Retreats: Why Women's Retreats Are the New Happy Hour

“[Retreats] allowed me to have some self-discovery and the courage to face the fears and have those hard conversations. It is truly changing my life.” —Heather Nelson

Are retreats a luxury for the elite or a necessity for the soul? Many dismiss them as "woo-woo" indulgences, but what if they're the key to unlocking our true potential? In a world that never stops, could stepping away be the boldest move we make?

Heather initially approached retreats with skepticism. However, after experiencing the transformative power firsthand, she now co-hosts the Empower Your Path Retreat, blending her expertise in creating memorable experiences with a newfound passion for personal growth.

Listen as Heather unpacks the surprising impact of retreats, covering everything from the power of vulnerability and intimate connections to the eye-opening experience of crying for the first time in years and finding wisdom in tree-hugging.

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Episode Highlights:

01:47 Retreats! 

06:05 The Challenge: Getting Participants to Attend

12:08 Why Retreats are Life-Changing  

18:25 The Power of Connecting 

22:56 Join Our Day Retreats

Transcript

Heather Nelson: Hello everyone, welcome to this week's Life Conversations With a Twist. Today is a solo episode. After the holidays, I had all of my podcasts lined up. I was so excited because I was the head of the game, and then I had to reschedule some interviews so things kind of just got delayed. So this week, I had nothing slated. 

I was driving to work today, and I'm like, You know what? I'm going to come on, and I want to talk about my why, and my experience with hosting women's retreats. And this kind of came up in my head because I just met with Alicia yesterday, who's my co host of this retreat. I know I've had podcast episodes about it, usually post talking about it, but I kind of wanted to give everyone an update on where we're at with these retreats, and to talk about one that's coming up here in April. But also I really just wanted to come on and talk about what I've learned from these retreats personally. 

So last night, Alicia and I met. We're working on our next retreat, and we're trying to up our game. We're doing all these things right. It's literally a full time job, but we love it. And here we are. But after we actually had dinner with two of our retreat attendees, one is a friend of mine who I've known for a very long time. She was our first sign up on our first overnight retreat last April, and has always been a supporter. Been at all the other events, the retreats that we've hosted since then, and is also coming to our April 1. And then another friend of mine, Marcy, who was actually a speaker at our first one, also an attendee of our first one, and was a speaker at our last day retreat. And the four of us have really created this really special bond that I really can't explain, but it's just one of those groups of friends who just get you, and we have real deep conversations. I think a lot of us can relate. 

We have our friends that we can go have a glass of wine with, and we kind of talk shop. And then we have our friends who we talk about our kids with because our kids go to school. And then you have your friends from high school or your long college friends that have always been friends with you. And I feel like every single one of those relationships is very different, all in a good way. We all need different types of friendships. But the friendships that have come out of this retreat, and the impact that these retreats have made not only in my own personal life, but in their life is something that I just can't explain. It's like a little drug inside of me that just fuels my soul and just makes me want to keep doing these retreats. 

I just had dinner with them last night. It was one of our friend's birthdays, and we had some really great, deep conversations and some realizations that came out of this group of women, and then also the experiences from these retreats. And so I just felt inspired to jump on here today and use my platform to talk about what these retreats have personally done for me. So if you're new to my podcast world and you haven't even heard me talking about retreats, welcome. There's so much to say about these retreats. I'm just going to back up a minute and tell you how it started. 

I'm from the events industry. I've been doing events for 20 something years. I love creating really cool experiences, but I have this whole empowerment podcast. I really relate to women who want to invest in their personal development, even in their career in professional development. But this is something that I've been on, and I really love being around women who are in that space as well. And so I had never even been to a retreat. This would be so fun to host a retreat because I've done events, and I bring women together. And it's going to be all great. And then I have my wonderful friend, Alicia Parks. She is a local photographer here in Sonoma County. Her and I have obviously worked in our professional world, but she's also a very spiritual person. She's a yoga instructor. She's all about eating clean and healthy, and so the two of us have taken both of our worlds, both of our passions and have created this amazing retreat. 

And it's so funny because when we planned our first one, which was overnight last April. We didn't really know what we were expecting. I think we picked a venue that was absolutely stunning. It's literally the most special place I've been to. It just screams retreats. There's all the things. We love that venue. But I think for our first venue, we probably went in a little too deep because it's expensive to host an event like that. You have to bring in food. Again, we're in the beginning stages so we have no idea what to expect and who's going to attend. It was a two night overnighter. We had about six guests that stayed the night, and then we opened it up for a day retreat during our educational part of the retreat when we had all our speakers. It was like being in a room with women who were vulnerable, opened their hearts, opened their minds. We created a very safe and special space for us to really dig deep. 

I think we all get caught up in the day to day stuff. But to sit and quiet, to sit with yourself, to sit with these thoughts and ideas about what your life could be, things that hold you back, things in your past that keep showing up and not doing you any good. I literally get chills every time I think about it because I remember walking away with it like, wow. We just created this space. We just created these bonds, these connections for these women to come together. I'm still so close to every single person that has attended that event. I know that other people have started working together in different capacities, because a lot of our speakers own their own businesses. They own their own consulting companies. They own their own different businesses. So they get business from it as well, but also just women connecting to other women, right? And creating this space. And it was absolutely so special. 

If you want to hear more about that specific retreat, you can go back. I don't remember what episode, but I did more of a deep dive of what that experience was like. But I remember Alicia and I driving home and being like, we've got to keep doing this. We've got to keep going. We had planned on doing one in October, another October 1 at the same location. But unfortunately, I think due to the time of the year, and I know there's a lot of other reasons, but we didn't get the turnout that we wanted. So we actually ended up pivoting and moving our October retreat to this coming April, which we'll talk about in a minute. So at that point, we're like, why don't we just create a day of experiences? Let's create it. And that was the other thing. 

A lot of women can't get away for two nights or get away for three days, right? Whether they have a business, or they have family, or kids, or whatnot. So we created a day retreat where we did something similar to what we did at the overnight where we had a bunch of different speakers who leaned into different parts of our lives that could touch people or things that people wanted to work on. So that was super successful. It was a great way for us to introduce them to the retreat. And by the way, our name is called Empower Your Path Retreat. I keep calling it just retreat, but we have officially named it Empower Your Path Retreat because we really know that name can really lean into different things in different aspects of your life. But really, it's all about empowerment and moving the needle, and making you see bigger things for your life, and empowering you to make change, or empower you to do that thing that you're scared of, or to empower you to be more open, and empower you to meet new women and connect. So that is the name of our retreat. So more to come. 

We are redoing our website. We now have social media. It's literally another business, but it's all great things. So we had two full day retreats. We did one in October, one in January. And then again, the plan is moving forward. We will most likely do one of those a quarter, and then at least one to two overnights a year. I know it's an ambitious goal. Once we get the things in place to make this a little bit easier, I think it will be great. But we know that this community needs it. We know women need it, and so we are here for it. And here we are. That nutshell is a little bit more about our retreats, what you can expect from our next overnight retreat which is that beautiful venue I just told you about that's absolutely stunning, and is a place that I never want to leave from April 13 through the 15th. It's Sunday through Tuesday. 

I know sometimes it's hard because people have kids. Honestly, finding a perfect date for everyone's schedule is very hard, but we are going to test these dates and see what sticks. So guests will check in on Sunday in the afternoon. We have a lot of really cool activities that are planned for that. I don't want to say too much. But if you're an overnight attendee, there's a lot of really great things in store. We'll have our full day retreat on Monday, which we have tickets available if you want to come for that Monday day. I mean, you can experience the whole day. We have breakfast and speakers. We have lunch, and we do a little happy hour and wrap up. And again, even if you can't commit to the two days, that's a great way to just come and experience it. You will still get the same impact if you didn't do it overnight. But I'm telling you, if you do the overnight, like spend a little bit more money, find someone to take those kids to school. Turn off your office and come for two nights overnight. I'm telling you, it will literally change your life because it has truly changed my life. So that is my little plug for that. I definitely encourage you to do that. 

And then on the last day, we wrap up. We always do some kind of movement, activities and foods provided for you. And literally, it's like an escape. I know so many women out there who have never been to a treat, and have no idea what to expect. And then two, people are scared about opening up, digging deep, finding the things that really are hard in their life, or things that they want to move away from. Everyone has every excuse in the book to not attend these events, and I get it. It's not for everyone, and I finally have accepted the truth that I see how this retreat can impact people's lives. There's people, personally in my life, that I know that they need these retreats, they need this experience, they need these connections. But unless you're willing to put in the time and commitment, and you're ready to make that change, you're not going to come. I just know that I'm just going to continue doing what I do. And when you're ready to show up, you'll show up. But if this is something that you're like, hmm, kind of interested in this. I want to check it out. I highly encourage you to come. If you want to talk to me more about it, you want to talk to Alicia more about it, please reach out. We are happy to do one on one to ease the anxiety or the fears about coming. So again, the next one is on April 13 through 15th. You're going to hear us promoting it a lot more and all of the good things. 

But I want to take a minute and talk about how it has changed my life. I've done a lot of self work. I journal. I've done counseling. I read self help books. I get in the room, I have the conversations. I've been doing the work. I've been doing the work for almost nine years now. I think it was when I first read, Girl, Wash Your Face from Rachel Hollis. And an experience like this is something that I had, again, no idea what to expect.

Sitting with yourself in absolute complete quiet, visualizing your past, visualizing your future, finding the things in your soul that hold you back that you didn't think were there or you didn't think were the reasons for things, and digging that out is life changing. It has truly opened up my heart, my mind, and just made me a better person, to be honest. If you know me, I am not really into yoga. I'm not very spiritual. I call it woo-woo. But it's like a joke. 

But one of the things at this retreat, there were two things that I really walked away with. One, when everyone checked in, we kind of went around the room, and we kind of just talked about who we were, and all those things. And the conversation came up about crying. I was like, don't cry. Don't cry. I just don't for some reason. I'm discovering where that comes from, but I'm not a crier. I'm not super emotional. And I cried. I cried, guys, and they were like, you're gonna cry by the end of this retreat. And it's like, no, I'm not. But I did. And that was a moment for me that I was like, it felt so good. I've actually cried since. I've actually sat with myself and quiet, and really just let my emotions come to life and just cried. And it feels so good. It's like the weirdest thing. But that was one big, deep takeaway that I took away from that. 

The other thing that a lot of the girls like to poke at me about is they were like, have you ever hugged a tree before? And I'm like, girls, this is so hippy dippity. I don't know what you're talking about. And they were like, they talked about being in nature's grounding, or laying in the lawn or hugging a tree, or just being in space. And I was like, girls are crazy. But I hugged a tree, guys. I hugged the damn tree, and it was this beautiful willow tree in their ceremony area at this venue, and it was the last day. And man, it was so rewarding. I can't even put it into words. So if you're somebody who's like, I'm not really into those things. Those kinds of things are a little weird and make me very uncomfortable too. But I'm telling you, it was life changing. And so those are just like a couple of the moments that I truly let my walls down and then allowed myself to experience something different. I learned so much about myself, about my life, and all the things 

And so fast forward. I'm sitting one of the other retreats this past one that we just did in January. We did a spiritual reading, it's called An Animal Reading, and it was this whole beautiful ceremony with a gong and all these beautiful songs and all these things. Again, not a situation I've ever been in that made me a little uncomfortable, but was so empowering. We're definitely having this lady back. Her name was Charlotte. She was fantastic. It was just one of those experiences that just allowed you to get out of your world where we sit every day and experience something different. And my animal is a dolphin, and so you learn about what that means. And it could be something that the state you're currently in, or something you're going through, or all the things. So I am a dolphin, and it was really cool to hear everybody else's animals and how that affects their lives. So again, we're digging deep, girls. We're digging deep. 

We also have your regular inspiring speakers that talk about day to day health and wellness, talking about how to have healthy habits. We've had people talking about perimenopause, we've had a stylist on. It's not just all spiritual and all about digging deep and doing all the things, but we also have other speakers that speak to different parts of your world. I know that at least one of these speakers will make you see things a little bit differently and give you the tools to move through your life a little bit differently. 

The other experience, I'm going to try not to get emotional about this one because it hit me. It hit a nerve. One of the activities after the spiritual reading is we had to turn to somebody, and it was someone next to us. I was not sitting next to someone. I knew it was somebody new in my world. We had to put our heart, our hands out. I had to put my hand on her heart, and she had to put her hand on my heart, and we had to sit there in absolute complete silence for a minute and just stare at each other. Not saying a word, just looking into their eyes. And man, that exercise was so powerful. It was one of those things that was so intimate that I realized that I haven't been that intimate with someone in so long, even my own husband. It really opened my eyes to wanting to be more intimate, just in general. One with my husband, but with my kids, and with the relationships that I'm in. And man, some of these experiences are just something I've never thought that I would be in. 

But hearing these women's stories, hearing the struggles that they're going through, you're going to be like me too. Like we're all not going through this alone. Talk about this all the time on this podcast about how women are going through things and they don't see that there's others going through it because we don't talk about it. We don't bring it to attention. Nobody wants to talk about fertility issues, mental health issues or relationship issues. We bottle it in because we don't want to talk about it. But when you can get into a room or a space with women who have been through it or are going through it, the power of connecting, the power of knowing you're not in it alone is something that is invaluable, and will literally move the needle in your life. And I saw that happen at every single one of these retreats. These women opened up. They cried, they talked about the things that were hard, they talked about the things they fear. They talk about the things that hold them back. And man, when you can get into a space like that, the power that we can create together to move the needle in all of our lives is our WHY of why we're doing this retreat. 

We will continue to do this retreat. We will continue to bring these women together. We will continue to hold them accountable. We will continue to create space for them. We will continue to check on them and encourage them to try new things, and to meet new people and to do the things in their life that truly bring them joy. And I am in a space right now where I'm trying to figure out where I want to lean my time, my energy and community. I struggle between my career and what I'm really good at about connecting and helping businesses grow. Building relationships is something that I'm super passionate about, and everyone knows me for that. And I love doing that. And then I also love this work over here in the retreat world and my podcast world, and I feel like I have to pick both to truly lean into it. So I have this battle of trying to figure out what to lean into, but then I love it all. And I want to figure out how to do it all, and I will continue to do it. My heart was full after yesterday. 

There was one other discovery that I want to mention, and this is me being open and honest. My husband and I are going through counseling because marriage is not easy. It's not easy having a husband at home right now, after having back surgery and raising children, sending one to college. Having a three year old who is just very needy, running to businesses, running a podcast. There's a lot of weight that I personally carry and things that he's going through, and so we are taking the time and investment to work through these things. We have good weeks, and we have bad weeks. And last week, we kind of hit a wall. I'm still working on it, so this is like all new to me, but I finally opened up and really identified the thing that's holding me back from moving forward, and holding me back from putting the work in, holding me back from being the best wife that I can be. And that did not come easy. And I can tell you that 100%, it came from these retreats and being in places where I'm able to open up, to dig, to see the things that hold me back or make me the way that I am. Good or bad, and I was able to talk about something that has been really hard for me. But it was also a discovery of what's holding me back. 

And again, these are things that if you're not willing to put in the time to work on your relationships, again, to work on your life, to make it a better place, like going and working on my marriage is something very important to me, and I have to be wanting, to willing to put the work in just as like you should be willing to put the retreat, or to do the work, to go to a retreat, or to go into spaces like this. But it really allowed me to have some self discovery and have the courage, and to face the fears, and to face the hard, and to have those hard conversations is truly changing my life. And so I really encourage anybody who is maybe even a little remote, interested to come to check it out. 

Our day retreats, again, are very inexpensive, and it includes so much. And I promise you, you're going to walk away and be like, I would have paid more for that experience. Same with our day, with our overnight retreats, we do payment plans. So if you want to break it up, we've opened up that option as well. But I would love to see you there. I'm here for you. I will continue to show up and have these conversations. I think it's super important. I think it's super important for me and my role, and as a podcaster to be open and be willing to share some of the experiences of my own, and just in my own life to encourage you to do the same so I hope this episode resonated. 

I had absolute zero notes. I'm just coming and winging it, talking from my heart, talking from my soul, and I hope you enjoy it. I hope to see you at the next retreat. If you are somebody who's not maybe interested, but you know someone else in your life that is, I highly encourage you to send this to them. Send them this episode, send them the link to our website to book tickets, or to learn more about the retreat. We have the dates, we have the location, and we have about half of our speakers, so stay tuned for our speakers. Again, I think when you hear the topics, or you hear the conversations that we're going to have, that will also encourage you to be there. But even if you didn't, honestly, I have someone who she doesn't even know, she doesn't watch anything, she doesn't want to know who our speakers are. She goes and is completely blind and wants to just dive into the experience. And I love that. So if you're one of those, you could do that too. 

So again, I hope you have a wonderful day. I hope you have a wonderful week. Take care of yourself, and I will see you all next week.