Get In - Tap In - Stay In: 3 Steps to Transformation
While facilitating transformational retreats and trainings, I like to acknowledge that there is always a beginning, middle and an end to the process. When each part is honored as an important aspect of the offering, we experience the full expression of deep creation (at the beginning), transformation (in the middle) and integration (at the end).
Get In:
At the beginning of a gathering of participants for deep healing work, it is important to establish individual and collective intentions as the backbone to the retreat. This is a powerful and cohesive way to help build trust and bring the group together. One way we like to “get in” to our retreats is through an intention setting ceremony. As we see each individual who has arrived and hear the reasons that have brought them to the circle, we immediately recognize that on some level, we have all been guided for a similar reasons related to collective healing and awakening.
The work of this collective healing has actually begun long before physically coming together, and upon arrival, we can engage in ceremony as a way to offer gratitude to ourselves for showing up on this physical plane, for following the call to set forth our intentions, for having the will to step into a process of clarifying those intentions and for gifting ourselves the spaciousness of a retreat to identify the actions needed to bring our intentions to fruition. Sharing our intentions in ceremony is a way to bring awareness to our role as a part of our own deep personal creation as well as our role in the greater co-creation of the individual, the group and Universal Spirit.
To “get in” is:
To set our intentions with clarity and conviction
To acknowledge that we have arrived…even before we arrived
To know that we are present and here…on purpose and for a greater purpose
To feel that we are ready…for whatever is about to unfold!
Tap In:
Throughout the body of the retreat, I find that the most impactful way for people to “tap in” to the work they are doing is by connecting deeply to Spirit. This can be achieved through many means. Some of the methods we offer during retreats are journeying to meet your spirit guides or power animals, meditation practices, plant medicine work, divination readings, singing, drumming, elemental ceremonies, yoga, tai chi, hiking, making offerings to the spirits of the land and connecting with nature. The concept of entering into stillness, presence or even altered states is a way in which we can release the attachments of the mind and tap into our highest level of understanding and perception. This is where the magic and transformational teachings happen.
To “tap in”, is:
To connect with Spirit
To allow ourselves to touch the stillness and the resonance of oneness
To begin to experience the depth of who we are
To see our greater purpose on this planet
Stay In:
The energetic vibration that has guided us together is the same energy that will keep us connected moving forward. As the journey continues after the retreat, we see that for some, it can be extremely beneficial to maintain the relationships that have been cultivated throughout our time together. After having moved through some deep cleansing and purification at the levels of mind, body and spirit, it is likely that those with whom we have experienced the journey, will be the ones who will best understand and relate to what we are processing once we leave the retreat.
This is a time to develop a clear plan on how we want to move forward with our lives, and what actions we want to take to evolve from here. As facilitators, we often ask the questions, “what will you be taking with you?” and “what will you be leaving behind?” This is a good way for participants to begin to direct their focus on how to “stay in”, and how to maintain the connection to the people, insights, teachings and guides that have opened the portal for a new way of being in their lives. As we close a healing circle or retreat, it is often recommended that if a person is interested in continuing this work, they determine what kind of practices, dietary habits, exercises, people and other influences they want to incorporate and integrate daily in order to best support the ongoing opening and awakening process.
Inspired life changing actions are hopefully the result of a transformational retreat of this nature. It is one thing to have an amazing beautiful experience and to meet some nice friends along the way, but it is a whole other initiative to take the lessons and the guidance from the experience and put them into use in a way that will help elevate consciousness and serve the whole of humanity.
As we leave a retreat, we often encourage people to “zip up”. This is a way to keep the inspiration and experience close to our hearts. Weeks after a retreat, participants may find themselves dealing with post-retreat blues when the inspiration starts to fizzle. So, when we leave a retreat, we want to do what we can to stay In-Spired, and to remember that our initial intentions are supported by the fact that we are all here for the same reason of healing and awakening.
To “stay in” is:
To trust the energy that guided us to the retreat in the first place
To stay connected with our tribe
To have a clear plan for the action steps following the retreat
To remember our intentions and stay inspired by the collective purpose of awakening
Ananda facilitates 200 hour and 300 hour Yoga Teacher Trainings, Shamanic Cleanses and Transformational Retreats giving each person the heartfelt attention and direct facilitation that cultivates ecstatic, healing and magical experiences. As a teacher, she sees each of her classes as an opportunity to hold sacred ceremonial space.
Integrating her teachings and passions, Ananda has developed a system of intentional-based healing that draws on the philosophy that we are all a part of a collective life force that is driving us towards greater consciousness. By exploring our gifts and expanding our relationship with higher Self, we come into alignment with our inner purpose of Awakening. Through our collaborative efforts and unified intentions, we magnify the richness of this life's experience.