🌿 Why I Chose Kos: A Love Letter to the Island That Saved Me

Gilly & Ira Hiking to White Stone Cave, Kos

Some places feel like they’re calling you home — even if you didn’t know you were lost. For me, that place has always been Kos.

As a child, I spent long, sun-drenched holidays in Tigaki. It’s where I learned to fall in love with this island — its simplicity, its spirit, and its soul. But even then, it wasn’t just the beach that called to me. It was everything — the olive trees, the quiet trails, the wide open skies. The wild, untouched places. Even now, my truest happy place isn’t the coast — it’s in the mountains, walking with Ira, my dog and constant companion.

There’s something about the stillness up there — something that feels like it’s always been in my soul.

Years later, I came back to Kos during one of the hardest chapters of my life. I was sick, battling depression, and feeling completely lost. I had served in the army — a career I once dreamed of — but my health kept declining, both mentally and physically. For years, I was dismissed, unheard. It wasn’t until I moved to Kos that I was finally diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease — an answer that explained so much.

But long before that diagnosis, I knew I needed a radical change. I wasn’t just looking for rest — I was looking for belonging.I needed something real. I needed grounding. And Kos gave me that.

I arrived with no big plan, just a deep knowing that I had to be here. I took a job in a hotel as a fitness instructor — the pay was awful, but I didn’t care. Because I was here. And somehow, that was enough.

When the season ended, I stayed. I cobbled together jobs — worked behind a bar, taught fitness in hotels, tried (and failed) to launch an online business. That failure taught me that just surviving wasn’t enough — I needed to follow my heart. And slowly, I did.

The real shift came when I started teaching Pilates at a local gym. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like myself. I immersed myself in the community, learning from the locals, even teaching full classes in Greek (badly, but passionately!). And in the middle of all that — I made another promise to myself:

Beach Pilates with Evexia

I was going to teach on the beach.

Not because the beach was my destination, but because it was a new, honest way of connecting — open, natural, real. And as it turned out, that little idea became something much bigger.

Then came COVID. A global pause. A reckoning.

Retreat Group Hiking Dikeos

That time forced me to slow down even more, and in that stillness, I rediscovered myself. I began to honour my wellbeing as something sacred — not an afterthought. And the more I committed to my own healing, the more I wanted to help others find theirs.

That’s how Evexia Retreats were born.

Not from strategy or branding — but from a deep love for Kos and a desire to share this space in a meaningful way. I wanted people to come and feel what I feel when I’m high in the hills with Ira, breathing in the scent of herbs and pine. I wanted them to connect to themselves, to nature, and to a slower, simpler rhythm of living.

And from that same love, the Evexia Podcast came to life — another way to share stories, tools, and truths about wellness, growth, and life in all its messy, beautiful forms.

This is what Evexia stands for:

A return to self.

A reconnection to soul.

And an invitation to live well, from the inside out.

If you’ve ever felt the pull for something deeper… something slower… something real — maybe Kos is calling you too.

Come visit. Come move. Come home.Explore our retreats, tune into the podcast, or just follow the journey — Evexia is here to hold space for you, from the mountains to the sea.