When most of us feel unwell, we pay a visit to the doctor’s office. When we are eager to get fit, we visit the gym. But when we are battling symptoms of anxiety, burnout and imposter’s syndrome, many of us may choose to suffer in silence. Victoria Cranmer, the passionate founder of Mindful Escapes, is on a mission to play a part in changing that. Instead of keeping such struggles to ourselves, why not embark on a journey of rediscovery in some of the world’s most captivating locations? Beau Monde Traveler had the chance to chat with Victoria, who weighed in on how the combination of travel and mindfulness have the power to greatly improve one’s sense of mental wellbeing.

Mindful Escapes is a collection of luxury retreats centred around beneficial practices such as mindfulness, meditation and yoga. Bringing a highly experienced life coach along for the journey, Mindful Escapes’ unique retreats are set in exquisite locations such as Saint Lucia, St Kitts, Austria, Croatia and the Himalayas. These retreats have been fashioned with the goal to afford clients an opportunity to both unwind, and embark on a meaningful, self-explorative journey.

Mindful Escapes is the result of two passions merging into one. With over 20 years of experience in the travel industry, and having thoroughly studied mindfulness, it is fitting that Victoria Cranmer would be the person to bring these two worlds together. Besides promoting destinations such as the Caribbean, Sri Lanka, the Maldives and various spots in Europe, Cranmer has also worked in hotel marketing and representation through her agency Paradise Promotions. But it wasn’t until early 2020 that Cranmer began to see the potential that such resorts and destinations held in terms of being hubs for meaningful self-reflection and self-improvement.

The story regarding the founding of Mindful Escapes is an inspirational one. After struggling with her own mental health during lockdown, Cranmer the decision to channel this experience into something positive. Seeking to better understand the topic of mental health, Cranmer undertook a diploma in mindfulness, arming herself with the necessary tools to manage her own anxiety.

Cranmer had experienced the benefits of such a practice first-hand, and was eager to offer others the very same.  This aim, combined with an eye-opening trip that she had taken to St Kitts, were the early foundations of Mindful Escapes: “I’d had this out of body experience… it really dawned on me that everybody should have this opportunity, in some way, to do something like this every six to nine or even 12 months. It would make such a difference to people.”

Mindful Escapes currently offers six luxury retreats, each one with their own personality based on the areas in which clients are hoping to restore balance in their lives. A common theme which runs across all of their retreats, though, is the practice of mindfulness. Throw in a great deal of meditation, yoga and life-coaching, and one will be returning home feeling not only relaxed and rejuvenated, but with newfound skills and positive attitudes to last a lifetime.

Choices of retreat include mind and body fitness, inner calm, menopause, healthy ageing, coaching for success and mindful moments and wellness. Where the mind and body fit retreat focuses on building strength both internally and externally, the inner calm retreat deals more with pinpointing and combatting sources of internal struggle such as anxiety, stress and burnout. The latter includes sessions with transformation coach and clinical hypnotherapist, Christian Burne, who works to clear inner blocks.

A particularly innovative journey offered by Mindful Escapes is their coaching for success retreat. This retreat targets entrepreneurs and generally ambitious individuals who might be experiencing a lack of confidence or mental exhaustion. Working with Dr Rakish Rana, aka the “Clear Coach,” guests of the coaching for success retreat can expect to receive the support needed to progress with confidence, achieving their career-related goals.

The idea to bring a visiting master along on each retreat certainly positions Mindful Escapes as that which is focused on genuine mental, emotional and physical healing. Victoria says that Mindful Escapes had been in talks with life coaches for years prior to making their selections, ensuring that those appointed to each retreat were the perfect fit. The coaches are involved in the before, during and after of the retreats, holding pre-retreat meetings via Zoom, personal meetings on site and even follow-up sessions once the retreat has drawn to a close.

Wellness-related and slow, meaningful travel is growing in popularity. So, what else really sets a Mindful Escapes retreat apart? The uniquity comes down to its emphasizing of not just a meaningful wellness experience, but an authentic destination experience. The retreats take place in exquisite places such as St Kitts, Croatia, Austria and the Himalayas. These selected destinations alone have the power to improve their clients’ mental wellbeing. It is as much about getting that well-deserved downtime in a different environment as it is about rediscovering oneself mentally. Victoria made special mention of the Caribbean as a place that embodies such a notion: “You can just feel your body exhale from being somewhere that almost looks as if it is where time began.”

In much the same way as the practice of mindfulness, travelling to a new place grounds you in the present. It is a way to truly escape from the normalcy – and stress – of everyday life. The experience of being immersed in a new destination is akin to being in another world, where every moment is unpredictable and exciting.

Take the Mindful Moments and Wellness retreat, for example. The 10-day journey takes place in Saint Lucia and Dominica. Here, on top of spa treatments and a personalized life coach support system, the focus is on adventure and nature. This gives guests the chance to practice mindfulness without even realizing it. Who wouldn’t remain entirely focused on the present while observing Dominica’s sperm whales?

When selecting the resorts to be utilized for each retreat, it is not just about picturesque surrounds and world-class spas. Mindful Escapes keeps sustainability and the protection of local communities at the heart of their curated collection. This is especially the case in places such as the Caribbean, where all-inclusive properties can be damaging to the smaller businesses and restaurants. Speaking on this, Victoria recounted a heartfelt tale of the Bay Gardens Resort in Saint Lucia, whose manager assisted a local woman in obtaining her license to be able to sell patties, smoothies and cakes right outside the hotel. This way, guests of the resort may have a more meaningful experience; an authentic taste of Saint Lucia while recognizing the importance of supporting local.

Victoria hopes that post-pandemic travel will highlight wellness now more than ever. While there is a noticeable increase in mental health awareness, the stigma remains. Resorts, destinations and travel companies have the opportunity to play a role in dissolving a great deal of that stigma, by encouraging more retreats and crafting special packages which centre on improving mental wellbeing among travelers. Mindful Escapes is on this journey, and Victoria Cranmer is determined to have it known that they are so much more than a tour operator: “we’re not just looking to sell a retreat, we’re looking to build a community.”