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    Earth Abundance Retreat at The Hydro Part 1

    August 26, 2015 in Lifestyle

    Imagine feeling completely nourished mentally and physically. Well that is how I feel after the most incredible 3 day retreat. The retreat itself is called Earth Abundance and in many ways it is more of a spiritual journey in that it focuses on re-connecting ones mind and body, bringing more joy into ones life and expanding ones own personal opportunities. The retreat is available through The Hydro which is a wonderful place.

    In many ways it is quite difficult to describe The Hydro, which is situated high up in Stellenbosch and is completely surrounded by mountains. It is the ultimate getaway where you are completely transported from your regular day-to-day activities to a warm, safe nurturing place. You are encouraged to wear your big fluffy robes at all times to create a home-like atmosphere and everyone is respectful of that with noise levels at a low. In many ways this is a place for complete relaxation mentally, physically and also a detox for your digestive system but we will get to all that. 3 days felt like a week and looking back so much can be packed into a long weekend. Let us begin with day 1 of my journey…

    Day 1

    The drive to The Hydro is worth a mention as you already feel as if you are in foreign place with the rolling hills, stark mountains surrounding you and fields with cows grazing leisurely. The Hydro itself is often referred to as “a typical 70s building” and let’s be honest, it is exactly that but that is part of its charm. It feels like a home rather than a hotel which most modern places unfortunately resemble. I am greeted at the entrance by a beaming Nicola, one of the Earth Abundance facilitator and swiftly accompanied to the Naturopath for my initial assessment. The porter has already carried my luggage up to my room which overlooks the entire valley. At The Hydro everything it taken care of for you.

    The view from my room. Sadly a phone camera can't nearly do it justice

    The view from my room. Sadly a phone camera can’t nearly do it justice

    My assessment at The Naturopath was brief and we ran through dietary requirements etc as well as a general health assessment to see what areas I need to focus on during my stay.

    Next up was the Hydrotherapy which is an incredible experience. Donning a bikini and my robe I was shown to the Cocoon Room where there are separate beds and the lighting is set low. You are able to rest there for a while until you are ready for your treatment. It is aimed at calming the mind and unwinding the body. From there I was lead to the Hydrotherapy room which consists of essentially giant jacuzzi’s with 10 times stronger jets. You are encouraged to move around and use the jets to help alleviate back or shoulder pain etc. It was at this point that I was joined by the bubbly Elizabeth who is the other facilitator for Earth Abundance. Her calming words and questions help you to decipher exactly where there might be any mental blockages simply by describing what side or areas of the body hurt the most. The second part of the Hydrotherapy is Kneipp Therapy which consists of an interesting sensation of hot versus cold. Where your feet are immersed in cold water while your upper body is in warm water, you then swap over to warm at the feet and cold at the top and back again for several minutes. This really helps with circulation. The final stage is where you can unwind in either the steam room or the sauna. Then back to Cocoon Room. Which is where I met up with Chereen from For The Beauty Of It who was also on the Abundance Retreat with me.

    Post-Hydrotherapy and back into the robe

    Post-Hydrotherapy and back into the robe. P.s that’s not blush but more of a flush from the sauna

    We then headed back to our rooms to settle in before meeting downstairs for a Kombucha tasting. We were also given the chance to chat a bit with Herbie the chef at The Hydro who described his love for natural, organic food and for keeping the food as close to it’s whole natural form as possible. Most of the food at The Hydro is grown in their own organic garden and picked fresh each day. We were then able to indulge in the delicious food on offer. All meals at The Hydro are served buffet style. They are also all vegetarian and free from pesticides etc. Meaning even if you eat a fairly healthy diet at home you will still detox here.

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    The starter... At The Hydro you are either served a starter or a baked potato. Phones aren't encouraged so I had to take sneaky pics

    The starter… At The Hydro you are either served a starter or a baked potato. Phones aren’t encouraged at The Hydro so I had to take sneaky pictures

    At The Hydro you can select either to eat three main meals and have 3 juices a day or to do the full juice fast with 5 larger juices a day. I chose the food! Although the juices were divine and kept my low blood pressure stable throughout the day.

    The next item on our The Earth Abundance retreat agenda was a visit to the nearby Rustenberg Farm and the chance to walk the Labyrinth. Elizabeth and Nicola helped us re-connect with nature and do some sun-gazing. We were also encouraged to talk about any food related issues that perhaps bothered us or were unhealthy. My main issue being my intense cravings for salty things and for cheese. I needed to acknowledge why my body was craving them so intensely and discovered that it was due to my low blood pressure and my body’s need for more protein in my diet. We were then able to walk the Labyrinth which was really peaceful and an introspective experience. Once back at The Hydro I poured some of the famous Ginger and Cinnamon tea and went for a walk around the grounds before dinner.
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    Chereen and I tucked into our divine dinner before relaxing with our final juice for the day. All of the fresh air and exercise had made us quite tired and we happily headed to our rooms at 8.30pm.

    This has turned into quite a long post and I really feel that the retreat deserves plenty of details so keep an eye out for part 2 tomorrow.

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    Tags : Beauty, Lifestyle

    4 Comments
    Previous Personal- Part 1
    Next Earth Abundance Retreat at The Hydro Part 2

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    Comments

    1. Candice says

      August 26, 2015 at 9:42 am

      Ahhh that view looks amazing !! such a lovely place to unwind and relax

      Candice | Beauty Candy Loves

      Reply
    2. Chereen says

      August 26, 2015 at 10:15 am

      Great post Abby! How I wish we could go back! x

      Reply
    3. Naďa says

      August 26, 2015 at 5:11 pm

      Great post ! 🙂
      MY BLOG : THE COLORFUL THOUGHTS

      Reply
    4. Bailey Schneider says

      August 26, 2015 at 8:53 pm

      I’m so sad I wasn’t able to join you!! It looks so magical and EXACTLY what I need in my life!
      x

      Reply

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    I've posted about us introducing Candi & Rocco to I've posted about us introducing Candi & Rocco to the new #BossMightyChunks range from @bossdogfood over the past month. This particular post is about health. 

About just how important your animal's health is as your own.
These furry little souls keep me going. They kept my spirits up throughout the medical challenges I faced last year. Seeing them was bliss.

The first two are from last week when I re-purchased their new favourite tasty meals. They actually recognised the cans! Queen Candi wanted to make sure "her" food was protected. You can see poor Rocco pleading. It wasn't even supper time yet. 
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Richard and the dogs came close to losing their lives when our entire house burnt down. It was a huge turning point for us. We focused more on taking better care of ourselves, valuing every aspect of our lives and are beyond grateful that both dogs managed to make it out. 

I jumped at the opportunity when Boss reached out to me to try their new Mighty Chunks range. That is the dogs trying the range! Not me🤣. I will admit that for someone who doesn't eat meat, the rosemary scent is rather pleasant! 

Seeing how adding some healthy wet food like Boss Mighty Chunks that is nutrient-filled to their diet made an actual difference to their health. Agility and digestive, respectively, have again made us reevaluate the importance of health and well-being. For all of us! 

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Boss Mighty Chunks into their diet. I thought the thicker gravy for extra taste as a topper is the best and meatier chunks might be a bit much for Candi but she gobbles them down with delight. It’s also helped give her more energy and fewer digestive issues it seems. As an Irish Setter, Rocco is more prone to joint and flexibility issues so seeing him extra agile since including these has been a noticeable health benefit too. 

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Well, I've discovered this was especially true tonight. I was just trying to get some snaps of Rocco & Candi testing out some of the new Boss Mighty Chunks. They are available in 3 flavours- Chicken Casserole, Grilled Steak & Lamb Stew. I've honestly never seen them this excited over a specific food before, and they already go crazy for food. 

Candi was incredibly naughty. She's usually so well-behaved. She had the audacity to climb onto the table and stuck her face into the Grilled Steak can! Just as I was setting up my camera.

As a pescatarian, dog food in general typically doesn't have the most appetising smell to me. So I was surprised that all of the Boss Mighty Chunks has a pleasant & extremely unique aromatic rosemary scent. Something both Furbabies seem to love as you can clearly see from all of the fantastic blurry tongues out & mouth-watering impatient background photos of them. 

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And precisely the reason as to why I have decided to announce my new business. Today on this page, on my 32nd birthday. So I'd like to formally introduce @buchanandigitalmarketing .

One Stiletto At A Time. The blog and social media influencer side of things will remain the same. With extra growth in this department to! One Stiletto At A Time will always be a part of my journey. For many years it was and sometimes still is considered my primary Portfolio.

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