The Gap Year That Saved A Marriage – with Holly Wainwright (Mamamia)
The invisible woman still leaves quite a gap when she disappears. When the invisible woman packs her bags and buggers right off, suddenly her space becomes blindingly clear.
A Grown Up’s Gap Year – Kyoto
KYOTO | Live Like A Local – Writing & Wellbeing Retreat
Reinvigoration. Real-life escape. A four-day circuit breaker for women ready to put themselves back in the picture – this time under paper lanterns, amid temple bells, and sitting for a very good hot coffee.
Join Monique van Tulder – bestselling author, nutritionist, health and wellbeing expert, and creator of A Grown Up’s Gap Year – for a small group, carefully curated wellbeing escape in Kyoto, Japan.
Curated travel guides, wellbeing travel ideas, and real-life ways to create SPACE, without dismantling the life you’ve already built.
This is not a bootcamp, a yoga camp or a silent detox.
It is a practical reset. A beautiful pause.
A chance to live like a local for a few slow, thoughtful days – walking the backstreets and riverside paths, eating nourishing meals, and pausing long enough to hear yourself think and ponder YOUR next bit of life.
Designed as a four-day Kyoto add-on to your wider Japan itinerary. Our preferred travel partner can package the rest – ski, golf, solo exploring, organised tour or yoga retreat.
Sample Kyoto Experience
THE PRACTICAL
Create your personal A Grown Up’s Gap Year guidebook:
- YOUR TURN | YOUR SPACE conversations for possibilities, confidence and clarity
- Bring The Anti-Guilt Calculator to life – your receipt for time out, not another to-do list
- Guided reflection and light journal prompts (nothing woo-woo) so you go home with a plan, not just souvenirs
- Short, daily writing to capture thought-provoking moments and keep the time-out feels going, long after you are home
THE LOCAL LIFE
Considered adventures:
- Morning walks through quiet neighbourhood streets, temple grounds and along the river confidence and clarity
- Everyday rituals – coffee spots, markets, bookstores and hidden tea houses that start to feel like “your secret”
- Movement sessions so your body can finally exhale after years of holding everything together
THE LITE ADVENTURE
Nothing arduous – simply enough to remind you that you are very much alive:
- Easy hikes and forest walks in sacred mountain spots – mossy temple paths, city-overlook trails and quiet shrines in the trees
- A touch of “lite adventure” for grown ups: fresh air, views and that familiar sense of “oh, I can do this” ** together
WRITING YOURSELF BACK INTO YOUR (LIFE) STORY
Time and space to become visible to yourself again:
- Time with renowned authors, artisans and quiet local guides – people who have shaped their own second and third acts
- Optional sessions on writing yourself back into your (life) story – no pressure to share, just space to think
- And, most importantly, time with you – solo pockets in your day to sit, wander (and of course, shop) and hear yourself think without interruption
THE RESET
- Real food, beautifully simple
- Pockets of stillness you do not have to earn
- Unhurried conversations with smart, funny women who get it
- Plenty of time to be on your own, so you can carry this feeling back into the life you return to
A few words from Previous Travellers
“Travelling with Monique was inspiring. Her sense of adventure gently took me out of my comfort zone. I now have excitement and purpose for my next bit of life.”
– Angelica, 53
REGISTER YOUR INTEREST
WANT TO COME TO KYOTO?
This experience will be tightly curated for maximum benefit – and deep connection.
Numbers will be strictly limited. If you are even mildly curious (or quietly determined), add your name below.
You will be the first to hear about dates, pricing and details before anything is announced publicly.
There is no commitment at this stage – just a place at the front of the queue.
A Grown Up's Gap Year
If you would like to learn more A Grown Up’s Gap Year is available here
If you do decide to take your ‘adventure’ further afield you might also enjoy the FREE resource ‘The Wellbeing Travel Guides – packing tips from a travel expert’ downloadable guide here
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