When Mel from Beauty Tofu asked me if I wanted to write a blog about myself I was a little apprehensive. After all, the company I created isn’t about me but about women as a collective empowering each other. Then I realized that Mel was offering me an opportunity to do exactly what I encourage other women to do, and so I have to practice what I preach and tell my story to empower others and myself.
My name is Celine, I’m 30 years old and I’m the founder of Sattva Soul Retreats. I was born in New Zealand, where I always had a vision and was passionately chasing a dream. I came from a broken home; I lived between my Mum and Dad – who were, and still are amazing, but as a kid, I hated they weren't together and that they would argue a lot.
When I was 19, my Acting career led me to move to New York and then eventually on to Los Angeles, where I lived a life that looked fantastic from the outside but in reality was hectic and far from fulfilling. After almost a decade of living in Hollywood, the burnout and constant chasing led me to crave a restful escape from the rat race. I was always ‘on' and had to search for moments of stillness while being endlessly on the go. Growing up athletic I was no stranger to exercise but got into yoga and meditation because mentally, I loved how the synchronized breathing helped quiet the chatter of my mind and released any blockages of energy throughout my body. It was my safe haven, a moving meditation where all I had to focus on was my breath and my body for those few precious moments. Needless to say, yoga became my favorite part of the day.
The catalyst that changed my life was a break up with my partner after we had a miscarriage. I say catalyst because although it hurt at the time, this milestone altered the course of my life and now I'm nothing but thankful for this experience. I learned more about myself in that month than I could have in years of staying in my current situation. I'm not saying you need to go through some catastrophic event to find your power, but for me, this wake-up call was what the universe required to propel me into action. My partner had always made fun of my innate spiritual nature, which I let happen. I had always read tarot cards, practiced yoga, I even got certified in Reiki energy healing. Unfortunately, or fortunately, as I thought at the time, he was a wealthy, type A businessman, and his only priority was money, and anything spiritual wasn't entertained, so I stuffed down that part of me because I didn't want to ‘embarrass him.' After our break up and some stern words from my family and friends, I said enough is enough. I packed my bags, sold my car, said goodbye to Hollywood and booked a trip to Bali to become a certified Yoga Teacher.
My trip to Bali was beyond liberating and led me on a spiritual path of studying Yoga around the world, as well as Meditation, Ayurveda, Reiki, and many other healing modalities. At this time the vision for Sattva Soul Retreats was born. Sattva is the ancient Sanskrit word for balance, where there is a unity of mind, body, and soul. In Yogic philosophy, Sattva is also the ideology about finding balance through incorporating equal parts of mind, body, and spirit to create a whole unit that we work on together, rather than in isolation, as is commonly done in modern society.
I created Sattva Soul Retreats as a transformational week-long retreat, one for women to escape from the stresses of their busy lives, while also discovering a buffet of tools they could use to help manage there stress and anxiety. Of course, this week of self-discovery and learning is also combined with some luxurious pampering, delicious food and connecting with other beautiful like-minded women.
When I started explaining a transformational retreat, I realized it differed from the common perception of a vacation retreat. A vacation retreat is where you have a few massages, eat some yummy food, get some sun, but don't advance yourself with self-development work. Which usually means you have a lovely vacation, but then you go back home to the chaos you left behind, and nothing has changed. I knew more ladies needed to have tools to deal with the pressures of everyday life, but also many couldn't afford to take time off from their hectic schedules. Thus, Sattva Soul Events were born, and I decided to create a taster of my retreat in their own backyards. This half-day retreat taster has since come to life multiple times, with amazing healers and wellness sponsors I approached which has allowed me to share more magic than I could imagine and help give access to anyone that might need a bit of self-love or healing.
I'm grateful for the fantastic journey that Sattva Soul Retreats has led me on and the hundreds of women's lives that have been changed since they took charge of their purpose. I truly believe we each have our own unique mission; otherwise, we wouldn't be here and I'm excited about the work we do.
If you’ve read this far then thank you, and if you want to check us out or find out about our Bali retreat or event schedule you can find us online at www.sattvasoulretreats.com or follow us on IG or FB @sattvasoulretreats
Here's to living a life that makes you lit up!
With love,
Celine
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