Slowing down, taking it Iz-y…

Hello beautiful soul and sunny greetings from Iz island in Croatia,

As you may know already, I recently took another little step, or more aptly, a little boat trip, on my quest for a slower, more peaceful life in nature. 

It’s not far from my home of the last 2 years in Zadar, so it’s easy to stay connected, but I had another “soul calling”, like the one i had to come to Croatia to live 5 years ago, so here I am…..and already I have this deep knowing it was the right move.

I ran my first retreat last year here at Hotel Korinjak,, almost everyone rebooked for this year,  and I have my most excIting one so far this June, combining my great passions of Morning Yoga and Meditation, Wild Sea Swimming and Somatic Movement.

It’s the perfect place for slowing down enough to feel everything deeply, to connect to nature, and just feel a sense of freedom. I know because this is what I have discovered for myself. 

There is a special energy to the place, and the way people live here – at a slower place, taking time for the important things in life, not just through natural movement, but health in general, connection, eating well, community and rest – this just makes sense.

What we know from some of the latest research (as found in Deepak Chopra’s book “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind”), we can actually slow down the ageing process by slowing down how we live.

We have a word for it in Croatia, which is “polako”, which means “slow down and take it easy”. This principle is lived and breathed here, and it’s had the most profound effect on my overall sense of wellbeing, as well as how I experience life. 

Poloko is at the heart of all my retreats now, even the Adventure Holidays in Cavtat, which I still run, just with smaller groups and with more “space for magic”.

Of course, there are the cats here too. The island of Iz is known for it’s cats. I’ve usually met at least 5 before I have even started class in the morning, which is purr-fect, as they are my inspiration.

One in particular was part of my story coming here (it’s always about a cat, it seems!). We rescued little Star last year on one of my retreats on a remote little island we had taken a boat to, and she is now living her best life as part of the Korinjak team here looking after guests.

She is a constant reminder that miracles do happen, and even when you think that all hope is lost, maybe that moment when you are about to give up, something can appear out of nowhere and everything changes.

My theory is that magic happens, not just in the space we create when we slow down, but also when we are open to it. We can choose where we put our focus, we can choose to be present, and we choose to commit to practices which help us feel grounded and embodied even when it feels like the world around us in chaos.

As Viktor Frankl famously observed:

“Between stimulus and response lies a space. In that space lies our freedom and power to choose a response. In our response lies our growth and happiness”

The question is whether we are slowing down enough to give ourselves that space. 

Are we present? Are we embodied? Are we able to hear the body’s whispers?

If not, then a scheduled break may be on the cards to give yourself a reset, and if the “Polako living” of Croatia, enjoying the cleanest Sea in Europe, is calling you, just get in touch or take a look below.

This country called me for a reason, I am only just starting to fully understand it now 5 years on. One of the reasons is this Luminaries Summit, which I have been honoured to be a part of creating.

There are many of us, here, and around the world (maybe you too), who believe that the choice we have right now is to “see the light, feel the light and be the light”, and we are coming together to do this as a collective, learning from each other, inspiring each other and supporting each other.

This first Summit, here in Croatia, is being held in a little pocket of paradise between Split and Zadar, and has some inspirational thought leaders, as well as movement practises, connection to nature, music and healing.

Take a look below and get in touch if it’s of interest as I have a discount code you can use.

Maybe it’s the quality of the nature, maybe it’s everything this area of the world has had to overcome in this lifetime already, maybe it’s something else, but there is a healing energy here.

I think that’s why people keep coming back, and why people like me come to settle here. 

It’s all about the energy, and the pace of life… and maybe the cats 🙂

Sending warm sunshine from my heart to yours,

Gillie xxx