On this episode of A Whole Lotta Shift, we explore the world of retreats and discuss how to plan a successful and fulfilling experience. I emphasize the importance of understanding your intentions and goals for the retreat, choosing the right type of retreat, and being specific in your planning process. We dive into accommodation and lodging considerations, the benefits of having a solo room, and the importance of understanding what's included in your package. We also touch on the role of the retreat leader and how they can help attendees achieve their goals. Join us as we discuss the different types of retreats and share tips and insights on how to make the most of your retreat experience.

About the Host:

Jen is a Dream Catalyst and Business Mentor saving hustling female solopreneurs from the chains of corporate America. Her passion lies in helping women through their self-awakening so they can finally break free, turn their side hustle into the business of their dreams, and live a life full of time, location and financial freedom.

Jen is a California girl at heart, now living out her dream in the Midwest, traveling, coaching female solopreneurs and sharing her own story of triumph and empowerment across speaking platforms. When she's not traveling, she enjoys spending time with her college-aged son and her rescued Pit Bull.

After 20 years of various project manager and corporate trainer roles while juggling a wide array of side gigs, she has mastered the ability to help women see what they cannot see, believe they are meant for more and take aligned action to make it happen. With an MBA in Change Management, and a Health and Life Coach Certification from the Health Coach Institute, Jen is an expert at creating both the business process changes and the personal habit changes needed to finally Break UP with corporate and go all-in on your side hustle or long-standing passion project.

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There are a million types of retreats out there. Each one has its very own unique, unique benefits. And it has its own unique setup. So it's important that you really understand what you're wanting to get out of that retreat. What your own individual needs are in making sure that you're choosing a retreat that is truly in alignment with your goals and what you want to get out of it. This is super important. You want to have a solid understanding of what did I come here to do? What are my intentions? What am I wanting to obtain from this? What do I want to get out of it? What am I wanting to walk away with? Because what you show up for, is what you're going to get out of Welcome to a whole lot of shift Podcast, the podcast for multi passionate women with an entrepreneurial spirit, where we provide inspiration, motivation, and education to help you shift away from all the shoulds and supposed TOS to what's truly possible for you in your business and your life. All on your own terms. You ready, girl? Let's make shift happen. Hello, and welcome to another episode of a whole lot of shift. I'm your host, Jen Ingram. And this is part two in our mini series on retreat. Hi, I'm so excited to be with you here today. So we're gonna be talking in this episode about retreats, what they are, why they're different from a vacation, why they're important. We're gonna be exploring the benefits of going on a retreat, a little bit of different types of retreats. And I'm gonna give a brief introduction into providing some tips for identifying the right retreat for you, because I think this is so important. So if you tuned into last week's episode, then you got to hear a little bit about my experience at a freedom and adventure retreat. And I haven't even started to dive into my second retreat that I went to right after that one in Key West, that is a retreat that I am sure to go on every year, it's a recurring retreat for me. So I'm going to be sharing in an upcoming episode, very specific details about that retreat. Because I think that the lessons learned and the value that I get out of that is really important to share. And I want you to be able to also get some key takeaways from what I learned on that retreat every time that I go, and how you might be able to use some of that information as you're planning to look for your retreat that you want to go on. So today, we're gonna just kind of highlight for you. Why in the hell, I think retreats are pretty damn imperative to your business, and making a shift in your own personal goals. So let's kind of start with, okay, what the hell is a retreat, right? So I want to be clear, a retreat isn't really a vacation, when you think about it, vacation is more for relaxation, entertainment, maybe you're just looking to get away, maybe you're looking to go explore a specific location, maybe you're wanting to book that all inclusive resort, where the only thing you have to think about is rolling yourself from bed, to the pool, to the buffet line, and back through all those things again, and that's it. And maybe that's what you want for your vacation. And I'm here to tell you, and nothing wrong with that either. Been there done that can't wait to do it again. But that's something completely different. A retreat is really about your own personal well being. And it's typically centered around your own personal growth. Oftentimes, retreats have a particular theme that centered around them or a particular goal. And there's some sort of structured environment that is there that allows people to actually reflect and recharge. Now, I know what you're thinking, Well, hey, when I go on vacation, and I go to that all inclusive resort, I get recharged. That's my my way of being recharged and I get it. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I also have to ask him you. How many times have you gone on a vacation? And when you came back you said oh my God, I need a vacation from my vacation.

That's what I'm talking about.

The nice thing about retreat that I personally absolutely love is that I get to show up. And I pretty much just get to show up. Now I'll be it. It's because I do my own research. And I really get to know the retreat host and understand what I'm signing up for. And I know that that's the kind of thing that I want to sign up for, I want to be able to show up at the door, and I leave all my decisions about my daily life at that door, and I don't have to bring it in with me, I'm not there to make decisions for everybody else. I'm not there to make decisions about how to entertain people for that week, or how to make sure everybody's happy and comfy and cozy. And did mom remember to pack all the things for all the people? No, I don't have to do any of that, I get to just show up. My favorite retreats are those where it is planned out, maybe it's all inclusive, maybe, maybe there's a chef, or if there's not a chef, there's some sort of meals or food that is included. So that again, I don't have to think about it, I don't have to worry about my schedule, my schedule is planned out with some flexibility, I still get to explore the area, because there's opportunities for that as well. Because as I'll get to, in one of our episodes, location, fucking matters.

But also,

I get to just show up, and I do not have to make any decisions. This is about me. And my well being and my opportunity to reflect on where I've been, where I want to go and truly recharge myself. That's a retreat. And that's the difference between a retreat and a vacation. So okay, why go on a retreat? Well, the truth is that going on retreats can really have a really profound impact on your life, your business, your relationships, whatever, whatever area you're seeking, right? Because honestly, there's all kinds of retreats out there, we're gonna get to that too. But really, a retreat kind of provides you the opportunity to really slow down, reflect on where you've been, and get some clarity on your goals and values. You know, retreats are one of those things that they've been said that they can really improve your mental health, your well being, they increase creativity, they can enhance your personal relationships, and have to say, when going on a retreat with those around you who are also experiencing those same things on that retreat, it really allows for that extra human connection, that you're just not going to get by the things that you typically do in your daily life or even going on a vacation. In fact, I can assure you, you're not going to get that on a vacation. This is like a whole other level of human connection. And the truth is, whether we want to admit to it or not. Even for us introverts out there.

We all need human connection.

I know some of you are sitting there going, yeah, no, I'm pretty sure I'm good by myself. Hear me out. If 2020 proved nothing to us? Nothing. It proved that we do need human connection. You know, how do I know? We were originally asked to stay home for two weeks.

Two weeks

now I know two weeks turned into two months. And then like two years, I get it. But initially it was two weeks. And I want you to go back and think about in those two weeks. How many of you couldn't make it two fucking weeks? It was two weeks. That was all you were asking.

And you know why? Because there's a difference between

enjoying your time alone for self reflection. And being able to use that alone time to recharge oneself, and being forced into a situation in which you're can't You're not allowed connection or contact with others. The truth is we all need some form of human connection.

Bottom line. So

when you go on a retreat, unlike a vacation because you are there and there's typically some sort of theme and you're all there working on reflection and where you're going your work Working on your own well being, and your personal goals, and you're all kind of doing this together, there isn't a larger group or a smaller group, I personally prefer smaller groups, you really have an opportunity for a bonding experience that you're just not going to get any other way. And that's just the truth. This is really a time for some increased self awareness, really diving into maybe your purpose, clarity, on your purpose. So retreats can really have a profound, profound impact. If any of you listen to the prior episode where I was talking about the freedom and adventure retreat, if you go check out that Facebook group, which it is called the Freedom and adventure retreat, it is on Facebook, one of the things that you'll see over and over again, in that very group are the testimonials from those who attended the retreat, talking about the impact that it had on their lives, and the relationships and the bonds that were created there.

It was just like no other people

felt safe to finally share about things that they may not have felt safe sharing with others before. And it's because you're in an intimate space, and you're there working on some of the same things. And it allows for that, you're just not going to get that on a vacation. This is why I say going on a retreat is so important. Imagine what it could do for your business. If you're going on a retreat, and you're there to simply focus on yourself, and gaining better clarity in your business, and where you're going and setting those goals and being surrounded in a room full of other people who are doing the same thing. And imagine the collaboration and the connections that are going to occur within those businesses and those attendees at that retreat. This is why I promote retreats so much. And this is why you see them as a regular part of my business.

Now,

I already shared with you last week, one of the added benefit. That was completely unexpected while I was on the most recent retreat was that I had an opportunity to share, I had an opportunity to share what I do with some of my clients and share what some of that journey looks like. That was completely unplanned, I had no idea that that was going to show up but being fully present, and being in the room offered that opportunity. This is an yet another reason a new foundries and that I'm pretty excited about as to why retreats are so important. So let's talk a little bit about what are the different types of retreats because obviously, I'm sitting here talking about personal growth and maybe going on a retreat for your business. But the truth is, there's tons of retreat out there. And there's tons of types of retreat. So this is important to understand what your intentions are, this is where we start digging into this. So just kind of take this a little bit of introduction. Let's talk about some of the different types of retreats there are wellness retreats, creative retreat, there are podcast creation retreat. Oh yes, there are even podcast content creation, cruise retreats, and I'll be sharing something about that one coming up soon. There are spiritual healing retreats, couples retreats to talk about relationships, yoga retreats, obviously, adventure retreats, which typically are a little bit more centered around. If you want to think about like adventure sports, for example, you might be thinking about hiking, kayaking, things of that nature. Maybe it's whitewater rafting included in there. Also.

That's on my vision board. But

just kind of wanted to give you the rundown, right? So there's tons of different types of retreats out there. The other thing to understand is that within each one of those, it could vary greatly. As far as what's included in the retreat. Is it all inclusive, like I was explaining earlier, where I enjoy the retreats where my meals are either planned for me maybe there's a chef on site, or you know, maybe one of the ones that that I go to, and are also part of one of the masterminds that I that I'm in and is part of my coach. She has it. A lot of her treats to where breakfast and lunch are the food for that is included. And sometimes it's just stuff that we make on location, but then maybe we go out for dinner or we kind of or we ordered dinner or what have you. Dinner sometimes can be I don't want to say completely on your own, although if you needed it to be, it could be if you needed that space. But typically, that's the opportunity in the evenings where we get to maybe explore the area, and do some different things. If we didn't already have activities during the day in which we were exploring the location, who it's really important to understand what's included in your retreat when booking the type of retreat. So I also gave the example of an adventurer retreat, it would be really important to know on that retreat, for example, hey, when you say that we are doing all of these adventure sports? What do I need for that? In other words, do I need some sort of park pass for that? Do I need a permit for that? Do I have to obtain that? Is that included as part of the retreat? Is somebody getting that for me? How am I getting to said location? You know, are we leaving from the wherever the retreat is that you know, maybe it's at an Airbnb or retreat center, etc? You know, is it that we leave from there, and you've already arranged for all accommodations to get us to the site where we're going to go do this whitewater rafting or Aikido? Or whatever it is, right? It's really important to understand what is included in this am I getting if I'm going on a retreat that is talking about what my goals are for the future? And you're wanting to talk to me about my business? So does that mean that I have a coach that's there? What kind of, you know, what is it that we're going to be focusing on really, is this the podcasting creative retreat that I gave as an example, you know, one of the opportunities that is there is you're there with other podcasters. So it would be super easy to swap between, you know, guests and host and create a lot of content in one in one retreat and get content planned out for the whole year, if you wanted to be able to knock that out. While you're getting to experience something really amazing at a amazing location. That would be the opportunity. But you would want to know, what is included in that? Am I going to have maybe a podcast coach there who's going to help me through that and really helped me brainstorm through outlining all of my content? Am I going do I need to bring my own equipment? Is equipment already there? Do you have podcasting studio set up? For me? These are just some of the example again, doesn't include food. I know, I keep going back to that. But like, food is important. You know, what are the accommodations? Like? Do I get my own room and my sharing of room? A really, really important one? How many? Are you allowing to book on this retreat? And that's a really important question. And I'll kind of dive a little more to that I'm kind of getting a little deep here. But my point is, my point is this. There are a million types of retreats out there. Each one has its very own unique, unique benefits, and it has its own unique setup. So it's important that you really understand what you're wanting to get out of that retreat, what your own individual needs are, and making sure that you're choosing a retreat that is truly in alignment with your goals and what you want to get out of it. This is super important. If you listen to prior episode, I had mentioned one or two times that the lane that became very apparent for me was that I needed to make sure that I stayed connected with my intentions and my why, as to why I was there on a freedom and adventure retreat when I knew I was leaving directly from there to go on to another retreat. This is just really important. In general, though, whether you're doing back to back retreats or not, you want to have a solid understanding of what did I come here to do? What are my intentions? What am I wanting to obtain from this? What do I want to get out of it? What am I wanting to walk away with? Because what you show up for, is what you're going to get out of, so if you don't show up for any of it, chances are, you're probably not going to get out of it what you really wanted. So when you're exploring the different types of retreat, you really do want to kind of dig into what am I really looking for? What am I doing? Okay, so those are some of the types of retreats, wellness creations, spiritual business, but I kind of want to talk a little bit, and I already shared a little bit but I want to go into planning your retreat. So again, this is where you want to get specific with your intention of why you're going and really make sure that you prepare, it's super important that you are clear on your goals for the retreat. It's also important that you're clear on your budget. And this is why I say it's important to understand what is included in the retreat and what is not what are you supposed to create or show up with or what have you versus what is included? Not all retreats are all inclusive. This is why I choose to look for retreat that have as much already packaged in and included. Because, again, my preference is that I get to just show up, and I leave most of the decisions at the door. I don't have to think about my everyday life, I don't need to think about well, when do I need to be at or where do I need to be? and at what time? And how do I need to be dressed? It's I have I have an agenda. It's outlined for me, right. But also, and I've talked to this before, it's important that you got some sort of connection with that retreat leader, because that retreat leader or host is the one who's really going to be kind of driving that agenda, right. So it's important that you're working with somebody who understands that, hey, if you're in this space, and you're really working on personal well being and personal goals, whatever that might mean for you. Maybe there's a personal business goals, personal relationship goals, it can vary greatly health goals.

That's a lot to take in. Right.

Like that's a lot of energy that you're working through, if you're reflecting at all on your past and trying to think through where you're headed, and where you want to go for your future. That can be overwhelming for some. And you really want to make sure that you kind of have a good feel for your retreat host or your retreat leader, and that they're going to be able to accommodate the right amount of time for that, that they're flexible in their schedule or their agenda, to identify, hey, I originally had this planned, but I can see that my attendees really need XYZ, or this doesn't make sense today, or what happened at the freedom and adventure retreat, there was a couple of days of rain, but we had an outdoor excursion planned. And so we had to kind of change up the schedule and just be willing to accommodate that. That's something I would be looking for in a retreat host or retreat leader, somebody that has that instinct or intuition to kind of read the room, if you will, right. And understand that things need to be flexible. The other thing that I look for as I'm planning a retreat, and I kind of lead into this a little bit, is what my lodging accommodations like, exactly. Am I sleeping in a bunk house where I'm in a three tier bunk bed with other adults and 20 of us are sharing one bathroom? Yes, I've done that. But that was not a retreat. That was a float trip. So that's a different story. But what I learned from that is, it's important to ask these kinds of questions. When you're looking at a retreat, you really do want to understand what the accommodations are. Because keep in mind, if you're sharing one large room with 20 other people, one bathroom, and you're all trying to sleep in this space. What kind of accommodations do you need to praying for yourself? What do you need to be mentally and physically prepared for for that? I was really glad that the last couple of retreats that I went on, I had a solo room, because it really gave me the opportunity when I needed it. Maybe I had just we maybe we had just wrapped up somewhat of an intense coaching session, having my own room kind of gave me that opportunity to have a place to go back to and kind of soak in whatever I had done, have a moment to myself, maybe I needed frankly to nap. Again. Eight you're on a you are on a retreat, you do want to be able to relax and rejuvenate yourself. But also, the work that you're doing is is a lot to take in and you're claiming to get tired. So sometimes having those accommodations in a single room that you can create somewhat of a sanctuary for yourself, if you should meet it. But be something important to know. Now, you might not need that. Maybe for you maybe you love being surrounded by lots of people and lots of energies and you thrive off of that. Great then you could pick a room in which you're sharing with four other people. But if you know that that's not you, if you know that maybe you spend a good portion of your days alone and you Whoo, enjoy an honor your time alone, that might be something for you to consider. Now, I will say that I have been on retreats in which I did share a room. But I had the opportunity to see pictures and kind of how it was set up before I arrived. So I kind of knew what I was getting into. And so I was able to make that choice and say, Yes, I'm sharing a room. But I also feel like, based on the way that it's situated or set up, and the way that the space is that all still be able to be respectful of my own needs. And if I need to take some time, I feel like I'll still be able to get that. I do travel with headphones. And so you know, for me to be able to just show up and and then just put my headphones in maybe after a coaching session, I need to go to my room and put my headphones in and listen to a meditation and take, take some of that time to myself, I want to have that opportunity. Or at a recent retreat in Key West, I went out on the patio by the pool, and there was a lounge chair and I took a nap outside in the sun and it was amazing and fabulous. And you just kind of want to have an idea for whether or not you think you might need those opportunities. And whether or not it looks like you will have those opportunities, which means you got to really dig in and know yourself. Know, what you are willing to accept in your daily life where your struggles are, if you're somebody who struggles with too much human interaction, that would be something for you to consider. So you really kind of got to be open and honest with yourself, before you go diving into something like this and really understand what you need. I've also been on a retreat where I had somewhat of a private room or a semi private room, I guess I would consider it. But the bathroom was like in another building. Which meant if I needed to go at night, I like Yeah, I had to travel or, oh man, one time I went on this retreat, and the sleeping space was up really high. And it was really really difficult to get in and out of. I mean, not extremely difficult. I didn't mind it, I I had the space to myself. And I kind of felt like I was in like this little cocoon. So I actually really enjoyed the space. And I had, it wasn't a skylight. But I'll call it a skylight, I could look up to the nighttime sky as I was sleeping.

But but

it required a ladder to get in and out of which meant that at night after I was tucked in, if I wanted back down, it was going to be a bit of an adventure when all the lights were out and everybody else around me was sleeping. So So just some of the things that you might want to think about as you're thinking through planning your retreat. And again, I kind of brought this up a little bit before, you also want to think about financial constraints, or you know, what's being planned. So it's really important to understand what is included? Am I responsible for showing up and taking care of all my meals that my responsible for showing up and taking care of payment for all my excursions once I get there? Because typically, there's a cost for the retreat, right. So if you've already spent, you know, I don't know, $3,000 on this retreat, by the way, I'm just throwing that number out, I can tell you that retreat prices vary greatly in range. Let's just say that you would pay that. And then you find out that well, once you arrive, you need to pay for all your own food and you need to pay for all your own excursions and you do need to get a permit to hike or what have you. You want to know that ahead of time. So it's really, really important that you ask these questions. The other thing that I just remembered this, and I alluded to it earlier,

that you want to ask is how many? Let me rephrase it.

The question that you want to ask is, how many attendees are you allowing to book this retreat? And the reason why I'm being very selective with my words is this. I had recently gone on a retreat, and I had asked how many people are going

and the retreat host answered. And they answered truthfully, for that time, for that moment, and they said, This is how many people are both. Great.

By the time the bookings were done, what I didn't know was that the host was going to allow double that number to actually attack hanged, and all stay in the same house. And some of the decisions that I made for the retreat may have been different had I fully understood that or known that ahead of time. So, it's really important that you again, you be respectful to your own boundaries. And you really kind of dig into who you are, and the type of environments that you thrive, and the type of environments in which you struggle to survive. And make sure that you ask questions about it. And and really, really dig into that, because, again, I no issues whatsoever between me and that retreat host, they answered truthfully, to the question that I asked at the time. Just a little bit of a lesson learned. And I now know that and now I get to move on. So I would definitely say that these are some things to think about when you're planning your retreat. And last, but definitely not least, and I, I have alluded to this several times, being very clear on what your intentions are with this retreat, and what you want to get out of it. Again, you're gonna get out of it, what you choose to show up for. But if you're showing up to a retreat that is about you showing up to a yoga retreat, and just throwing this out as an example, and you're disappointed that you didn't walk away with complete clarity on your online course business. Well, maybe that's because you really weren't being thoughtful of what of what your real intentions were. And I use the example in the past episode about the freedom and adventure retreat. And I knew that my intention on this retreat was to connect with others, my intention was to see people in person who I either had not seen in a very long time, or had never met in person, but suddenly had the opportunity to meet them in person all at once, at this retreat, and that was my absolute intention. And I can truthfully say that when I when I was there, and I was experiencing maybe some energies that were challenging for me, or I felt like maybe I wasn't respecting my my own personal boundaries and my own need, I had to stop them and say, Okay, where are you here? What are your intentions for this? And when I was able to remind myself, Okay, well, here's why you're here, you're here to connect. And there were certain people that were coming at you wanted to connect with so are you doing that? Are you staying truthful and aligned with your intentions for

that?

And I was then able to make sure that yes, I was or No, I wasn't what have you and get myself back on track, that's gonna be so important, right? Especially when you're talking about, maybe it's a location where there's several people, or maybe not, maybe there's only a couple of you, but maybe the retreat host has a different agenda, and it doesn't quite align with yours, you're really gonna want to make sure that you are clear on what you're wanting to get out of it. A good retreat host or leader, more than likely, at the start of the retreat, or maybe the start of the day is probably going to ask you something about, hey, what are you looking to get out of this experience? Maybe they even asked you that before you book so that they can then help you with that. I know one of the retreats that I'm going to be going on next year. As part of that retreat, it includes some it includes a six month mastermind and some coaching session, leading up to the retreat so that we can be super clear on Okay, by the time I get there next year, what is it that I'm wanting to get out of it? That way? I am clear the retreat host is clear. And we're both aligned in in what we're doing. And that's really I think that is really going to make a big

difference. Yeah, I think I think that about covers it. But wait, I didn't talk about location. Okay, Location. Location is

so important. Because location can completely speak to your healing to your experience while you're there. It could speak to what you're wanting to get out of it. There are some locations that are just

magical, spiritual, and so vocation, okay, matters.

So I think I'm gonna save that one and go into some further details on what a magical location could mean for you in the next episode, because I want you to stay tuned for that, because this can really, really kind of determine for you, what you what you really want to plan for in your retreat. We also need to talk about location because we need to talk about travel abroad. What does that look like for a retreat, you know, versus travel intercontinental United States? So, be looking forward to an upcoming episode talking about locations because location

matter? All right. Well, I