I'm officially back from my retreat with Sarah Jenks and 75 other amazing women outside of Boston, MA. The weekend before I hosted my first 1 day retreat outside of Cannon Falls, MN. Yes, I will be doing another one next Fall probably an overnight 2 day experience in October. Yes, I have to start looking at venues today as they book up fast here in Minnesota!
Since I had never led a retreat before I didn't know how much energy it would take. I felt great all day, good energy (even on 2 hours of sleep). The old farmhouse also had old hard beds, lol. I have learned next year I will be taking a few days off of my 1:1 client work to just rest and recharge. That was something I had planned to do but ended up booking a retreat the next weekend so didn't want to take off too many days. Which after reflection I probably should have just taken a day and everything would have been fine. It's the old programming in myself that you "can't", what would people think, I don't want to disappoint people. But since I'm also pregnant a rest would have been great.
I am just starting to read through feedback from my Ayurvedic retreat and I love how transformative it was for those who went. I already received such wonderful emails saying they can't wait to explore Ayurveda even more and implement it into their lives. That to me is huge. Ayurveda helped me find a deeper layer to myself, and a deeper purpose which at its core is the medicine Ayurveda teaches. I will share more about what we did on a future solo podcast episode but wanted to give you a taste today.
Now onto the retreat I just arrived home from and in all honesty I'm still processing. It was a ton of deep inner work. I did things I've never done before, I also met amazing women, danced barefoot in a wide open field, there was a silent disco party, great food, good conversation and I even met another Andrea who helps women workout with their cycle and is in her first year of studying Ayurveda with the same teacher I learned from what are the odds! I will share more about that experience once I've had time to integrate and really sink my teeth into the work we did. I also wish I would have stayed 2 extra days to just process, journal, and sit at coffee shops and think. Again lesson learned and I will look to do that after the next retreat I attend.
If you have never attended a retreat with other women I highly recommend it. Almost all of the 75 women came alone. We didn't know each other but left as friends. We didn't meet everyone but who you were meant to cross paths with you did. I will be bringing a few of the women on the podcast who's work fits with my mission in the world on the podcast next spring. I cannot wait to share their wisdom with you.
Takeaways
Sarah had warned us that when we got home the Goddess would throw you curveballs. For myself our puppy got parvo and we thought we would lose her, my son dumped hot wax down our kitchen sink and ruined it. We had to get a new sink just to discover it didn't fit in the previous sinkhole. We than had to get a new countertop. We don't have a dishwasher so were eating out 4 days in a row, which I disliked. Our garbage disposal sprouted a leak and we had to buy a new one. It was one issue after another the week I returned. Oh and my son was still sick battling a cough/cold thing.
I worked on staying in my energy, not getting to high or too low. The following week- I had a ton of amazing things fall into my lap. First our puppy recovered, next I got offered a book deal (more to come on that later) and I got asked to review a few Hallmark movies over the Christmas season. If you know me you know how much I love Hallmark movies!
The following week I have solidified my dream retreat location for next year, and made a wonderful connection with a local lavender farm to do some meditation, Ayurvedic events for them next spring/summer.
I say all of that because I value the importance of staying in my energy. I could have easily tossed in the towel thinking life is getting hard, all of the dreams I thought of at the retreat aren't actually for me, it was just a retreat pipe dream but nothing will come from it. Instead of really sinking into my practices and double downing on where I needed to step up in my life, how was I going to tend to myself after the retreat, and really going for big dreams not knowing how I will reach them but not being afraid to dream them.
Next year I will be hosting an overnight retreat. If you want to get on the waitlist no obligation to attend but stay in the know as there will be only 10 spots available. Make sure you sign-up below. Most likely the retreat will be held in the Brainard, MN area in a brand new beautiful 11 room retreat center!!!
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