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Women... Retreat!
By Juliana Leslie
It’s time to sit down and write again. My mind is filled with all kinds of ideas that encompass the celebration of women and the idea of retreat. After all, that’s what I do. Retreats for women are fun and important to me. As one, I can relate to the craziness of how a woman’s work is never done. If we didn’t have to sleep we could keep going and going and going. The idea of retreat is to stop for a moment or a day or weekend and tune into yourself. What do you need? How can you get it? Why do you feel this way about that? What do you like about yourself? What don’t you like? Do you love yourself? Few of us will take the time to actually get away and reflect on questions such as these because we just know that our families need us to be there. Think about it. Do they really?
What if you could get away with a group of women and come home better equipped to take care of your family and even learn how to put yourself first? When I began my journey into personal growth, my children were just 8 and 12. They were a lot of work. There were family issues that made it necessary for me to have to be all things for my children, both mother and father. Why on earth would I choose that time to look inward and put myself first? Because somehow, amidst all the craziness of my life back then, it became obvious that I must focus on me in order to have the positive energy it takes to be a good mother and wife. I learned a lot back then, and now it’s one of my passions to pass my knowledge on to others.
Women love to talk and share and laugh and cry. We are emotional beings. We long to have someone take care of us in the same way that comes so naturally to us. There are some enjoyable, eye opening tools and processes I use at a typical women’s retreat at Whispering Waters. In sharing them you may be motivated to implement some into your own personal retreat or gather a group of friends and plan a getaway.
Get a full body massage. It’s a good way to begin to relax and to pamper yourself a little.
Tell the story of who you are with help from a table of various toys and treasures you can use as metaphors.
Make a plaster mask with a partner of your face and after it dries, decorate it to celebrate who you are.
Keep a journal of thoughts, feelings and insights so you won’t forget them.
Make a collage of pictures and words and paste it right into your journal. Be creative. Drop colored ink on wet paper using just your favorite colors and then just your least favorite colors. Write about what you see.
Take a walk in the woods. Write about it.
Find a cozy spot and take a nap.
Experience a guided meditation that takes you back to being a little girl. Remember who she was and try to incorporate some of her into your adult life.
Share.
Take a sauna and then step outside into the fresh air. Do it again.
Learn about Feng Shui and incorporate bits of it into your life style.
Do some fire watching.
Play.
Read about animal totems. Figure out what yours is and carve it out of soapstone.
Sleep in a teepee. |
We are women. We are special and deserve so much more than we allow ourselves. You owe it to yourself and those you love to truly take care of yourself. So, take care.
Juliana Leslie, M.A. Education, is certified in Holistic Health through WMU and completed a 2 year mentorship with Shakti Gawain in Hawaii. She offers retreats for women and children and is the proprietor of Whispering Waters Bed & Breakfast Retreat Center. You can reach her at 1-888-880-5557. |
