3 Secrets for Busy Leaders Who Can't Switch Off

Claudia is the managing director of a company of forty people. From the outside, she has everything, the house, the title and respect, her life works.

Inside, she's tired because every morning feels the same. She can't complain, because who feels sorry for someone who has everything?

Last spring she booked a luxury spa retreat: Three days of massages, a beautiful pool, good food, good wine and 5 star bungalow. On day two she was answering emails by the pool. She couldn't switch off. When she stopped, she felt restless, not calm. She went home with soft skin but she still same tight shoulders.

In Autumn, she tried a 2-day mini-retreat close to home. It was kind and calm. But at five o'clock she drove back to the same routine: check her inbox.

Now Christmas is coming. The role she plays every year, organizing dinners, driving kids to stores for shopping. She's thought about going away, but a voice says: "That's selfish. Your family needs you."

Your family doesn't need you at the table. They need you to be there when you're at the table. An exhausted mother, partner or daughter is at home for Christmas, but not present. Coming home rested and kind is the gift for everyone you love the most.

There's a second thing most retreats miss. The transformation promise doesn't happen on the retreat. It happens in January, when you're back with the same routine and the same work. That's where most people lose what they found. Research on habits shows that new routines take weeks or months to settle, not days (Lally et al., 2010). Most retreats end when the host and the guests are waiving at the departure point.

So we designed something different: a journey.

Before: a short check-in so I know how your body and mind are even before you arrive. After: Conscious Flow checks in with you at home for the weeks that follow. So the practice keeps going when real life starts again.

Claudia doesn't need another escape. She needs to learn how to rest, and to keep that skill when she goes home.

If this sounds like you, start this week. Notice your breath three times a day. Is it short or long? That's your first check-in.

The retreat will have to come to an end but your practice shouldn't.

Want to spend Christmas week practising this way? Read about our yoga retreat on Thoddoo Island, Maldives.