Core needs: wellbeing holidays bounce back to tackle ?pandemic posture?

At 8am, six women and one man are saluting the sun in an airy barn in Sussex. They are focused on their breathing, visualising their internal organs and letting go of intrusive thoughts. I am one of them. But I’m struggling to remember which leg is which.

All my life, I have suffered from left-right confusion. A soothing voice suggesting I place my right foot over my left knee induces an anxiety that does not help empty my mind. I’m also wondering what there will be for breakfast.

I have come to Fair Oak Farm for a three-day wellbeing retreat: yoga, pilates, gentle exercise and massage punctuated with vegetarian food and peaceful strolls through the East Sussex countryside. After 18 months of hunching over a laptop at my dining-table-cum-desk, I’m ready to stretch, bend and strengthen my core.

Among our small group are an exhausted NHS worker, a university lecturer going through a stressful divorce, a retired teacher with a Covid-challenged transatlantic relationship, and a gas engineer on an admirable journey of self-discovery.

Some are practised in yoga and mindfulness; I’m a novice, stiff and creaky but keen to learn. Everyone is welcome – the session leaders are warm and encouraging, never once making me feel inadequate. As an introduction to the burgeoning market in retreats and wellbeing breaks, this was a good choice.

Wellbeing tourism – defined as “travel associated with the pursuit of maintaining or enhancing one’s personal wellbeing” – was estimated to be worth $639bn (£467bn) worldwide in 2018, contributing to an overall global “wellness economy” valued at $4.5tn. Pre-Covid, the market was forecast to grow to $919tn – 18% of all global tourism – by 2022.

Weeks before the pandemic struck, the UK travel association Abta said one in three people were planning to incorporate wellness activities, such as yoga, meditation or spa treatments into their holiday. The pandemic has interrupted the pace of growth, but there are signs that the retreat market is rebounding as restrictions ease.