This past weekend I co-lead a Women’s Weekend Retreat in the north Georgia mountains with my dear friend and sweet soul sister Shari L. Fox. Months of dreaming and planning led all 26 of us to journey northward and meet at the Dahlonega Spa Resort just 90 minutes outside of Atlanta.

A menagerie of women from all walks of life came together: mothers with their daughters, two groups of sisters, longtime friends, new friends, solo travelers, students of mine from FORM {yoga}, guests of Shari’s past retreats through Soul Nourish Retreats, and a few women who had never met Shari or myself.

As each woman arrived you could see so much beauty in their bravery. Each of them showing up with some hint of uncertainty about what the weekend will hold.

In our first circle we each selected one person we didn’t know and we sat and took turns truly listening to the other as we each told our story. Nervous laughter lifted the room when Shari announced that next that each person would introduce their new friend to the group and say a little something about them. We each took turns holding the talking stone to introduce our friend over laughter and a captive audience. This exercise in deep listening set the tone for the weekend, the ice was broken. We commenced to dive deeper into our sister souls with each passing hour.

Over the course of this weekend we connected with deeply rooted layers of trust and vulnerability. We learned together, created art together, sang together, meditated together, yoga’ed together (both on and off the mat), and had a couple of impromptu dance parties.

Together we shared wine, tears, laughter, laughter through tears (this is for Pam and all my Steel Magnolia loving friends).

We shared stories and truths in the circle, in the hot tub, and as we lay dozing off to sleep at night.

More than anything, together we showed up with pure presence, perfectly imperfect and in doing so we wove a powerful and moving experience for each woman there. We created memories, friendships and deep bonds that will last us a lifetime. And this my friends, is what life is all about.
Ahhhh-fucking-ho

Stay tuned to the Soul Nourish Retreats website for updates about future retreats with Shari and myself (hint, hint ladies!).

And big thanks to Linden Tree Photography for these beautiful images.