Solitude.    Deep rest.    Soulful connection with others.    Inner journeying.  Time to work through challenges or open questions.     A recharge of creativity, vitality, or faith.    Inspiration.    Permission to stop doing.   Exquisite self-care.  Healing.  Reflection.

 

The reasons we go on retreat are different, but we share one common need : to re-center ourselves.  We retreat in order to reconnect to what’s deep in our hearts, and to renew our commitment to what we find there. 

I invite you to take a full weekend where you willingly turn away from the demands, the multi-tasking, the 24/7 online access.  And you turn, instead, inward, where you’ll find what you’re needing. 

 

Join us in coming back to center.

 

You’ll experience inner-directed and outer-connected activity, designed to restore mind-body-spirit balance.  You’ll nestle within a sacred container that encourages you to explore, communicate and process. 

We’ll say Yes to where we’re at right now.  (Expect significant exhales all around the circle).  We will identify our unfurlings, the particular areas where we’re currently experiencing growth and change.  We’ll consciously embrace the phase we occupy, take note of what lies in our paths, and acknowledge who we’re becoming. 

Rather than creating to-do’s from the process, this reconnaissance mission through our inner landscape will give us a solid sense of how to inhabit ourselves more fully right now – we focus not on what we’re doing, but who we’re being. 

 

 

The weekend will be magical.  Promise.

Sessions:  The framework I use in my coaching programs will serve as a basis for our work together; we’ll dive deep with guided journaling, partner exercises and group sharing.  These sessions will be dynamic and powerfully awakening.

Silence: We’ll start our sessions with simple meditation and breathwork.  There will be designated silent time each day; this is your permission slip to focus exclusively on what’s happening within, without distraction. 

Mindful movement :  We’ll move our bodies in various ways; there will be guided movement, yoga and contemplative nature walks.  We’ll tap into our connection with Spirit as we encourage our thinking minds to take a rest.

Art: Poetry will be read.  Music will be played.  Art supplies will be available 24/7. 

Open time: You will choose how to spend your free time: there are beaches to walk, comfy sofas for lounging, beds for napping, and plenty of nooks for conversation.  What would a retreat weekend be without unstructured space within which to play?

Our meals will be lovingly prepared for us and served at a generous dining room table.  (Vegetarian; vegan and gluten-free options)
 
 

 

  

Where?

We’ll be 10 women staying at The Lavender Hill Farm, on Vashon Island, WA (approximately 30 minutes from Seattle).  We will have exclusive use of the property, which includes waterfront views, darling bedrooms, and room – inside and out – for solitude. 

 

When?

Friday afternoon, February 8 through Sunday evening, February 10, 2013.    
 

 

Cost?

The retreat is $425.  This includes lodging, meals and tax.  Initial deposit of $100 will hold your place; payment is due in full by January 30, 2013.

This retreat is a fundraiser for Hestia Retreat for Women, a 501(c)3 whose mission is to create a sanctuary for women on Vashon Island.

 

What I bring to the Retreat:

I created this retreat because I have a special knack for facilitating magic in the groups I lead.  Women in my programs laugh hard, cry if moved to, and share generously.  I’m enchanted by the synergies generated in groups and the soulful leapfrogging that happens there.

 

It’s also a chance for me to walk my talk.  Retreating is a vital element of my own self-care, and something I encourage you to add to yours.  I have synthesized my own experiences of taking retreat with beloved teachers, friends and on my own, and brought together the highlights here for you.

 

 

I’ll contribute this to the weekend:

Over 800 hours of coaching women, both individually and in groups

Coaching accreditation from the ICF

The creation and facilitation of live residential retreats and day-long workshops for women, as well as online small group programs

Certification as a yoga teacher

A lifelong love affair with dance, both choreographed and freeform

Two decades as a meditation student

My passion for cultivating rest and renewal, necessary conditions for women intent on thriving

 

What’s missing?  You.

 

Got questions? Please contact me at amy@amykessel.com