One of My Favorite Sounds at a Women’s Retreat? Laughter.

One of my favorite sounds at a women’s retreat is laughter.

Not polite laughter.

Not the kind that happens because someone said something and everyone thinks they’re supposed to laugh.

I mean the kind of laughter that takes over a room.

The kind where one woman starts laughing, someone else joins her, and suddenly there’s this beautiful wave of joy moving through the space.

I love those moments.

Because so often, something has softened.

A woman who walked through the doors carrying stress, responsibility, grief, exhaustion, or simply the weight of everyday life has given herself permission, maybe for the first time in a while, to put some of it down.

And for a moment, she gets to simply be.

Healing Doesn’t Always Have to Feel Serious

I think we sometimes have an idea of what “healing” is supposed to look like.

Maybe it looks like tears.

Deep conversations.

Talking about the hard things.

And yes, sometimes healing does look like that.

There can be tears at my retreats. There can be quiet moments. There can be emotions that have been waiting a long time to be felt.

But that’s only part of it.

Sometimes healing looks like taking a deep breath and realizing how long it’s been since you allowed yourself to slow down.

Sometimes it looks like feeling your feet underneath you and noticing that you’re here, in this moment.

Sometimes it looks like discovering something about yourself that you hadn’t noticed before.

Sometimes it looks like connection.

Sometimes it looks like play.

And sometimes it looks like a room full of women laughing together.

Our Nervous Systems Need More Than Calm

When we talk about nervous system regulation, it can be easy to think the goal is to become calm all the time.

It isn’t.

A healthy nervous system isn’t one that never becomes activated. Our nervous systems are designed to move through different states depending on what is happening around us.

What matters is our capacity to move between those states and return.

That means nervous system work can include stillness and rest.

But it can also include movement.

Sound.

Connection.

Curiosity.

Play.

Pleasure.

And joy.

Laughter can be one of those experiences.

I’m careful not to assume that laughter means someone feels completely safe or regulated. Human nervous systems are much more complex than that, and people can laugh for many different reasons.

But there are moments during retreats when you can almost feel the room soften.

Shoulders drop.

Faces change.

Women begin talking to one another.

Someone says something funny.

And then the laughter starts.

Those are some of my favorite moments to witness.

You Don’t Have to Experience the Day Like Anyone Else

This is something I want women to understand before they ever walk through the doors of one of my retreats:

Your experience gets to be your experience.

At Rooted & Rising, we’ll explore nervous system education, gentle somatic practices, Conscious Connected Breathwork, reflection, connection, and integration.

But there isn't one particular experience I'm trying to create for every woman in the room.

You may have an emotional experience during breathwork.

You may feel peaceful.

You may feel energized.

You may discover something you’ve been carrying that you’re ready to look at differently.

You may laugh.

You may cry.

You may do neither.

You might simply notice how good it feels to spend a day where you aren't responsible for taking care of everyone else.

There is no prize for having the deepest experience in the room.

There is no comparison.

And there is no expectation that your experience should look like the woman beside you.

Listening to your body is never doing it wrong.

There Is Something Powerful About Being in a Room Full of Women

One of the reasons I continue creating women’s retreats is because there is something special about what happens when women intentionally gather together.

You can arrive without knowing anyone.

You can arrive nervous.

You can arrive tired.

You can arrive wondering whether you belong there.

You don't have to walk through the doors already feeling grounded, open, or ready to connect.

We'll start from where we are.

Over the course of the day, there will be opportunities to learn, breathe, move, reflect, connect with other women, and also turn inward.

And somewhere in the middle of all of that, there are usually moments I could never put on an agenda.

A conversation.

A realization.

A hug.

A deep exhale.

Or a burst of laughter that fills the entire room.

Those moments matter, too.

Maybe more than we realize.

Join Me for Rooted & Rising

If you've been carrying a lot lately, feeling disconnected from yourself, or simply longing for a day where you can step away from the constant doing, I'd love to welcome you.

Rooted & Rising is a one-day women's retreat designed to give you space to slow down, reconnect with your body, learn more about your nervous system, experience Conscious Connected Breathwork, connect with other women, and simply have some room to breathe.

And yes...

Hopefully, there will be plenty of laughter, too. ❤️

Rooted & Rising Women’s Retreat
Saturday, September 19, 2026
10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Olympia, Washington

Notice. Breathe. Begin again.

Register here.