This past Saturday, I took a big risky leap and created a morning wellness retreat that was a slice out of my own little life – my fave workouts, my real breakfasts, and meditation techniques that have been a part of my life for over two decades. Thankfully, not only did people sign up, but from what they’ve told me they had the exact kind of great, refreshing, renewing time that I was hoping to create. In case you missed it, I want to share a little bit about it with you so that you can know some of what you might be getting into when you sign up for the next one!
Let’s recap.
We started the morning with a quick solo reflection session and coffee, because coffee makes everything better, right? Or was that coconut oil? Anyhow, after we had settled in and set our glowy intentions for the morning, the bass started thumping and we kicked out an awesome cardio dance party, followed by some mat-based strength training. (As a bonus, participants got a printed copy of the workout to take with them, so now they have a total body, no-gear-needed strength workout that can go with them to home, office, hotel….)
Brunch o’clock arrived, and I’ll admit publicly that I kinda conned someone dear to us into stirring chia pudding for a solid 30 minutes. I’m tricky like that. We had a smoothie blend-off contest, and we also enjoyed pancakes, yogurt sundaes, and a few other tasty treats (and, once again, participants got to take the recipes home with them, all of which take less than 5 minutes of hands-on prep time unless I’m tricking you into stirring and can be made ahead and frozen). I had another activity planned that I’m saving for our next retreat, because conversation went elsewhere and I was happy to chat about topics like “toxins” and the value of a quick fit-it-in-anywhere workout.
As we moved toward yoga time, I led the group in some “meditations for busy people”, and I’ll share a secret reminder with you here that they got to hear first: meditation isn’t about emptying ourselves to become someone or something else, it’s about being fully who and when and where we are! It was such a gift to facilitate the short yin yoga sequence that followed – I was literally so moved – and then I got to hand out goodie bags and …clean up.
It’s okay, all parties end like that, don’t they? Someone has to clean up.
Courage.
These ladies had guts to entrust me with their morning, and I will forever be grateful that they took that risk with me (and liked it!). We all have at least that much courage inside us already, though…we just have to embrace it. Community helps. Coffee helps. Pancakes probably helped, too.
If I can speak on their behalf, I think everyone left a lot glowier than they arrived. (If nothing else, the goodie bags rocked.) We all got in a good workout, a little extra oxygen, and hopefully a few moments of peace and serenity. Courage comes with great rewards.
If you missed it…
We’ll have another one in a month or two! (It won’t be brunch…I’m thinking snack solutions? Or office/to-go lunches that aren’t soggy and boring?) Stay in touch with us on Facebook or Instagram to be the first to know when registration opens for round 2, and keep your eye on the blog as well because I’ll be posting a few of our glow-up tips from the first retreat soon.
