opening path of the Routeburn Track. During these walks, we are eased into mindfulness practices – on day 1, we practice walking for a short time in silence, listening to the sounds of the forest and our feet.
By our final day, we are investigating the trees close up, touching the plants as we go, and told to walk, silently, smiling to ourselves – I'm only grateful we didn't pass any trampers coming from the opposite direction. A group of silent smilers is the last thing I'd like to come across in the quiet of New Zealand bush.
But the exercises are illuminating – why do we fill so much time and space with chatter? What happens when you listen, and just breathe? We practice forest bathing – lying on the mossy floor of the forest, and feeling the cool of the damp ground seep through our jackets, listening to the birds and wind in the trees. We learn to slow down and take notice.
In the afternoons, we take part in what I found to be the most challenging part of the retreat - guided art sessions, in which we play with paints and canvases, with colour and texture.
My inner perfectionist struggled with this one – I had a picture in my head of how I wanted my piece to look, but my ambition outstripped my technique. I returned home with some personal homework – give up the inner art critic, and just let go.
Each night, after a beautiful feast, we return to our rooms to find lights dimmed, pillows straightened, and a poem beside our beds. It is both indulgent and nurturing, and just the right level of woo woo.
Everything here is a suggestion, nothing is a rule. We're fed healthy food, and offered a glass of wine to go with it. We're invited to take part in silent meditations, and are welcome to sleep in instead. It's all an invitation to take small steps in the right direction, and to never feel bad about doing something that is good for you.
On our final night, we are invited to write ourselves a letter, which we seal, and have posted home to us. Mine arrives at my house two weeks after I return home. "Dear Maggie," it begins. "This is a bit awkward – I'm not sure what to say," before evolving into the sweetest most nurturing note to myself, about how good this week has made me feel and how to keep it up. It puts me firmly where I want to be – in the green.
Upcoming retreats at The Headwaters
Following a winter break from July 31, the retreat reopens Sept 15 for the spring/summer 22/23 season.
Private food, accommodation and activity packages are also available. Go to theheadwaters.co.nz for the full list.
Learn more about the Glenorchy Community Trust at glenorchycommunitytrust.co.nz
An enforcement officer confirmed the presence of bedbugs at the accommodation.