UNPLUGGED — Michelle la Muse

somewhere only we know

stress

a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstancEs

Stress manifests itself in many ways. Sometimes it’s that chronic headache forming at 4 pm while you anticipate clocking out. Or perhaps its that stiff neck plaguing you every time you roll out of bed. In others it might even appear mentally. The anxiety you feel around making small choices and even the constant mood swings that seem to appear out of no where. However the alert materializes it all means the same thing, it’s time to slow down. For many of us our life is a cyclical routine of high stress triggers. Personally, I’m so used to operating at full intensity daily that it never sounds like I’m “doing too much” until I’m describing my lifestyle changes to my physician as she diagnoses my acute appearance of a 101 fever, arthritis flare and chills (yes my body is that dramatic). Luckily, I’ve learned to identify my body’s warning signs before a full crash approaches and I can completely avert it.

Decompress

Relieve or reduce the pressure on

One of my favorite ways to decompress is staycations. I locate a remote spot no more than 3 hours away and I book a weekend getaway. The best thing about my secret location is that is usually has little to no modern technology access. The wifi is usually crapping with a tv in only one area. These circumstances allow you to truly unplug. While I don’t consume my time by watch tv or staying on social media for endless hours; I have a terrible habit of working through my vacations. Constantly refreshing my emails and grabbing my laptop as soon as a potential client or my work messages me. For you to achieve decompression you must remove yourself from your normal cycle of embracing life and it’s survival challenges.

relocate

My choice, drumroll……. Deer Lake Lodge Spa Resort. I contemplated heavily on sharing this hidden gem. It is so special to me for many reasons. In 2016 when I had a new baby, planned a wedding, and started a new job all in one years time I was completed EXHAUSTED. After exchanging those “I do’s” we had so many new expenses we delayed the honeymoon for another year. Still, I wanted to celebrate our new chapter so I found this resort on a whim and we escaped. Our experience was so magically I wanted to keep it all to myself. But lucky for you guys my hubby convinced me not to. When we returned to this place we hadn’t visited in 3 years the experience was just as we remembered it if not more special. We really took this time to quiet the mind. Not only does this lodge offer all the comforting feels you could ask for, bonus amenities include:, spa services, daily yoga, and detox dieting education and food prep are available should you choose to partake in the FULL EXPERIENCE.

As I shared with yall in my previous post Yoga became one of the many ways I chose to reduce stress in my life. Implementing exercise and self care techniques into your routine can bring a magnificent transformation to your life. While my typical practice is a combination of Bikram and Vinyasa flow here I learned about a new style named Kundalini. Kundalini of course integrates some of the poses used during my traditional practice but it did give me a deeper Meditation experience. By the time we finished I felt like I was floating. Which was perfect as we followed up with a scheduled couples massage. Can you say heaven on Earth?

Disclosure: This place is best suited for people wanting an experience like nothing else. There is no room service really, no food provided if you aren’t doing their detox program, no onsite bar or anything like that. It is a self-improvement resort. Anything you want to do outside of this concept can be found with a meer 20-30 min drive into the city. and although this may sound a bit challenging you guys know i’d never steer you wrong. perhaps what you’re used to isn’t what is best suited for your growth.