by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, award-winning author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

A week ago I was enjoying the Grand Canyon and Sedona, Arizona. When I returned home to Phoenix after my brief get-away, I had a huge ah-ha. As a former Type A Marketing Professional and now 23-year successful Entrepreneur, I learned first-hand how valuable it is to “Unplug.”

Thanks. Before I share my insights, I want to take a moment to thank my friend, Cassie Hepler, founder of the travel and lifestyle blog, www.ExplorewithCassie.com for inviting me to be her “plus-one” on her media trip with Grand Canyon Adventures www.DoTheCanyon.com

Thanks Grand Canyon Adventures for the enjoyable, memorable day at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Profound Mini-Trip. Little did I know that when Cassie invited me several weeks ago how profound this mini-trip would be for me.

Anyway, I’m usually sharing my behind the scenes with cooking and intuitive cooking creations, but I decided to share with you the behind the scenes with my “Unplugged” adventure.

It All Works Out. Several days prior to the trip to the Grand Canyon, I realized that I had doubled booked myself the night before our scheduled road trip to the canyon. I was booked with coaching clients at the same time we were planning on driving to Flagstaff the night before the Canyon Tour. I was concerned that I would not have reliable internet or phone service for my clients. My friend, Cassie, kept telling me it would work out. I trusted.

And, of course, it worked out. I changed my plans; stayed in Phoenix to do 6 hours of coaching until 10:30pm that night.

I packed my food magazines, documents to work on with my business expansion, journal, planner, and some snacks: home-made raw trail mix, local apples, and grapes. I got up at 3:30am, after sleeping for 4 hours and drove to Flagstaff.

Thanks to Grand Canyon Adventures. Happily, at 7:30am the friendly folks at Grand Canyon Adventures greeted me with a smile.

I had just begun my “unplugged” adventure.

Grand Canon Adventures drove us to the Grand Canyon, with history lessons, geological lessons, and expansive beauty through 5 different eco-systems.

7 Wonder of the World. It has been decades since I visited the Grand Canyon. When I saw my first glimpse of the Grand Canyon, I was in awe. I paused.  The beauty. The magnificence. The magic. The power. Here I was with one of the 7 Wonders of the World!

Grand Canyon with a Little Yoga. During our full-day tour with 4 different stops at the canyon, all I wanted was to soak in all the beauty of the canyon. At each stop along the canyon, I paused and practiced some yoga and enjoyed “my” tree pose everywhere. Thanks, Cassie for the beautiful photos.

Pause at the Canyon. I even found a beautiful quiet spot to reflect. Enjoy the Grand Canyon video.

Cassie with the Grand Canyon. And, Cassie enjoyed her hiking and being grounded with our Earth.

More Self-Care. For the last 3 miles of our day at the Canyon, Cassie and I quietly walked the South Rim capturing photos of us enjoying even more self-care with the beauty of the Grand Canyon. One final tree pose.

Thanks, Root Public House. When we arrived back in Flagstaff, we found a great place to eat, Root Public House, with a lovely outdoor patio breeze. I enjoyed a tasty creamy pea vegan risotto, made especially for me. And, I was feeling as though I was on vacation for days.

Sedona Airport Sunset. After dinner, Cassie headed back to Phoenix. I drove south to Sedona, where I just caught the end of the sunset at the Airport Vortex.

My Favorite Place in the World. The next day, I spent the whole day at Oak Creek Crossing, at the base of Cathedral Rock, one of my very favorite places in the world.

A video peek…

I hiked, walked in Oak Creek, sat, listened to water, listened to birds. That was it.

Pause and enjoy Oak Creek.

Unplugged. Being “unplugged” was sinking in. I had no desire to look at the food magazines. No desire to “work” on my business. Only a little bit of journaling. This was huge for me.

I was “Unplugged” from electronics and importantly “Unplugged” from working. I was away from business strategy and responsibilities, writing blogs, cooking, creating recipes, teaching classes, and hosting events.

After a full day of being unplugged, I drove home to Phoenix.

Unplug Ah-Ha. I know this may sound obvious. What I realized was that I (we) need time to really unplug from the phones, computer, work, magazines. Yes, we can do this with yoga or meditation. For me, it was extra special and powerful to unplug in the beauty of my beloved Arizona.

For my few days at the Grand Canyon and Sedona I found that after being totally unplugged, I came back with even more creativity, energy, and passion.

Unplug in Arizona Retreats. I really do believe that it’s incredibly important for our own life and joy to “unplug.” I’ve been planning Cooking and Self-Care Retreats in Sedona for 2019. My time at the Grand Canyon and Sedona made me realize how valuable these retreats will be for our guests to get away and “Unplug.”

With the insights from my personal “Unplugged” experience, I have now added a Grand Canyon Adventure to the retreats, along with the Phoenix Urban Farm Cooking Experience and the intuitive cooking, hiking, yoga, and extreme self-care in Sedona.

If you are interested in attending Unplug in Arizona Cooking & Self-Care Retreats or interested in creating a custom retreat for your organization, please let me know and I’ll keep in touch. Warmly, Melanie

Interested in my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating:  Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods,” I’m happy to autograph and gift-wrap and ship to you.