“What to Expect from the Heart of Authenticity Retreat (Before, During, and After)”

Stepping into a medicine retreat is a big decision. Even when there’s a deep “yes” inside, there can also be fear, questions, and a lot of unknowns:

• What actually happens there?
• How will I be prepared and supported?
• What if things come up that feel overwhelming?
• What happens after I go home?

This post is here to walk you through the arc of our Heart of Authenticity Retreat—in plain, grounded language—so you can feel more clarity about what to expect before, during, and after you say yes to this work.

It’s not meant to convince you. It’s meant to help you feel into whether this particular container matches what your heart, body, and Spirit are truly needing.

Before the retreat: preparation and honest conversation

We see preparation as part of the ceremony. The work doesn’t start when you drink the medicine—it starts the moment you honestly acknowledge that something in you is ready for change.

Here’s what you can expect before you ever arrive in Bella Vista, AR:

Initial application and screening
You’ll start by filling out an application where we ask about:

• What’s calling you to this work.
• What you’re navigating in your life right now.
• Any medical or mental‑health history that could be relevant.
• Your previous experience (or not) with medicine, therapy, or other deep work.

This isn’t about judging you. It’s about making sure the container is appropriate and safe for where you are right now.

Retreat interest call
If it looks like there may be alignment, we’ll invite you into a Retreat Interest Call. In this conversation, we’ll:

• Listen to what’s really on your heart.
• Answer your questions about the retreat structure and medicine.
• Share any concerns or red flags we see.
• Explore together whether the Heart of Authenticity Retreat is the right timing and container for you.

Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes “not yet,” and sometimes “this isn’t the right fit.” All three are valid outcomes.

Preparation support
Once you’re confirmed for the retreat, we’ll offer guidance to help you prepare your body, mind, and life, including:

• Suggestions around sleep, nutrition, and substances.
• Journaling prompts to clarify your intentions.
• Practical steps for conversations with loved ones, work, and other responsibilities.
• Support in working with fear, doubt, or resistance that naturally arises.

Our goal is for you to arrive feeling as clear, supported, and resourced as possible—not perfect, but present.

During the retreat: ceremony, community, and care

The Heart of Authenticity Retreat is structured as a whole‑journey container, not just a series of isolated ceremonies. While each retreat has its own flow, you can expect a rhythm something like this:

Landing and orientation
When you arrive, we’ll:

• Welcome you into the space and help you get settled.
• Review agreements and boundaries for the container.
• Introduce you to the group and our roles as facilitators.
• Create space for everyone to share a bit about why they’re there (at their own pace).

The intention is to help your body and nervous system feel the ground under you—to know that you’re not alone and that there is structure here.

Preparation circles
Before any medicine is shared, we’ll spend time:

• Deepening your intentions.
• Naming fears and expectations.
• Teaching basic nervous‑system tools (breath, grounding, orienting).
• Clarifying how to communicate your needs during ceremony.

We want you to feel empowered and equipped to advocate for yourself throughout the process.

Ceremony
In ceremony spaces themselves, you can expect:

• Carefully dosed and held work with Grandmother and/or other medicines, in alignment with our lineages.
• A small group, so we can truly attend to each person.
• A balance of structure and spaciousness—song, silence, guidance, and room for your own process.
• Ongoing monitoring and support from us (and any assisting team), with consent‑based touch and interventions.

Our role is not to control your process, but to help hold a safe, grounded field where you can meet what arises.

Integration circles during the retreat
We don’t just send you back to your room after ceremony and leave you alone with everything that surfaced. There will be time built into the schedule for:

• Group sharing and witnessing.
• Exploring themes and patterns that emerged.
• Beginning to translate insights into language, images, and body sensations.
• Gentle guidance around what to do—and not do—with what you’re seeing.

We also make room for quiet time, rest, and nature, so your system has a chance to digest.

After the retreat: integration and real‑life change

In many ways, the real work begins after you leave the retreat.

Integration is about how you live what you discovered—not just how you remember a powerful weekend. Here’s what you can expect on the other side:

Post‑retreat integration support
We’ll stay connected with you after you return home through:

• Scheduled integration calls or check‑ins.
• Guidance for weaving insights into conversations, decisions, and boundaries.
• Support in working with any “post‑retreat crash,” confusion, or emotional waves that can arise.

The goal is not to keep you dependent on us, but to help you anchor what you received into your own life.

Tools for your nervous system and relationships
We’ll invite you to keep using the tools we introduced during the retreat:

• Breath and grounding practices.
• Body‑based awareness of triggers and patterns.
• Honest communication frameworks for your relationships.
• Ways to listen for your own yes/no as you move forward.

These practices help your system integrate change at a pace it can actually sustain.

Ongoing discernment
Sometimes, after a powerful retreat, people want to rush into “more”—more ceremonies, more intensity, more big experiences. Part of our integration focus is helping you discern:

• When to rest and digest.
• When (or if) another ceremony is actually supportive.
• What other kinds of support (therapy, bodywork, community) might be useful now.

We care more about your long‑term wholeness than about you doing “the most” in the shortest amount of time.

Wrapping up: it’s a whole journey, not just a moment

The Heart of Authenticity Retreat is not a magic fix or a spiritual performance. It’s a whole journey—before, during, and after—designed to help you tell yourself the truth, meet what arises with support, and begin to live from a more honest, loving place within yourself.

If you find yourself reading all of this with a mix of fear and resonance, that’s okay. It doesn’t mean you have to say yes. It simply means something in you is paying attention.

If you’d like to explore more:

• You can read the full details and application process on our Heart of Authenticity Retreat page.

• Or you can schedule a Retreat Interest Call to feel into this together, human to human.

There is no rush and no pressure. Only an invitation to listen more deeply to what your own heart is saying.