Awaken Your Inner Whole Woman
Awaken Your Inner Whole Woman
The Retreat Effect: How Transformational Getaways Can Change Your Life
This episode explores the transformative power of retreats for women, highlighting how stepping away from daily routines can lead to profound personal growth. Focused on creating safe spaces for healing, it discusses the importance of community, recognizing limiting beliefs, and investing in self-care.
• Exploring the concept of the retreat effect
• Importance of stepping away from daily routines
• Creating space for personal connection and reflection
• Healing through community and shared vulnerability
• Understanding intergenerational trauma
• Recognizing and addressing limiting beliefs
• Role of breathwork and somatic practices in personal growth
• Lasting connections formed through shared experiences
• Investing in oneself and prioritizing personal growth
Meet Natolie Warren
I am dedicated to the wellness and wholeness of every woman who crosses my path. As a Certified Trauma- Informed Breathwork Facilitator, Certified Mindfulness Practitioner, Retreat Leader, and Psychotherapist based in Atlanta, Georgia helping women come into alignment with their highest selves and live more meaningful lives with purpose.
I support women transcend anxiety, self-doubt, unhealthy relationship patterns, and physical and emotional pain. I am passionate about infusing psychology, spirituality and science to guide transformative growth experiences.
My mission is to connect people to their breath, their heart and each other. I would love to share this beautiful gift with you. I am honored to be on this sacred and transformational journey with you.
Facebook- https://facebook.com/natoliewarren
Instagram: https://instagram.com/natoliewarren
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@natoliewarren
Join us for our 2025 Retreats & Wellness Events!
Visit our website - www.awaken2power.com to get more details.
- Find Your Silence- One Day Retreat (multiple dates in 2025)
- Just Breathe With Natolie (multiple dates in 2025)
Group virtual breathwork sessions
- Awaken In The Wild: A Sacred Reset in Joshua Tree, California
June 9th-12th, 2025
- The Ultimate Reset in Bali
October 4th-11th, 2025
Healing and Wholeness for Every Woman
Welcome to Awaken your Inner Whole Woman, the show for spiritually rooted women who are hungry for change and growth. I am your host, natalie Warren, and my mission as a personal development strategist and inner healer is to inspire, educate and motivate women worldwide to stop limiting themselves and settling for less than what they want and were created to be. If you are ready to transform your life by getting out of your own way, hearing your soul's voice above the noise and activating your life's purpose, you are at the best place. Let's tune in to today's episode of Awaken your Inner Whole Woman. Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to Awaken your Inner Whole Woman podcast. You are here, I am here. I'm delighted that you are experiencing this with me. If you are joining for the very first time, welcome, welcome. I'm so glad you're here. I know it's not by chance that you've landed here, that there is a part of you, your soul, that drew you to this particular podcast, because you're ready to awaken to the truth of who you are. You're ready to awaken to consciousness, your divinity, your power, healing, transformation. You are ready for that in some way, even if it's not in what you recognize in this moment, there's a part of you that knows that, and if you're back I am so glad you're here I'd love, love, love to hear from you Let me know that you're watching or listening to this podcast, maybe some of the insights that you've had with me on my journey, as I've shared with many guests about many topics as it relates to awakening the inner whole woman.
Speaker 1:Today's podcast is going to be about me sharing more about why retreats can be so transformative to women, and I haven't spent a lot of time talking about it, but you may or may not know that I actually host retreats domestic and international retreats where I take women to beautiful destinations, many times to places they've never been before, and really support them to see the possibilities for their lives, to experience through their senses, through their breath, through culture, through getting out of the familiar, something powerful, and that usually is them really stepping into their power and owning who they are, their gifts, why they came to the earth. Just amazing, beautiful things happen, and I believe that's the retreat effect that we're going to talk about, like how transformational getaways can literally change your life, and I know we live in a world where we use that phrase pretty often like it was life-changing. It will change your life and so maybe it's lost its effect and its impact. But I say it in a humble way that there is something transformational that can happen for a woman. I've seen it happen over and over again and I'm going to give you some of the main points on why I believe that happens for women and to support you to step into it.
Speaker 1:So one of those things is that there is a true power that happens when a woman steps away. You know our daily routine. We get in it, we do it, sometimes we don't want to and sometimes we do, but we step into this mundane routine and so when you have a retreat, it really supports you, break away from the daily stressors, which is a normal, natural part of life. But let's be honest, it can be overwhelming, it can be exhausting and really allow yourself space Space which, if you think about your day, there isn't a lot of space in it, right, and especially not space for yourself. Or if there is space, let's also be honest we don't allow ourselves permission to take it up. We find something or someone to fill that space, and so when a woman is able to step away, there is this ability to create space for her. To what connect, to create space for her, to what connect she's able to connect to herself. And that connection to self is a connection to her desires, her needs, her wants, her feelings. And what I love to teach women is to connect with her breath, this beautiful gift that's always with her, but oftentimes she's not able to connect with it, and so that helps to do that.
Speaker 1:When we step away from busyness, it actually creates clarity. Now, that can be a little intimidating, that can be a little scary, because women will say but I don't know what I want, but I don't know how I feel, but I don't know what I need but I don't know what I desire. And so sometimes it feels safer to stay in busyness, because then that would require a little accountability and responsibility for us to say what is it that I want, what is it that I need, what is it that I desire, and really pulling back the layers on all of the limiting beliefs and excuses and emotions and relationships that impact or distract us from having those things. So, number one, I really believe it creates the power. It creates a power when we step away. When we step away and I've seen it where we might step away in a local experience within Georgia I live in the US or it's stepping away and going across the world like literally to the other side of the world.
Speaker 1:Let's go to the next one, which is, I believe, retreats, and why this retreat effect can be so transformative is there is a sacred space that's created for healing, and sometimes we don't think about it or we may say I don't know if I need healing. Well, I would offer. All of us have had experiences and those experiences have shaped us. They've shaped our beliefs, they've shaped our feelings, they've shaped our behaviors, our habits. Some of them create habits that we may or may not want, and so, as one of my mentors would say, we're not actually healing where you are, we're healing where you've been, and that's, on many levels, healing where you've been as far as in your past. But let's also remember there's a lineage, right, there's a lineage of people of generations before you that very well could have had some challenges, issues that were passed down, and one of my favorite books that I walk people through and talk a lot about is the book that says it Didn't Start With you favorite books that I walk people through and talk a lot about is the book that says it didn't start with you understanding intergenerational trauma and how that very well is impacting your life in ways that you aren't even aware of, and so the book is really about how inherited family trauma shapes who you are, and then it gives you the tools of how to end the cycle.
Speaker 1:How to end the cycle so when you're in a retreat or on a retreat, you're having the ability, potentially with a facilitator that is aware and informed, to create safe environments for deep emotional and spiritual healing. And what I enjoyed seeing is that people don't always know that a safe environment has been created, but they'll start just opening up and thinking and saying things like I didn't even know I thought that way, or I didn't even know I felt that way, or I didn't even know that was still bothering me or I didn't Like. It's those moments that we all can lean into. This must be a safe space for me to share and really thinking about in your life. What would it feel like to have a safe space to heal and rediscover who you truly are? What would that feel like for so many women that I know? It is this refreshing freedom, it's this ability to be authentic and in touch and connected. That's what they might report.
Speaker 1:So the importance of community and shared vulnerability happens in these moments, and what I love about an experience of such is one person in that group has the ability, without them knowing it, when they open up themselves, it allows the group to also have permission to do the same. It's this beautiful unfolding that happens when a woman is allowed to be vulnerable, to really share, and other women then say or get to have permission to do the same. So these safe spaces create this level of vulnerability and it results in transformation. But it also results in deeper connections, and we'll talk about those two Discovering. It is amazing to see women remember their passion, right, remember dreams, like I remember I had a dream about doing X, y and Z, or I've always wanted to. These things are allowed to come to the surface. Maybe they desire something and for so long they told themselves that they couldn't have it or they missed their chance, or they're too old, or they're too young, or they're too something, and then they're able to have the time and the tools to rediscover this, as well as reconnecting with themselves through stillness, through silence, through nature. I appreciate that retreats that I host, in particular, are at locations that will naturally create that safe stillness, that pause, that reflection, and that's vital. Another major thing that happens with them connecting with themselves they start to recognize patterns, and I talked about that a moment ago.
Speaker 1:But we all have patterns, things that we're doing without even thinking about it, without even questioning it, without even realizing is this even a part of who I am or who I want to be? We have limiting beliefs, and limiting beliefs are just any belief, any belief that we have that limits us, and sometimes we try to find those beliefs, like you might ask well, where are my limiting beliefs? And I would challenge you to think about where are the places in your life where you say I can't have X because of Y? There you find a limiting belief I can't have X because of Y. Or another thing that it might do as far as patterns and beliefs is it interrupts the negative self-talk that we all have at some point or another, disrupts the negative self-talk that we all have at some point or another that tells us that we're not good enough, we're not smart enough, we're not pretty enough, we're not talented enough, that we're too much. Many women struggle with the idea that I'm too much. People think that I'm too much, that I'm extra, that I'm loud, that my hair is too big or bold, or whatever that looks like for you. It can actually disrupt that pattern of thinking when you're able to be in the retreat effect.
Speaker 1:Further, there are intentional things that are happening that a facilitator may lead you through Somatic practices. Through Somatic practices, yoga, stretching, breath work is one of the things that I do and people are always amazed because they don't think of breathing, something that's so simple, something that you do all the time. But most of us aren't intentional. With the breath, we don't access the power of the breath, but when you are able to do that, there is so much that's happening on many levels. But one of the things that happens is it can shift your mindset, that those beliefs that no longer serve you, you're able to release them with the breath and then, when we inhale, we embrace empowering beliefs, beliefs that we want to hold true. Further, there's this lasting transformation, and I'm amazed and grateful at the stories that I have gotten where women say things like I'm no longer the same person that I was, person that I was, that I am changed in so many ways that I actually am kinder and more compassionate, that I used to, three, four months ago, respond this way, but I no longer respond that way, that I'm more intentional, that I'm more mindful, that I'm more empowered to choose, which is such an amazing thing to remember. You always have the power to choose. It's one of our things that I believe God gave us which is free will, right the ability to always be able to choose. And when we access that, when we really embrace that as a truth, I get to choose. I get to choose.
Speaker 1:I was talking to someone recently and they were wanting to explore kind of more of their gifts and really show up in the world in their more authentic self. And they said to me, or she said to me, I have to figure out what it is I want to do. And I wanted to help address a limiting belief, because a limiting belief there would be that I have to spend this time and energy trying to figure it out and go into this idea of transformation and the ability to choose. What I offered was you don't need to figure anything out. Whatever you choose, it will be so. I want you to sit with that thought, sit with that idea that it's not about figuring it out, because then that puts you back on the wheel, right, it puts you back on saying I got to spend more time, I got to spend more energy and, honestly, I don't have it. I don't have a lot of time, I don't have a lot of energy, my plate is already full, and now I got to find space to figure it out. To find space to figure it out, and what I wanted to address was the limiting belief, right, but also a reminder of the power of choice and the moment that you choose, whatever it is, you choose it. That is what it will be. I hope you're catching that, because that is something that I have continued to work through and your thought may be.
Speaker 1:Here's another limiting belief. It might be well, what if I choose wrong, natalie? What if I choose wrong? But here's what I want you to see, even if you sometime in the future, because you won't know that at this moment, right, you won't know. The moment that you choose, you won't know what the outcome will be in five minutes, in a day, in three weeks, in two years. You have no ability to know that, but in the moment that it becomes into your awareness, you will then choose again. Right, you will choose to say this no longer serves me. This is not what I was hoping for, this doesn't feel the way I want it to feel. And guess what you do? You choose again. That's it. It sounds really simple, but it's so profound.
Speaker 1:So asking you a question, really reflecting on this, is what are these limiting beliefs or patterns in your life that in this new year, you are saying I want to let that go? I don't know where it came from? Or maybe you know where it came from, but you're saying I choose to let this go. Maybe it served you at some point in your life, but at this moment, at the stage, the woman that you are today, I no longer need this. It doesn't support what I'm wanting to accomplish, and so that's the part of the transformation that happens.
Speaker 1:But then there are the stories that women are saying I committed to self-love, and that shows up with me exercising Self-love, shows up with me saying no when I want to say no, or saying yes when I want to say yes, loving on me enough to do those things. Commitments to self-care, which doesn't necessarily mean you have to spend money. Sometimes it doesn't even mean you have to actually do something extra. It could be a part of what you're already doing. Self-care could be you being mindful in the things you're already doing and not getting into. Autopilot Doesn't require more time, but those are self-care, commitments and self-worth, remembering that I am innately worthy, 100% Unconditional, not something I earn, not something someone can take away from me. It doesn't change based off of who I am at the moment or what I decide. It is who I am at the moment or what I decide. It is who I am at the core.
Speaker 1:Another important piece of the retreat effect, about this transformation that happens, is there are bonds that are formed in spaces where all of those things that I just mentioned happened, that women are able to connect on a level that some haven't found, that they've been able to do, that I found that God strategically places women at the retreat at the time that he does. I haven't been able to fully explain it, but each experience and this is what could happen at a retreat which is why I'm calling this the retreat effect because the paths of these beautiful souls have crossed at this moment, at this season, at this time for what I believe to be divine intervention, and so there is something we all have to offer each other, and that may be something we do, we say, or it's just in our being that can impact personal growth on levels that are beyond what we can expect. And then there is this support system Now that you've shared, now that you have connected, we support each other, and I'm not just talking about for the days we're together, I'm talking about the months, the years beyond. That is created. Then, lastly, the retreat effect is really about an investment in yourself and really asking yourself do I find myself pouring into others without ever refilling my own cup? Do I see that? Do I notice that? What's the impact? If that is so?
Speaker 1:Because there is something vital that happens when a woman invests in herself, when she says yes to her, there's something that happens, and it happens not when she arrives at a retreat. It happens the moment that she says yes. The moment that she says yes is the moment that the transformation starts, and we just see the result of that when we meet each other. And I want you to know that. And this looks like addressing guilt in women, because sometimes we feel guilty about what Taking care of ourselves and investing in our personal growth, given our prior experiences, our belief systems, what other people have done or said, what we see in society and our neighborhoods and our families. A lot of that impacts whether we invest in ourselves and our personal growth.
Speaker 1:But I want you to know that you're worthy of it. You are deserving of good things, that you don't have to earn that, because sometimes women will say, well, I haven't done enough. Well, I need to make sure this is taken care of first. Well, I need to any of those things? Going back to what limiting beliefs? None of those are true that you are deserving of investing in yourself by the mere fact that you were born, that's it. Not attached to anything, it's not conditional in any way.
Speaker 1:So, really reflecting on what would it mean if you were really to prioritize your emotional, mental and spiritual well-being?
Speaker 1:What would it mean? What would it mean if you were able to do that and recognizing what's holding you back, what's holding you back from taking a leap to invest in your growth, whether that looks like doing an experience of what I've described, or you reflecting on what are some small steps that I could take, what are some small steps that I could take, not next week, but today, to prioritize my own self-care and my own personal growth, what could that look like? Don't make it hard, don't make it something that's going to not be tangible today, right, because our brain will do that. It will tell us all the stuff that we can't do, but reminding yourself I can do this, I choose to, which is another way I invite women to really step into that. Not that I need to, because then you're like in lack, right, oh, I need to take a nap, oh, I need to go away, oh, I need. No, we're saying I choose to or I get to, which is an even more empowering statement. I get to take a nap, I get to rest, I get to sit down and do nothing.
Speaker 1:Whatever that looks like for you as a small step, is what I'm inviting you into, because here's the truth you don't have to go all the way to Bali to actually have the retreat effect that you could start exploring the idea of stepping away to reset your life. And even in this moment, if that means you're stepping away, is going outside. If that stepping away for you looks like going into town, the city and getting a hotel, if that stepping away means you find a local experience, it doesn't matter. It's really about the commitment to yourself that you are going to find small steps to care for yourself and develop in personal growth and create your own transformational getaway. I hope you've heard that from my heart. I certainly wanted to share that with you.
Speaker 1:As women around the world, listen to this and as your soul is calling you, into it. There is a call and the beautiful thing is we get to choose. We get to choose whether we answer the call, but I believe that you are here because a part of you is ready to say yes to it and I invite you to do that. I invite you to do that. So thank you for listening to this episode of Awaken your Inner Whole Woman podcast. I will see you in the next episode. Until then, bye for now. Thanks for listening to Awaken your Inner Whole Woman. If you liked our show and want to know more, check us out at wwwAwakentothenumber2powercom. You can also leave us a review on iTunes and we would love to hear your feedback. Join us next week for another episode of Awaken your Inner Whole Woman. Awaken your inner whole woman.