How Retreats Changed My Life

I create retreats for women because it brings me deep joy. Over the years, I’ve traveled the world attending many kinds of retreats—each one a step along my spiritual path of healing. I’ve joined intimate one-day gatherings in someone’s home, rejuvenating weekend retreats in yoga studios, and week-long immersions in places like California, Sedona, Costa Rica, Mexico, North Carolina, and Omega in New York—where we connected with nature and even crawled into Native American purification lodges. I’ve taken a cruise to Panama with Esther “Abraham” Hicks, the most famous Law of Attraction teacher.  By far the most challenging and life-changing was the hike up to Machu Picchu in Peru.   Most recently, I experienced a retreat with a well-known medium at a beautiful luxury hotel in Ireland. Each experience was transformational for me.

But wait, what does transformational mean? 

All spiritual retreats promise that you will be “transformed” by attending, but until you experience one, do you really know what that means?

When I first began my journey, all I wanted was to feel better—to be free from the physical and emotional pain I was carrying from childhood, divorce, anxiety and panic attacks and cancer. I had no idea that through awareness and energy work, I would begin creating a life more joyful and fulfilling than I ever could have imagined when I started.  

I’ve read a lot of books about awareness, law of attraction, and energy work.  I’ve taken courses and been mentored by spiritual teachers.  I’ve listened to podcasts and watched you-tube videos.  All of this has created a paradigm shift in my beliefs that helped me create new thoughts that shape my reality now in positive and fulfilling ways.

However, going on a retreat is the fast-track to internalize and practice the wonderful new beliefs that heal old wounds, and elevate our vibration to attract more of what brings us joy. 

Here is what I gained from attending retreats:

Courage

Traveling alone—especially to places far beyond the U.S.—was both scary and exhilarating. Each journey pushed me outside my comfort zone, shook me up, and ultimately opened me in ways I never expected. Sleeping on a mountaintop in Peru, hiking an intense trail, and crawling into hot purification lodges tested every ounce of my strength and endurance. Yet through those challenges, I discovered a deep well of courage within myself—one that now makes everyday struggles seem so much smaller.

Emotional Healing

Doing the deep inner work within a retreat setting—held in the safe, loving presence of open-hearted soul sisters and a gifted facilitator—allowed me to release layers of old trauma. What unfolded was a profound sense of freedom and peace. The healing I experienced there continues to ripple through my life to this day.

Appreciation

Through sacred ceremonies led by shamans in nature and rituals within Hindu and Buddhist temples, I developed a deep appreciation and curiosity for the spiritual traditions of other cultures. I didn’t just observe—I participated fully. Immersing myself in these unfamiliar, beautiful practices helped me release old patterns of religious thought that no longer served my highest good, opening my heart and mind to a more expansive understanding of the divine.

Friendships

The circle of women who gather on retreat become so much more than travel companions — they become sisters of the heart. The shared experiences, deep conversations, and laughter create a bond that lasts long after the journey ends. Many of my own life-long friends came from these retreats — women who truly see me, get me, and whose reconnection always feels healing and soul-nourishing.

Travel Memories That Are More Impactful

Traveling in a high-vibration state deepens every experience. The energy you bring to the journey magnifies what you receive — your photos radiate the joy and magic of the moment, and your journal entries become sacred reminders of how far you’ve come and what you’re still unfolding.

Souvenirs from these journeys hold powerful meaning — crystals from Sedona, goddess figures from Egypt, prayer cloths and rattles from Peru, red pouches and gold coins from Asia, fertility goddesses from Africa. Each carries a unique energy and story that continues to inspire and support your spiritual path long after you return home.

Self-Love and Empowerment

Each retreat has taught me more about loving myself and stepping fully into my power — as a woman, a teacher, and a soul on this beautiful journey. These experiences helped me set boundaries, honor my body, and celebrate my spirit.

Retreats are also where I’ve learned to weave new habits of wellness into everyday life:

• Meditating more often

• Getting restorative sleep

• Nourishing my body with intention

• Taking empowering supplements

• Journaling regularly for clarity and inspiration

  
  

Fun, Adventure & Adrenaline Rush

Transformation often arrives when we step out of comfort and into pure presence — heart open, laughter flowing, senses alive.

Here are just a few of the magical moments that I've experienced at retreats:

• Walking across swinging rope bridges over wild rivers in Peru and Costa Rica

• Dancing freely in the woods beneath a luminous full moon

• Greeting the sunrise with sun salutations by the sea

• Sharing heart-opening ceremonies as the sun sets over the ocean

• Soaring through the treetops on a Costa Rican zip-line

• Waking up on a tiny island in Stockholm, surrounded by wind, sun, and sea

• Laughing uncontrollably with soul-sisters while blending essential oil love potions

• Experiencing deeply moving sound baths in a dome in the woods, on a pitch-black new moon in Cosa Rica

• Walking the labyrinth lined with towering saguaro cactus at La Senda

• Trekking the ancient rocky trail to Machu Picchu

• A candlelight rebirthing ceremony in the sacred waters of Aguas Calientes, Peru

• Having my body covered with detoxifying clay to bake in the warm sun in Guadalajara

• Hiking powerful vortexes in Sedona

• Stargazing in the stillness of the desert

• Smelling the wet earth and tripping over tree roots in the dark of a Costa Rican new moon

  
  

These are the feelings, transformations, adventures, and memories I strive to create for every woman who joins a Wise Wandering retreat — experiences that awaken joy, courage, connection, and the knowing that life itself is a sacred adventure.