 Last Sunday, I stepped out of my comfort zone, my cozy little box, and led my first retreat. In reality, I had stepped out two months ago, when I committed to doing this. Once the contract was signed, I had a "What did I just do?!?!?" moment. I have been thinking about this for years, but I always over-thought it and talked myself out of it before I even tried. Recently, however, someone very near and dear to my heart has been struggling with confidence - despite being capable and competent, and I realized that maybe I was modeling that behavior to them. Maybe the impact of that was greater than I knew. It was time to change that - or at least to try. So, I started planning. The venue was a calm and peaceful farm, not too far away in Berger, MO. I had met the delightful owners earlier this year at another event there, and I knew that the energy of the land perfectly matched the energy I wanted for this retreat. I booked the date. Then, I settled on a theme, Rooted Presence, and the pieces started to come together. A student had gifted a Kokedama to me for Christmas, and the symbolism fit perfectly with what I was trying to create. I reached out to Lisa at Bound Beauty and asked her if she would travel from St. Louis to Hidden Holler Farm to offer a workshop. She was excited and agreed to make the trip! I knew that the yoga sequences that I would be leading would be grounding and nourishing, so I developed those early on, and added in a walking meditation. I really wanted my guests to reconnect with nature, feel the Earth under their feet and get their hands in the dirt. We spend so much time attached to technology and I wanted this experience to be the exact opposite. That left the food. If you know me at all, you know I don't cook. If it doesn't go in the Vitamix, isn't raw, or can't be scrambled like an egg, it is not in my house, lol! Despite this, I decided that I was going to handle all of the food for this event. This decision was the most stressful part of the planning process! But, eventually, it all came together and I actually had a little bit of fun doing it! I also spent time every other day writing down exactly how I wanted the day to play out. From the weather I wanted, to the energy in the room, every detail was written down on paper, in ink, every other day. To my delight, the day played out almost exactly as I had visualized it would! This was another important lesson - if you dream it - you can do it, or where your mind goes, energy flows! I am so grateful for the beautiful souls that attended this retreat! I hope they enjoyed a day of rest, release and connection. Namaste~ A bit of feedback: "Thank you for a lovely event on Sunday. It was the slow down I needed. And I took your advice: instead of getting home from the gym in the morning and racing inside to get ready for the day, I took five minutes to go into my backyard and walk around in the grass barefoot. And this morning, instead of racing to my laptop to get going for the day, I drank my coffee outside in my yard. Thank you for the gift of mindfulness. " "It was a grand day!" "Today reminded me that meaning rarely arrives while I’m rushing.It arrives while I’m paying attention." "Over the past few weeks I’ve become aware of something I didn’t fully recognize I was missing. Nature. We just came back from an incredible vacation, but what I found myself craving wasn’t another beach or another destination. I wanted trees. Grass. Birds. The smell of damp earth. I’m remarkably grateful I signed up for this retreat because it gave me exactly that."
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