If anyone is in need of a relaxing getaway and reset at the moment, it’s rugby ace Chris Robshaw.
Getting ready to hit the ballroom as part of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, Chris has already been put through his physical paces in the rehearsal room by his dance partner.
If that isn’t gruelling enough, the former England captain, 39, and opera singer wife, Camilla Kerslake, 37, recently revealed they’ve been dealing with an obsessed and violent stalker, forcing the pair to endure a months-long terrifying ordeal that saw them up their personal security amid threats to social services.
And yet, in the face of the immense pressure, the pair have been determined to look on the bright side, with Camilla declaring on social media that this ‘won’t define them’.
The pair’s ability to remain calm, collected, and even share a joke given the circumstances is admirable – but, as someone whose nervous system is shot by an awkward stare in the street, it made me wonder how they do it.
And it turns out part of it is knowing a really good rural hideaway where you can switch your phone off and get away from the world – and more importantly, the internet – for a bit.
Enter: Wasing Estate, a 4,000-acre piece of land that holds a nature-focused wellness retreat in the woodlands of Aldermaston, Berkshire.
It’s so hidden from the world that the directions instruct you to look out for a ‘house that looks like Hansel and Gretel lived there’.
Getting ready to hit the ballroom as part of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, Chris Robshaw has already been put through his physical paces in the rehearsal room by his dance partner
With an aim to reset his body, mind and nervous system before Strictly, Chris visited Wasing Estate, a 4,000-acre piece of land that holds a nature-focused wellness retreat
Even the icy stares of Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood couldn’t be a match for an actual ice bath in the open air of the grounds, with specialist Dean Teyla, a certified Wim Hof Method Instructor, on hand to guide him through it
With an aim to reset body, mind and nervous system, the team’s RECONNECT retreat is a day-long getaway that Chris and Camilla visited in the weeks prior to his Strictly announcement – involving breathwork sessions, trauma release through holosomatic bodywork and cacao breaks.
In the case of Chris, even the icy stares of Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood couldn’t be a match for an actual ice bath in the open air of the grounds, with specialist Dean Teyla, a certified Wim Hof Method Instructor, on hand to guide him through it.
So I decide to head down to the estate and try out part of the experience for myself.
While I manage to skip the panic-inducing ice baths, a wild swim lake goes nowhere – and neither does Wasing’s sauna with a stunning view of the grounds specially-built on the edge of the water.
Switching between the two – 10 minutes in the cold, 10 minutes in the warm – is a process known as ‘contrast therapy’, which has been a commonplace practice in Scandinavian countries for centuries.
It’s also growing in popularity with biohackers who want to increase their health and overall wellbeing (although notably not recommended for those with heart conditions).
Studies published in the American Journal of Physiology have stated benefits to the heart and body’s circulation.
Others claim it resets the nervous system, while evidence suggests some who do it gain mental clarity.
Switching between 10 minutes in the cold and 10 minutes in the warm is a process known as ‘contrast therapy’, and Chris took part in it, going from ice-bucket showers to sauna and back
Tilly Pearce visited Wasing House, and said: ‘While I manage to skip the panic-inducing ice baths, a wild swim lake goes nowhere’
She also visits Wasing’s sauna ‘with a stunning view of the grounds specially-built on the edge of the water’
In need of all the above, I take the plunge, with the cold fresh water shocking me awake in what can only be compared to chugging about five cups of coffee.
While it takes a moment to acclimatise, soon I feel myself relaxing into it.
Easy to wade in for those who aren’t strong swimmers, my guide informs me of otters that play in the lake, while a stork eyes me up while I swim from a tree nearby.
When I’m done, exposure to the air as I leave the lake feels even colder – so with that, I bolt to the sauna.
Infused with essential oils to warm myself up, my muscles relax and the crick in my neck from hours sitting by a computer finally cracks.
While here, I take the opportunity to do stretches, before darting back down the pontoon and back in the lake, zapping myself with the cold once more.
I’m informed that Chris, whose time as a rugby player would have made him used to contrast therapy, did the back and forth around seven or eight times, before finishing things off with an ice bucket shower that’s next to the lake as well.
Not quite at professional rugby player levels, I manage three rounds before relaxing with a hot drink – Nootropics Lion’s Mane and Rhodiola coffee, both of which have evidence suggesting they reduce stress.
While contrast therapy feels extreme, I can say it helped to improve my mental clarity – and if just an hour did me the world of good, I can only imagine what a whole day of it, especially in a woodland, would feel like
While contrast therapy feels extreme, I can say it helped to improve my mental clarity – and if just an hour did me the world of good, I can only imagine what a whole day of it, especially in a woodland, would feel like.
By the time I leave, I feel relaxed and ready to take on anything… even a one from Craig Revel Horwood!
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .