My First-Ever Wellness Retreat

Last winter, I started dreaming up my, well, dream day. It started as a little blip of an idea. A pull at my heart. A whisper in my ear to just “Do it.”

I knew in my gut I wanted to start my own business — for awhile now. Though I’ve always enjoyed my full-time corporate roles, over the past few years, I’ve started thinking over what else I can do, you know, creatively, to blend my passions that don’t always come out during my busy day-to-day routine.

As a yoga teacher, my passion for health and wellness has always been there. I love moving, meditating, setting intentions and a positive environment, and feeling the energy of others. When I thought of a jumping off point for my new business (or at least a small branch of it), a one-day wellness retreats came to mind.

The perfect day. A break from the noise. A relief for moms, working women, the burnt out, the off-balanced. Looking back at the last 1.5 years, maybe people would be seeking this kind of escape and chance to reconnect with themselves and others. That was my mission. To find them and give them this day.

After jotting down a list of names for the event. One stuck out. “Here & Now.” That would be it.

What could that look like? What would it feel like? Who would show up? How would it come together? How would it flow? What would I charge? Where would it be?

You can imagine the long list of questions and complete unknowingness I had.

That’s when I started asking friends and family — “What do you think of this idea I have?” “Am I crazy to want to do this?” The response was so positive. “Go for it!” “That sounds great.” “I would sign up.”

I got to work.

First things first. I needed a new site and way to house all the retreat information in one shiny place. A friend connected me to Brendan Keohane, an awesome web designer, who turned my blah blog-centric site into something fresh and way more “me.”

Within just a couple weeks (actually, maybe less), Brendan helped tell my story online, giving my new site the exact feel I was daydreaming about. It was a site I was excited and proud to share.

Around the same time, a local introduced me to Wendy Harrop, the owner of the Phineas Wright House in Bolton. When we first chatted on the phone, she felt so familiar. Inspiring. Enthusiastic. Excited for me. As a former wedding planner and a businesswoman herself, she got my vision almost instantly. A week later, I toured her venue and locked it in. It was the place for the retreat. Hands down. To this day, I still tell Wendy she feels like my fairy godmother. 😂

One of my major goals during the planning phase of the retreat was to find incredible speakers/experts in their fields who could add their special gifts to the day. I knew I didn’t want to be the only leader and that people would enjoy some variety of topics, voices and experienes that not just I could deliver.

From there, I began researching and interviewing women with their own inspirational businesses. Lots of Zooms and calls. I remember taking one call in Maine with Henry running around in the background. 😆

When I connected with Nancy Cantor, Deborah Strafuss and Christabeth Ingold, I knew they would be perfect additions to the retreat - adding in their passions for goal setting, reiki and dance to make it a day full of intention, self-growth, discovery and movement.

That’s when the day slowly began piecing together and creating a flow from one workshop to the next. I was excited to add in two of my loves to the mix too - yoga and journaling. And after six months of online teaching, I was pumped to get to see real-life bodies before me moving together.

Once I had my leaders, a venue, a new site and a date (July 24 seemed special because it was Henry’s original due date and I was hopeful by that point in the summer some of the Covid restrictions would be lifted and people would feel (more) ready to be together), I was ready to scream the event from the rooftops!

On May 8, the event went live. I sent email blasts, hung up tear-off flyers (yes, like in coffee shops, etc.) and asked people to help me spread the word. Working in social media, I knew that side of promotion inside and out, and was able to really kick things off in a fun way with videos, photos and information about the retreat to garner interest.

I’ll never forget when the first sign-ups came through. I squealed. Then, the next week, Sam and I went to the Cape for vacation and a few more sign-ups sent to my inbox… more squeals! I set a hefty goal of 20 sign ups. Over the months, the number kept growing and growing, and I could feel that this day was resonating with so many women just how I had hoped.

A couple weeks before the event closed, I hit 20. It felt surreal.

With all the interest in my event, things started to feel more and more real.

I really had to deliver.

This day had to be big. And special. And worth it for each person. It was a lot to think about, every day, for months. 😅 A tad stressful between work, being a mom, teaching yoga and buying a house.

Here are some ways I wanted to add my own flair to the day to really show the value and intention behind the start of Good Getter events:

- I’d kick off the day with a welcome circle and grounding yoga practice where everyone got to know me, my intention for the retreat and my yoga style.
- I mailed welcome bags to the first ten women that signed-up.
- I gave all attendees goodie bags of self-care items at the end of the day.
- I produced Instagram Lives with Wendy, Nancy, Deborah and Christabeth to introduce them to my followers and answer any questions.
- I provided custom build-your-own organic bowls from Nan’s in Stow.
- I created workbooks (see below) for the day that ran through the schedule, event by event, with pages to be filled out and areas for reflection. They also were sent home with each attendee as a look-back to the day and included contact info for all the leaders.

Wendy was right. Weeks would go by when we wouldn’t chat much but just like a wedding, the two weeks leading up were busy and moved fast! That’s when the large lunch order was placed, the workbooks were printed, all the day-of preparations were organized and coordination was finalized with just about every little thing you can image. You should have seen what my spare bedroom looked like. 🙃

There were nerves, excitment, anticipation, jitters… all of it. Like any event really. Especially with it being the first event I’ve ever led. One thing I kept telling myself was, these women signed up because 1) they want to be there 2) they believe in me and 3) they need this. All of those reasons gave me the confidence and support I needed to go to bed the night before knowing it would be a success, no matter what.

I woke up bright and early, ready to go set up in time for everyone’s 9am arrival. The adrenaline was real. It truly felt like a wedding day, or the anticipation of the birth of something … my business? My future? I don’t even know…

Set-up went well. And just as I blinked, attendees began walking through the pathway to the event. There was no turning back now. I remember quickly using the restroom and changing into my “event” clothing just as the crowd arrived. Talk about last minute!

— — —

The day flowed. One moment led to the next. Conversations filled the air. Smiles and laughs. Then there were quiet moments of reflection and realness. A togetherness, though many came on their own. A positive vibe you could feel. An appreciation for the sunshine after weeks of rain. An eagerness to learn, to lay, to bond, to breathe. A little bit of everything all in one. Exactly what I had anticipated when I closed my eyes and imagined this day.

I was honestly surprised with how comfortable I was throughout the day. The nerves had somehow dissipated. I knew many of the women - maybe that’s why. Whatever it was; it felt good to feel grounded in my vision and what magic the day would hold.

It was the kind of day you dream of having when you’re running and running and running and always doing life at 100%.

The kind of day you really created for yourself but want to give others too.

The kind of day where you feel like a kid again, soaking up the day in the grass and absorbing new words and ideas from teachers all around you.

The kind of day you can feel helped others. And just knowing that, makes it all so worth it and pushes you to want to do it again.

Yeah. That kind of day.

What I learned through this whole process:

- You, just like me, can turn your passions into plans and into real life. You can make your dream a reality, that is, if you really want it.
- Building your own business takes time, energy, planning, dedication and sacrifice. If you make the time, it’ll get done. Having a support system who believes in you helps too.
- Lean on the experts you know. I had tons of informational interviews with friends who have their own businesses and strangers who were willing to share their wisdom with me about running retreats/events. I made time in my schedule to get the info I needed to make my retreat a success.
- Connect with your community. I asked local businesses to share my social media posts and hang flyers for me. That support went far! Small towns want to support you. Be a voice in your area. People go out of their way to help.
- “The right people will come.” I forget who told me this, maybe Wendy, but it really felt good to hear. The right people would find me and this event, and sign up.
- Prepare for changes and bumps in the road. Just like anything, the planning process isn’t going to be perfectly smooth. Things change along the way. Just be ready to roll with it, adjust and lean on your resources.
- Go into it with the best intentions. A few people told me they could feel how much love and attention I poured into my retreat and that really meant the world to hear. I guess they could feel my passion? That’s how I knew I was doing something soul-driven.
- Give yourself breaks. I could have worked on my retreat planning every day. Some days I needed a break. Some Friday nights I crashed after work. That’s all okay. I always found the time to get things done. It helps to have a great spouse. 😉


Have questions about my Here & Now Retreat? Want to get on my list for the next one? Let’s connect!