Inside out
Women realising their
self-worth is integral to this world-class retreat centre.
Words Hayley Barnett
Think women’s health retreat and you’ll no doubt conjure up images of kumbaya circles and cleanses. Think weight loss retreat, and there will surely be some scary ideas of restriction and quiet shaming.
Resolution Retreats aims to do better. Founder Joelene Ranby started the retreats in 2012 after her own inspiring health journey led her to move away from her corporate life and into helping other women to slow down. She discovered the focus should be more on what to do, rather than what not to do when it comes to a healthy lifestyle.
Situated on Lake Karapiro, Resolution Retreats offers luxurious resort accommodation at a reasonable price, compared to other retreats that cost thousands of dollars a day to attend. It’s in line with the vision Joelene had when she started the business 10 years ago.
“I come from a family of people who don't prioritise their health,” explains Joelene. “And so I was never taught or encouraged to take care of my health from an early age. It wasn’t until I was an adult in my twenties that I decided to make changes, and implement some healthy options into my life.”
Joelene says she had to learn these changes “through the school of hard knocks”. Her journey took her from an overweight, stressed-out financial accountant to a relaxed and vibrant 30-something woman giving workshops to help others in the same dark place she was all those years ago.
“I wish I could have done something like this back then, but it didn’t exist,” she says. “I started learning about the psychology behind taking better care of yourself, and studying habits.”
Today Joelene offers a range of retreats with varying themes from weight loss to resilience, perimenopause and menopause and fasting – but all the retreats have a focus on changing behaviour.
“If there was a degree in habits, I would have it,” laughs Joelene. “I'm obsessed with how they're formed and how people respond to them. It's just very, very interesting to me. Everything comes from a place of practicality, and never from just science.”
At the end of each retreat, which range in days from three to 20, Joelene and her staff have one-on-one consultations with each guest to work out what their goals are and how they can best support them.
Coming away from a three-day weight loss retreat, there’s a feeling of lightness, not just on the scales, but also in the mind.
“Some people see a weight loss retreat as simply going there and losing some weight, because they didn't eat as much as normal, but it’s psychological,” says Joelene.
“I believe the true difference between somebody who is ‘healthy’ and somebody who is ‘unhealthy’ is what they do when they fall off the wagon. Because unhealthy people perceive that 'healthy' people don't fall off the wagon, but it's not true. They do, they’re just kinder to themselves. They go, ‘Oh no, I'm off track. Let's get back into it.’”
That’s the main aim at Resolution Retreats – to teach women to be kinder to themselves.
“A lot of women just reinforce what they are already thinking when they ‘fail’ at another diet, particularly people who have a really low self opinion of themselves. They can find that difficult to do and even more difficult to hear.”
The challenge, she says, is in getting people to realise that they need to slow down and, perhaps not smell the coffee, but more their own sense of self-worth.
In the future, Joelene wants to offer more specialised retreats, such as her mother/daughter focused workshops, and plans to launch a charitable trust this year, to help make the retreats that much more accessible to low-income earners.
“I want to get the message out there that, if you are struggling with your health, there is somewhere you can go for help, no matter your circumstances, to instil those healthy habits in a safe, non-judgemental space,” says Joelene.