“Hello, my name is Marta, and I live in a dissociated state.” With this declaration, as firm as it is unconventional, I introduced myself to the twenty participants who, like me, attended between October 23 and 25 the wellness retreat Refugio by Artiem with their own concerns and expectations. In my case, it hadn’t been stress that had brought me there. I also did not intend to find myself or learn to eat better, as perhaps others did. In fact, I didn’t even know very well what I expected from those three days. However, sometimes it’s enough to pause, reflect and dig into our inner selves to gain the necessary clarity and recognize the place one occupies in the world. For me, the place of living in a constant dichotomy between being a responsible mother and an tireless traveler.
Friday: Welcome
But let’s not jump ahead. Before reaching that clarifying moment, there was the unpacking at Artiem Asturias, meeting the rest of the group, and letting oneself be carried by the program designed by the hotel chain together with María Abajo, naturopath, aromatherapist, and founder of Less&Conscious, a project that seeks to transform how we live, work, and take care of ourselves.
The aim of this first edition of Refugio by Artiem was, simply, to stop, slow down and pay attention to the things that the everyday pace tends to push into the background, such as listening to the body, eating (and any other verb) without hurry, and reconnecting with nature. “The question is how to develop an economic activity that helps the evolution of the environment and the territory, that connects with it,” reflected during the opening Víctor Mayans, Artiem’s Marketing Director. “Normally a retreat is very yogic or very gastronomic. From the beginning we wanted, with María’s help, that Refugio be a little bit of everything.”
Wellbeing would be addressed from multiple perspectives, not limited to rest or physical care, also incorporating movement, mindful eating, and the relationship with the environment. To this end, the gathering featured three guests: yoga instructor Aida Artiles, environmental activist Carlota Bruna, and food content creator Chloé Sucrée.
