Loose Leaf Notes

The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on February 11, 2016 and on The Floyd Press’s website HERE. 

There were mothers of young children, mothers and daughters, students, retirees and professionals attending the Woman’s Winter Sojourn Retreat at the Floyd EcoVillage January 29 – 31st. Twenty-six women ranging in age from 17 to 70 came together to set their intentions for the New Year and to participate in a program that included guided meditations, ceremony,
mapping life pathways, yoga, art, dance and more. The women came from Floyd, Roanoke and Radford. There was a contingency from Lynchburg and one woman came from as far away as Kentucky after seeing the retreat announcement posted on Facebook.

Billed as a time away and a time within, the Winter Sojourn was an inaugural event of the newly formed Floyd Retreats at the EcoVillage. Meals were catered by Ashleigh Ward of Floyd’s Cast Iron Catering. Most of the women lodged on site at the EcoVillage’s off-gird, earth-bermed lodge.

Workshop sessions were guided by Katherine Chantal (above right) an herbalist and life ceremonialist; Mary Brown (below left) a certified yoga teacher and licensed massage therapist; Katherine Devine, a master artist

and art teacher; Katie Wells, a professional dancer and adjunct faculty member at Radford University; and Eco-Village co-owner Kamala Bauers (below right), a licensed clinical social worker, small business owner, and social entrepreneur.

Chantal, one of the event organizers, explained that EcoVillage is open for rental for a variety of retreats with the inaugural one being hosted by the Floyd EcoVillage. She is planning an upcoming day long retreat for nourishing the body mind and spirit; a poetry, music and tea party and an herb walk on the 78 acre property and suggests that people check the Floyd Retreats webpage and Facebook page for dates.

“This has been a dream that’s been in the works for 30 years,” Bauers told the women during one of the weekend’s circle gatherings. She presented a workshop on making personal treasure maps, asking the women, “What would you do if you had no limits?” Guiding them through a step-by-step process of creating a life plan pathway, she suggested they take a picture and put their finished documents on their phones and computers as a screen saver, “so that you see it multiple times a day. That increases the power of it,” she said.

The sunny mornings began with yoga. On Saturday, Brown guided women in a 14 yoga position series that gently work all parts of the body. Devine led a mixed media art collage session in the EcoVillage’s art studio building that produced an exhibition showing of colorful expression. With a focus on self-kindness, Chantal led guided meditations throughout the weekend and

facilitated writing exercises and small discussion groups. In the evening, Wells presented a guided intentional movement class that combined movement meditation and creative improvisational dancing with a goal of embodying intention.

“We’ve done a lot,” Chantal said at Sunday’s closing circle. She asked the women to speak about what they received and what was most important for them to bring home. “I feel honored by all of you for sharing your stories and I feel nurtured by those stories. We started out as strangers and you provided this beautiful space for us to connect on a deep level. I feel like I’ve grown,” said one of the women from Lynchburg.

“I feel affirmed that we can allow the spirit part of our lives to be the focus … and it can be fun!” Devine (pictured above holding the red painting) added. An elder attendee spoke about experiencing the power of the group, saying, “I really liked having women of various ages, seeing the potential of the younger women and seeing that as we age we can still grow.”

There were lots of laughs, a few tears and much gratitude expressed as the sharing went around the circle. One woman summed up the weekend with a description, “It’s been a lovely jigsaw puzzle of strong creative women.” Another said, “I’m struck by how we all come from different places and backgrounds and different ages, but we’re all kind of the same with similar desires and needs.” – Colleen Redman

Note:  Visit floydecovillage.com/retreats or call 540-745-4434 for more information on Floyd Retreats.