SpaWeek's VIP Internet Week Retreat
The Big #Signoff

The Internet has become an integral part of my everyday life.

Let’s face it, how many of us can get through a day without checking emails, corresponding with social media counterparts, blogging, updating websites, and for me, as you all know by now, online shopping?

It’s definitely a struggle many of us face.

Constantly wanting to stay looped in on the who, what, when, where, and whys of what’s happening has completely taken over our lives. Updating our status every second of the day to continually brand ourselves has become as normal and frequent as breathing.

This can not be not a good thing.

It also doesn’t help that the mobile market bombards us with new smart phones and applications everyday. They definitely make it easy for us to stay signed in.

But last week, SpaWeek encouraged us all to simply #signoff.

I was invited to their VIP Internet week retreat event at the Manhattan House in NYC. With the stressful week I was having, the invite couldn’t have hit my inbox at a better time. I excitedly RSVPed with hopes to indulge in a day of relaxation and disengagement.

Sidebar: I got to meet fellow blogger Candice from La:Dolce:Vita

The event was filled with a great panelist discussing ways to sign off of all internet applications, spa therapies by Exhale, and healthy snacks and cocktails by a great list of sponsors:

BluePrintCleanse
Popchips
SweetRiot
Bubble Chocolate
VitaMuffin
TY KU
Voli light vodkas

Yum!
After my first BPC cocktail I didn’t quite enjoy the taste of The Remedy drink. The first sip was a little weird. It had a bitter, insipid taste to start.
But after participating in a little yoga and working up a sweat on the rooftop, The Remedy became very refreshing. I loved it.

But what I enjoyed the most was the meditative breathing. It was very relaxing and calming for my spirit, which had been up in arms all day.

The breathing instructor taught me how an involuntary motion can become voluntary. She stressed the importance of how you breathe and how it can shift your mood, which I experienced right then and there.

During and after; look at that happy face after the mediative breathing. LOL

Controlled breathing is definitely a necessity for being centered in a stressful situation. Lord knows I need this in my everyday life.

Spa Week has definitely sparked a ritual for me.

This weekend, I took a few hours out of my day to simply sign off.

No laptop. no Blackberry. Nothing. I turned everything completely off. And can I just tell you, what a freeing feeling it was not to feel obligated to answer anyone’s email, BBM message or text. They just had to wait.

Going forward, I’m going to make it a point to disengage myself more often and just take time to enjoy the little things in life.

For at least two hours per day, I will turn my phone off, making myself inaccessible to anyone. No Internet at all! I will take those two hours to relax, read a book or magazine and breathe.

Sounds simple right?

Well I challenge you to sign off of all internet applications for one full day. No Twitter, no emails, no texting, no BBM, no Foursquare, no Facebook, no blogging, none of that for a day and let me know how it went for you.

If a day is too extreme, try a couple hours. It may be just as freeing for you as it was for me.

I’d love to hear how it goes.



MUA & friend Jihanne, Me, Candice from SpaWeek & La:Dolce:Vita
Also be sure to follow SpaWeek on twitter for all the latest on life's little luxuries & spa deals. You can also check them out at www.spaweek.com and on their blog.

1 comments:

Living Fly on a Dime 17.6.10  

Ah, this looks for relaxing. Wish I was there! It's so hard to just "unplug" from everything, but it truly is necessary.