This past weekend I had the pleasure of leading a yoga and hiking retreat at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs Resort in Colorado. Thirteen beautiful souls joined me for the weekend, and reminded me of all the reasons I started leading retreats in the first place.
When a group of women come together to lift each other up, it's amazing to see what happens. We open up, we share, we cry, and we heal.
When we take a moment for self-care, especially when surrounded by others who are doing the same, we can tap into our inner light and shine at our brightest. I watched as these 13 women (mostly strangers) developed a bond, bared their souls, and realized just how strong, beautiful and brave they are.
The past year has kept us isolated from others, which is difficult for a species that relies on connection and community to thrive. In his book, A Mindful Nation, Tim Ryan talks about research of the vagus nerve, which helps us communicate with others by controlling our gaze and head movements, and slows our heart rate to help with digestion and immune response.
According to this research, "When people feel compassion and awe, this ancient mammalian bundle of nerves fires. We are wired to be kind." I saw this in action this weekend, and it warmed my heart and lifted my spirits after a long year of being socially-distanced.
In the subject line of this post, I asked "where is the love?" I see love all around us - it's wired into each and every one of us, and when we take the time to really see and listen to each other, that's when the magic happens.
With love,
Carrie
P.S. Want to join the next retreat? Check out all of our upcoming retreat options here.