Thoughts from the Dance Floor in Greece: Sometimes You Need to Step Away to Come Back Stronger
A couple of weeks ago, I swapped my usual routine of Zumba classes, Lift & Laugh sessions, emails, playlists, bookings and general rushing around for something rather different — a wonderful week in Greece at The Hydra Beach Resort for a fitness retreat with Yogafit Retreats.
And I have to say, it was wonderful.
Yes, there was sunshine and beautiful scenery. And yes, simply waking up somewhere warm and lovely without immediately thinking about where I needed to be that day was a pretty good start!
But since coming home, I’ve realised that what I enjoyed about the week went much deeper than simply having a holiday.
It was the change of pace. The opportunity to move my body in different ways by trying new classes.
The chance to spend time with a lovely group of people, including some familiar faces from my own Zumba Gold classes. It was having conversations over meals, laughing together, trying different activities
(not just Yoga) and, perhaps most importantly, stepping outside the routine of everyday life for a little while.
It got me thinking about how important these sorts of breaks can be — particularly as we get older.
Not necessarily a yoga retreat in Greece. It could be a walking weekend, a dancing holiday, a few days by the sea, a spa break, a trip with friends or simply going somewhere new and doing something completely different.
Sometimes we need to step away from our normal lives for a little while to appreciate them again.
And sometimes, we come back stronger because of it.
When life becomes one long routine
I actually like routine.
Most of us do, even if we don't always realise it. There is something reassuring about knowing what we are doing and when we're doing it. Routine helps us stay active, eat reasonably well, get things done and maintain the relationships and activities that matter to us.
But there is another side to routine.
We can become so used to doing the same things that the weeks begin to disappear remarkably quickly.
Monday becomes Friday. Friday becomes Monday again. Suddenly another month has gone by.
There may be work, children, grandchildren, elderly parents, partners, pets, homes, appointments and all the other things that somehow find their way onto our lists.
Even things we love can become part of the routine.
I absolutely love teaching my classes, but it is still my job. When I'm standing at the front of a Zumba class, I'm thinking about everyone else in the room. I'm watching how people are moving, remembering choreography, checking the music, keeping an eye on anyone who might need an alternative movement and making sure everyone is having a good time.
So there was something rather lovely about going away and becoming the participant for a change.
Someone else was in charge, I could simply turn up.
And that is surprisingly liberating.
Moving because it feels good, and not just in Greece
One of the things I particularly enjoyed about the retreat was moving my body in ways that were different from my normal week.
I'm obviously very active at home. I teach dance fitness, I teach strength and functional fitness, and I train in the gym. Movement is a huge part of my life.
But different movement creates a different experience.
Yoga asks different things of the body. There is more time to notice how you're moving, where you feel tight, how you're breathing and how your body responds to particular positions and I think there is an important lesson in that for all of us.
As we get older, it can be very easy to decide that we have found "our thing".
Perhaps you walk, or swim. Perhaps you come to Zumba Gold ir you go to the gym.
All of those things are fantastic, but our bodies benefit from variety too. We need strength, mobility, balance, cardiovascular fitness and flexibility. We also need activities that challenge us in slightly different ways.
That doesn't mean suddenly throwing yourself into something completely unsuitable or uncomfortable. It simply means remaining curious about what your body can do.
Trying something different can be a lovely reminder that movement isn't only about burning calories, achieving personal bests or ticking exercise off a list.
Sometimes movement can simply feel good.
The benefit of changing your surroundings
There is something else that happens when we physically go somewhere different, our normal cues disappear.
The laundry isn't sitting there waiting to be done. You can't suddenly decide to answer that email, sort out that cupboard or pop to the supermarket. The jobs that normally compete for your attention simply aren't there.
Instead, you notice other things like the weather, the view, the people around you or the food you're eating, and maybe how your body feels.
You have conversations that aren't squeezed into five minutes between other commitments.
You might sit over breakfast a little longer.
You might read. or go for a walk simply because you fancy going for a walk.
And you start to slow down.
I don't think we always realise how much mental space our everyday responsibilities occupy until we temporarily remove ourselves from them.
And then there are the people
Of course, one of the biggest parts of any retreat or group holiday is the people you share it with.
I was lucky enough to have a lovely group around me, including some of my Zumba and Zumba Gold ladies, and that made the experience even more special.
There is something about going away together that changes relationships.
In class, we see each other for perhaps 45 minutes or an hour. We chat before class, we dance together, perhaps have a quick conversation afterwards, and then everyone heads off into their own lives.
On a trip, there is time.
Time to talk properly. Time to laugh. Time to discover things about each other that would never come up in the few minutes before a Zumba class.
And once again, it reminded me how important social connection is.
I talk about this quite a lot because I see it every week in my classes. People might initially come through the door because they want to exercise, but very often the thing that keeps them coming back is the community.
It's knowing people.
It's somebody noticing when you haven't been there.
It's having a laugh before the music starts.
It's sharing experiences.
And sometimes it's making friendships with people you would never have met otherwise.
A retreat simply takes that experience and magnifies it.
You spend more time together, share more experiences and inevitably come home with a collection of stories and memories that belong to that particular group. For me, that was a very special part of the week.
Are we allowed to make ourselves the priority?
This is perhaps the part I've thought about most since coming home.
Why can taking time for ourselves sometimes feel slightly indulgent?
I think many women, particularly in our generation, have spent decades being responsible for other people......Children. Partners. Parents. Work colleagues. Families.
Even when those responsibilities change, the habit of putting ourselves somewhere towards the bottom of the list can remain.
We can justify spending money on everyone else more easily than spending it on ourselves.
We can find time to help someone else but somehow struggle to protect an hour for ourselves.
And a whole week?
That can feel positively extravagant!
But I wonder whether we need to change the way we think about that.
Looking after yourself isn't only about eating vegetables and exercising, it is also about having fun,
and having experiences to look forward to.
Doing something simply because you want to do it.
These things matter too.
In fact, I think they matter more as we get older, not less.
Having something to look forward to
One of the loveliest things about booking a trip is that you don't only enjoy the days you're actually away, you enjoy the anticipation too.
There's the moment you decide to go, the conversations beforehand, thinking about what you're going to take, wondering what it will be like and counting down the weeks.
And then afterwards, you have the memories.
So a one-week trip actually gives you far more than seven days of enjoyment.
I think having things in the diary that we're genuinely looking forward to is incredibly important.
They don't need to be big expensive holidays either. It could be lunch with friends or a theatre trip..
A weekend away, a class you've always fancied trying, maybe a concert or a day trip somewhere you've never visited.
Something that makes you look at the calendar and think, Ooh, that's coming up soon.
As autumn arrives and the evenings become darker, perhaps that's something worth thinking about.
What have you got coming up that you're really looking forward to?
And if the answer is "not much", perhaps it's time to put something in.
Coming home with fresh eyes
The funny thing about getting away from your normal routine is that it can make you appreciate that routine again when you return.
I loved my week in Greece, but I also loved coming home.
I was ready to get back to my classes. Ready to see everyone and to get back into the gym. Ready to get on with all the ideas that had been quietly floating around in my head while I was away.
That's the bit we sometimes forget about rest, it doesn't necessarily mean doing absolutely nothing.
Sometimes rest is simply doing something different.
Giving one part of yourself a break while another part gets a little more attention.
For me, that meant temporarily stepping away from being the instructor and business owner and simply being me..... and then I came home ready to go again.
Perhaps that's the real benefit of taking a proper break.
It doesn't have to be about escaping your life.
If anything, it can help you come back and enjoy your life more.
So… what about 2027?
Would I do another retreat? Absolutely!
In fact, I'm already thinking about 2027.
There's something very appealing about the idea of another trip, another adventure and perhaps even a few more familiar faces coming along next time.
I'm not making any grand announcements just yet, but watch this space!
And if reading this has made you think, I'd quite fancy doing something like that, perhaps that's worth listening to. Because one of the things I feel more strongly about as I get older is that we shouldn't keep putting things off.
There will always be another job to do, another email and another reason why this week isn't quite convenient.
Life doesn't suddenly present us with a completely empty diary and announce, "Right, now you can start enjoying yourself."
Sometimes we have to deliberately make the space.
Whether that's joining a class, booking the holiday, arranging the weekend away or simply saying yes to something we might previously have talked ourselves out of.
My week in Greece at Yogafit reminded me that staying well as we get older isn't just about what our bodies can do.It's about continuing to have experiences and continuing to have things ahead of us that we're excited about.
So perhaps this week's thought from the dance floor is actually a thought from a yoga mat in Greece.
Sometimes, stepping away for a little while is exactly what we need to come back feeling stronger.
And I'm already wondering where 2027 might take us…
Jo x
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