Just 48 hours later, I felt like a completely different person.

I had just returned from a hectic week in San Francisco. Jet lagged and exhausted, I needed a day to unpack, catch up on laundry, and recover from a crazy start to the year. January was always our busiest month, kicking off at full speed with our biggest event.

A few weeks earlier, a friend had suggested a weekend yoga retreat in Scotland. She thought it’d be a perfect excuse to catch up, especially since we now lived in different cities, and she kept telling me about this incredible yoga teacher I’d absolutely love.

Honestly, I didn’t have the time! I was craving a weekend to catch up on sleep and all the ‘life stuff’ I’d let slipp. But Friday afternoon came, and after a mad scramble at work to clear my schedule, I headed to Scotland from London. And it turned out to be a decision I’ll never regret.

Though I had to leave the retreat early to get back to work on Monday morning, those 48 hours completely changed something in me. Being surrounded by nature with no agenda was the break I hadn’t realised I needed. Our mornings were spent easing into long, stretchy vinyasa yoga; afternoons were a dreamy mix of sauna time and cold plunges into a nearby river. In the evenings, we wound down with a - what I didn’t know I really needed - relaxing yin practice, then gathered around a big table to cook, eat, and share stories with like-minded people.

For the first time in what felt like ages, I felt genuinely free—free from the desk, emails, my to-do post-its everywhere, chores, the list goes on. I came home relaxed, recharged, and with a spark that had been missing for far too long.

“It was the retreat I didn’t know I needed. ”

— Nikita

Looking back, I realise what I would’ve missed if I hadn’t gone. I’d have spent the weekend in the same cycle of trying to catch up while running on empty. That retreat reminded me that, sometimes, stepping away is the only way to truly reset and reconnect with ourselves.

Not to mention, it planted a seed. A shift in perspective to use my background in events and gathering people together in a way that truly uplifts and supports them. I saw the possibility of blending everything I love: yoga, movement, nature, adventure, travel, meeting new people, sea dips, sauna time, and delicious food.

And of course, meeting Laura was the spark that brought Blue Spaces to life.