Fun at the beach

After going through the whole graduation celebration process, saying goodbye to family and friends who visited, and finishing our internships, my cohort finally found some time to relax and recuperate together. To do that with style, we decided to go on a three-day, two-night retreat, renting a house in Gary, Indiana, close to the Indiana Dunes.

As dance/movement therapists we know that self-care and a balance between exertion and recuperation are necessary to provide optimal care. However, sometimes it is hard to put aside the time to do so with all the job and school responsibilities we face. While we might be done with our program, there is still a lot going on. People are moving within Chicago, to another city, state, or even country; others already found a job and started working; and others are wrapped up in thesis work. In addition, we still have the summer online class to complete, which turned out to be much more work-intensive than we imagined. Going on a retreat we found the space to fully indulge in self-care without having to worry about any of those responsibilities.

We all have different ways to recuperate. Some are more introverted, getting energy from spending time alone; others are more extroverted, recharging by being with others. There are also people who recuperate in exertion, having to invest energy first to find full relaxation and recuperation.

Going through the DMT&C program you get a good idea of what your personal style of recuperation is and you also start to value and reinforce this style. This made this retreat successful because we were able to take care of ourselves individually while being in a group. Spending most of the day at the beach, grilling in the evening, and sitting around the bonfire with occasional dance parties also offered a nice balance. Overall, this retreat was a full success.

Enjoying grilling together