WHO SAYS YOU NEED TO SPEND $1,500 ON A WEEKEND RETREAT?
I always want to be on vacation. Like 100 percent of the time. But I am a twenty-two-year-old recovering from an extreme amount of debt both in the credit and student loan realm. Part of my New Years Resolution was to spend more weekends away. And doing more of the things that I want to do.
I have always found the desert to be a mysterious mystical psychedelic place where aliens, biker princes, and nature goddesses all preside. Seriously though- the desert is a vortex of energy that is undeniably felt upon arrival. That paired with the simple fact I have always wanted to go on some sort of glamping retreat. Granted I’ve been on school-sponsored retreats- leadership, meditation, veganism- you name it. What I mean is the retreats that you see promoted on rich white girl sites like Refinery29 and Goop where the packages cost like 3 grand and they lock up your phones and you only eat baby food and you’re so hungry you essentially reach enlightenment. But I have never felt secure financially or personally to actually attend one.
So when my best friend Heather called me up and said “Hey bitch lets go on a retreat in Joshua Tree!” and I said “Sponsored by who?” and she said “By us! ” I almost threw up with excitement. We were going to host our own yoga meditation and a psychedelic adventure into the desert.
I never realized how easy it would be to plan your own retreat. All you need is to choose a convenient weekend, a few set of positive and productive activities, and last but definitely not least- a sick ass AirBnB to set the mood! And trust me- if we can pull this off on the budget we were balling on, you can easily replicate this weekend [using common sense of course]. I created a mastermind formula to help all female lover friends have the opportunity to have a Goop worthy retreat under 300 dollars a person.
- Choose your destination- wisely.
We decided on Joshua Tree because of 1. We both had barely been, and 2. That vortex desert energy has me screaming Daddy at the universe. Joshua Tree is also a very small and organic place- with little distraction and plenty of nature to keep us focused on our positively productive activities. It is also off season for Joshua Tree in February- but is still warm and sultry which is what we needed in this lame winter downer weather. I mean seriously how are you supposed to plan a new year when your shivering to death.
Joshua Tree is also a great place where you can escape, but at the same time remain relevant and feel like an active part of a community. We started our day with a brief visit at their Saturday Morning Farmers Market (organic and granola-y as fuck, loves it). Not to mention the one fantastic organic coffee shop where we purchased lunch, and where they roast their own Joshua Tree coffee beans.
There are also plenty of blended vintage shops that offer new goodies mixed with old- who doesn’t love that. I bought a pair of vintage light washed Levi BERMUDA shorts at Shop on the Mesa- my favorite shop of the whole weekend. Mostly because it was so supple and warm inside and they sold organic skincare #hype (it was also on sale- which doesn’t hurt).
2. Set a budget. We had only a weekend in mind and were able to find an Airbnb for 150 for 2 days and one night. It was totally worth it- we stayed in an Airstream. I am not one that is 100 in for “roughing it”. We also planned on making most of our meals in a granola healthiesque manor. It was a retreat I mean- except red wine. You always need red wine with you with your girls.
3. We went into the weekend with three positive themed activities in mind that we wanted to complete- vision boards, intention writing and hiking. All simple but worthy ways of feeding the soul and quieting the mind into submission to get to the dirt of being a person or in other words figuring out what the purpose of this year was meant to be. There was no set timeline to complete the activities, but we were able to hold ourselves accountable.
I could break down the logistics of the weekend, but there isn’t a point to that because at the end of the day the best part of the retreat was being on our own schedule- leisurely moving through the day into the night making decisions spontaneously all the while completing small items off the soul to-do list.
Ate a vegan meal (Check)
Went to a local and sustainable farmers market (Check)
Bought organic beauty products (Check)
Cut out magazine propaganda for our vision boards(Check)
Went to a delicious bbq meal featuring an incredible rock band (Very unexpected/ pleasant surprise, but Check)
And that all was just day one!
We woke up around 8 AM on accident and enjoyed the desert sun while journaling and enjoying our in-town coffees (we couldn’t figure out the gas in the airstream worked and didn’t want to die of carbon monoxide poisoning or blow up) plus the airstream was so cute we didn’t want ruin it!!
We pulled tarot, discussed our dreams, and visions for what we think this year is supposed to be, and then finish cutting glossy pages for our boards. We finished out the day with a hike and some good ole Thai Food.
We kept a tab for the weekend, and I think I was Venmo charged a total of 87.98 for snacks, transportation, and meals included. We prepaid for Airbnb and that was a total of 158.58 for the night and the cleaning fee- the most expensive part and totally worth it.
The point is- you don’t need to spend 3000 grand on a weekend to better yourself. You can do it with a little less than 300 dollars and your mindset.
