So I went on a retreat this weekend. Not a religious retreat and not a retreat where you go away somewhere amazing and do yoga on a mountaintop. It was actually called a “Strategies for Stress Reduction and Success” experience. But I will keep calling it a retreat because it’s easier to say, and it felt like a retreat. It felt like I dropped out of the day-to-day world and into a world of inspiration and positivity. (Where I still got to come home to my kids, but I came home refreshed and invigorated.) If this sounds a little too out there for you, try to stick around anyway! It was amazing.

 

For the last few years, I have been reading a lot of books for personal growth- everything from career-focused books to books on Buddhism to classic “self-help” books. One of the best things being a Beachbody coach has given me is the habit of personal development. I don’t know that I would have gotten into that kind of thing if it wasn’t for coaching. This might sound a little out there for you, too, but you might be surprised how many people read these kinds of books and how many books there are out there!

Yet in all my reading and journaling and looking for growth I realize now I have kind of neglected my spirituality and maybe downplayed its importance. You know, like that part of you real deep that feels like there must be something more out there when you see a baby’s chest rising and falling as he sleeps or when you feel the faintest stir of a breeze through the trees in a beautiful place.

To be honest, I haven’t been thinking about it much. To be honest, spirituality kind of bored me.

Well, this retreat was a big wakeup call in several ways, maybe the most important being I need to get more spiritual. I need to take better care of myself and do something to deal with stress and refresh my soul. That might sound a little fuzzy, but I’m thinking stillness is what I need. And maybe a little yoga too.

So, I’d like to tell you what the retreat was all about, and then I can share more about my experience with it in another post.

Who?

The retreat was run by Shilamida. I have been hearing about her for months. One of my sisters goes to her for acupuncture and that is how she came into our lives.

Shilamdia is a Licensed Acupuncturist, Spiritual Guide and Healthy Living Mentor. She has a practice in northern New Jersey, not far from where I live. She has a website you can check out here and she has also published a book, 31 Days of Gratitude. (You can buy it directly from her website or on Amazon- click here for a link). I bought it over the weekend and just did my first day today. Gratitude is a big message.

Shilamida was the leader of the retreat and did a lot of the speaking as well as guiding group discussions. Her story is very inspirational and she’s very easy to relate to. She’s funny and honest and maybe not who you’d expect (just by looking at her) when you hear “spiritual leader.”

There were other speakers, too, including Roxana, Jessica, and Janet. We had the opportunity to work with two amazing yoga instructors (Bridget and Danielle), a massage therapist (Melissa), and a massage therapist who also reads angel cards (Nancy).

My sisters got me my ticket to the retreat as a birthday present and I am so grateful for that and for the time I got to spend with them. It was the most quality time we have had together in a long time.

There were about 6 other women attending and I miss them! The speakers participated in the retreat, too. It was incredible to be around like-minded women. Just by being there for this experience we had an immediate connection.

Where?

The retreat took place in Shilamida’s office space. It is a beautiful space, soothing and tranquil and inspiring and homey. Her office is only about 10-15 minutes away from my house, making it very convenient!

When?

It started on Friday night with a cocktail party. This was a chance to meet everyone and get a feel for what was in store for us. I found it was a great way to get into the mindset for the weekend.

We also signed up for activities/services that would be available over the weekend. It reminded me of going to a spa for the weekend with a group (which I’ve done once); you go together to the spa and you sign up for individual services, like massages and facials and pedicures. For the retreat, I signed up for a massage, an angel card reading, and a tree reading!

On Saturday the retreat went from 9:00-6:00 and on Sunday 9:30-4:00.

What?

Saturday started with yoga. Then we had breakfast and gathered for a group discussion with Shilamida. We talked about the purpose of the retreat and what we wanted to get out of it. (This is where I took the hot seat. I’ll talk more about that in another post! I’m so glad I did it.)

Then we had lunch. During this time you could sign up for individual meetings with the speakers. I signed up for a massage, angel card reading, and tree reading (putting my skepticism aside), as well as a consultation with Jessica, the Holistic health coach.

In the afternoon we heard from Jessica (health coach) and Roxana, a financial coach.

On Sunday we started with breakfast. Then Janet spoke. Janet is a retired dentist. She was funny and honest and touched on a lot of powerful stuff. After her talk, we broke for lunch and during that time Janet did individual tree readings. Yes, tree readings. Very interesting, very enlightening.

Then we went for a group meditation that was incredible. We did activities in pairs that were weird and uncomfortable but very powerful. It really made me think about how little real connection we get with other people in our day to day lives.

The rest of the afternoon we created vision boards. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for so long and never made the time to sit down and do it.

I will get more into the “what” of angel card readings (I had never heard of angel card readings before my sisters went to Shilamida’s last retreat) and tree readings (never heard of those either). Tree readings might be the craziest sounding part of the retreat and I was very skeptical when my sisters talked about their trees! Now I have my own trees 🙂

Why?

The purpose of the retreat was stress management/reduction and setting ourselves up for success in 2019. Shilamida made a great point about looking ahead to the new year. A lot of us use New Year’s as a time to make resolutions and bring about change. But we’re not usually thinking about that now. In November we’re thinking about Thanksgiving and the holidays coming up. We don’t give much time to set goals for the year ahead until the new year is upon us.

This can also be a busy, stressful time of year. It was nice to take a step back and get centered before the holiday season starts. While we still have some time to breathe.

We talked a lot about making time for self-care and spirituality. “Self-care” gets thrown around a lot lately, but it’s still hard to make time for it.

It was also a time to think about our happiness and fulfillment. How many of us really think about what we want in life? How many of us ask questions like- are we happy where we are? Is this what I want in this life? Am I doing what I want to be doing? Am I passionate about anything?

A lot of people are content to have their career and their family and go about their days. Some people get a little nagging feeling, like is this all there is supposed to be? Or a feeling like Groundhog Day. Going through the motions, each day feeling not much different than the one before, with no real goals in sight other than retirement down the road.

I am extremely happy and I am grateful for my life. I have moments of intensely feeling my purpose. But life’s responsibilities sometimes keep me from being where I think I really need to be. So I want more- I want to define my life.

It’s ok to want change. It doesn’t have to mean you’re unhappy. You can be happy with your life and still work on it. You can feel fulfilled in your roles and still want to create something else that makes you jump out of bed in the morning.

My goal for 2019 is to focus and take action. I have more specific goals (because I learned how important it is to be specific this weekend) but in general, my word for 2019 is FOCUS.

Have you thought about what you want for 2019?