Over the past decade, Joelene Ranby has gone from founding and running small and bespoke women’s health retreats to leading a large team of health professionals at the multi-award-winning Resolution Retreats.
The world class health retreat offers nine packages from its purpose-built health resort at Lake Karapiro where they’ve proudly taken care of and improved the health journeys of over 3,500 women. Joelene writes about how the health and wellness space has evolved during that time, while reminding us that it’s the fundamentals we must return to for realistic, achievable improvements to our health.
Ten years ago, on one of the first retreats we ever ran, somebody told me that there’s no way I’d be still doing this job in ten years’ time. I gave too much and no one person could possibly have that much to give. And yet, here we are.
I was 27 when I ran my first health and wellness retreat in the hills behind Tauranga. I began by doing four a year, at weekends and during annual leave from my role as financial accountant for the Port of Tauranga. What started as a passion project quickly became a lot more: now New Zealand’s largest retreat centre offering health and wellness retreats, training, and education, with multiple award-winning brands operating under our charitable trust.
A lot has changed in ten years, but one thing that has not is my passion for the job, for the cause. I’ve discovered many others to be as passionate for the cause as I am, and they’re part of our growing team. Some of them have fancy names, degrees, and some don’t. We all work together for the cause, helping people look at their health and happiness differently, and helping them work through past challenges.
Those challenges look quite different to how they did 10 years ago. Some trends have come and gone, but some have stayed, with a positive shift in the right direction:
MORE SELF-COMPASSION
Younger guests are more likely to cut themselves some slack when trying to achieve wellness goals. This partly comes down to generational differences in tackling weight loss and improving health habits. We’ve had 2-3 generations which were much harder on themselves and expect their bodies to operate more like a machine than a human being. They’re more at risk of getting caught up in what I call the ‘stuff it effect’: fall off the wagon (which everybody does now and then), then beat themselves up, and eventually think ‘stuff it’ – a classic negative cycle. Self-compassion is an important health topic which runs across all our retreat programs and workshops. Thankfully, Resolution Retreats’ guests are embracing it more and more. Sometimes we need to step back and remember we’re trying to undo decades of bad habits and ways of thinking – and that’s not always easy. Being kind to yourself and focusing on progress, not perfection, is when real transformations happen.
‘HEALTHY’ PERCEPTIONS
Gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free, excluding food groups, and more — these were seldom-requested food restrictions when Resolution Retreats first started helping women in 2012. Sadly, it seems some don’t even know why they have excluded large food groups, except for that they’ve heard that they should. What constitutes ‘healthy’ has become more muddled and overwhelming. You don’t necessarily need to exclude large food groups to be healthier. We’re trying to encourage participants across all our programmes to be focused less on extreme trends and more on prioritising the basics.
I’m proud to be a part of a team that’s changed so many lives over the past 10 years and continues to have such a powerful impact on hundreds more each year.
INVESTING IN YOURSELF
Ten years ago, most guests came to Resolution Retreats for a once-in-a-lifetime health reset. Today, more women are returning annually as a reminder of their investment in themselves – they feel great when they leave and want to feel that way more often. It’s great that personal health and happiness are moving further up the priority list.
MENTAL HEALTH
Internal and external mental pressure has increased over the past 10 years, particularly post-pandemic which nobody expected or was prepared for. The government and social services can see it happening, too. As a result, we’re seeing more and more guests on their knees in terms of needing to prioritise their mental health. People from all walks of life are affected – no one is immune. In 2021, we launched the resilience-training brand Resilience Retreats in response to what we were seeing: a bespoke three-day programme for men and women that includes resilience strategies, tools for recognizing burnout, and the opportunity to reset. This is where we’ve seen a lot of change and we see a lot more people needing support into the future – both men and women.
I’m now 37. Still with more to give. The Resolution Retreats passion project isn’t finished yet. I’m proud to be a part of a team that’s changed so many lives over the past 10 years and continues to have such a powerful impact on hundreds more each year. We’re not just standing still; we’re changing to ensure we can continue to support people on their wellness journey, in preparation for the next 10 years.
