How Retreats Support Emotional Healing

Posted on July 22nd, 2025

I'll be honest. When I used to hear the word retreat, I pictured a bunch of privileged women in matching linen outfits sipping green juice at a fancy resort. It felt like something that wasn't really for me. Maybe people sat in circles chanting or spent the weekend trying to "find themselves."

Then I started leading retreats. Haha, the irony, right? But that’s exactly why I started leading them, to create space for others.

What I discovered is that they're so much more real than the stereotype.

Yes, we practice yoga. We eat incredible food. We spend time in beautiful places. We journal, hike, laugh, and yes, sometimes we convince people to get into an ice bath, even though almost everyone says they're absolutely not doing it when they arrive. Somehow, it usually ends up being one of everyone's favorite memories. And also, yes, we wear cute outfits and linen at times (ha!).

But that's not really why people come.

People come because they're exhausted.

They're carrying stress, grief, burnout, anxiety, or simply the weight of always taking care of everyone else. They haven't had space to hear their own thoughts in a long time.

As both a therapist and a yoga teacher, I've found that something powerful happens when people step away from their everyday routines. Without the constant emails, schedules, responsibilities, and distractions, they begin to notice themselves again.

It gives them the space to slow down long enough to reconnect with themselves.

Why Slowing Down Matters

Most of us spend our days moving from one responsibility to the next. We get really good at functioning, even when we're overwhelmed.

Our nervous systems often tell the story before our minds do.

Maybe it shows up as trouble sleeping, feeling anxious all the time, snapping at the people you love, tension in your shoulders, headaches, or simply feeling like you're always "on."

When we never slow down, we don't always notice how much we're carrying.

That's one of the reasons retreats can be so meaningful. They create space to step away from everyday demands and check back in with yourself.

Not to fix yourself. Just to notice. From there, people often begin reconnecting with parts of themselves that have been pushed aside for a long time.

What Makes Oak Tree Retreats Different?

While every retreat includes yoga, that has never been the only focus.

From the beginning, I've wanted these retreats to feel welcoming, supportive, and free from pressure. You don't need to be flexible. You don't need to be experienced. You don't have to share your deepest thoughts with a group of strangers.

You get to participate in ways that feel right for you. I have always strived to create a welcoming space.

Over the years, I've watched people arrive feeling stressed, disconnected, or simply worn out. By the end of the retreat, many tell me they feel lighter, more rested, and more connected to themselves. Not because someone "fixed" them, but because they finally had time to slow down.

The yoga, journaling, mindfulness practices, time in nature, incredible meals, meaningful conversations, and even the ice baths all become opportunities to reconnect with yourself in different ways.

Some people come for the yoga and discover they needed the rest.

Some come because they're burned out.

Some are navigating grief, breakups, life changes. It does not have to be that heavy though, some come just for a break.

Whatever brings someone there, my hope is always the same. That they leave feeling a little more connected to themselves than when they arrived.

Not everything has to be Dramatic

One thing I've learned after leading retreats for the past six years is that emotional healing isn't usually a dramatic breakthrough. We have shared the best times in quiet breathing, or around a campfire really depending on our connection to something primal, connection and fire.

Sometimes it's sleeping through the night. Sometimes it's laughing harder than you have in months. During one retreat in Mexico, we all took a night to go check out the downtown area. One of the participants was a huge fan of the spoons at a restaurant we went to, and as a retreat leader I suddenly found myself navigating this morally ambiguous and super funny discussion among the attendees about how they plan to take the spoon home. Realizing you haven't checked your phone in hours because you're actually present? The best gift you can give yourself!

Real healing often happens that way. It happens through consistency, connection, and creating enough space to hear yourself again, or, by contemplating spoon theft.

A retreat isn't a replacement for therapy, and it isn't meant to solve every problem. But it can become an important part of taking care of yourself and your mental health.

At Oak Tree Counseling and Wellness, that's always been my goal. To create retreats that feel supportive, welcoming, and real. A place where people can slow down, reconnect with themselves, and leave feeling more grounded than when they arrived.