SILENCE IS GOLDEN. COME, DISCOVER YOU ARE TOO 

The Women’s Silent Meditation Retreat begins with an invitation.

You arrive on the first evening at your retreat and are greeted by smiling women with open welcoming hearts. You will first settle into your room; and as everyone arrives you welcome the other women and are interacting as it feels good. You explore around the space a little and find a moment to spend  with the beautiful alter being co-created by everyone here. After everyone arrives you sit down with the group for a beautiful nourishing dinner. Alexandra offers a blessing; then, all the women in attendance introduce themselves, talk about their weekend intentions, and share around the table as they enjoy their meal together. You take a deep breath and realize you are home.

After dinner you are welcomed into opening circle. You sit in down next to 2 bright feeling women as Alexandra welcomes and greets each woman by name. Alexandra invites you to close your eyes, listen to your heart and invites in the 7 sacred directions. During opening circle Alexandra leads you through a series of activities that allow you to ground down tune in, open the heart, and drop your walls.  Then as you open your eyes and meet the eyes of the Sisterhood, you are ready. The circle shares further about the challenges and resistances each woman is moving through, the places that they are calling more of themselves forward, and that which they are desiring to call in abundant support around. Alexandra gently invites more clarity and depth from each participant, and makes a personal connection with each woman as they share from the heart.  After each woman shares, it's your turn. Another deep breath and you realize you are being  seen, held, witnessed. 

The opening circle then shifts to everyone receiving clear logistics for the flow of the weekend; including navigating the space silently, music, communication, and the intentional use of sound to gather everyone to circle or release everyone from it. Next, you receive clear instructions about the two Transformational Breathwork processes, and how morning movement will be led through out the weekend. Further logistics are given including information about meals, the silent meditations, group outdoor time, and the Soulful Woman Ceremonies. Alexandra gives plenty of time for questions, reflections, and teachings around anything that arrises. 

After opening circle is complet you , set up, and dive in to the first Transformational Breathwork of the weekend. During this breathwork you put on the blindfold, breathe deep, and let it all go; allowing the fullness off all parts of you to be expressed. 

After Breathwork you engage in ART time, followed by the 1st SoulfullWomen’s Ceremony: Vows of Silence. From this point until the morning of the final day  the container will be silent.  Each woman speaks to their intention behind vowing themselves to silence. When its your turn, you vow yourself to silence for the purpose of revealing your golden nature, and returning to your most expansive heart. You are received. You are listening.
           
You go to bed that first evening and wake up the next morning with your silence. Breakfast is served early and as such that everyone can help themselves to what is right for them and dine according to their preferences. You gather for circle in the late morning with one hour of movement and one hour of meditation. Alexandra guides a fluid and open movement practice that feels luxeriously challenging in all the right ways. During this time you are invited to dance, be still, get silly, and really tune in to your own unique flow. During this time ambient and intentional music is playing and you feel a shifting happening within you. Alexandra invites you to ground down with a breathing exercise, then released you into final relaxation. Your body hums with life, and vibrates with stillness.

The following hour meditation returns you to your silence. You are invited to rise after Savasana and prop yourself as needed to sit, straight spine for an hour. There are moments of extreme challenge, followed by moments of clear receptivity. You can feel yourself settle in and soon you let go into the expansion you are held in.

After meditation, lunch is available and the rest of the day is yours. As you begin to gather yourself you are thankful for the beautiful, YUMMY smells eminating from the kitchen. You take your lunch in silence making space for prayer, and reflection. After eating, you explore the different options you brought with you to fill your time, and move from one activity to the next seemlessly, with joy and excitement. 

In the evening you follow a similar structure to  the previous night in that you gather in circle, this night however you spend another hour in silent group medition, followed by a group art activity. As Alexandra sets up the space you recognize some resistance and judgement come up around your inner artist and your ability to "be" artistic. As you dive into the art or craft you notice these things surface slightly, but the loving container created helps you to return to silence within and truely enJOY playing with your creation. As the evening draws to a close you smile lovingly at your Sisters in this shared space, receive some warm, nurturning silenct hugs, a go to bed ready to dream of all the things you are ready to create in your life. 

Saturday morning you again wake up with your silence, and follow a similar structure to the previous morning and afternoon. In the late evening, we will gather for the 2nd Transformational Breathwork. This breathwork is much different than the first night.  Music is produced specifically for this process to feel more spacious and light with wind instruments, nature sounds, singing bowls, and bells. During this breathwork silence during your process is required. You put on your blindfold and breathe deeply and purposefully, and return to the deepth of your inner knowing. 

After breathwork you participate in the  2nd Soulful Woman ceremony. These late evening ceremonies, however, are not spoken of outside of the group that participates. Each ceremony is different and specially crafted for the group in attendance. During these ceremonies we  honor the Wheel of the Year, Nature, and the rhythm and lessons Gaia has to show us. We invoke the elements and the guides, create living prayer, and honor the magic of the lunar feminine.  

On the final morning, you wake up in silence as well. You follow a slightly earlier flow, though similar to the day before. Breakfast is again at your own pace, then one hour of movement to music, and one hour of silent meditation. Following meditation, our silence is lifted through song. Alexandra leads a Bhakti circle inviting the group to chant along to devotional songs that make you feel as if your heart is soaring. Alexandra flows the group effortlessly into the 3rd Soulful Woman Ceremony honoring each woman individually for the journey she embarked on and the beauty she created and brought to the circle. May things have unfolded during these Honoring Ceremonies. They are Alexandra's gift to the women present and have included honorings such as; annointings, water blessings, flower baths, crownings, and more!

The circle is then opened for everyone to share. Each woman has 5 minutes to share about their experience in anyway She so chooses. Some women choose to sing, others read poetry, another shares a reading from a book and their journal, the next woman offers a dance; and when it is your turn you choose to speak from the heart and let your words flow. The emotion in your heart and voice suprise you, and before you can speak your hand touches your heart and tears fall. You can't possibly speak to the unwinding you experienced here, nor can the amount of gratitude you have be summed up in many words. After a moment, you realize the circle is crying withing you, grateful for the unlocking of their own gratitude; and grateful to witness you in all your authentic vulnerability. 

Alexandra shares last then invites you all into a very special hug game that feels so nurturing and invites light hearted joyful laughter into the container which brings everyone that much closer together.  After sharing,  lunch is served and everyone eats together merrily, continuing to connect, share, and be in sisterhood. The rest of the afternoon is yours to pack up, clean, and to continue to reflect on your experience and root into new friendships.  

Final circle approaches, and the retreat closes with prayer and sisterhood connection. You exchange phone numbers, take pictures hug your new sisters, and share your process. When your weekend is through a new friend invites you to  go with her into the local town and shop, eat, hike, and spend more time together. You happily accept what feels like the perfect close to the perfect time spent. 



 

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