I’ve been trying to find words to describe what I experienced on the leadership retreat last week. Rather than detailing my activities, it feels more fitting to describe the feelings of calm, clarity, and courage that emerged. What I emotionally experienced!

I came in with an intention for the week: resetting and preparing for the next chapter. It was the right intent, but I thought this would involve a lot of thinking and planning about how I wanted to start my new job the following week.

As soon as I stepped out of the car in the mountains, I realized what I needed was just to be. To let the mountains wash over me and work their magic. To take a proper break. No doing, no thinking, just being.

The mountains have always been a place where my soul is at peace, where I have a sense of inner calmness and belonging. My mind is usually pretty quiet. I feel such awe at the beauty around me, at the vastness and permanence of it.

I wrestled with this for the first day, thinking this wasn’t enough for my time here—I should be doing deeper work. I knew what I needed; I just wasn’t listening.

Aided by some self-compassion work the next day, I got out of my head and into my body, and immediately felt at ease, lighter, and more smiley. I spent a lot of time throughout the week just sitting and watching the mountains. I learned once again that if I let go a bit and give myself permission not to think or do so hard, all kinds of creative pathways open, and ideas come to me. It’s like moving out of the front of my brain between my eyes allows the rest of my brain to do its thing. Rare moments of clarity and connection.

My mission now, until the next retreat, is to tap into this version of myself when I’m not in the mountains. Not to feel sad about leaving the mountains and “Mountain Anne,” but to know that this presence is always within me, accessible whenever I want. I started by telling myself, “Be more Mountain-Anne,” which then evolved into “Be more mountain, Anne.” And what’s nice is that I know, deep inside, that I already am.

What I physically did that really helped create what I needed:

• Daily yoga, meditation, and connecting to my body
• Glorious, soul-nurturing food at a communal table
• Watching the mountains from the balcony of the chalet, the hot tub, or the gardens
• Hiking in the mountains
• Walks along the river in the valley
• Water rafting through canyons – FORWARD!
• Coaching conversations with my fellow retreat mates and the wonderful team
• Workshops and reflection sessions with the team
• Digitally detoxing and shutting out the outside world for a minute
• Arriving and leaving river rituals

If you’d like a taste of this work check out Sally-Anne’s Book Mindful Command, and her company Skilful Leaders here