International Retreat Photographer & Body Confidence Workshops – Reset Retreat 2023

I’m now officially a worldwide retreat photographer! I had the pleasure of photographing and working at the Reset Retreat in Portugal with Mariya @ The Pillars of Health and guest coach Siebe Hannosset, who are Intermittent Living coaches. This has been part of my plan to work at and capture the magic of more retreats, so I’m thrilled the first one went so well and will hopefully be the start of many.

As a photographer and coach specialising in spirituality, branding, storytelling, Body confidence and the Wellbeing industry, I have a deep understanding of connection, emotions and vulnerability, as well as telling a story through the photographs I take. I’m not just a fly on the wall, I’m part of the process, part of the event and connected with all the guests who take part. I make my workshops just as transformational and complement whatever else is going on so that it all works beautifully together.

I hosted my first sell-out wellbeing retreat in 2021 in Somerset, UK, with a group of 10 women, and I knew it was part of my calling. I’ve been a portrait & event photographer since 2010, a body confidence and wellbeing coach since 2020, and a cacao ceremony facilitator and reiki healer since 2022, so I knew I had some great skills to offer to complement someone else’s wellbeing retreat, as well as running more of my own in the future. Everything I do is all about helping people to feel good in their bodies and feel good about themselves. I’m also currently training as a Conscious Dance Facilitator with Dance the Medicine.

So when Mariya asked me if I could photograph the Reset Retreat in Portugal and if I could offer any other services, I knew my Body Confidence & Wellbeing workshops and Cacao Ceremony would complement Mariya’s intermittent living workshops perfectly. Her business is called The Pillars of Health, which, similar to my own coaching values, covers more than just the physical body – it’s about combining all different parts of the body for optimal health, including mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

From what Mariya told me before the retreat, I knew that her guests may be finding some of the activities challenging (including me!!). So I wanted to design a practical workshop that would work on body confidence and mindset to help everyone feel really good about themselves and their capabilities. I also adapted my cacao ceremony to include positive affirmations that worked well with this theme.

What is Intermittent Living?

“Intermittent Living is a strategy that recreates the ancient hunter-collector living conditions to which our immune system and metabolism are truly adapted, in a controlled environment. Our research-backed methodology restores a dynamic balance, the perfect tonic for the stressors of modern life.” – Intermittentliving.com

Activities include Intermittent hypoxia, Intermittent hypercapnia (breathwork), Intermittent fasting, Intermittent hydration, Varied diet + fermented diet, Intermittent Heat & Cold (such as saunas and ice baths), Mindfulness, and Deep learning.

Body Confidence Workshop

As a body confidence and wellbeing coach, I help people to be the best versions of themselves. This includes improving body confidence, self-image, self-esteem, self-belief, self-worth, creating healthy habits including exercise, healthy eating, rest & relaxation, improving general mindset & happiness, rediscovering what makes you YOU and achieving your life & wellbeing goals.

The workshop I designed included how to talk to yourself positively, challenging negative thoughts and beliefs, gratitude and focusing on your talents and strengths, as well as knowing who you are, what you want and visualising (and manifesting) the future.

Cacao Ceremony

Cacao Ceremonies are a celebratory ritual that opens the heart through the use of cacao. It can include things like setting intentions, asking questions and receiving guidance, visualisation, meditation, listening to music, positive affirmation, gratitude, journaling… Other meditation modalities & therapies can also used with it such as sound baths, breathwork or ecstatic dancing. Traditionally Cacao Ceremonies were conducted by the Maya and Ancient Aztec civilisations over 5000 years ago.

In my cacao ceremonies, we usually:

• • Learn all about the magical effects of cacao and where it comes from
  • Connect to gratitude for where the cacao came from and everything we feel grateful for in our lives
  • Set our intentions for what we’d love to get from the ceremony
  • Be guided through a visualisation meditation to maximise the feel-good effects of the cacao, manifest your desires, and receive guidance to any questions you have.
  • Reflect on your experience

Guest Feedback

“Thankyou, for the beautiful workshops”

“Thankyou, for the beautiful workshops. The calm and peace in your voice is nice to listen to. I loved the cacao, the music and the meditation, it helped me to open up. There was a mix of emotions and you made me feel that everything was ok and could be there. The last workshop about body image and self-esteem was amazing! It made me feel inspired; especially by writing the letter about future me. Thankyou x” – Henny

Highlights of the Reset Retreat 2023

I created a little video diary on my @GorgeousYouCoaching Instagram account for some of the days, but here’s what we got up to in a nutshell:

• • • Cold days including 18km hikes (one with a refreshing lake swim halfway!), cold showers, ice baths, breathwork and hypoxia breathing exercises
    • Hot days including hot yoga, boxing in a hot yurt, hypercapnia breathing exercises, sauna, hot showers (bliss!)
    • Intermittent fasting (most days we fasted until lunchtime, which was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be), but on the last day we fasted (food and water) for 23 hours! I caved after about 21 hours…
    • Cacao ceremony and Body confidence workshop
    • Measuring our blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose and Ketones twice a day
    • Alcohol-free cocktails with herbal elixirs and canapes on the last evening (courtesy of Keith from The Conscious Bar)

Do you need photography for your retreat? And/or some Body confidence & wellbeing workshops and cacao ceremony?

>>> Get in touch<<<

I’d love to have a chat about your retreat! Click the link above or send me an email to ginny@ginnymarsh.co.uk

Ginny x