QUARANTINE / CONFINMENT OR MINI RETREAT ? CARPE DIEM ? IT IS ALL UP TO YOU …

 A friend of mine asked me “how is your 21 days hotel quarantine? “ and I replied “ excellent, I enjoy it “ … then he told me “ I never heard anyone enjoying quarantine “ !

 In this busy life most people are overwhelmed by the large amount of work they need to accomplish daily with long working hours, the pressure to achieve great results, eventual long commute to work and as result have very little time for themselves.  Once home many are exhausted and still need to take care of their family or various tasks required by their household. Then once all this is done, the opportunity to really disconnect is jeopardized by the continuous flow of e-mails, messages,   various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and others constantly invading and stealing our remaining precious time.  Then what is really left for self-care including relaxation, recreation, exercising, reading, learning new things and most important sleeping enough? Frankly speaking, not much time is left to focus on ourselves.  This life style results in increasing stress level, eventual anxiety, physical and mental health deterioration.   I see this everywhere in humans of all age groups with only a few rare exceptions. 

 What if?

 What if you could be on a short retreat, let’s say 3 weeks whereby you would have to be confined in a comfortable hotel room, be able to go to sleep whenever you wanted to, get up at the time you wish, order any food or drinks you desire from the hotel or the many available delivery companies, exercise a couple of hours daily,  read or listen to books, relax and even meditate, call friends and family, watch movies on your TV or personal device, do some work… but all this, at your own pace on your own schedule. Would this not be a fantastic opportunity to spend time with your own self and rebuild your mental and physical body during this few weeks? You could catch up on sleep, eat healthy, in moderation and get back in shape. Don’t you think other than the fact you cannot go out, this mini retreat could greatly benefit you?  Well it really all depends on how you approach this few weeks from a mindset point of view and how well organized and disciplined you are.

 Well, I have just done such mini retreat confinement at the Four Points by Sheraton Tung Chung Hong Kong and therefore let me share my daily self-care schedule with you.  I will be starting with sleep as a good night rest does set up the stage for the day to come:

 ·       Sleep 8 hours (this is ideal for me but everyone is different). Ideally to bed between 10pm / 11pm.

Morning

·       Once up drink 2 / 3 cups of warm water with or without lemon

·       Ayurveda Zoom course 2 hours daily / 5 days per week). Can be any other learning but this was my opportunity.

·       25 minutes of yoga using a yoga app (I use Daily Yoga).

·       20 minutes of Pranayama breathing and meditation (I used CALM app or SADHGURU app and sometime I just do it without app or without music). End up the meditation with a few minutes to express GRATITUDE, LOVE and COMPASSION.

·       Walk (inside room) with a backpack (low weight) and a 1.5 liter bottle water in each hand for 40 minutes. While I walk I do move my arms with the weight of the water bottles and I also listen to an audio book ( I use AUDIBLE app) connected to my Bluetooth speaker. Easy this way to average around 8000 steps at least daily.

·       Take shower and get ready to continue the day.

·       Later breakfast time or lunch (either one of the two) and watch the news.

·       Do some work, check e-mails, check various apps and sites as I wish to (IG, FB, stock market, crypto, etc.).

·       Call eventual friends, family, colleagues etc.

Afternoon

 ·       Walk again 10 or 20 minutes (and continue to listen to Audio book).

·       Exercise 20 / 30 minutes modifying the daily routine by either using rowing machine (I have a portable one), Pull rope with handles (easy to bring along), pushups, squats, abdominal crunches or others. Be creative and vary the sequences daily in order not to get bored. 

·       Do some work and make eventual phone calls etc.

·       Do some research in areas of interest (finance, health, personal development, etc. Whatever is of interest to me). 

·       Late afternoon do stretching for 20 to 30 minutes (I use ROMWOD app in order to follow various exercises and not getting bored).

Evening

 ·       Eat healthy dinner around 6/7pm

·       Watch a movie or documentary

·       A few minutes to check e-mails, message etc.

·       15/ 20 min meditation (again using same app as SADHGURU or CALM or just silence ).

·       Take a shower to remove negative energy and cool off the body for better sleep.

·       Go to bed.

 Then start all over again. Each day can be slightly different however using the opportunity of such confinement to have some good level of discipline and ensure you plan your day and night to give yourself plenty of time to rest, exercise, relax, learn new things, think! If you summarize the above you will notice that daily I slept well and enough, I exercised between 2 to 3 hours (including walking), followed intermittence fasting ( 16 to 18 hours daily without eating ), meditated around 40 minutes, learned new things, caught up on some work as well as with colleagues, friends and family and I had plenty of time to “think”. Therefore you should really welcome such mini retreat opportunity and make the most of it!

 This is how I spent my 21 days quarantine at the Marriott Four Points by Sheraton Tung Chung upon my return to Hong Kong. The hotel is very new, meaning everything is working well, great view of the sea and the airport, tranquil, small yet very well appointed room, very comfortable bed, delicious food and excellent value for money. When I arrived at the hotel the rowing machine was in my room, the yoga mat as well - all I had to do was relax, get organized and enjoy my stay. Most people look at quarantine as a punishment, lack of space, lack of fresh air and sunshine, reduced freedom and as a consequence of such mindset suffer and can’t wait to get out. However if you approach quarantine as a mini retreat, as an opportunity to have TIME for yourself you can truly welcome this precious period and make the most out of it. It is all up to you and how you set up your mind.

  I personally really enjoyed this break! 

 Pierre