A full itinerary is not the same as a useful retreat
Travel can invite spaciousness, but too many treatments, conversations and transitions can reproduce the pace you came to change. Start by naming one desired quality—rest, clarity, reconnection—and protect unscheduled time around the practices chosen. In Aspen or elsewhere, altitude, travel fatigue and unfamiliar surroundings are real parts of the experience.
What retreat research can tell us
Cohen and colleagues reviewed residential retreat studies and found reports of improved health and wellbeing outcomes across varied programs. Read the review. The programs bundled meditation, education, movement, diet and other elements; participants were self-selected and long-term evidence was limited. The review cannot identify which component caused change or guarantee that a private wellness retreat will produce the same outcomes.
Reserve capacity for the return
Before leaving, reduce the first day home where possible. Decide which commitments can wait, how you will eat and rest, and whom you may want to speak with. Choose one practice to carry forward, not the whole retreat. A ten-minute recording, an evening without screens or one protected conversation is more likely to survive than an idealized new routine.
Notice what the setting revealed
A retreat may show what becomes possible when demand is reduced. Ask which burdens were temporarily removed and which support can be recreated honestly. Visitors from across the US or internationally may want an extra night before travel. Continue with planning a private retreat in Aspen, bringing a retreat home, and the private-retreat overview.
Verified sources
- Cohen M, Elliott F, Oates L, Schembri A, Mantri N. The health impact of residential retreats: a systematic review. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2017;17:526. doi:10.1186/s12906-017-2078-4.Systematic review of heterogeneous residential retreat programs. Selection bias, bundled interventions and limited long-term follow-up prevent attributing results to a particular component. Full text was accessible. No correction or retraction notice was identified during the 2026-09-18 research check.
About this reading
This educational article distinguishes the intervention studied from Healing Rituals’ personalized wellness work. It is not medical, psychiatric or relationship treatment and does not promise a clinical outcome.
Learn about Lauren and the practice