This Shouldn’t Have Worked

Hypothetically, if you heard about a retreat led by two people who had never worked together, had never taken each other's classes, and had never led a retreat at all—what do you think the success would be?

Pretty low, right?

Except there's something I haven't shared: these two humans balance each other out perfectly. One tends to be more rigid and self-identifies as a recovering anal-retentive. The other goes with the flow. Both have extensive facilitation experience and love serving through trauma-informed safe spaces.

Plus, from the moment these two humans met, they felt instantly bonded—that whole "I know we just met but I feel like I've known you for lifetimes" vibe.

Does that change how you thought about the potential success?

It did for me.

See, this isn't hypothetical. This retreat happened at the end of July. Mar Munn and I led it together.

We had read each other's websites, but Mar had never taken any of my yoga classes or journaling workshops. I'd never done any of Mar's meditations or attended their workshops.

But we knew we were a good fit and would balance each other.

Mar brought tarot cards and art supplies—which weren't on my radar at all! I brought beautiful stationery for everyone to write letters to themselves at the end. Mar said they would have just brought printer paper.

It's about taking a leap of faith.

Following your intuition.

Saying yes to things you feel called to, even and especially if it feels scary.

Did we both have doubts about whether this would work? 100% yes. But we talked it out, voiced our concerns, and asked ourselves: "Is this what I want to do?" The answer kept coming back yes.

Now you're likely thinking, "Well yeah, you ran the retreat—of course you think it went well. But what did the participants think?"

Excellent question!

Literally 5 minutes in, one participant was already saying they were coming to the next one—with zero prompts from Mar and me. They just knew this is what they wanted.

At lunch on day two, all the participants were asking about and suggesting locations for the next retreat. Mar and I turned to each other and said, "It looks like we're doing a series."

At the end, I created a group text thread so we could all know we got home safe and stay connected.

You might be wondering: did you all know each other before the retreat?

Nope!

I knew Mar and two of the participants ahead of time. Mar only knew me. Two participants had met online before.

But as the weekend unfolded, it was like we were weaving a web of connection. We had people in common (big shout out to Elena Cooper and Dana Oneto, who couldn't make the retreat but helped bring together the people who were there). We had life experiences that were eerily similar and bonded us more deeply.

My biggest takeaway: the importance of listening to intuition and working through your doubts and fears.

If Mar and I hadn't done that, this retreat would never have happened!

Journaling prompt: What is your intuition guiding you toward, but your fear is getting in the way?