{"id":148359,"date":"2025-06-01T02:40:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T02:40:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/148359\/"},"modified":"2025-06-01T02:40:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T02:40:19","slug":"the-greek-retreat-that-soothed-my-exhausted-stressed-out-brain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/148359\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greek retreat that soothed my exhausted, stressed-out brain"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no word I could find that quite summed up how I was feeling last summer. It wasn\u2019t just stress, but it wasn\u2019t burnout or breakdown. Yet it felt like more than normal tiredness. Perhaps it was facing up to the teeth-grinding malaise of middle age, and a nagging dissatisfaction with life among other things. But wonderfully \u2014 and thankfully \u2014 the Greeks, who might not have a word for that wobbling state of mental and physical health, do have a cure: the Euphoria Retreat.<\/p>\n

It is a fitting name for the resort tucked into the unfashionable but beautiful foothills of Mount Taygetus in the Peloponnese, about three and a half hours\u2019 drive from Athens, and an hour by airport pick-up from Kalamata. <\/p>\n

Today we use the word euphoria to describe an extreme state of happiness (or a drug-induced high), but, like many of the good things in life, it derives from the ancient Greek: euphoros, meaning \u201chealthy\u201d. I landed in the high heat of summer when the temperature starts climbing from 30C from 10am, so indoor treatments and a swimming pool were essentials.<\/p>\n

I felt threadbare. I was unhappy in my skin, and worn down mentally due to the lingering impact of a long-ago trauma. I wanted not just to let go of my internal \u201cto do\u201d list of how to be a better person and slump down and doze in the sun, but also to rejuvenate in as meaningful a way as I could manage. I wasn\u2019t up for the authoritarian rigour of a medi-spa or the breathless physicality of a bootcamp, but Euphoria hits the sweet spot in the middle. <\/p>\n

\"Euphoria<\/p>\n

The retreat has an outdoor pool overlooking the mountains<\/p>\n

STAVROS HABAKIS<\/p>\n

Everyone \u2014 singles outnumber couples \u2014 staying at the 45-room spa hotel is encouraged to do so too. It goes a long way to create an atmosphere, where under an endless blue sky and the near constant chorus of cicadas, everyone is invested in feeling better. Mobile phones are barely seen and alcohol is rarely drunk, though you can purchase it with dinner. Meals are a slow, civilised affair on the terrace overlooking farmland with as much oregano-infused water as you can manage. (It does help with the buckwheat crackers.) <\/p>\n

My room was comfortably large and serene, with light touches of local Greek design and lots of marble in the bathroom. Most of the day is spent in the spa itself, where you also find the pool and loungers, but I became addicted to an early night and deep sleep \u2014 you can choose from a pillow menu.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Read our full guide to <\/b>Greece<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

The passion project of Marina Efraimoglou, a former banker whose life was laid low by a cancer diagnosis, the resort is the culmination of years of research exploring and studying wellness practices. The result is a feat of engineering as well as ambition, where the building\u2019s design, as well as every therapy and every meal, are governed by a blend of ancient Greek and Chinese philosophies that centres on five elements: fire, water, earth, wood and metal. <\/p>\n

At Euphoria\u2019s heart is the spa, a concrete cocoon where shadows ripple across the white walls as light floods the central atrium. There are treatment rooms and specialised facilities, as well as two large spaces for complimentary lectures and sessions including sound healing meditation (deeply relaxing), freeing your voice, starting with breathwork and ending with a theatrical singing exercise that ran through the full range of my voice and finished as loudly as possible (uncomfortable), and what I came to really look forward to: yoga nidra. Led by Chryssi, I had an unusually deep sense of semi-conscious meditation where I felt my physical body disappear and my mind float away. <\/p>\n

\"Lounge<\/p>\n

Euphoria Retreat has light touches of local Greek design<\/p>\n

STAVROS HABAKIS<\/p>\n

Tall, resplendent in colourful kaftan and a halo of hair, Marina visits at least once a week and is constantly looking for new techniques and improvements when it comes to wellness. Her mission is a belief that healing does not have to mean suffering. It is a task that the Euphoria team take up as a vocation, reflecting another Greek word, philoxenia, which describes the respect extended to strangers, a gesture that is more seriously felt than simple hospitality. <\/p>\n

\u2022 16 of the best wellness retreats in the UK<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

But could good intentions, crystal water, a gong bath and a massage really deal with the mini crisis of confidence I was having? Namaste never did it for me before. <\/p>\n

After a phone questionnaire, I had signed up to a bespoke package offering not just a detox programme, now fairly standard for such a luxury-level, award-winning spa, but also emotional wellbeing. I rocked up to a detailed timetable for my ten-day stay that included lectures, treatments and even a respiratory test that would guide the Mediterranean menu drawn up by the in-house nutritionist.<\/p>\n

An analysis of my glucose, glutathione and glycogen levels \u2014 they call it a patented 3GL assessment \u2014 was apparently going to detect any \u201cenergy disorders\u201d. Hmm. The results, however, told me that my metabolic rate was average, but I needed to eat more protein. Cue plump steak and sweet potatoes for dinner, but also, far less appealing, daily vegan protein powder smoothies with beetroot and chia seeds for the mandatory mid-morning snack.<\/p>\n

\"Group<\/p>\n

Guests can enjoy complimentary lectures<\/p>\n

STAVROS HABAKIS<\/p>\n

Sitting cross-legged on mats, a small group of us answered a series of basic questions, such as \u201cwhat do you have for breakfast?\u201d, or \u201cwhat do you do after work?\u201d. We all opened up and it was thanks to this straightforward process that it struck me that the person sabotaging me was not a friend leading me astray, but myself acting the part. It broke the ice and the three of us in that room felt closer for the remainder of the holiday.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t have to share, but bonding over a starter of quinoa crackers and a teaspoon of sundried tomato tapenade or cashew dip, enjoying vegan carrot and ginger soup and surprisingly tasty buckwheat patties is a reassuring way to spend the evening. You can choose to sit alone, or join others.<\/p>\n

\u2022 I\u2019ve been to 20 wellbeing retreats and this is what I\u2019ve learnt<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

I met an exhausted mum whose anxiety caring for her daughter had almost broken her; an executive whose stress was causing bloating and constipation; another who needed a break from her job in elderly social care. Everyone has a story. There is support to be gained in gradual conversation. But if that\u2019s too much information, you can just sit and stare at the far horizon taking in olive groves and scattered villages as cats slink around mewing for tidbits.<\/p>\n

Then it happened. I\u2019d had some niggling cynicism about the boundless wellness industry that has sprung up in recent years. But this faded as I fell into a reassuring timetable of massages \u2014 cupping, scrubbing, reflexology, acupuncture \u2014 and a good night\u2019s sleep. This was as relaxed as I had ever been, and I felt that my mind and body were beginning to reconnect.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not to say there weren\u2019t moments when the \u201cscience\u201d left me giggling with the silliness of it all. How else was I supposed to respond to the biofeedback analysis? During an appointment with the resort\u2019s medical director Dr Konstantinos Dardagiannopoulos, I gripped a Qest4 copper bioresonance device \u2014 imagine an old-fashioned gaming console with copper tubes for handles \u2014 with both hands and connected to a computer program. It determined that I was very stressed, and I had a slightly weakened liver and pineal gland. A \u201cparasitological test of a stool probe\u201d was recommended. To be honest it all felt a bit lost in translation.<\/p>\n

\"Yoga<\/p>\n

Yoga nidra sessions are on offer at the retreat<\/p>\n

STAVROS HABAKIS<\/p>\n

Odder still was the \u201cSymptom-Emotion Correlation\u201d. Still holding the same device, parts of the body lit up on the doctor\u2019s screen and were converted into feelings and behaviours. I know, I know. More than a hundred descriptions flashed up including \u201cBunions 2\u201d which was decoded to mean \u201cbeing stubborn and inflexible in your direction\u201d; \u201cHay Fever 2\u201d was translated as \u201cunresolved feelings of grief or sadness\u201d and \u201cPeptic Ulcer 2\u201d was \u201cfeels responsible for pleasing everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n

It was unnerving. The method felt woo-woo, and up there with astrology and tea leaves wasn\u2019t too far off the mark. The prescription to \u201cfocus only on the positive matters and thoughts \u2014 to trust only them, not the negative ones\u201d is not exactly cutting edge, but it all felt so credible in the setting. And still does.<\/p>\n

\u2022 18 of the best spa and wellness holidays<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

The environment and ambience seem to be as much a part of the relaxation process as the treatments. But it was my three sessions of emotional transformation \u2014 a unique course offered at Euphoria \u2014 with Mary Vandaorou, a former dancer and confidante of Marina, whose gentle, probing counselling, and Reiki-like physical therapy as well as nourishing meditations left me weeping. Instead of heading back to the noise of London while feeling raw, I swam a few lengths in the pool, watching dragonflies dance through the grasses and over the water as the sun set slowly and the heat of the day rose up. I felt a weight was lifted ever so slightly as Marie advised me to \u201cbreathe out sadness, breathe in hope\u201d. <\/p>\n

I arrived home and was inspired to make my own thyme or oregano-infused water with dried herbs from the retreat. I ate sweet potatoes and steak; no takeaways or alcohol passed my lips. I began to walk taller, and started swimming most days. My fridge filled with feta and I was still filled with a sense of optimism. <\/p>\n

Naturally, the scales tipped, and the energy I had soaked up in Greece eventually disappeared like the fading of a summer tan. But that\u2019s OK. The philosophy of Euphoria Retreat is not to sell a cure, but to be part of the process of rejuvenation, and at least I know where to go now for that profound boost we all need from time to time.
Helen Davies was a guest of Healing Holidays, which has two nights\u2019 full board from \u00a31,999pp on a Wellbeing Detox programme; four nights\u2019 B&B from \u00a32,699pp on the Emotional Harmony programme (<\/b>healingholidays.com<\/b><\/a>). Fly to Kalamata<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There is no word I could find that quite summed up how I was feeling last summer. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[105,218,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-148359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114605799866806007","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}