Retreat Rest | Stepping Away from Daily Life to Recover

Hello!

“Even though I’m home, the things that happened today keep crossing my mind.”
“Even on my days off, I feel tense thinking about work.”

Do you ever feel this way?

Since I developed depression, I have started to think seriously about “rest.” This is because proper rest is essential for living with the illness.

When people hear the word “rest,” I think many imagine static rest, such as “staying still at home” or “just sleeping.” However, truly effective rest is not limited to that.

The book I am introducing this time is “Get Rid of Persistent Fatigue in No Time! Retreat Rest Techniques” by Daiki Toyoshima.

A retreat, also known as climate therapy in Japanese, is, as the kanji suggests, a therapy that involves changing your location. By putting physical and psychological distance between yourself and your daily life, you aim to refresh your mind and body. This is a book I especially recommend to those who want to rethink how they spend their days off.

#PR

What a “retreat” means: stepping away from daily life

A “retreat” refers to leaving your daily life behind and spending time freely in nature. In Japanese, it corresponds to the concept of climate therapy. The idea is to reset your mind and body by stepping away from your familiar environment for a while.

I personally make a conscious effort to experience the “extraordinary” in my daily life. Going on a trip, zoning out at a cafe, walking down an unfamiliar street, watching a movie... I feel that by experiencing the extraordinary, I am forcibly detached from my daily routine, and my “daily life switch” naturally turns off.

“Doing nothing” is not the only form of rest

At the heart of this book is the concept of active rest. Active Rest is a method of recovery that promotes fatigue relief while moving the body lightly. It translates to “active rest” or “dynamic rest.” Rest is not just about doing nothing; activities that relax the mind also count as proper rest.

For example, walking, hiking, picnicking, gardening, and so on... these are activities where, even if your body feels tired afterward, your mood feels lighter.

I go to the gym, and while I feel quite melancholy until I actually get there, I feel refreshed by the time I finish my strength training or jogging and head home. Since I sleep soundly at night when I’m tired, I feel that it ultimately leads to physical recovery as well.

On the other hand (though it is not written much in this book), I believe there are times when static rest is better when your mental and physical fatigue is too great. It is difficult to judge, but rather than an all-or-nothing (0 or 100) approach, I recommend adjusting the intensity of your activities according to your physical condition. For example, thinking, “I’m exhausted this week, so I’ll keep my activity level at about 40% of usual.”

What is important is to check the state of your mind and body and choose the rest that suits you at that moment. In that sense, this book is a volume that expands your options for how to rest.

Taking off your armor of the heart

A retreat is also a time to take off your armor of the heart. The author says this:

In our daily lives, we are constantly carrying some kind of role at work or at home. The author suggests that heading out into nature is the quickest way to temporarily free yourself from that burden.

Indeed, humanity is a species that originally lived alongside nature. I have experienced many times the feeling of daily worries becoming trivial just by taking a walk in nature. If you feel like you haven't been in touch with nature lately, please try visiting some nearby greenery or a waterfront. I think you will find it heals your heart more than you imagine.

It doesn't have to be a special trip

When people hear the word 'retreat,' they often think it means 'going to a special place' or 'needing a long vacation,' but the author says, 'It's okay to just grab your smartphone, wallet, and a change of clothes and head out casually on the morning of the day.'

Getting out of the house for a few hours leads to refreshing your mind and body. This 'getting out of the house' is the key point. The house where you spend every day is truly a symbol of your daily routine, and leaving the house is nothing less than stepping away from that routine.

Many people might think, 'But I don't know where to go...' but let's start finding your own retreat spots from now on. A favorite cafe, a quiet park, a bit of nature... I'm sure they will become your hideaway spots for recovery.

My retreat ideas

Well then, this book introduces 270 specific examples of retreats. I hope you will take a light look through them and choose the ones you would like to try. Here, I will introduce a few of my own retreat ideas.

• Going for a picnic in a small patch of nature:Go to a park with lots of greenery, lay out a leisure sheet on the grass, and eat lunch in nature. After lunch, lie down on the sheet, sunbathe, look at the sky, feel the wind, listen to the sound of the trees swaying in the breeze, read a book, or take a nap. This is one of my favorite ways to rest that I've been doing often lately. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons.

• Walking in the great outdoors:Walking on hiking trails or climbing mountains. Placing yourself in nature as far as the eye can see. If you search online, you'll find various hiking courses such as 1-hour, 2-hour, or half-day courses, so please choose one that suits your physical strength and condition.

• Exploring unknown places:Walking, cycling, or driving in places you don't know. The point is that it's an unknown place, so because it's unfamiliar, you notice many things, which is refreshing. I'm hooked on taking a train to a place a bit further away and coming back along unknown roads using a shared bicycle.

• Long soak in an open-air bath:Taking a bath while feeling the outside air. Open-air baths are outside, so they are often very hot to maintain the temperature. Taking a bath while listening to the sounds of the outside and feeling the breeze is exceptional. It feels incredibly good to repeat the process of getting out of the bath once your body gets hot to enjoy the outside air, and then getting back in when your body starts to cool down. It is especially recommended during the cold winter season.

• Placing a chair on the balcony and reading while drinking coffee:Sitting in a chair, drinking coffee outside, and reading. To put it mildly, it's the best. If it's a type where you can recline the backrest, taking a nap while basking in the sun is also the best. I use a Coleman Infinity Chair that my wife bought for some reason. Almost only I use it lol #PR

You don't need to do anything special; activities that allow you to step away from your daily routine just a little bit are fine. If you're wondering what to do, please try the 270 retreat ideas in this book. #PR

Conclusion: Let's incorporate retreats into the weekend

How was it?
This time, I explained 'retreat rest' to step away from daily life. When I have two days off, I try to dedicate the first day to retreat rest and the second day to static rest. Taking proper rest also leads to preventing the recurrence of illness. Please try incorporating it!

That's all for today!

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