How to Prepare Emotionally, Mentally & Physically for an ImHER Immersive Retreat
A gentle guide for the woman who is getting ready to be held.
Stepping into an ImHER Immersive Retreat is not like booking a massage or scheduling a spa day.
It’s an energetic choice — a moment where you say:
“I’m ready to soften. I’m ready to receive. I’m ready to come home to myself.”
Because these private 1:1 retreats are intentionally intimate, personalised, and deeply attuned to your inner world, the way you prepare can gently elevate your experience and help your nervous system arrive feeling open, supported and steady.
This isn’t a checklist.
It’s an invitation.
Here’s how to prepare your heart, mind, body — and your life — for a Brisbane women’s wellbeing retreat that will meet you exactly where you are.
Preparing Emotionally: Give Yourself Permission to Be Supported
Most women don’t realise how hard it is to actually receive — care, stillness, nurture, touch, silence, or pleasure.
So the emotional preparation often begins long before your retreat day.
Set the intention to be held
You don’t need a detailed reason for coming.
Just a willingness to let yourself be supported, even if it feels uncomfortable at first.
Let your system know it’s safe to soften
In the days before your retreat, place a hand on your heart or belly and whisper:
“You get to rest now.”
“You don’t have to hold it all.”
“I’m choosing us today.”
Your body listens.
Expect emotions to arise — and welcome them
Excitement, nerves, numbness, overwhelm, hopefulness — all of it is normal.
Your retreat welcomes every part of your emotional landscape.
Preparing Mentally: Release Control & Let the Experience Unfold
A private immersive retreat is not structured minute-by-minute.
It is intuitive, fluid, and responsive — guided by your body, breath, energy and emotional readiness.
Preparing mentally means loosening the grip of expectation.
You don’t have to plan anything
You’re not responsible for the flow of the day.
All you need to do is arrive.
Let go of the urge to “perform” healing
You don’t need to have a breakthrough.
You don’t need to say the right things.
You don’t need to know ahead of time what you want to explore.
Your body will guide the experience.
Trust that what comes up is what’s meant to come up
Stillness may be the medicine you need.
Release may be your gateway.
Sensual awakening may be the reminder your body has been waiting for.
Whatever emerges is part of your recalibration.
Preparing Physically: Ready Your Body to Receive Deep Nourishment
You don’t need to be in any particular “state.”
Just gently attuned to what helps your body soften.
Hydrate generously
Water supports nervous system regulation and emotional flow.
Eat something grounding but light
Oats, eggs, fruit, smoothies, or rice bowls are ideal.
Wear soft, comfortable clothing
Think loose, breathable, unrestrictive.
Avoid rushing on the day
If possible, create spaciousness around your morning so your body arrives already slowing down.
Preparing Energetically: Let Your Life Know You’re Stepping Away
Before your retreat, clear the noise where you can.
Put your phone on Do Not Disturb
Let yourself detach from the world — even for a few hours.
Give yourself permission to pause “doing”
This retreat is not about production.
It’s about presence, receiving, and recalibrating.
Preparing Your Loved Ones: Creating a Supportive Buffer Around Your Retreat
This part is often forgotten — but it can make the biggest difference.
Women are typically the planners, the organisers, the emotional stabilisers…
And the moment they return home, they’re pulled back into the whirlwind of doing, fixing, preparing, caring, tidying, anticipating.
To honour the softness you’re stepping into, prepare your loved ones before and after your retreat.
Before the Retreat: Setting Expectations with Love
Share the intention behind your retreat
They don’t need the details — just the importance.
“This retreat is something I’m doing to reset, reconnect, and take care of myself. I’ll feel calmer and more grounded afterward, and I’d love your support as I prepare.”
Let them know what would help you arrive calmly
For example:
A slower morning
Space to get ready without interruptions
Avoiding last-minute tasks or emotional demands
Help with kids or household tasks so you can leave unhurried
Communicating your needs ahead of time prevents overwhelm later.
After the Retreat: Protecting Your Integration Space
The hours after your retreat are sacred.
Your system will be softer, more open, and deeply receptive — and sudden re-entry into pressure or noise can be jarring.
Ask for a gentle landing
You might say:
“When I come home, I’ll be in a softer state. I’d love a little space to land gently before I step back into everything.”
Create a buffer zone
Consider:
Keeping your phone on silent for the rest of the day
Leaving your Out Of Office on until the next morning
Pre-preparing dinner so you’re not immediately back in doing mode
Planning some quiet time alone before reconnecting with family
These simple steps can protect the deep internal shifts that happen during your retreat.
Let them know what to avoid
Sometimes clarity is easier here:
Don’t ask about my day straight away
Don’t hand me tasks as soon as I walk in
Don’t expect me to problem-solve tonight
Clear boundaries = gentle integration.
Identifying Your Own Needs (Before You Voice Them)
If you’re unsure what support you need, try asking yourself:
What will help me slow down beforehand?
What will help me stay soft afterward?
What drains me the fastest when I come home?
Your answers become your boundaries and requests.
You can write them down, practice saying them aloud, or send a message to your partner or household if that feels gentler.
Your needs are valid.
Speaking them is part of your healing.
Arriving on the Day: Let Yourself Be Met Exactly As You Are
You don’t have to be calm, grounded, or “ready.”
If you arrive overwhelmed, emotional, exhausted, hopeful, tense, numb, or unsure —
you’re still exactly where you’re meant to be.
Your retreat meets you where you are, not where you think you “should” be.
The Deepest Preparation Is Simple: Allow Yourself to Be Held
Women are conditioned to push, give, perform, hold, and carry.
This retreat is a sacred interruption to that pattern.
Your only job is to receive.
And that, beautiful woman, is preparation enough.
A Gentle Invitation Forward
If reading this has softened something inside you…
If you can already feel the exhale…
If your heart whispers, “I need this”…
Then trust that whisper.
You’re not just preparing for a retreat —
you’re preparing for a return to yourself.
When you’re ready, I’d be honoured to hold you in a private 1:1 Brisbane women’s wellbeing retreat created entirely for your restoration, reconnection, and rising.