Cultivating Change
A share from Humble Haven student Amy C.
“My time at the HHY Outer Banks retreat last year changed my life. Sound like hyperbole? It's not. Not only did I get to slow down, practice yoga, explore a darling beach town, and eat amazing food in community with wonderfully supportive and empathetic humans, all of that allowed me to focus on what I wanted in my life in the coming months in a way I hadn't in years? Maybe ever?!
I'd recently experienced a miscarriage and was adrift in an unfulfilling and unhealthy job. The time in Duck forced me to explore the pain of both realities in a safe space through daily practice and intentional meditation (plus a cold plunge or two into the Atlantic). Suz's manifestation guidance was immeasurably helpful. Through it, I found changing my job to be the immediate priority. I focused on the outcomes I wanted in a new role and the emotions those would bring. I used the image of a purple iris to meditate on as the icon for those goals, and brought that practice home with me.
I meditated on that image in the slow parts of my days and during savasana at the studio once I got back. I'm proud to say I'm writing this note from a job that matched those desires. I am infinitely happier, and I give full credit to the retreat for giving me the tools to make this change. While I effectively manifested myself out of attending in 2024 (new job life, ya know?), I'm eager for the year that I'll return. My aim in the meantime is to bring that intentionality to adding to our family.
As a mother of a toddler, getting away for a week is a tall order, but my husband would without a doubt agree it was worth solo parenting for the profound impact that time had for me--for us really. Do this for yourself, for your family. I struggled with the idea that it was selfish to do this...who did I think I was? Dashing off to the beach for a week of yoga while my family lingered at home. Turns out, I'm Amy...and she deserves (and needed!) that time.
The last thing I'll say is the humans on this retreat were the best you could ask for. I think that's just the kind of people who HHY attracts. There was instant connection, trust, and respect. I only really knew one person on the retreat but built relationships and found commonalities with other attendees. Not an ounce of awkwardness, just a whole house of people showing up for themselves. I came away with new friends, too--pretty amazing when you're pushing 40.
I am thrilled for those going on this retreat in 2024, you will be part of something very special. “
-Amy C.
In preparation for our upcoming Outer Banks retreat, we reached out to last year’s retreat attendees for a bit of feedback or a testimonial highlighting their experience. We felt that Amy’s response was one worth sharing with the community as an example of what our team works so hard to provide our students with, both inside the Humble Haven Studio, and wherever our retreats may take us. A big thank you to Amy for being so willing to invite us into her reflections.