A note from Heather
We live in a buzzing, busy world, and most of us crave spaces to slow down and hear ourselves think. With training in Nature-Based Therapy and a lifelong personal connection to the natural world, slowing down is both the drumbeat of my own life and the way I help people create meaningful change. A mentor once told me, "We are meant to live at nature's pace, and that means living slowly — very slowly.”
When Kristen and I discovered Almieres, France, we knew we had found the place where women could sync with the land and begin the process of coming back to themselves. To uncover what we have lost, what is missing, or what parts of ourselves we long to reclaim, we need a place where surrendering to the earth's natural rhythm feels not only possible but inevitable. That is exactly what retreating is meant to offer — space, time, and a clearing to finally be with ourselves and create the changes we truly long for.
As a mother, wife, entrepreneur, psychotherapist, writer, gatherer, daughter, and friend, like you, I wear many hats. When life gets overwhelming, and my responsibilities feel heavy, more than once, I have abandoned my creative life in the name of ever-virtuous-productivity, or self-sacrifice to serve others. Finding balance that allows my creativity, desires, and natural instincts to live alongside my ambitious goals and meaningful relationships is a circular journey — one I have lost sight of, been overwhelmed by, thrived in, and always find myself striving toward again.
Like almost every other woman walking this earth, I need space, quiet, calm, and time carved out just for me — to meet my muse, to refill my tank, to feel alive.
To remember who I am.
Retreating has become a fixture in my life because stepping away from my responsibilities to reawaken what has gone dormant is non-negotiable. My creative spirit needs a place in my weekly patterns — and annual retreating has become a cornerstone of my vibrant life.
This is a journal entry I wrote on the airplane, headed back home after a week on retreat:
The retreat was everything — and more — that I had hoped for. I can see how depleted I was when I arrived. The first two days, I did a lot on my own: napped, read, walked outside, and spent mornings after breakfast journaling and reading. By day three, I was already starting to refill, and after the time spent with the other women — hearing their stories, connecting, and laughing over meals — now I feel totally filled back up, all the way to the brim.
On retreat, you can be in your body, present, tasting the delicious food, listening deeply to the stories of other women with laughter and tears, and refilling through the blooming connections.
On retreat, the days move by slowly, infused with a light breeze, sunlight, and long gazes over the cliffside into the valley below.
On retreat, there is space to be. To rest. To connect. To write. To create.
To listen. To feel.
On retreat, there is fun, play, and new experiences that awaken the soul.
On retreat, we’re reminded that we matter—that our hearts are tender, in need of care, and just as deserving of nourishment as the care we so freely give to others.
On retreat, there is spaciousness to remember who we are.
This is what I want for you…
To return to yourself the way I have, again and again. To feel the shift from depletion to fullness. To remember that you are not just the caretaker, the organizer, the one who holds it all together. You are also the woman who deserves rest, play, beauty, and deep connection.
If any part of this resonates, if you feel the pull toward spaciousness and remembering, I hope you'll join us. Whether this is your first retreat or your tenth, there is always more of yourself waiting to be reclaimed.
- Heather