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Nature Wellness Retreat Leader
NATURE: My Paramour
For a long time, nature and I shared a loving, albeit casual, relationship. Now and then, however, I was given momentary hints that the flirting was intensifying and that the mountains plucked the strings of my core. I particularly remember going to see an IMAX movie about Everest and having to stop on a park bench upon exiting the theater because I was weeping uncontrollably. My then-boyfriend was stumped, unable to comfort or understand what the heck was going on with me and frankly, I couldn’t explain it very clearly either: “Sniff... it’s so powerful... sniff... it’s life... sniff... I need to be there...sniff, sniff, sniff.”
The relationship continued (with nature – the one with the boyfriend fizzled), punctuated by occasional peaks, until the late nineties when I started experiencing the allure of the mountain more intensely. At that time, I had made new friends who owned a B&B in Stowe, Vermont (lucky me) and it became my second home. Twice a month, I would take the four-hour drive down to the Green Mountains and stay for the weekend. Regardless of the difficulties I was facing in my life, I could always muster the energy to go to the mountain, knowing it would replenish me tenfold. Rain or shine, snow or gale, I would be up on the trails, by myself, exploring new terrain, discovering new rocks, knots, and mosses, until I proclaimed myself Queen of Mount Mansfield. This was the first time I felt the embers of passion (other than in man-love). It was the beginning of a torrid love affair (again: with nature).
What I consider the most fulfilling experience of my life (to date) resulted from giving into what was then just beginning to look like passion: In 2001, I was offered to lead my first hiking Wellness Retreat.
The retreat (and the ones that followed) was scheduled around day hikes, optional Annie’s yoga-stretch classes (a personal brand of movement since I am not a yoga instructor), meditation and/or journaling, and lively dinners complemented by a few bottles of wine (in my idea of balance between spirit, mind and body; earthly pleasures should not be denied).
The retreat as a whole turned out to be transformative for each of us. Incredibly, my first leading experience happened to take place two weeks after September 11th and consisted of individuals from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
For me, perennial seeds had been sowed in the furrows of my being. As I was leading this group, I had felt as though winged feet moved me across the ground. I had been carried by an energy reciprocally given and received, and had experienced a moment in time when I felt on point with my design. Sharing my love of the mountain had functioned as a universal translator for the greater love I hold in my spirit, and which I yearn to give infinitely.
Nature's beauty and bounty satisfy my soul. Perhaps because they share the same source.
When guiding groups through nature, I feel I am doing something I was born to do.
I will do this again, and again.
The relationship continued (with nature – the one with the boyfriend fizzled), punctuated by occasional peaks, until the late nineties when I started experiencing the allure of the mountain more intensely. At that time, I had made new friends who owned a B&B in Stowe, Vermont (lucky me) and it became my second home. Twice a month, I would take the four-hour drive down to the Green Mountains and stay for the weekend. Regardless of the difficulties I was facing in my life, I could always muster the energy to go to the mountain, knowing it would replenish me tenfold. Rain or shine, snow or gale, I would be up on the trails, by myself, exploring new terrain, discovering new rocks, knots, and mosses, until I proclaimed myself Queen of Mount Mansfield. This was the first time I felt the embers of passion (other than in man-love). It was the beginning of a torrid love affair (again: with nature).
What I consider the most fulfilling experience of my life (to date) resulted from giving into what was then just beginning to look like passion: In 2001, I was offered to lead my first hiking Wellness Retreat.
The retreat (and the ones that followed) was scheduled around day hikes, optional Annie’s yoga-stretch classes (a personal brand of movement since I am not a yoga instructor), meditation and/or journaling, and lively dinners complemented by a few bottles of wine (in my idea of balance between spirit, mind and body; earthly pleasures should not be denied).
The retreat as a whole turned out to be transformative for each of us. Incredibly, my first leading experience happened to take place two weeks after September 11th and consisted of individuals from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts.
For me, perennial seeds had been sowed in the furrows of my being. As I was leading this group, I had felt as though winged feet moved me across the ground. I had been carried by an energy reciprocally given and received, and had experienced a moment in time when I felt on point with my design. Sharing my love of the mountain had functioned as a universal translator for the greater love I hold in my spirit, and which I yearn to give infinitely.
Nature's beauty and bounty satisfy my soul. Perhaps because they share the same source.
When guiding groups through nature, I feel I am doing something I was born to do.
I will do this again, and again.
NOTE: I am available to lead, be a guest-leader, or guest speaker in your Wellness Retreat programs or events. Contact me to discuss possibilities.
