I hate to admit it, but I have the cursed, millennial disease of a “goldfish brain”. I’m always doing about three things at any one time and have an unhealthy obsession with productivity. It feels like my brain is constantly whirring away and recently, it’s started to present itself in heart palpitations and hair loss (lucky me). My GP says this is common especially in millennial women and that if I don’t do anything about it, it could turn into full-blown anxiety.
I’m incredibly thankful I was born in this century with all the wonderful innovations in medicine. However, I’m also a big believer in preventative, proactive healthcare. aka. “wellness“. So upon hearing this, I decided to take things into my own hands. I downloaded headspace, packed myself and a few bikinis into a plane and flew to Forte Village, a resort on the south coast of Sardinia known for it’s Thalassotherapy spa. The goal? To not only clear my mind for the week but to get comfortable with silence and try to learn skills to return to London-life with a more mindful approach. My self-prescription was as follows: 10 minutes of Headspace (no phone otherwise), two hours in the Thalassotherapy pools and a spa treatment every day.
The first day was easy. I think I was physically and mentally so exhausted that floating in the pools and laying perfectly still through a rose and honey wrap was a form of sleep. The second day, not so much. The Thalassotherapy experience is a series of six pools with varying levels of salt, magnesium chloride and temperatures.
You’re meant to stay in each for a specified amount of time and it’s a totally silent experience. The first pool was brown and oil-filled with high levels of magnesium chloride and salt. Yep, sounds pretty gross and to be honest, it was.
However, with twice the amount of salt as the Dead Sea, it was easy to float with no effort and eventually I found myself, shock horror, slowing easing into it. Unfortunately though, 10 minutes in, all I could think about was my to-do list and my brain was spiralling into all the “what ifs” possible. It felt like every time I looked at the clock on the wall, only seconds had gone by. I honestly can’t remember time going by that slowly in the entirety of my adult life.
The following five pools followed the same thought pattern going from “oh wow, this is interesting” to “I’m not going to make it through another 10 minutes”…
It got easier though and with each day that passed, I found the two-hour daily routine in the spa became the time of the day that I most looked forward to.
Outside of the Thalassotherapy, I spent my time reading, playing tennis and doing yoga. I started each morning with 15 minutes of Headspace and I’ve never been so thankful for an app. The idea of meditating is absolutely terrifying so the the guided meditations and modules specific to stress, anger, sleep etc. made all the difference. I wasn’t just sitting, trying to think of nothing, and failing. I was listening to a soothing man’s voice talking me through visualisations and techniques for mindfulness.
So no, I didn’t come back a zen-filled, yogi. But I did take some time for me. I actually relaxed both physically and mentally more than I have done for a while. I learned that silence can be comfortable and brought back some tangible skills for how to live life in London a little bit more “mindfully”. Although ask me when I’m battling the commuter crowd on the Tube next week and we’ll see if that’s changed…
Forte Village, Sardinia has rooms available from €630 per night, based on two adults sharing a Deluxe Bungalow on half-board basis, including VAT and service charge. For further information and for reservations, please visit www.fortevillageresort.com or telephone +39 070 921 8818.
