Latest / Enough & Evolving / The Power of Retreats: Travel, Transformation & Becoming More You
Transcript
- Tyona Vallejo: Hey friends, welcome back to the podcast. If you're joining for the first time, welcome. So glad to have you here. This is episode number 12 and we're talking all about retreats today. Today I wanna talk about why I fell in love with retreats, how it completely changed me and why I now create these experiences for other women. Hello and welcome to Enough In Evolving Podcast. I'm your host, Tyona Vallejo, master certified life coach and mindfulness expert, you reclaim confidence, break through unhelpful patterns and manifest the relationships and life you desire. Now let's get started. If you're listening to this and you're recognizing yourself in these patterns, this is exactly the work I do inside my coaching. This isn't something you have to figure out alone. If you're ready to feel more confident, grounded, and self-trusting, I'd love to support you. Check out the show notes to book a consultation coaching call today. as I'm recording this podcast, I am also ⁓ to ⁓ leave. by the time this airs, ⁓ I will be in next retreat that we're hosting ⁓ in off of the coast of Portugal. beautiful ⁓ that I am just ⁓ excited to check for the first time as well as join this amazing group of women ⁓ that said yes to going on this epic adventure with us. without further ado, ⁓ let's into our topic today about retreats. Now the first retreat that I ever went to was back in maybe 2014. I can't really remember the exact year, but I was going into an advanced yoga teacher training taking various modules ⁓ of yoga studies, the anatomy were ⁓ different locations around the world. I know hard, So my first location was in Napa where we studied shoulder ⁓ and really got to dive into ⁓ daily yoga. It was at a beautiful ranch up in Napa. We weren't just wine tasting and all of that. It was actually something that was so out of my normal routine. It was something that was so deeply transformative to me because not only was I by myself, this place where I didn't know anyone, but was surrounded by other yogis, other ⁓ people loved yoga as much as I did, ⁓ and people that were in that lifestyle that I was starting to embark on. And so it felt like I was completely ⁓ in this community of like-minded people. that really inspired me and it inspired me to hear their stories and what they were doing in the world. And so fast forward, I ended up traveling to Bali, Thailand, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Portland, studying all sorts of things. having to do with yoga, the hip, the spine, shoulder, meditation, restorative yoga, the nervous system fascia, you name it. It was amazing. I went a training with Tiffany Cruikshank, yoga medicine, ⁓ and it was phenomenal. I ⁓ really learned. much about the body, about mechanics, about deep ⁓ of we effectively connect with ourselves, body, but also share this wonderful gift yoga offers with our communities. So every time I would go, I would bring back so many of these fun, new kind of these new ⁓ of my practice to my teachings, to my clients and the classes that I was teaching at the time. And it was ⁓ really such a ⁓ gift to be able to do. So of course, the experience felt very expansive it was definitely in line with one of my core values, which is adventure. ⁓ and another one of my core values, connection. ⁓ it was being able to be around like-minded women to ⁓ really feel like ⁓ was to something bigger than myself. that retreat definitely opened doors for me that I didn't even realize existed. each trip I feel like I was learning more about myself and tapping into a new version of myself. I really do believe that that is the gift of travel is that when you go and you travel somewhere outside of your tiny community that it really can expand your mind and it can you to not only expand worldview, but really start to learn things about yourself that you weren't able to see when you're just your small community. Every place I went didn't just expand my passport, it actually expanded who I believed I could be. Now, maybe you are someone who loves to travel and resonate with that feeling of expansion that you get when you travel. And when you do it these retreats, ⁓ that is just such another level ⁓ of really ⁓ nourishing your mind, body your And there are four pillars that I believe make retreats so powerful. is, of course, the environment. It shifts everything. When you are a new place, surrounded by women or people, you think And the conversations that you have the validation and growth that is available to you is next level. two is definitely the proximity to those like-minded women. And I remember listening to a podcast on it was a Mel Robbins podcast ⁓ and she had a guest ⁓ on was a friendship expert. And I them speaking about how proximity is one of the key components to cultivating rich connections, creating those deep friendships. And ⁓ truly believe that because while in that experience, even though ⁓ it's for maybe a week at a time, while you're in that experience, you are in such a close proximity that something happens that allows you to knit deep, deep that is unforgettable. ⁓ There are that I've made with some of these women that I will never forget ⁓ and lots them I still am in contact with. So it is deeply. ⁓ deeply transformative and special to you. And then ⁓ third one ⁓ intentional living. When you ⁓ on vacation and you're just going because you're like, I'm just going to relax and I'm going to the beach and then maybe you plan some sightseeing and drop in here and drop in there with your family. That's wonderful. But this type of retreat travel is very different. This intentional living. This is one of the things that I think really struck me by like having this planned movement daily plan, movement usually twice a day at least plus these nourishing meals that were really created to support us and then the opportunities to learn deeper to grow and to connect with yourself spiritually, which brings me to number four, having the space to hear yourself. So often when we're at home or when we're on these vacations with our families, it's hard to really connect with yourself when you are away from those roles that you play day in day out. You're away from the noise. You're away from the responsibilities that are constantly, you know, weighing on you and you're just able to get quiet with yourself. ⁓ the biggest gift that you can ever experience and ever give to yourself. This really creates intimate relationship with yourself and This is why transformation is so fast on retreats. Your nervous system finally has the space to feel safe, open, and receive. Now, I know what some of you were probably saying is like, ⁓ that must be nice to do that. I can't do that because I have, you know, my kids and blah, blah. Well, let me share with you when I first started going on these retreats. I had littles I think my son was probably, ⁓ six, seven. something like that. Yeah, six, seven, six, seven. ⁓ daughter was about 12 or a little bit older. And would go on these retreats for about two weeks at a time. And I remember the first time ⁓ I leaving and I was first of all, going international by myself for the first time and It felt really number one, intimidating to travel solo as a woman and ⁓ to my kids for that long. So there were ⁓ all these fears that coming up around the fear ⁓ of not going by myself, but the fear of being judged as a bad mom, leaving the kids behind. And I had so internal conflict. that I actually was thinking about backing out. I remember that. my brain was just like trying to figure out how, how we can arrange this because I'd already put my deposit in and it was like, ⁓ I was and I don't think I could do this. But here's the thing going to tell you about mom guilt. That's really interesting. And this was a really good lesson for me in this. is that when you are afraid of what people think of you, it's usually because a part of you believes that it may be true. So if I was worrying that I was a bad mom, then there must have been a part of me that felt like I was a bad mom, right? Or that would have made me a bad mom. There's this analogy that ⁓ one my coaches Brooke Castillo used to give. She was the founder of the Life Coach School where I was trained and she used to talk about blue hair. ⁓ That if were to criticize you for blue hair, but you didn't have blue hair, you would be like, ⁓ okay, like. thinking they're crazy, right? If they're coming to you and saying, ⁓ I don't like your blue hair. Your blue hair doesn't look good on you. Then you'd be like, whatever, you know. But if you felt ⁓ uh-oh, I have blue ⁓ and they're saying my hair isn't nice. ⁓ They're criticizing my blue hair. might feel a little insecure about that, Motherhood is something that I deeply value and I'm assuming you all do too, my listeners here. I to be a good mom. And so of course, ⁓ the was coming on really strong that if I do this, could make me potentially a bad mom. But I had to really sit with that and think, How is this really harmful? And it really wasn't actually, it was the opposite, right? It was the opposite because realized what quote unquote good mom meant to me. ⁓ I to define what a good mom was for me And that looked like, first of all, being a mom that's not just present 100 % of the time, but a mom that was modeling a life of expansion, courage, and self honor. So I knew in order to do that, I needed go on this trip. I didn't want my kids to themselves and their passions, their desires, just because of a role that they play as a parent or a responsibility that they have to show up as a parent. I didn't want them to see that as a... a reason to diminish their true And I decided I wasn't going to show my kids that they needed to perform what was expected, ⁓ but instead that ⁓ I was to show them live a life that steps into what's possible for them. which actually brings me to the best story of all, which is I truly believe that it was deeply impactful in a positive way for both of my kids, especially my daughter, who actually me not too long ago of a funny story where... She was getting her hair cut And the shared her that she had never ⁓ been away from her kids. And they already in college. ⁓ was like the first time she'd ever And daughter was shocked, couldn't understand it at all. And she came to me and she was I don't understand, why it was such a big deal that she couldn't leave, I just feel like it was so normal when you left. So I normalized that ⁓ it was okay for a mom. to go and take care of herself, take care of her passions, take care of her career, go fill her own cup, which is so empowering to to hear and it's so empowering for her as she moves into ⁓ this next ⁓ of possibly children of her own someday. And I love, love, love that it really did ignite this passion of travel. for her ⁓ just got back from studying abroad in Florence, Italy ⁓ a semester. ⁓ that was such a beautiful ⁓ that she had for many years. ⁓ she did it. She did it all on her own. And I was so, so, so proud of her ⁓ ⁓ for it and following her heart. So from all of this, I realized I didn't lose anything by choosing myself. I actually expanded what was available to my children as well. And I hope that this inspires you to also get out of any of that mom guilt that you might be having around possibly stepping into. following those passions or going on a special retreat you might be inspired to check out. Now I am so blessed that I get to co-host these retreats with Empower, Johanna Bradley, and it's so much fun. Bringing these experiences to other people is so rewarding. I love, love, love watching their transformations firsthand knowing what's possible when we step into these adventures and just ⁓ these women really expand their thinking and create these wonderful connections with one another and these deep, deep connections with themselves. If you've been craving space, connection, clarity, it might not be something you need to figure out at home. It might be something you experience when you step away. And so in closing, would ⁓ love to invite you ⁓ one of our next retreats. We have a very special ⁓ local coming up this October. It's in Tree. And this is to be a wonderful ⁓ little mini retreat, kind of getting your feet wet. So if you're wondering what this could be like, this is a wonderful intro to checking out retreats. you can the link my bio on Instagram, ⁓ and I'll also put a in the show notes here that you can check it out. And again, we will have more retreats coming up. Just remember that travel expands you, connection heals you, and giving yourself permission to step away might be the very thing that brings you closer to yourself. So again, if this is speaking to you, I would love for you to join us on one of our next retreats. Follow that nudge and I look forward to sharing more. Have a wonderful week. Remember you are enough and you are always evolving.