022: Behind The Scenes: Retreat Leaders Discuss Highlights and Lessons with Kelly and Chloe of RNR

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Kelly: Hello, hello, welcome to the transform with travel podcast. I am sitting here with my beautiful, beautiful friend, Chloe Ravel. She is the other half of Rising Nature Retreats and we are here today to talk about our year in review. So excited. So we have had some incredible, epic, life changing experiences all around the world this [00:01:00] year.

Kelly:: 2023

Kelly: The thing that keeps me coming back and rooted is our why. What's our why? Why do we keep bringing it? experiences around the world. Why do we keep offering our services in this capacity? And that's been like my grounding point through the entire year. I

ack to the reason that we do [: 00:02:00

Kelly: inspired

ful healing experience within: 2023

Kelly: And so, we started the year off with a bang.

Kelly: We went, in January, we went to the Dominican Republic. And not just the Dominican Republic. We went deep into the jungle.

Chloe: In Samana. In Samana.

Kelly: And we stayed at a beautiful eco resort that had luxury tree houses that had no walls, no air conditioning, no Wi Fi, and we were thrust into the jungle with 17, 000 people. Beautiful, beautiful guest, 18, actually, no, yeah, 17, 17, beautiful guest.

nt lifestyles. all different [: 00:03:00

Kelly: Oh, it was truly this theme around connecting back to nature, connecting back to your own true nature and really becoming aware of how how nature can affect us in such a way. I think when we first got there, everyone was like a little bit in that fight or flight survival mode. Like, wait, I knew that there wasn't going to be any walls and I knew I was going to be in the jungle.

Kelly: But, shit, I'm actually, there is no walls and there's no wifi and I can't sit up at night and text, you know, text my person or scroll Instagram. That first day people were a little bit like, oh shoot, this is what I signed up for. But then by the end of the retreat people were like, I don't want to go home.

es about it in his book, The [: 00:04:00

Kelly: the three day effects really shows that you need to have three full days immersed, like a really immersive experience in nature, whether that's camping or even glamping or in a tree house or whatever it is, hiking.

Kelly: After three days, your biological markers for stress go down. Your breath rate goes down, your heart rate goes down, your blood pressure goes down. And there's this overall feeling of increased vitality. And so this is why most of our multi day retreats are three, four, five, six days long. But in particular, this retreat in DR, we totally saw people come down.

Kelly: Their nervous systems went from like that, you know, very American hustle bustle nervous system. And they were like, Yeah. Yeah. Melting into the floor by the end of the retreat.

Kelly: But you had in particular one of your absolute favorite retreat moments of this year happened in DR. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Chloe: that? I just remembered I have two,

Kelly: you're going to cheat?

Chloe: to share two. I know,

Kelly: fine, share

Chloe: stick to one, but as you were speaking there, I just, it took me into another memory.

l share the first one, which [: 00:05:00

Chloe: And so we use this moment for connection. We had everyone who was like really excited for the zip line, at the top of the hike, really working their, like, hiking hot girl summer vibes, all the way to the top of the mountain, or top of the hill, [00:06:00] and I was in the back with the stragglers, and we were kind of all, openly discussing, what we were nervous about, and that experience alone just hearing other people's perspective also, like, when I shared my perspective, the kind of encouragement that I was feeling from, The community like here.

Chloe: I'm the retreat facilitator nervous about the zipline right just having that sense of Connection and community on the way up to the hike or up to the zipline was really amazing So that by the time I got up there I was already in a different mindset already like I got this like fired up all of each other all of us were cheering each other on when we got to the top But then when as we took turns jumping off the first zip line. Rooting for each other coming up with our like alter ego like badass woman Nickname, you know to like

Kelly: What was yours? I

Chloe: can't even remember actually I gotta think

Kelly: you remember another guest?

ourse for Mo there's like Mo [: 00:07:00

Chloe: Yeah, let's go Mo Money

Kelly: Mo Money!

Chloe: As she was like jumping off and we got really awesome footage So when I look back at those videos like to feel that sense of camaraderie that sense of community it kind of reminded me a little bit of like High school and sports and being on teams and that sense of pure excitement in that moment in that Presence and it was probably one of the scariest things I did, but I it had such a different perspective going into it. That was less about like, oh my god.

Chloe: I'm so scared. But like oh my god, I'm supported. Oh my god I'm being seen I'm being heard and I'm Like I'm in this together with a group of people, so that was an incredible experience. I'm not sure I'll ever zip line again, I think I just checked that off, like it was awesome, but I think I'm good.

Kelly: know what, so not everything is for everyone.

really awesome, and then I, [: 00:08:00

Chloe: with a healer who's actually an M. D. by trade, but also works a lot within, like, the holistic healing space. She's a sound healer, she's a woman's empowerment coach, and she runs these really, like, primal ceremonies that are called mud ceremonies, which is essentially us covering ourselves up in this ceremonial mud, which is really incredible for our skin.

Chloe: But she infuses them with essential oils, like lavender, and so they're also very calming to the body.

Kelly: prayed on them? She

tes of passage like to allow [: 00:09:00

Kelly: And when

Chloe: we You know as we're in that process where we feel so silly at first I was like, are we really just gonna cover ourselves up in mud and dance around on this island?

Chloe: And yes, we did That's exactly what we did and From the minute, I thought maybe everybody would be like, really nervous about it or uncomfortable, but it was incredible because after that three, three day effects, we were all just fully tapped in, in that vitality, in that joy of life. Wild Woman Unleashed, and we had the most incredible time when she brought different musical instruments, maracas, drums, and we were just dancing around and having the most amazing time on retreat.

sure that these experiences [: 00:10:00

Chloe: So yeah, I would say overall, top moments of this year were the excursion component of our retreats.

Kelly: I was coaching one of our client, one of our guests from the DR retreat, Dominican Republic retreat, maybe a couple months ago. And she told me, you know, whenever I start doubting myself, I go back to that memory of me.

Kelly: You know, banging on the maracas, run like dancing around, whipping my hair around with my mud on me. And she's like, that is me and my truest, most authentic form. And I always go back to that moment as an anchor for me when I feel like I'm being fearful or constricting or holding myself back in some way.

n you've done a zipline that [: 00:11:00

Kelly: So then we went to, from Dominican Republic, then we went to Greece. And we spent five nights, six days in this, in our island of Seraphos, Greece.

Kelly: And what, what was one of your just like very quick, like top favorite moment of Greece? Actually I can go. So for, so for me, one of my favorite things that I realized.

lcome back to your home like [: 00:12:00

Kelly: I got I just got chills like that is. The power of bringing in local experts, not us thinking that we're the experts across the whole world and everyone's just coming for us. For me, it was like, wow, how can we enrich our guest experiences tenfold by bringing in these people who care so much about their island, who care so much about their modalities that they've learned?

Kelly: And so that to me was, as a facilitator, the highlight, for sure, and all of you who are listening who went on the Greece retreat, you will know exactly. Sergios, our bartender, like, oh my god, like, best friend, you know, so, so there's just ways that, that to me was such a highlight. I don't know if there was anything else in Greece.

Chloe: for sure. I, I think that excursion up to the winery when we, you know, drove all the way to the tippy top of the island and had. Truly a 360 panoramic view of the Mediterranean, like looking around,

like, I don't know, nature. [: 00:13:00

Chloe: Like they're so proud of what they create. And so

Kelly: Because it's totally family owned.

Chloe: owned lineages, it is their ancestry and to see the excitement of the owners there and the connections we made and how proud they were to serve us and how educational it was to just learn about the different flavor palettes and profiles.

riences, they have the power [: 00:14:00

Chloe: Your overall outlook in life, your perspective, your mental health. So yeah, I loved that experience up at the top of that mountain in Greece. Wow.

Kelly: actually just reminded me one actually like a very concrete specific memory is we met with this local guide.

to: 1000

Chloe: very

maybe to get to the top and [: 00:15:00

Kelly: But Pavlos got really connected to us and we started talking about how can we connect for next year and just all these really fun, creative ideas and then we got to the Hora at like 11 am. But in Greece in the summer, nothing's open till like 1 or 2 and we're like well, we're freaking hungry. We just hiked for two hours.

Kelly: We need food and he's like hold on. The best restaurant in town are some of my best friends and they don't open, they don't actually don't open till dinner, but I'll see if they can open for lunch and he was able to get These owners of this restaurant, they only open at 5pm, they opened for us at 11 and gave us the most, everyone said that was their absolute favorite meal of the entire retreat, and that was just by, just by chance.

eah, that just cemented that [: 00:16:00

Kelly: Okay, so then from Greece, we went to Costa Rica in September. We went to a tiny town just south of Puerto Viejo, which is on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, which does not get as much. airtime as the Pacific Coast. A lot of Americans, we traveled to the Central Valley or North Pacific or South Pacific, but not a lot of people had made their way over to the Caribbean in the last two, three years.

Kelly: It has exploded post pandemic, but you don't hear a lot of yoga retreats heading that way. So it's really special for us to 10 years ago, 12 years ago now, geez. And we were able to, to bring a group of nine beautiful women down to Costa Rica and just share such an immersive experience again in nature and being really kind of cocooned in our little container that we had.

, but surf lessons was. life [: 00:17:00

Kelly: And he pushed her on this big wave, she got up on her knee, she put her arms out. And she was just beaming, like smiling, beaming. You could see her from a mile away, just radiating. And we got done with the lesson and she came up to me and she said, you know, I think. As I was surfing, I was thinking this is one of the best days of my life.

Kelly: I've, I haven't, I haven't been this happy in so long. And then she said, I, but now that I'm thinking about it, this actually is the best day of my life. This is like, it just transformed the way that she viewed herself, the way that she's able to view the way that she can go out and tackle anything that she wants.

onal friendships and support [: 00:18:00

Kelly: And then the second thing that I loved was you talked about in Dr.

Kelly: Doing something that scared you, which was the zip lining. In Costa Rica, we did a ESCO ceremony, which is like a, a sweat lodge. where it's a very small little yurt, like a very small little enclosed structure that you have to climb into and it's pitch black and they build up the heat from this fire and build it up and build it up and you have to stay and you're sweating and it's hot and you can't really breathe very well.

Kelly: But for me, I am extremely claustrophobic. I became claustrophobic when I, through my pregnancies, and I saw that little yurt when we walked through the jungle to get there and I was like, Oh, hell no. I'm not fucking doing this. There's no chance in hell. I am climbing like literally on hands and knees. And then is there going to be room?

lly. It is mind over matter. [: 00:19:00

Kelly: It's like, I, you will change your life if you're able to stay in here, especially changing my relationship with my claustrophobia. And so a lot of other guests are feeling the same way. And so I think it's also really powerful for guests to see us go through our own thing. Like you had to go through your own shit to get on that zip line.

Kelly: I had to go, like, I was literally, I, guests were like, I want to be on the back of the line. I'm like, no, I'm going to be in the back of the line. I'm like. You get, you go in front of me like I was pushing people in front of me, but luckily in the same way that like I've had experienced zip lining and I love zip lining.

Kelly: I was able to support people through the zip line process. Chloe has been through a Tamezcal ceremony. She, I wouldn't say maybe enjoys, but she can appreciate the experience and she was able to prep and coach people through that experience. So it's so powerful that the two of us can be going through our own thing and be scared about something and still do it anyway.

hat experience sealed it. So [: 00:20:00

Kelly: And now when I start feeling claustrophobic in spaces, I know I can tap back into that mental game to get me out of it.

Chloe: I love it.

Kelly: What about you? What about you for Costa?

Chloe: Oh, Costa, Costa Rica. I feel like I still feel the energy of like

Kelly: Pura Vida.

Chloe: Pura Vida, all the way. I truly enjoyed, I shared this on the last night of retreat, the way, the nourishment component of it. We, back to your point of working with amazing locals, we had, we were working with a chef and a sous chef.

Chloe: The chef was local or from Costa Rica, Tico, and then the sous chef and a, and American expat living in Costa Rica for the last like 15 years or so. And the way that Costa Rican lifestyle is supportive of the healthy modalities of like,

Kelly: just

like, the, like, gluten free [: 00:21:00

Chloe: Sometimes I struggle when I travel to Europe and different places that are not fully, like, you know, there's feta cheese everywhere in Greece and how are you not going to try that? But I felt that in Costa Rica having that chef that was so in tune to our needs and what he was preparing and the creativity and food and the freshness of local ingredients and the pride.

Chloe: He just cared so much. He was creating art. Every time we were served, we felt like we didn't even want to try our food. It looks so beautiful. They were like, this is a masterpiece. Also, His connection to making sure that we understood what we were eating So like every single evening when we were served dinner We would get educated on the different kinds of fruits and veggies He was using on the different like Costa Rican.

Chloe: Costa Rica is like a blend of different cultures

mazing cooking class that we [: 00:22:00

Chloe: Just like that whole, like, food on Costa Rica was next level and I felt my best. Being able to nourish my body in that capacity being more mindful in the way that I was eating and just knowing where my food came from. That was really, really special. And I, I love that about retreats and we have so much to talk about.

Chloe: What an amazing year it's been.

Kelly: been. I know. And when I, speaking of that chef. He was so conscious of the activities that we were doing. So, after our surf lesson, he had a really hearty rice and chicken and, you know, all the, like, really hearty meal.

eally heavy taco, but it was [: 00:23:00

Kelly: So he was just really conscious of there was one. One day where we did a lot of activities, I can't remember what it was, but he made this beautiful warming stew and he's like, I felt like you guys really needed something

Chloe: that was after Tim Mezcal. It was

Kelly: Temezcal, he, again, he made a beautiful nourishing, warming and grounding stew.

Kelly: Like he was, he looked at the itinerary and based what he was going to cook based on that. Like it was just so good. So.

Chloe: so many amazing people on these

Kelly: I mean, that's just literally snippets of each retreat. We could literally go on for hours and we will eventually, but we just wanted to wrap up the year. This is airing on December 26th, so it's the day after Christmas.

this such profound capacity [: 00:24:00

Kelly: It definitely ripples into our retreats and what's felt for our clients. And we just thank you guys so much for being along for the ride and check us out on our website and our Instagram for upcoming events and classes and retreats and all the amazing things that are coming up and anything else you want to end with, Chloe?

Chloe: living our best life.

Chloe: We know that when we teach a lot about burnout and how to create balance in everyday living, we know that stress isn't just...

ep in. Sometimes you need an [: 00:25:00

Chloe: But we find that when we do this within the container of community, so much growth and expansion and healing is happening.

Chloe: So if you've been considering coming on a retreat and you're just like nervous about it or have questions about how to, Like, which is the best retreat for you? You know, just any questions about logistics and travel.

nect and cheers to an amazing: 2024

Kelly: Happy New Year, everyone. Happy New Year!

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