By Ellie Conner
Your home for the week, set amongst the interconnected houses, with their hidden pathways and beautiful ornate rooms setting the tone for creativity and exploration. A kind of living that creates space for the week to be whatever you want it to be. There are so many quiet places to stop and reflect, places to curl up in to read a book, or stretch out in palm tree dappled sunshine. Yet you can also wandering through the pathways that connect the houses, happening across different polers, different conversations, and feeling that pole family connection, having so much to talk about with these ladies who share the same love for dancing as you:
“You see women coming together at the start of the week, they’re a bit unsure because sometimes they’ve come a long way, or they’ve come on their own, and they don’t know how it’s going to be. But it doesn’t take very long, a meal or two, a couple of classes, before everyone is laughing and making new friends. By the end of the week you have created friendships that last years, maybe longer, who knows? We’ve only just started….” – Indi
There is a reason why the Retreats are based in Bali, it is the culture of giving, of gratitude, mindfulness and acceptance. This permeates a typical pole retreat. Being in this environment, allows you to get distance and perspective, reflecting on the choices, changes or difficulties you’re working through in your life:
“It might just be a couple of days or a week in an entire year, but I have found that when you’re facing something challenging in life, or deciding which way to go, sometimes it’s not the amount of time or thought you put into a decision that matters. Sometimes it’s just looking at everything from a different way or from a different place, and you’ll come up with your solution or the next step.” – Indi
Giving yourself time and space, indulging in something that is nourishment for your body and soul is of the utmost importance when it comes to self care. Life can make us busy and tired, which is why we absolutely need to reward ourselves with the chance to learn from the best pole instructors in the world, with plenty of time for total relaxation and rejuvenation!
We know that for many of us pole has been a powerful catalyst for change in our lives, and when we put ourselves in a totally different environment, it only ever enhances this experience, changing the way we think, opening up opportunities to think outside the box, both in our pole and everyday life.
“I wanted to create space and time in the retreats for dancers to reflect on wherever they are in their own life, but also to build on that sense of community and sisterhood that is so special in pole, and that is exactly what the retreats do.” – Indi
You’ll find yourself walking through all the pathways and connections to the other houses, discovering pole ladies with each new space explored; all inspiring and powerful in their own beautiful ways. Over the week, with every meal shared, every new pole skill mastered, we find strength and friendship; sharing our stories, our journeys. This mirrors real life within the pole community. We are all connected through the hands of those who held the pole before us, the hands of those who hold us up when we are being spotted, those who hold us up figuratively when we’re having a hard time.
Indi Retreats aren’t just about learning new tricks, though the physicality of pole and the strength it gives us is vital for our body. This incredible art form also permeates the innermost core of our connections with other women – the strength of the friendships built through pole is indescribable. If pole is good for our bodies, then the connection it creates is nourishment for our souls, and ultimately, that is what these retreats strive to provide.
If you’d like to reward yourself with a week of self-care, joy, relaxation, dance and sunshine, take a look at our remaining 2019 offerings here: www.indipoleretreats.com