After an extremely difficult year, I started 2025 by microdosing - but not in the way you think

It can be tough as an adult trying to find time to get away – between jobs, families, trying to save money in a cost of living crisis, and finding time to watch all the episodes of Married At First Sight every week, sometimes it’s hard to prioritise rest and relaxation.

While cheaper and cost-effective travel trends like camping and caravanning have been taking off in Australia over the last 12 months, it’s OK to admit we’re not all ready to go sleep in a tent or have the capacity, time or money to take a motorhome onto the road.

So what do you do if you want to be able to experience the feel of a getaway but feel incredibly time poor? My friends, let me introduce to the the notion of ‘microdosing’ wellness, a concept Byron Bay's Crystalbrook hotel has initiated as a perfect new travel trend for the time-poor.

Before we all raise an eyebrow, I’m not talking the type of microdosing trip (no pun intended) that features in Nine Perfect Strangers. While our brains may think microdosing is a term mostly associated with taking small amounts of psychedelics, it’s time to broaden our minds and look at microdosing as a much more accessible notion and one we can all indulge in.

While the play on words was a little cheeky, as Crystalbrook's Pascale Rocher tells Yahoo Lifestyle, the essence of the message remains— the package is all about getting high on relaxation and wellness while being low on time commitment.

What is microdosing wellness?

Like most people I talked to, I felt like I was crawling my way to the 2024 finish line last year. To put it simply I had a very weird year: I was burning out, I had family members become sick, my closest friend and support system moved interstate, I got diagnosed with PMDD, a debilitating and often misunderstood hormonal condition, and at the end of the year I realised I’d be heading into 2025 unemployed post-January. It was not exactly the way I had pictured my life panning out as I entered my mid-30s, but you get what you get.

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With new challenges on the horizon for the year and after working over the Christmas break with little break, the only chance I had to regain any sense of clarity outside the walls of my inner-city apartment was to get away and out of Sydney. I was on a rotating shift-work roster still, so I didn’t have much time to just pack my bags and decide to go have my mid-life crisis in Bali for a month, as much as I would've loved that. Instead, I found myself in Byron Bay, indulging in Crystalbrook’s ‘Microdose Byron’ experience.

The exclusive Crystalbrook package had been designed for people exactly like me – people who needed to catch a break, but you know, a quick one. The mini-break has been designed impeccably for the stressed, the time-poor, and the people who just need to be able to switch off.

From the moment you enter Crystalbrook Byron, it’s a paradise. The suites are surrounded by rainforest, the beach is a quick stroll away, and if the sandy life doesn’t appeal to you, the glistening infinity pool with deck chairs and bar service at the hotel absolutely will. Plus, you may even spot a cute lil koala hiding up in the trees!

Detox life without the expensive retreat

From saunas, to a day spa, a gym, bike fire, and free morning yoga classes on the deck near the pool, it’s like setting foot in an overseas tropical paradise without having to experience all the travel to get there.

The tiny taste of paradise I experienced over two days was enough to set my mind back into a more positive place post-festive season and with the big impending changes I am due to face as February hits. After two days of de-stressing, relaxing, and actually having people say hi to you when you walked past instead of staring right through you (Yes Sydneysiders, this is about you), my microdosing trip meant I was in a much better place mentally to approach the year ahead.

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The little touches Crystalbrook adds to the suites make the whole package — from peppermint tea, to a huge bath to relax in, comfy robes, and Wanderlust products included (the sleep botanical drops and the Mushroom Multi+ drops), everything has been thought about.

Then, of course, there's the resort itself, with a spa, sauna, and infrared sauna conveniently located right by the huge infinity pool. You can book in for massages and you can use the steam room prior to make sure you're the most relaxed, detoxed version of yourself — and trust me, it's amazing what even 48 hours of rest and relaxation can do.

Yahoo Lifestyle was a guest of Crystalbrook Byron. Find out more about Crystalbrook's microdosing package here.

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