How to Turn a Staycation Into a Restorative Retreat

We often pin big hopes on our summer adventures, but the effort involved in researching, booking, packing, and traveling can sometimes outweigh the rewards. To truly rest and regroup, away from the crowds, consider a staycation.

A long weekend is a good start for this retreat, but if you have the time, you could take a week, 10 days, two weeks, or even a whole luxurious month. Lean into the idea of being and eliminate as much of the doing as possible.

Try channeling the animals of hot, dusty regions, such as the desert tortoise or the chuckwalla. They enjoy wonderfully long naps during summer to avoid the extreme heat and drought. Scientists know this process as estivation — summer’s equivalent to hibernation. The season’s expansive heat and long light make it the perfect time to relish idleness.

This retreat is lovely as a solo venture. You could also invite a friend, your partner, or your family to join you at some point in your estivation, for a combination of restorative solo time and restful connection with others.

PREPARE:

Choose your dates, label them “Retreat” on your calendar, then decide ahead of time how you will pepper each day with opportunities to rest, relax, and regroup. Try these ideas.

Putter: Make the most of being at home, perhaps in comfy pajamas or barefoot, enjoying the feel of floors or grass, drifting from reading in bed to making tea to dabbling in creative projects. Tend to things gently, with quiet, slow rituals. Water a plant or sort fresh laundry with care.

Bask: Enjoy warmth, water, or wild spaces. Sunbathe safely, take a long walk in nature, do some gardening, spend time in a nearby forest, or swim in a lake or the ocean. End the day by watching the light fade.

Embrace joy: What makes you feel pure joy? Do more of it each day on this retreat. Put your feet up and listen to your favorite music. Cook, read, draw, craft, paint — or simply daydream in a hammock. Give yourself or a family member a mini facial or foot massage.

Rest: Each day, mimic the deep-rest environment of a desert cave by lying down somewhere shady and covering yourself with a blanket or shawl. Put cushions under your head and knees to support your spine. You might extend your legs up against a wall (or tree). Cover your eyes with an eye mask or light scarf, and breathe normally for five minutes or more.

Regulate: Catch up on sleep early in the retreat, indulging in ­sleep-ins and long naps. Then use your retreat time to reset your body clock, or circadian rhythm. This 24-hour system is guided by a light-sensitive portion of your brain, and it regulates sleep, ­energy, mood, hormones, and temperature. Ideally, you wake with the sun, fall asleep when it sets, and eat your main meal at midday. To move in this direction, try shifting your bedtimes, waking times, and mealtimes to be just a little earlier each day of your retreat.

SCHEDULE:

After scheduling these retreat days, hold your plan lightly. Allow each day to unfold naturally, without a rigid agenda. Just like the tortoise, you are slowing down and resting, not trying to grow or change. Here’s a sample staycation day.

Morning ritual: If you’ve been sleep deprived, try sleeping in as long as you need, with no alarm. When you get up, make your bed with care.

Morning: Shower, dress, and enjoy a sustaining breakfast. Then take time to move outside in nature, perhaps with a long walk or bike ride. ­Return to read or daydream in your garden, on your porch, or in another comfortable space.

Afternoon: Make lunch your main meal and prepare it mindfully. After eating, take some time to rest. You might meditate, enjoy a siesta, or simply lie down and breathe. Once you feel restored, you could tend to some small tasks — decluttering a small space like a drawer, washing produce, or doing some light yard work. Let yourself be.

Evening: Spend time with your journal, observing your thoughts and feelings. Then relish an early, simple meal. Close the day with a mini foot massage. As the daylight fades, you might cocoon under light blankets, sit in your backyard with some herbal tea, stargaze.

Evening ritual: Give yourself a quiet inner weather report. Close your eyes and notice how you feel inside: Is it a little cloudy, bright and breezy, calm or changeable? Name it gently before you turn out the light.

REFLECT:

A few days after your retreat, ask yourself: What’s one thing I did during my estivation that truly restored me? Once you’ve identified it, try practicing it during the following week to help ease yourself back into your normal routine, whether it’s making daily time for puttering or lying down quietly as soon as you return from work rather than switching on the TV.