Why I Stepped Away (And Why It Made Me a Better Retreat Facilitator)
Over the past several weeks, I took some time away.
I celebrated 30 years of marriage with my husband, David. We traveled together, explored new places, laughed often, and slowed down in ways that everyday life doesn't always allow.
Before our anniversary trip, I also spent several days attending a women's retreat.
And while those experiences looked different on the surface, they reminded me of the same important truth.
Even those of us who facilitate this work need spaces where we get to simply receive.
As someone who guides breathwork, women's circles, somatic practices, and retreats, it can be easy to fall into the belief that I should always be the one holding space.
But healing isn't something we finish.
It's something we continue to practice.
One of the greatest gifts I can offer the women I work with is continuing my own learning, healing, and growth.
For years, I believed rest was something I earned after everything else was done.
After work.
After responsibilities.
After everyone else was okay.
Maybe you've felt that way too.
But I'm continuing to learn that rest isn't a reward.
It's a resource.
It's one of the ways we build nervous system capacity.
It's one of the ways we remind our bodies that we're no longer living in survival mode.
Sometimes we think healing always looks like doing more.
Reading another book.
Listening to another podcast.
Finding another breakthrough.
But sometimes the most healing thing we can do is simply slow down long enough to hear ourselves again.
During the retreat I attended, I was reminded how powerful it is to sit in circle with other women.
To be witnessed.
To listen.
To receive support instead of always offering it.
To remember that none of us were meant to carry everything alone.
I came home feeling deeply grateful.
Not only for the time away, but for what it reminded me about the work I do.
Every retreat I create begins long before anyone arrives.
It begins with intention.
With creating an environment that feels welcoming, grounded, and safe.
Because I believe healing doesn't begin when the first breath starts.
It begins the moment a woman walks into a room and her nervous system realizes:
I don't have to hold everything together here.
That belief is at the heart of Radiant & Restored, my upcoming two-day women's retreat in Olympia on July 25–26.
Over two days together, we'll explore:
nervous system education
conscious connected breathwork
gentle somatic practices
women's circles
journaling and reflection
movement
rest
meaningful connection
This isn't about pushing harder.
It's not about performing healing.
It's about creating the conditions where your body can finally soften.
Where you can reconnect with yourself.
Where you can remember that healing doesn't happen because we force it.
It happens because we finally feel supported enough to let it unfold.
If you've been longing for a weekend to step away from constant doing and reconnect with yourself, I'd love to welcome you.
There are just a few spaces remaining, and it would be an honor to share this experience with you.
Radiant & Restored
July 25–26, 2026
Olympia, Washington
I hope to see you there.
One breath at a time,
Karen