Wild Grace Wellness Retreat: The Afterglow

The Arc

This past week in Dominica was seven days of consistent practice and nourishment, and what continues to stand out to me is how deeply simple and how deeply impactful that combination can be.

We gathered with a shared arc for the retreat:

What’s happening? — awareness, grounding, non-judgement, roots.

What’s possible? — truth, honesty, seeing patterns, seeing ourselves, recognizing where energy is blocked or stagnant.

What’s next?— what it feels like when energy moves and creates space. What it feels like when you envision living in closer alignment with personal truth, the yamas, the niyamas, and the broader eight-limbed path. Not perfectly, just curiously and openly.

Jungle Bay in Dominica amplified all of this.

The Space

Nestled in the most luxuriously dense jungle overlooking where the Atlantic meets the Caribbean, this land feels alive and sacred. A true “hidden gem” in my opinion. The people are humble, warm, and deeply connected to nature. There is a sense of community, contentment, and simplicity that mirrors yogic values in a very real way.  It is intentional. It supports presence. It supports rest. It supports practice. It hit me, and I don’t know how else to say it, this place is yoga.

The Philosophy

Seven days of consistent practice can do a lot.

And this week did exactly what it was meant to do.

Those 3 questions (what’s happening, what’s possible, what’s next) guided everything — the sequencing, themes, journaling,  conversations,  rituals, and the way we moved through each day. What I was excited to uncover through those high-level, universal inquiries, is the layered and distinctively individual experience and process that would unfold for each student.

Movement is… everything to me. It is how I process, how I ground, how I stay honest, how I come home to myself, how I experience self love and connect with nature. In yoga, we refer to movement (postures) as Asana. With all of its beautiful benefits, Asana is still discipline. Through the lessons of this discipline, Asana enhances our relationship with our bodies and, by extension, our lives. And at the same time, although it represents so much, asana is one limb of an eight-limbed path of yoga. It is a doorway, not the destination. Our physical practices are designed to be a strong, intentional, nourishing starting point, and an invitation to serve something larger.

The Bloom

We opened the retreat with a welcome dinner followed by a cacao ceremony to call in our individual intentions for the week. There’s a particular courage required to speak honestly in front of people you’ve just met. When each person did — even if their voice shook — it became clear: this was more than a retreat, already surprising me in ways I could not have mapped out. Twenty-one unique souls arriving from twenty-one different lives, forming one shared field of intention. 

Intention is the seed, action is the nourishment it needs to bloom. Each morning after practice, I offered journal prompts that participants could explore throughout the day, all tied to the arc of the retreat and self-reflection. The writing, the movement, the adventures, the conversations, and the quiet time all worked together.

Energy and mindful living principles were woven into our time in the yoga sala. Alongside “what’s happening,” the question that opened our retreat and helped us settle into the space, we focused on Muladhara - the root chakra - and the yama of Ahimsa — non-harming, non-judgement, loving kindness, establishing a sense of security and grounding. We practiced this by considering: what’s happening right now in my body, what’s happening in my nervous system, what’s happening in my inner dialogue, where am I being critical, where could I soften while staying steady in my strength? This establishes a relationship with the body that feels supportive rather than adversarial.

From there, we moved into Anahata - the heart chakra - and the yama of Satya — truth. What’s possible when we get honest. Honest about dreams. Honest about exhaustion. Honest about patterns. Honest about what feels aligned and what no longer does. The kind of truth that resides behind fear. The patient, yet persistent kind that will be there waiting once the system feels safe enough to hear it.

A natural shared energy by this group throughout the week was Tapas — a niyama in yoga that is the heat of discipline, the willingness to show up, the steady fire that fueled our effort toward something meaningful. Tapas doesn’t have to look extreme, and in this context, Tapas looked like keeping a rhythm. Practicing at 9:30am and 5:00pm. Being in a new place, with new people, feeling the feels that come with that alone, and choosing openness and presence every step of the way. Choosing trust. Dropping into the way of the island as a form of devotion. 

Yes, we were on an island. Yes, there were pools, ocean swims, snorkeling, waterfalls, hikes, rainbows, beach time, showers with a view, and drinking from coconuts. And still, there was real discipline. Real continuity. Real commitment.

And that commitment is what makes transformation possible.

In Tapas lies “what’s next.” It’s not about answers, it’s about staying the path (your path) in the direction of who/how you want to be, one day at a time, and trusting that what you see in self-honesty, is your answer. Tapas is in what you take with you, what you practice. It is yoga in real life.

Over the week,  I could feel the powerful shift of people settling into themselves. Shoulders dropped. Breath deepened. Postures evolved. Eyes widened. We spoke differently about ourselves. Showed up with more compassion. More clarity. More ownership. And laugh a LOT.

Because  yoga brings people together.

Not because everyone is doing the same shapes, but because everyone is stepping into the same deeper inquiry through the movement:

What am I avoiding feeling or experiencing?

What’s possible if I stop resisting it?

What’s happening underneath my stories?

What’s possible if I stay long enough to find out?

And what’s next if I stop carrying what isn’t mine anymore?

The Afterglow

These are the questions that, once allowed on the mat, can be asked off the mat as well. The slow courage of telling the truth to ourselves. Satya. Practicing how to feel, how to stay, how to listen.

Using the arc of what’s happening, what’s possible, and what’s next to start sensing what we can tend to… and what we can finally let go of.  This retreat wasn’t about escaping life. It was about remembering how to live it (your way). Dominica was always just the beginning.

To this group — your open hearts, your willingness, your laughter, your tears, your steadiness — thank you for trusting me, trusting each other, and trusting yourselves!