This past weekend, 11 women from different parts of the country returned to the U.S. from Guerrero, Mexico – Playa Viva Resort, to be exact.
We may have gone in stressed out, overworked, overwhelmed, and frustrated, but I’d like to think we came back calmer, more self-assured and refreshed.
This retreat was planned specifically focused around Self-Love/Self-Care practices…as a chance for women to reconnect with themselves, reflect on where they are in their journey, and hopefully recalibrate to find more peace and joy in their lives upon return to “reality.”
We spent seven nights at Playa Viva, which is its own adventure in itself! We slept in “treehouses,” or EcoCasitas, which had open walls all around and a shower that allowed you to feel like you were truly bathing in the jungle.
A guided yoga practice was offered every morning at 8 am. We ate four farm-to-table meals a day (yes, there were two breakfasts!), prepared fresh by the resort’s chefs. Some of us traveled off of the resort one morning to attend a sacred Temazcal Ceremony lead by a true Medicine Woman. We had a private Cacao Ceremony as a group that spoke to many hearts. We took the time to gather together daily for short workshops on topics that included Goal Setting and Visualization, Body Neutrality and Tuning into Intuition, as examples.
We had a fantastic afternoon pool party one day, celebrating one of our birthdays. We had a guided tour of the property’s farm where we learned incredible information about the work that they are doing for the environment (oh yeah, and squealed at the cuteness of some piglets!) Some of us jumped into the extremely rough waters of the Pacific Ocean together, laughing hysterically as we grabbed on to each other’s arms and pulled each other out of the surf.
Many of the participants ventured down on a walk along the dark beach at 5:45 am each day to see the baby sea turtles released into the ocean from the partnering Conservatory. We were also fortunate enough to witness a mother Olive Ridley Turtle climb up onto the beach (directly next to our Farewell Dinner picnic), dig her nest and lay her eggs!
As we sat around our square table on the beach that night, surrounded by the sound of the waves, glowing tiki torches and hand-woven lamps, someone asked, “I wonder what the symbolism of a sea turtle is? Why she chose to come up us to lay her eggs?” Upon looking it up, we discovered that sea turtles represent longevity, peace, grounding, emotional strength and good luck – it was an absolutely magical and breathtaking end to our experience.
Over the course of the week, there were many, many books read; tears cried; hugs squeezed; secrets shared, sunrises and sunsets admired and compliments given. I will never forget the trust and vulnerability shared between these women and am incredibly honored and grateful to have spent this time with them. Thank you. 💜
View the photo album from our trip here!
If you would like to be informed of next year’s retreat, make sure you’re on my email list! You can join here.
(For more information on Playa Viva and their conservation efforts, visit their website.)
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