Anti Climatic!
That’s what Jac and I always say after a Wellness Retreat
- we work hard prior to one with hopes that everything will fall into
place (always does!) and I ,for one, have nervous energy right up to the
morning of the weekend (YES - I drive Jacqui crazy leading up to one!).
This retreat happen to fall on the same day as a Strength for Life fundraiser
that a very good friend was running. I was a bit torn, I wanted to be at
the Met/Yankee game with my family and friends supporting SFL and helping Brian
Nealis anyway I possibly could but needed (and WANTED) to be at our 16th
Wellness Retreat doing what I love to do:)
The fundraiser was a huge success (no surprise with Brian in
charge!), it raised over $3000 for SFL! Everyone I spoke to said the it
was AWESOME, from the bus to the tailgating, right down to the seats!
Great time had by all! Note to self......NO retreat on August 1, 2016 - the next scheduled Met/Yankee
fundraiser (SAVE THE DATE and join the fun!)!! THANK YOU BRIAN!
Well, even with all the rave reviews, I would not have traded my
spot that day for anything. Jacqui, Teresa and I had the absolute
pleasure of meeting 20 of the most amazing, beautiful women. They all
brought with them a story that each so openly shared, letting us take a glimpse
of their inspiring journey and inspiring us while doing so.
Our day started with Dr. Mike Gruttadauria of NY Health
Solutions (check him out www.nyhealthsolutions).
This was Dr. Mike’s first speaking engagement for Strength for Life and boy did
he NAIL it! Dr. Mike’s talk was eye opening for all of us and was
presented with such simplicity that even a crash course on methylation
was easily understood! He offered a different take on healthcare and
healing (which is right on!) and invaluable information for our guests to
absorb. It is obvious that he is as passionate as we are and clearly he
is on an important path. We are so grateful for his time, hopefully he
will stick to us like marshmallows on potatoes (ahhh, you have to come to his
lecture to get that one!). Looking forward to future seminars with Dr.
Mike!
Next everyone got moving to ZUMBA with the one and only Penni
Niles. It was so good having her back and our guests certainly had a great
time moving, grooving and feeling! Penni is beautiful inside and
out - she has given so much of herself to SFL not only at our retreats but at
our fundraisers too. Thank you Penni!! If you are in the area look
her up at one of her classes, she also teaches yoga! Connect with her on
FB- Penni Niles.
Now it was time to settle in a bit, onto yoga with the young yet
very wise Laura Binder. Laura knows how to get every level feeling like
they are seasoned yogis! Not only do our guest experience healing through
bodywork but her gentle guidance also taps into their emotional and spiritual
side. She is getting married in a few weeks (on Halloween!) and made time
for us-she is the best! Thank you Laura - you can find her on FB as well,
Laura Binder.
Finally - LUNCH! Bonding and more sharing, absolutely
wonderful! Right after lunch we did Art Therapy lead by an amazing
survivor, Donna Charielle. We meet Donna many years ago, she gives back
so much of her talent and time to many cancer organizations and we are so
blessed to have her! Donna’s background as a CSW was cornerstone to our mask
making class. The masks designed where both beautiful and
meaningful. We had a few “ah hah” moments when Donna walked us though
discovering what our designs may mean at a deeper level for us - good
stuff! Donna also gave Jacqui and I the BEST GIFT EVER-- the masks she
made (see photo!) us had true meaning....the heart on the cheek - represents
all the things we do with pure love, the ribbons on the other side - represents
all the people we have helped, the jester eye paint - represents the humor that
Jac and I do all things with! LOVE IT! Thank you Donna!
Now it was time to get everyone up and moving with our exercise
class! Oh how we love to work together (heehee) doing what we love to
do!! We hope that everyone realized how simple it is to do some
intentional movement using the exercise bands! Stay committed and you
WILL see results! Better yet come to one of our classes! Room for
everyone! Look us up at StrengthforLifeNY.org for all class locations and
times.
After getting everyone up and moving, time to settle down with
some reiki and sound healing. I honestly cannot even describe the energy
in the room, powerful to say the least. Close to 20 practitioners came to
volunteer their time and offer healing in the form of reiki - AMAZING! We
are also so grateful to Rosemary Maginniss (reikiheals@optonline.net)
for organizing such an incredible group and Donna Nesteruk for the beautiful
sound healing provided! Our guests always come out of this part of our
retreat looking extremely relaxed and renewed. Thank you all for coming
to take part, we are so very grateful!
After eating, Dr. Siobhan Hanlon (contact her at drsiobhannd@gmail.com), was
up:) Dr. Siobhan is a Naturopathic Doctor, what is that you ask? A licensed naturopathic physician (ND)
attends a four-year, graduate-level naturopathic medical school and is educated
in all of the same basic sciences as an MD, but also studies holistic and
nontoxic approaches to therapy with a strong emphasis on disease prevention and
optimizing wellness. In addition to a standard medical curriculum, the
naturopathic physician also studies clinical nutrition, homeopathic medicine,
botanical medicine, psychology, and counseling. A naturopathic physician takes
rigorous professional board exams so that he or she may be licensed by a state
or jurisdiction as a primary care general practice physician, unfortunately NY
does not recognize ND’s as licensed doctors, hopefully in the near future they
will. Her presentation paralleled Dr. Mikes so it was a great
reinforcement to all that was learned earlier. The best part is that she
PREFERS Q & A vs. straight lecturing and our guests certainly picked her
bright brain! It was a great way to complete the night and we are so
blessed to have Dr. Siobhan as an active integral part of SFL! Thank you
Dr. Siobhan!!
After a good night’s rest, Jacqui met the group for breakfast
and a nature walk. Sounds very zen, but ended up being a 3 mile trek
through hilly terrain! These gals were troopers to say the least!
We truly hope that everyone learned at least one new thing
during the weekend, it is our mission to open eyes, hearts and minds so we may
empower, strengthen and inspire you on your journey....after all that is what
you do for us!
Many blessings xoxoxo
Deb & Jac
From Jacqui...
I need to share this story and I hope I can give it the justice it deserves. One of the new survivors that attended the last retreat joined my class tonight, and after class she told me that during the retreat she experienced something that she had never felt before. She went on to say that at the Reiki session she was quite calm and in a state, when the practitioners hands were close to her head and shoulders she was not aware but as soon as the hands were held by her hips she felt an enormous flow of heat. This woman has ovarian cancer which the Reiki practitioner did not know but focused her hands and healing there. She went on to say that she told her husband about this sense of calm she experienced since that day. She slept better for the next few nights.
She explained that she is ‘in a holding’ pattern with her disease – the doctors tell her she has to wait and see, and that is both frustrating and discouraging. She said they bring you to the end of the cliff and you can either jump or fly ----- the session of Reiki gave her the wings to fly. She has been given a sense of peace and is so grateful for the gift from our Reiki practitioner.
I had chills, I hope that you get a sense of what she shared with me. If she does write this – I will share her own story…but until then – thank you Rosemary Maginniss and all the beautiful Reiki and Sound Healing practitioners.
God Bless YOU!
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