We had a wonderful day by the sea recently on one of our Sober by the Sea, ‘Vision the new you’ days
” I attended Janey’s Sober by the Sea last weekend and have been walking on air ever since. It was an intimate group where it was safe to share reflections on our sober journeys, and a beautiful setting by the sea made it extra special.
Janey is a brilliant coach with a warm relaxed style, but with loads of tools and laser focus. There were meditations, exercises, vision boards and alcohol free cocktails. And, of course. connections. The one to one coaching was incisive and one perfect question unblocked what I’d been struggling with.
If you’re looking for a self care treat that supports your sobriety. I fully recommend these days” . L. Herts
It was a small intimate group and varying ‘sober streaks’, one woman was just 100 days sober, another was over 4 years. It doesn’t matter you see, we were focused on selfcare, on discovering what we want for the future, on being Happy Healthy Sober (there’s a book title!) – underpinned by choosing not to drink alcohol.
We talked about the power of the mind, about mindset and the importance of ‘raising your vibration’, it really is so important to be around people, or at least be connected to those who have had some shared experiences. While its wonderful that partners and family are supportive of you choosing not to drink, they may not be the best people to share your innermost thoughts with, especially in the first few weeks!
One woman on our retreat came to recognise that the ‘challenge’ of being alcohol free for 200 days was no longer relevant for her, the word ‘challenge’ intrinsically signifies that you will ‘achieve’ something and it will come to an end, rather like the way I took on the ‘challenge’ of doing couch to 5k, I did achieve it, and have carried on the jogging (a bit!) but it was specific goal I wanted to reach, it was finite.
Sobriety isn’t. It isn’t a health fad or trend, while some people choose to detox for a month, or set themselves a challenge of 30, 100, 200 days then go back to drinking alcohol, thats not really what we base our concepts on. This participant recognised that her unconscious mind might be delighted that she had reached her 200 days and then decide ‘You’ve got this, fine to drink moderately now’
“There were so many positives I have taken away from the weekend – the main one being the importance of having a safe environment to ‘be your true and authentic self’ without any judgement from others. I loved that it was a small group who were like-minded and super supportive. I also benefited from the super positive and high energy of the day and this alone highlighted how I tend to live at a low-energy level. All the exercises, tools and activities we were given during the day to follow-up will directly help me on my AF lifestyle. I am also really looking forward to following up on all the recommendations and advice from the day to expand my horizons to become a happier ‘me’.” T
We discussed just how amazing life without booze really is, how it really does get better every year, but we need to properly embrace it, and step into that new identity. By the end of the day she declared that she was going to drop the concept of it being a ‘challenge’ and was looking forward to as she said ‘Meeting the real me’
We created vision boards, its been said that mood boards are brilliant as a visual representation of what your ‘soul’ wants, rather like bringing from a huge house with lots of rooms, only the stuff you need to focus on right now into the hallway. I encouraged the participants to mindfully look through the mags and papers and cut out images that ‘sang’ to them, without too much judgement. Its not about creating a work of art, but rather about having a set of images that represent how we want to feel, or specifics we want for our lives.
I wish I had taken a pic of the boards, they were inspirational! We did quite a lot of discovering what we want, how to ‘manifest’ and while it sounds rather ‘woo woo’ most people know that its rooted in science, where we put our attention, is where our focus is, and energy flows there.
One woman was feeling a little lost when it came to what she really wanted, she had heard lots said about ‘creativity’ and finding your purpose, and felt as though she may be a bit of an empty slate as she couldn’t instantly find hers! In these instances I often recommend that people listen to my podcast with Susie Pearl, author of The Art of creativity, and also remember that its fine not to have a distinct ‘project’, that not everyone does have a book to write, or a business to run. As the wonderful Kyle Gray says…’Perhaps your purpose is just to be happy’ (but how many of us are!)
We had proper coffee, teas, lots of lovely snacks including a healthy vegan chocolate cake made by my daughter (thank you!) and later for our alcohol free drinks we had a wonderful af ‘aperol spritz’ kinda thing with a shot of Lyres, a splash of soda water and topped up with Noughty AF sparkling vegan ‘wine’
We went for a short walk by the sea (this is optional) and did some cool exercises to focus on reaching our highest potential.
‘I attended the Sober by the Sea day retreat as I’d seen it on Janey’s Instagram and thought some ‘me time’ to concentrate on wellness in sobriety was just what I needed. And it was! I’m still quite new to this sober life, or ‘finding my sober shoes’ as Janey said, and so was a bit nervous of what to expect. That there were only 6 of us, plus Janey, made for a really laid back and relaxing day, comfortable enough that everyone was able to share experience and ask questions. I came away with challenges and lots of things that I wanted to know more about, but feeling relaxed and rejuvenated. Thanks all! S
I hope you will join us for another event, register your interest, if the dates don’t work let us know when might work for you
If you think you’d benefit from deep dive 1-1 mentoring I can offer a VIP by the Sea day with intensive coaching and lunch at a beach restaurant