I have always believed that love could conquer all. For some reason the universe decided to toss many huge challenges for me to face in my life…and what I discovered is each of those challenges took me deeper to the core of who I truly want to BE…which is LOVE. It wasn’t an overnight-quick fix drug that got me to where I am right now. It was hard work, looking closely at all my fears and repeated patterns occurring in my life. I looked at myself from the inside out, becoming friends with my fears and taking steps to change my patterns. I spent time nurturing and loving myself…I ultimately became my own best friend, learning how to love all of myself, even the not-so pretty parts. I started to make decisions that were guided by self-love and I made unconditional love a requirement for all my relationships My journey of falling in love with myself required me to be completely honest with myself and sometimes it meant making hard choices that hurt, but were absolutely necessary to transform my reality. I took some “adventures” in finding self-love that pushed me beyond what was comfortable and into what was possible.

I always loved playing the game of Truth or Dare as a kid and I decided that it might be fun to challenge myself to play “Truth and Dare” in my life. One of the first “dares” I gave myself was each morning challenging myself to find a mirror and look deeply in my eyes and exclaim with gusto, “I love you Joanie!” And I continued to dare myself to do the “I love Me” mantra throughout the day. It certainly wasn’t easy at first and I’ve since then I’ve played many other games to say YES to love who I am to the core.

I know in my heart what the world needs more than anything right now is Love…starting with learning to love YOUrself first and with that knowledge I believe you will ripple that love to all your relationships your family, your friends, community and spread it to the world AND I believe in my heart that love will create peace for everyone

I love sharing what I have learned on my journey of self-love and love guiding anyone who wants to dare themselves into discovering the gifts self-love will give you! I do this by offering personal and group coaching, private personal retreats and group retreats.

Shall we start this lovely journey together? How about by starting today playing the “I Love Me” mantra game I dare you…NO I double dare you to look in the mirror…look at your beautiful eyes and say I LOVE YOU (fill in YOUr name) And I dare you to do that every time you are in front of a mirror for the next week. And would absolutely love you to share your experience with me after the week is complete.

Retreat Coach Joanie Yanusas | Joanie Yanusas

Sometimes a Valentine’s Day may not follow the scripts we grew up with…you know like those TV commercials with the young smiling couple eyeing a diamond necklace? There’s such a loving kind energy to Valentine’s Day. It really is so unobtrusive and gentle. Yet, once again our Western society makes the day into a major monetary moment that can dwindle the simple beauty of the giving and receiving of the Valentine.

So what if…this elder wise woman redefines what it is to give and receive a Valentine (understood she lovingly shares precious Valentine’s moments with her family). But priority takes a turn toward her wise woman self.

What if…this elder wise woman decides to take a moment of repose, a respite, a retreat that honors the romance of her life, all its ups and downs and cycles, all the good and the bad of all the many years of her living…like the Byron Katie book title, Loving What Is…

What if…I just decide to take a moment out of time sometime in the month of February that has a Valentine flavor to it, my very own Self-Care Valentine Retreat…

What if…I decide to gift myself a Valentine or a letter to myself, or a collage reflecting self-love and self-care…

What if…I carve out just one hour of my assigned Valentine’s Day…

What if… I discover I had already purchased a journal with a wise woman holding a heart, quite forgotten about, but now rediscovered…perfect timing…

What if…I begin writing in gratitude, in thankfulness for all the many wise woman lessons I have learned that I get to share…

What if…I scan and print out a picture of my rose quartz heart especially for this moment and place it lovingly in my journal….

What if…I give myself permission to be fully who I am in this Valentine’s moment…

What if…I extend my assigned Valentine’s Day to one day each month of the year…

What if…I am bold and courageous enough to love my sweet elder wise woman self?

If I can do this, so can you.

Come…retreat with me.

Retreat Coach Sharon McWilliams | Wise Woman Essence

Last Sunday afternoon, I returned home from a 5-day silent meditation retreat just outside Cortez, CO. With a clear mind and an open heart, I welcomed 2012… much differently than the year before when I’d woken up on January 1^st a little fuzzy and with a headache from 1-2 too many glasses of champagne the night before!

Yes, this year was a much different experience. Five days of reflecting on the year past and setting intentions for the year ahead.  Hours and hours of time outdoors in nature. Time spent in sitting and walking meditation & mindfully eating meals with the 30+ others with my fellow retreatants. We gathered on December 28^th at a beautiful B&B (www.kellyplace.com) in McElmo Canyon and, without words, formed a beautiful community of kindness and shared intention over the next four days.

This retreat was much different than the retreats I lead or typically go on myself.  I’m an extroverted , social person and love to verbally process my experience. Yet, something deep within called me to go on this retreat. To experience the stillness and the silence that my soul was yearning for after an extremely busy holiday season and a challenging 2011.

This is the gift we give ourselves when we go on retreat: stillness, quiet time, time for reflection and to be in Nature in a way that is so incredibly delicious and unrushed. We slow down enough to notice all the small things we so often take for granted—those finches chirping and fluttering from branch to branch or the branches swaying in the breeze.

It’s the beginning of January. A new year, a blank slate, and plenty of time to plan to go on your own retreat this year. What are you waiting for? J

Retreat Coach Mindy Stern Meiering | Bridges Coaching

Happy New Year! 2012 promises to be highly creative, exciting and memorable. I’m celebrating Prospering Womanhood and you’re invited.

"Maiden, Mother, Crone" Clay Art: Lotus Allen; Photo: Giovanna Capone

As I traverse new terrain in the journey of womanhood, I am re-inventing myself. It’s a powerful and sometimes humbling process that includes heaps of happiness and unexpected surprises, plus plenty of intentional retreat spent in solitude. I wound down 2011 with a self-gift retreat—rejuvenate, dream, meditate, write in journal, visits to secret Redwood garden to soak in hot tub, make art, give to loved ones and others…radical self-care.

I included an expansive three-week Prospering Woman Program offered by my Mentor Coach Helene Van Manen. The Program inspired me to:

• learn about Scarcity Woman and who she is within myself;
• declutter important physical and emotional spaces;
• release and let go of baggage that no longer serves;
• practice a forgiveness ritual;
• use Abundance Essential Oil daily;
• learn what my inner Prospering Woman truly desires;
• envision manifestation steps to get there; and
• live more fully from Prosperity Consciousness.

An abundance of magnificent wonders and blessings exist all around us. We need only pause, listen and look to tap into the magical flow of infinite possibilities and be with Source connection. Everything is holy now! Listen to beautiful song, Holy Now, by Peter Mayer.

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Retreat Coach Lotus Allen | Femme Fire

Sometimes a retreat may show up out of nowhere….It’s Sunday morning early. I’m sitting in my kitchen with my coffee in a cup that synchronistically reads, “Some people come into our lives and quickly go…some stay for awhile, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” I’m feeling the loss of two dear acquaintances two days in a row this past week….both surprises, way too soon, too early for either of them…I look down and feel my sweet lab comforting me, licking one of my feet, laying his big paw on the other one as he lays on his wubby, my old dishtowel.

You see, retreats can come in unique packages and show up when you least expect it yet most need it. I am so grateful. I take a deep breath into this soulful gift of retreat with my retreat buddy. Being mindful of the gift of a moment out of time retreat is powerful.

Come…retreat with me. You can do this.

Retreat Coach Sharon McWilliams | Wise Woman Essence

Sometimes there are years where the growing pains may be almost unbearable. This past year has been one for me. A few months ago I “accidentally” dropped my lovely rose quartz heart. It broke into the three pieces you see here. At first I was so devastated for I felt it represented my broken heart.

I retreated to my sacred space that comforts me when I need a moment out of time…

I sat…I listened…I heard…

A whisper came, “Precious child, your heart has been broken open to release the hurts, the sorrows and sadness from the past years of lessons and experiences. Breathe now into the spaces for your expanded heart is radiating a much grander Love. Now you have breathing room.”

So I took a breath and then another and then another….of gratitude and abundance and peace.

Retreat Coach Sharon McWilliams | Wise Woman Essence

One morning.

One sunrise.

One woman, April.

One journal.

One cup of coffee.

One majestic river.

One deep breath of fresh air.

One bird flying high.

One space all her own.

One magnificent landscape.

One with nature.

One moment of being.

One decision.

One River Retreat.

What is the One that your heart desires?

Retreat Coach Lee Miller | The Flourishing Woman

There used to be spaces in life that were sacred: walking along a beach, being in the mountains, being in the bathroom or in bed even.  Places you could hear the voices that guide you and keep you true to yourself.

Now there are televisions in the bedroom, cell phones beside the bed, and most people are reachable on the beach, and in their most intimate moments!

To have sacred time for yourself, to nourish yourself and your creativity, hear your intuition and stay true to yourself today, takes a deliberate act.  It needs to be scheduled into your calendar.

Here are 5 reasons you really need to schedule regular retreats!

1. It’s a commitment to officially STOP the day-to-day busy-ness of your life.  An opportunity to hear that small voice that calls to you every day.  To gain clarity about where you want to go next.
2. In making a commitment to reconnect with your inner world, “magic” happens.   Doors open and the right people appear.
3.  You’ll find your true essence from a place of empowered feminine energy and be able to make choices that are authentic and powerful. Everyone and everything around you is then positively impacted.  You return a changed person.
4.  By unplugging and being with a group of powerful women, you are surrounded by those who see you for who you truly are. You start to remember who you really are. 
5.  When you step into the sacred space of a retreat environment,  making choices that support living your life more fully, is made easier.

Are you ready to reclaim your divine feminine power and reconnect to your soul?  If so, it’s time to retreat.  When you make a move that’s for your highest good, the Universe steps in to support you….and magic happens.  You do not need to know HOW it will happen.

Looking for the perfect gift for YOU?  What could be better than a retreat: the gift that keeps on giving?

Retreat Coach Vicky White | Life Design Strategies

After my dad passed, my mama asked if she could get a bicycle. We purchased an adult tricycle with a basket…she toured the neighborhood at 85 years young taking gifts to her neighbors. She said to me, “Oh, I just love the wind blowing in my white hair. And when I come around that corner, you know, I just coast right into my driveway!”

My husband and I now both have bikes. The treks went with us to the beach just last week. I experienced the wind in my hair and the coasting into the driveway of our beach condo. I remembered my mama…

Such a retreatful moment out of time. Come…retreat with me!

Where’s your bicycle?

Create your retreat moment right this very minute!

Retreat Coach Sharon McWilliams | Wise Woman Essence

I recently returned from my week-long “Septober” retreat at the Horseshoe Lodge in the Mountain Park Environmental Center in Beulah, Colorado. The “Seasons of Change” and “Wise Woman Retreat“ was for Coaches, Therapists, Counselors and Other Professionals who Support Clients in Transition. Before we arrived, we were asked to “create our intention.” What did we hope to get from our experience? I sat outside with my journal in hand, and began to craft my answer.

For me, this retreat would be an opportunity to grow my skills as a newly Certified Retreat Coach, as well as to look more intently at the “Seasons of Change” training material. I had previously been drawn to it, read about it and wanted to get a sense of clarity about this possibly being the “niche” I was looking for in my own retreat facilitation. There is a rich, visual and metaphorical language with the changing of seasons. It could prove to be a useful model to help Deaf, hard of hearing and deafened people I work with through life transitions and change.

Our extended nature retreat was graced with a week of whole-souled-loveliness and one my mother and I will never forget. It was an experience of becoming deeply grounded… being moved by, and flowing with, nature’s visual music… waking up every day with skymindedness. It was a journey of re-connection to our own center — to our Source — and to the rich, changing, mountain environment, while sharing time and space with other kindred spirits.

I highly encourage all people to go on an extended nature retreat and pay special attention to the environment and the season. You will find “your story” there. Extended nature retreats are unforgettable experiences and they will touch your life in many ways. The best thing is that you bring those peek experiences back with you and they become a part of who you are, how you think and sense and feel, and what you do in your life-journey ahead.

“Today, I have grown taller from walking with the trees. “

~Karle Wilson Baker

Retreat Coach LaRonda Zupp | The Ear of My Heart

Note: This is a partial post from LaRonda’s blog.  Click here to read the full post.