Family Wellness Retreats | | Why Slowing Down is the Best Gift for Your Family
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There is a curious contradiction at the heart of modern motherhood.
We spend so much time trying to create happy, connected families, yet our calendars often leave very little space for the very things that build those relationships.
We rush from work to school pick-up, from clubs to homework, from dinner to bedtime, hoping that somewhere amongst the busyness we’ll find time to connect.
Sometimes we do and sometimes we’re simply relieved that everyone has made it through the day.
When I sat down with Monica Virga Alborno, founder of Wanderwild Family Retreats, we found ourselves returning to one simple question:
What if families need less doing and more being?
That question sits at the heart of everything Monica has created.
What Are Family Wellness Retreats?
When many of us hear the words wellness retreat, we picture yoga classes at sunrise, silent meditation, healthy smoothies and a blissfully child-free environment where frazzled adults can finally switch off.
It’s an appealing image because, after all, what mother hasn’t occasionally dreamed of forty-eight uninterrupted hours of peace and quiet? And some sleep.
But Monica gently challenges the assumption that wellness has to mean stepping away from family life. Her question is beautifully simple:
What if our wellbeing isn’t found by escaping our children, but by reconnecting with them?
That’s the philosophy behind Wanderwild Family Retreats.
Rather than treating children as a distraction from relaxation, Monica has designed her retreats with families at the very centre. Parents and children spend time together in nature, share nourishing meals, build friendships with other families and create the kind of unhurried memories that modern life so rarely allows.
I found that idea so refreshing. If family life is where we experience many of our greatest joys (and many of our greatest challenges) perhaps it’s also the place where healing, connection and true wellbeing can grow.
Modern Motherhood Doesn’t Need More Pressure
One of the themes running throughout our conversation was the pace of modern life.
Many mothers carry an invisible mental load that never really switches off. Even holidays can become another project to manage, complete with colour-coded packing lists, restaurant research and the pressure to “make memories.”
Monica’s approach feels very different. Rather than creating another perfectly curated experience, she encourages families to slow down and rediscover the simple pleasures that are so easily crowded out by busy schedules.
Things like:
- eating nourishing food together;
- spending unhurried time outdoors;
- having conversations without screens competing for attention; and
- allowing children the freedom to explore, play and simply be children.
Those moments rarely look spectacular on social media. Yet they’re often the memories that last.
Community Is Part of Family Wellness
One of the aspects of motherhood community we discussed was how isolated many modern mothers can feel. Historically, children were raised within villages, extended families and close-knit neighbourhoods. Today, many of us parent behind closed front doors, trying to solve every challenge on our own.
Monica hopes her retreats become more than just holidays.
She wants them to become places where families meet other families who share similar values, where children build friendships naturally, and where parents realise they’re not the only ones navigating the beautiful chaos of family life.
I found that particularly compelling.
Sometimes the greatest gift we can receive isn’t another parenting strategy; it’s the reassuring realisation that we’re not doing this alone.
Family Travel Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect
We also talked about family travel, and Monica offered some wonderfully practical reminders that apply whether you’re travelling across the world or simply heading away for the weekend.
Children don’t usually remember expensive hotels; they remember adventures like building dens in the woods, paddling in streams, helping prepare meals and discovering new places alongside their parents.
As mums, we can sometimes feel responsible for creating the perfect family holiday but perhaps the better goal is simply to create enough space for connection to happen naturally.
Motherhood Transformation Often Begins With Slowing Down
One of the unexpected threads running through our conversation was that motherhood transformation rarely happens because we add more to our lives.
More often, it begins when we gently remove some of the noise, with slower mornings, longer conversations, more time outdoors, meals shared around a table and friendships that deepen over several days rather than a hurried chat at the school gate.
These things sound wonderfully ordinary and perhaps that’s exactly the point.
A Gentle Invitation
You don’t need to book a retreat in Norway or upstate New York or Provence to begin living this way (although I wouldn’t say no…)
The principles Monica shares can be woven into everyday family life. Perhaps it’s a picnic in the woods instead of another afternoon at the shopping centre or it’s inviting another family over for a simple meal. Maybe it’s leaving your phone in your bag while you watch your children climb trees.
Small choices in small moments that over time can shape and reform a family.
Listen to the Full Conversation
In the full podcast episode, Monica and I also explore:
- how motherhood completely changed her career direction;
- why she left a Fortune 500 leadership role to found Wanderwild Family Retreats;
- the surprising lessons she learnt from working in the global oil industry; and
- how birth trauma reshaped her understanding of success and family life.
If Monica’s career journey interests you, I’ve also written a companion article exploring how motherhood transformed her definition of success and led her into entrepreneurship.
I’d love you to read that next.
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