Goodbye and ThankYou for my nervous system reset Escape Haven.

Last Morning in Escape Haven

Today is my last morning in Escape Haven.

I woke up and listened to mantra. Positive affirmations. Remembering just how beautiful life is. I got up and nipped out for a coffee from Copenhagen, a really cool coffee shop nearby. A nice matcha and a latte in the town. It was sleepy and the roads were quiet. I found myself smiling as I walked along the road , feeling mentally lighter and excited. Feeling in my heart optimistic for 2026. It’s unfolding already and good things are on their way. I trust that. They are already here.

I am in Bali.

As I walked, I bumped into Dr Raj, the Ayurvedic doctor who’s been incredible throughout the retreat. The last time I saw him, I had a big cry. I was only going in for an Ayurvedic consultation ,poor bloke. He listened, and then guided me through some breathwork techniques I had not done before. He told me he thought my dosha was Pitta. I’ve always thought I was Kapha.

For those of you who don’t know what I’m on about, I’ll add some facts about Ayurvedic doshas at the bottom. It’s a big topic , a whole other blog in its own right.

We spoke about my diet. About movement. About deepening my own spirtual practices this year. I need to move house soon so I’ve promised myself that I’ll finally set up a full Ayurvedic kitchen when I do. My diet has never been the most consistent and often not nourishing too much rushing still, that is my work going forward to slow down. The food at Escape Haven has been excellent and when you eat well, you really feel it in your body and your mind.

Before we parted, Dr Raj said, “Stay in touch, Clare .”

Another incredle human added to my spiritual tool box.

Maybe it’s an ex cop thing, but I’ve always found it easy to talk to men. I’ve always been like this. Perhaps it’s the tomboy in me, growing up I always had more boys as friends than girls. They alway did the cool stuff, Bmx-ing , skateboarding and building dens ! Maybe it’s the fact that I didn’t really find it easy to openly express my emotions, guys often struggle with this too, I really get it. A healthy masculine is steady energy, a container for all the fluctuations of the feminine. That’s a good thing. A really good thing. Saying that we have both energies in us and we need to find a ways to be enough for ourselves first in this life. That’s a whole other story.

I wandered back and sipped my coffee ,I refuse to give up a good coffee ! I’ve given up alcohol for years now, I still have maybe the occasional one, but I don’t really like the taste anymore. A good glass of red wine or a fancy cocktail in a special place but rarely. Coffee stays though !

I grabbed my journal and reflected on how much calmer and more grounded I feel. Sometimes you really need to detach, stand back, breathe, and regain balance. I’ve been so fortunate and grateful to have the time and resources to spend the week here.

Massage treatments have been given daily. Gentle touch is so grounding for the nervous system. In scientific terms, gentle, slow touch activates C-tactile receptors ( C-T) afferent fibres in the skin. These respond to rhythmic, caring touch and send signals directly up to areas of the brain involved in feelings of emotion, safety and interoception.

This shifts the nervous system into parasympathetic regulation, bringing us out of sympathetic, survival mode. It improves vagal tone and heart rate variability, essentially resetting and returning the body to a calm state. Recovery cannot occur without this shift.

There are a number of women here navigating some pretty huge transitions A typical women at the top of their game, I spent one breakfast chatting to a university professor, who was trained in yoga by Bks Iyengar no less and has lectured at Harvard she was very cool. She has even visited Norfolk and was showing me the beautiful countryside she had visited - how lucky are we to live there, she had loved it. Funny being in Bali and someone reminding me how very beautiful my home is, a huge reminder to be grateful.

The daily treatments have been bliss. I honestly feel like a new woman. Completely recalibrated.

Anyway enough of that. These are ancient practices, and they’re beautiful.

Yesterday I had a Urovasti Ayurvedic treatment. Urovasti involves creating a small dough reservoir over the heart centre, which is then filled with warm, medicated herbal oil. The oil is held there for a period of time, allowing deep nourishment of the heart, lungs, and chest tissues. It’s traditionally used to support emotional healing, ease grief and anxiety, strengthen the heart, and soften long-held tension in the chest. The experience was deeply soothing , expansive ,like being held from the inside out. I felt so calm after, you know that post yoga glow only it went deep.

Today, I leave to travel to Ubud. A week of aerial yoga training is about to commence, and I’m super excited. It’s just a week of play and fun and who says that at nearly 49 we can’t reconnect with childlike joy? I’m on a bit of a journey for sure and I’m loving every minute.

I realise how fortunate and lucky I am to be able to take this time. I wouldn’t be able to do it without the incredible team we’ve managed to build at The Mill, who are holding the fort until I’m back. I’m deeply grateful to each and every one of them. Finding this balance , taking time out to recalibrate, reconnect with creativity, connects me back to myself so I can then return ready to move forward again, continuing to build our beautiful little world this rest feels essential right now.

If anyone is interested in any aspects of this journey, I’m always open to a chat you know I love that. All of these individual practices help calm the nervous system, and when we’re living in a state of constant stress and survival, this becomes really, really important.

I’m also a firm believer that we only heal in community in shared spaces with both masculine and feminine energy. It’s why I’m always trying to encourage more men onto the mats and into our spaces. I am always chatting about this. I personally think it is vital that we stop segregating into all-women or all-masculine groups so much. We’ve had enough of that.

Having worked in predominantly all-male environments, and now pretty much predominantly all-female ones, I’ve seen both the benefits and the challenges of each. The deepest balance, for me, comes from healing the relational space between the masculine and the feminine finding a way to move forward together with respect, steadiness, and care.

And that, in many ways, feels like the real work.

Maybe a reminder that yoga happens off the mat too, it’s how we show up and and how we live every day. With good intentions and love at our heart centres.

A brief note on Ayurvedic doshas (It’s a huge topic)

In Ayurveda, health is understood through three primary energies, or doshas, which are present in all of us in different proportions. These doshas influence our physical body, digestion, emotions, temperament, and how we respond to stress.

• Vata is associated with air and ether. It governs movement, the nervous system, creativity, and change. When balanced, Vata brings inspiration and vitality; when out of balance, it can show up as anxiety, restlessness, or fatigue.

• Pitta is associated with fire and a little water. It governs digestion, metabolism, focus, and transformation. When balanced, Pitta brings clarity, drive, and warmth; when out of balance, it can manifest as irritability, inflammation, or burnout.

• Kapha is associated with earth and water. It governs structure, stability, immunity, and nourishment. When balanced, Kapha offers calm, strength, and groundedness; when out of balance, it can feel like heaviness, stagnation, or low motivation.

Most of us are a blend of all three, with one or two dominant doshas. Ayurveda isn’t about labels it’s about awareness, balance, and learning how to support the body and mind through food, lifestyle, and daily rhythms. I find this very interesting !

Anyway that’s all for now no doubt there will be some more from me before this epic trip is complete ! Off to hang upside down now for a week

see you all soon

With love

A refreshed and renewed

Clare x