29/10/2025
Four weeks ago, we got back from a very special trip to Sri Lanka, where Jeroen and I took part in a 10-day ayurvedic retreat .
At this retreat, we experienced an abundance of care, attention and love for our entire being. The ayurvedic kitchen is colorful and fresh, and every meal felt like a feast for our senses.
The ayurvedic doctors create a unique treatment plan for everyone based on a pulse diagnosis, where they determine your dosha and check where you are currently out of balance.
If you have no idea what I am talking about, you may want to have a look at my close friend her (dutch) website: https://divine-ayurveda.com
Apart from the wonderful massages and the delicious food, I really enjoyed the daily routine. We wake up at 5:30, have a yogaclass at 6am, breakfast at 8:30 and treatments from 9:00 onwards. Between treatments, we enjoyed the beach, the rough sea, the mangroves, the lagoon, journalling, getting to know the other participants and admiring all the animals around the resort. During yoga class the monkeys couldn´t contain their curiosity and they came over to have a look. At 5pm we had an hour of breathwork/yoga, dinner at 7pm and after some lingering over conversation after the meal we would be in bed by 20.30/21:00, also because that is when it got dark outside.
In this picture, taken soon after the 10-day retreat, I see the softness and ease about us. I feel very grateful that we were able to share such a special experience together.
Now that I am back home, I am navigating which habits from this retreat I want to integrate into my daily routine. A deep cleanse ever now and then is nice and all, but the challenge is in sticking to healthy habits after a retreat.
What works really well for me in autumn, now that the days get shorter, is to have no screentime after 20:00. Instead, I use the last hour before bed for calmer activities like reading (a book that´s not too thrilling), doing calming exercises, journaling or preparing my meals for the next day.
I wish you a well working natural rhythm in this season 🍂🍃🍄🍄🟫🌾🍁
Jessica