I remember my grandmother telling me that back in the time when she was young, in her village there was this custom for women to meet and sing. She lost this habit when she left her village for the city. And then, her whole world changed. I don’t think she was ever able again to find a women community to belong to. She was left just with her memories she would share with me. As a child, back then I didn’t really understand the importance of belonging to a women’s community. Now I have started to understand this need more and more and the extent of its importance to us, women. I decided to take part in a womanhood retreat in Crete out of this need.

It was an intense experience, full of emotions and challenges. This experience went down the right way for me and it also gave me the right amount of force I needed to start a project I have had on my mind for long but never felt connected with until now. I left feeling confident I was going to feel safe. I felt connected, confident, and enthusiastic about what was going to come.

This experience brought me out of my comfort zone. There were moments when I thought I wasn’t going to make it to the end. I helped me to share my inner experience with the other sisters. The more I calmed down, the more I felt joy, connection, nourishment.

I felt I was supported and nourished by the other sisters. I danced a lot, released blocked tensions from my body, I learned new dance movements that make me feel more feminine, I did a lot of body work that helped with unblocking different energies stuck in the body. I feel I took back some of the flexibility of my body. I feel my body is lighter and more relaxed when I move. I got connected with plenty of feminine energy and I also expressed this feminine energy in an environment where I felt safe. This experience felt like an inner validation for the woman in me.

There were 26 women from all over the world. In the beginning, everybody tried to get in touch with the others, get to know each other. As the days passed and we got to a deeper level, our masks fell and we started sharing genuine connection. It is this genuine connection that brings me the most of joy in my life right now.

What was nourishing for my soul during this retreat

• I enjoyed the sun, the sea. Crete is wonderful and has a fantastic energy. I enjoyed nature and I let myself be nourished by it. I could have stayed there for one whole month and enjoy it without doing anything else. My senses felt nourished.
• Greek vegetarian food.
• The joy of sharing myself genuinely with the other sisters, who were there for the same reasons like me.
• The safety I felt as we started to know each other and the genuine connection.
• The free dancing, using authentic, feminine movements.
• Yoga mudras
• The music that nourished different aspects of the feminine soul.
• Experimenting the feminine archetypes.
• Practicing gentle communication and care for the other sisters.
• The most nourishing was the fact I did all these together with other sisters, who in their turn enjoyed this experience of being together. I would like to thank them for this experience and I am glad I had the opportunity to meet them. 🙂

… and … Thank you, Zola Dubnikova!