Retreats: Styles, Benefits and What They Are All About

As we are getting closer to the date of the Goddess Gathering weekend retreat in Fairmont, honoring the shift of the seasons, I am seeing more and more retreat options popping up. Many of these also follow the natural energetic shift of the seasons and transformations. With these, I find myself reflecting on the different styles of retreats, the types of offerings and why it is that I have chosen to lead mine the way I do.

I deeply believe in the value, power, and benefits of immersing oneself in a retreat setting. This is from my own personal experience, and also from witnessing the incredible breakthroughs, shifts, and transformations of others within the retreat setting – from those I have attended, and those that I have led.

I am seeing a shift toward a different style of wellness retreat settings, where there may be a couple of different rooms, and a variety of practitioners with different skill sets and offerings over the 2 or 3 days of the retreat. Participants are able to choose which sessions they would like to attend and experience over the days of the retreat. This provides variety, choice, exposure to various types of sessions, and instructors. A build-your-own-retreat, sort of event.

I will be participating at two of them myself in October at the Banff Wellness Retreat, which I am very excited about! Leading groups of those looking for breathwork guidance through deep conscious breathwork journeys. Since I have not, personally, attended this style of retreat setting before, I will be able to tell you more about it next month, so keep your eye out for that insight!

As for my own personal experience and growth in participating and leading, I have chosen to lead a smaller group of women for the entire experience to be journeyed together. In this way, we are able to build the container within which we set the foundation for each woman to feel safe, held and comfortable to drop into the experience fully.

For the upcoming Goddess Gathering, this is the first time I have engaged two other women to assist in leading and contributing to the weekend. I am so very grateful to have these incredible supporting women to add to the elements of the retreat. The amazingly deeply gifted Lisa (Aradhana) Ewan will be joining and leading an adapted yoga session for the group of women attending. Chantel Westguard is an incredibly talented chef, who will be nourishing us for the entire weekend!

Have you, yourself, attended an immersive style of retreat? I would love to hear what your experience has been like? What have you loved? What would you like to see more of?

We are just a few weeks away from the all-inclusive women’s weekend retreat this fall – the Goddess Gathering. If this piques your interest, I would love to have a chat about it with you! Drop into this link to read the incredible outcomes for participants of past retreats, itinerary and see if there are any spaces left!

As I have been trying to put together the words on WHY one should include Retreats as part of your life journey, I came upon this beautifully written article in the Huffington Post. Here is an excerpt:

“Why Retreat: By Christian de la Huerta

“The benefits of retreating from our lives, taking the time to pull back, are manifold. Besides relaxation, rest, healing and reconnecting with oneself, the opportunity to go within allows us to gain distance and perspective from the circumstances of our lives.”

I would encourage you to read the rest of this article here.

Love,
Randa