POSTPONED: Women's Retreat for Holistic Health & Creativity

*** WE HAVE POSTPONED THIS EVENT TO 2021. WHEN WE HAVE LINE OF SIGHT TO POST-COVID-LIMITATIONS, WE WILL SET NEW DATES FOR THIS RETREAT. IF YOU'D LIKE TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN IT IS RESCHEDULED, PLEASE EMAIL ME TO GET ON OUR WAITING LIST.***

Hosted by: Jennifer Bauer & Marcia Hansen

This retreat is for you if you:

• Love to be creative in a variety of forms, such as photography and writing. 
• Love to travel. 
• Love being outdoors and in nature.
• Feel at peace when listening to the wind in trees, birds chirping, and rivers flowing. 
• Enjoy connecting in small, intimate groups of other like-souled women at women's retreats. 
• Value depth over idle chit-chat. 
• Dream big and aspire for more fulfillment, joy, freedom and growth. 
• Enjoy photography as a hobby and want to improve your skill, knowledge and experience. 
• Believe in the importance of holistic health as a part of self-care, although may not always prioritize it.
• Have always wanted to photograph the fall folliage in the majestic Rocky Mountain National Park.

Some of the activities we'll do and why they're important for a women's retreat and your holistic health:

Mindful Nature Walks / Forest Bathing:

Enjoy a mindful nature walk to take in the beauty of the forest through all of your senses, connect with nature, and be more present, centered and grounded. The ancient art of Forest Bathing (also known as Shinrin-yoku in Japanese) is an important element of this women’s retreat because it is beneficial for both the body and the soul’s health.

These walks will be silent, slow and deliberate, with frequent stops.

Pre-Photography Centering Meditations:

So often we are in our heads planning and spinning that we forget to be present and enjoy the beauty of the moment. If we can become present, centered and grounded, then we are able to connect with our inner Creative for optimum composition. Plus, we'll also enjoy our surroundings more.

Group Guided Meditations & Breathwork:

Meditation has been scientifically proven to reduce stress, promote emotional health, enhance self-awareness, lengthen attention span, and reduce age-related memory loss. Meditation is made easier through breathwork, which focuses our mind away from thoughts and into the body and the present moment. Through various pranayama techniques, we’ll continue to reconnect to our bodies and presence (and therefore our creativity) throughout the weekend.

Movement:

At various points in our time together, we’ll practice some gentle movement to get blood and energy moving and flowing. Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion and bodies at rest tend to stay at rest. It’s important to our health to move regularly. It gets blood flowing and energy moving. When we sit or lay down for long periods of time, energy becomes stagnant and stagnant energy eventually becomes blocked.

Grounding:

The Earth is like a giant battery that contains a natural, sub-electric charge. Grounding neutralizes free radicals, which are generated through inflammation, infection, cell damage, trauma, stress and toxic environments. It can improve sleep, inflammation, immunity, pain management as well as alleviate stress.

During our time together, we’ll be invited to take off our shoes and socks to mindfully feel the Earth beneath our feet and neutralize free radicals.

Play & Creativity:

Play is any activity that makes time disappear and joy flow. Under these circumstances, we have the greatest access to our creative selves. Using imagination, we’ll engage in a few playful activities reminiscent of our childhoods when play was our primary focus. Play is an eternal fountain of youth and the quickest path to inspiring creativity.

Nature Guides Journaling Workshop:

Utilizing Jennifer’s book Nature Guides: Release & Reconnect Through Writing, we’ll have an opportunity to use nature’s beautiful, wise lessons to learn about ourselves and our path. It’s a photography picture book with journal prompts, using animals and plants as metaphors to inspire your creative writing. You’ll tap into your higher wisdom and inner knowing to creatively write your way toward self-discovery.

Metaphor Tools w/ Photography:

Our outer world reflects our inner world. What we take photos of, how we take those photos, what we focus on, what we don’t focus on, all of it connects back to what is happening internally in our lives. Our photos are a reflection of us. 

Jenn will walk us through some ways we can use our photography to solve our own problems and understand ourselves a bit better. Then Marcia will touch upon where we focus in our lives as a reflection of our priorities, and tools for how to regularly tune into where we’re focusing our energy.

Agenda:

Thursday, September 24

• Arrivals
• Welcome & Introductions
• Sunset Photography (Still TBD)
• Group Dinner

Friday, September 25

• Mindful Nature Walk to Photo Location
• Sunrise Photos (Moraine Meadow)
• Group Breakfast
• Meditation, Breathwork & Movement
• Labrynth Walk
• "Using Play to Tap into Creativity" - Workshop
• Midday Break & Lunch (with optional nature hike)
• "How to Tell Stories through Photography" - Workshop
• "Photography as a Metaphor for Life" - Workshop
•  Mindful Nature Walk to Photo Location
• Sunset Photos (Alberta Falls)
• Group Dinner

Saturday, September 26

• Mindful Nature Walk to Photo Location
• Sunrise Photos (Bear Lake)
• Group Breakfast
• Meditation, Breathwork & Movement
• "Plant Medicine: How to Use Essential Oils for Optimal Health" - Workshop
• Midday Break & Lunch (with optional nature hike)
• "Nature Guides: Release & Reconnect Through Writing" - Workshop
• Forest Bathing & Grounding (Trail Ridge)
• Intention Cards - Arts & Crafts Workshop
• Mindful Nature Walk to Photo Location
• Sunset Photos (TBD)
• Group Dinner

Sunday, September 27

• Mindful Nature Walk to Photo Location
• Sunrise Photos (Dream Lake)
• Group Breakfast
• Goodbyes & Check-Out

EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTED REGISTRATION (ends April 1, 2020): $1,199*

REGULAR REGISTRATION (Booking after April 1): $1,299

Non-Refundable Deposit of $200 will hold your place. Balance due by July 15, 2020. 

*Includes:

• Access to all activities listed in the agenda.
• Transportation to/from photo locations.
• Transportation to/from meals.
• Daily snacks & water.

*Does not include:

• Airfare or other transportation to/from Estes Park, Colorado
• Accommodations (We have reserved lovely and spacious cabins for us at The Woodlands on Fall River**)
• Meals

**About the Cabins: We have reserved an additional 2 Bedroom + Loft (to be shared by 3-4 people) as well as a 2 Bedroom (to be shared by 2 people) for our retreat participants. Each cabin has a kitchen and communal living space. These accommodations are not required for participants who choose to find alternate accommodations. They are simply reserved for your convenience since all of the non-photography activities will take place at this property.