With healthy retreats and wellness holidays a booming trend in the region, as well as abroad, Ruth Addicott looks at what they have to offer

Seven years ago, the term ‘Wellness Travel’ barely existed; now it’s a $563 billion global industry and it’s not just the fit and famous who are looking for holidays that will enhance their mind as much as their body. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the well-being travel sector is now one of the fastest growing tourism markets.

Aside from the hipster fitness festivals which are springing up all over the country this summer, there is a trend for relaxation retreats, anti-ageing retreats, stop-smoking retreats, zen adrenaline junkie retreats, even digital detox retreats, where you un-plug, switch off and go back to nature with ancient healing remedies and forest bathing.

In 2015 alone, more than 690 million wellness-focused trips, including spa holidays and wellness retreats were taken worldwide.

Paul Joseph, co-founder of Health and Fitness Travel, leading specialists in tailor-made wellness holidays worldwide, says: “As people become more aware of the importance of staying fit and healthy, their holidays now reflect this need.”

According to Paul, one of the biggest trends is mind and emotion healing holidays. “With more of us looking for ways to boost self-confidence or learn how to manage stress, it’s little wonder that these holidays are a rising trend,” he says. “With a growing understanding that a healthy mind leads to a healthy life, retreats offering coaching in mindfulness, meditation and yoga, are helping sufferers of modern-living burnout to reconnect their mind, body and soul.”

One place leading the way is The Orange Tree, in Rosedale, North Yorkshire, which was named one of the top 50 retreats in the world by The Times. Their yoga and relaxation weekends are usually booked up six months to a year in advance.

Owner Edward Harpin, who teaches yoga, Chi Gong, meditation and relaxation, says people want to learn tools they can take back and use in daily life. Some people go on their own, others take a friend and use it to catch up doing something they enjoy. It’s predominantly women, but there is an increasing number of men, and you don’t need experience of yoga or meditation.

“We have people who work on oil rigs, opticians, mums, a whole range of people,” says Edward. “I wanted to make it as accessible as possible, so you don’t just get a certain type of hippy, yoga-y type of person. Anybody can come, no matter what their background.”

Edward discovered the power of mindfulness when he was 21. He gave up university and was diagnosed with bi-polar disorder and told he would need to be on medication for the rest of his life.

“That added to my feeling of depression. I thought there had to be alternative ways and discovered mindfulness,” he says. “It helped me so much. I went back to university and came off medication. I have never had the diagnosis since.”

After volunteering at a meditation retreat in France and seeing the impact it had on others, he started running weekend retreats in the UK and took over The Orange Tree in 2011.

“I’d notice people would come away on retreats and just by doing very little, everything seemed to settle. They seemed to relax into themselves and they’d go away feeling refreshed and inspired,” he says. “Once you find that these practices work and you realise the source of contentment, happiness and inner peace is inside yourself, not in external things, it shifts people’s orientation to life and they think, actually, I want to prioritise my health and wellbeing because I enjoy life a lot more when I feel peaceful, calm and relaxed. I’d say most people who come away on a weekend leave with some kind of life-changing experience, even if it’s small.”

For Edward, it has become a lifestyle. During the summer, he sleeps in a yurt in the garden, where he practises yoga and meditation.

Yarm based Studio 21 and Health Hub have also started running wellness breaks, including one at The Orange Tree (May 2018) and a Luxury Pilates Retreat in the South of France this September.

Pilates instructor and founder of Studio 21 Vicky Rees believes part of the draw is the location. “If you stand outside The Orange Tree and turn 360 degrees, it’s just hills, valleys and moors, the whole place is so peaceful. It’s got this energy of relaxation,” she says.

The retreat at St Lizier, in the South of France, offers a similar escape. Set in a beautiful 19th Century chateau with poolside views of the Pyrenees, it is so secluded in the woods that even locals didn’t know it was there. It is also a Unesco World Heritage Site. “It’s just that feeling of being away from people and away from everything,” says Vicky.

It’s a short drive to the town and mountains or 90 minutes to the coast, and the schedule allows people time to explore the area. The sessions (optional) include sunrise and sunset classes, guided meditations, a private pilates or Reiki treatment, a yoga-themed session and healthy organic meals prepared by a local chef.

So what can a retreat offer that a class can’t?

At The Orange Tree, Vicky says she was able to give people a bit more individual attention as well as tips on how to get that feeling of relaxation back home.

“When you come to a class at the studio, you’ve got that hour to yourself, but when you’re on a retreat, you can just go a little bit deeper and leave the world behind,” she says. “It’s often stress in the body that causes illness, so if you can help people release that stress, it’s going to help their body become healthier too.”

As well as the benefits for the mind and body, Vicky says: “It’s a lifestyle that I think people aspire to.”

• Luxury Pilates Retreat, Chateau St Michel, near Toulouse, South of France, Mon-Fri, September 18-22, 2017.

Relaxing Pilates Retreat, The Orange Tree, May 18-20, 2018.

For bookings and info contact vickyrees@healthhubclinics.co.uk or call 07929601043.

For info on other retreats visit www.healthandfitnesstravel.com or call 0203 397 8891

• Studio 21 is offering a 10 per cent discount off the Luxury Pilates Retreat in the South of France, as well as a 10 per cent discount off its new clothing range for purchases and bookings before Aug 20. Clothing is available at the ‘Store’ section at www.healthhubclinics.co.uk/booking with the code ECHO10%

Studio 21 is also offering readers the chance to win a six-class pack for Pilates and Yoga Matwork Classes. Just tell us the name of the German physical trainer who invented pilates. Email answers, together with full contact details to competitions@northernecho.co.uk, putting pilates in the subject line. The closing date is Saturday, July 29.