Could I live my life with ease?
This was the question I kept asking myself during the process of selling my magazine company, could I live my life with ease?
Understandably, I was exhausted from the pressure I managed to put on myself (admittedly some of this was due to starting not 1, but 4 businesses in the space of 3 years). These include; a media consultancy, a business women events hub, a publishing company and the most recent being ease Retreats.
I started ease retreats, originally called Hygge Retreats, mainly because I needed a retreat! Only for a week or so, just to get some stillness, peace and tranquillity back in my life.
I searched high and low for something that would suit my high energy but also for a retreat that would force me to ‘slow down’ (which can be very tough for me!) My google search always directed me to yoga retreats or a hippy week in faraway places which cost anything from £1500 to £3000. And no, I didn’t have a spare £3k in my back pocket! So, through sheer frustration I decided to plan my own affordable retreat and the only thing that was an essential was that the venue had to be a beach house in Wales with a stunning view!
Finding stunning coastal venues wasn’t difficult, I have always lived near Cardiff and have spent most of my adult life visiting the Welsh coast, whether that be with family and friends or due to work commitments. I used to work for a water sports brand and lucky me had the opportunity to travel along the UK coastline most months!
I asked many guesthouse owners if I could rent out their beach house and from there I packaged up my perfect weekend away. To test out the concept I invited a few friends who were all in need of time away, some good laughter, homemade feasts and plenty of opportunity to sleep!
(One of our fabulous retreats found in St. Donats)
As I hosted more weekend retreats I realised I was onto something good but I started to outgrow the name Hygge Retreats.
So, the search for a new business name began! I had a lot of good friends help me with this bit, with some particularly bonkers suggestions! This is what I love most about this adventure, it connects me with the most wonderful human beings keen to get involved and help.
The name ‘ease’ came to me on a Sunday whilst I was cooking. I was reminiscing over the days that I would bake with my mum and how much I would enjoy giggling with her and generally getting into mischief. It made me realise that I used to bake with such ‘ease’ with no fuss or stress.
It was a light bulb moment! I could offer retreats hosted in a variety of venues whilst collaborating with fabulous experts –all with ease!
So this leads me onto our brand new site, which is how you’re reading this!
Feel free to take a wander through and check out our latest retreats, we feel confident there is a retreat that is perfect for you, whether that be one of our package deals or bespoke retreat tailored to your desires.
We want to use this space as a place to connect with you all, so be sure to follow us over on Instagram @easeretreats to get the latest updates!
Over the next few months we have some exciting collaborations coming up, with new retreats on the horizon (don’t worry, we’ll be showing these to you very soon!) The ease team also hope to release a new video series, offering the latest advice on how to de-stress, maximise your productivity and most importantly, life your life with ease!
That’s all from me for now and hope this little insight into ease has been an interesting one!
If you do one thing this week, try and do it with ease.