Where do I start?! I guess I can start at what is Innermission. Innermission was created by 2 former Victoria’s Secret marketing employees Sara and Brooke. They took one idea that they had for their prior company and turned it into an entrepreneurial venture of their own. Intermission is a mindfulness retreat designed to inspire a more proactive approach to emotional wellness and mindful living. Their mission is to leverage real life experiences to help other humans take a minute and shift their mindset. The experience was based around 8 pillars of mindfulness: Digital disconnection, human connection, movement, breath, nature, nourishment, music and play.

Sara & Brooke the Creators

Sara and Brooke invited Sanya and I plus 1 lucky Mommi in our community to experience this retreat. Our original thought process was that we would use this opportunity to get away from the craziness of our lives and focus on the future of MommiNation. So we were using this opportunity as a “workcation”t. But when we got there, we realized that we needed to do the work on ourselves before we could work on our business.

Sara and Brooke thought of everything! From the people that would be there to the facilitators that would lead each session to the food to the environment and everything in between. Innermission Austin took place June 10-13 at Lucky Arrow Retreat in Dripping Springs, Texas. If you haven’t been to the location stop everything you’re doing and Google it now. It was serene. The cabins, the views, the rooftop, it’s what I will call the ultimate glamping (glam-camping) experience.

Innermission from the beginning to end

So I’ll start from the beginning. Sanya and I drove onto the property and was immediately blown away driving down the pavement. We pulled up to our cabins, walked in our rooms and couldn’t believe our eyes. Cabins were so gorgeous! After realizing that we were going to be spending the weekend in these luxury cabins, reality set in and I realize that I would have to mingle with people. My anxiety immediately began to rise. As we walk towards  “Basecamp” my heart was beating out of my chest at the thought of meeting new people and having small talk. So of course I let Sanya lead all the conversations. We met some really dope people but we were most excited about meeting Stefanie. Stefanie was the winner of the MommiNation Giveaway. She had been so loyal to the MommiNation community and she was living in Austin so once she met all the requirements to enter the giveaway it was a no-brainer that she was the winner.

Stefanie was amazing. And what was even more incredible was the fact that she brought her husband. My initial thought was that it would’ve been so difficult to get my husband to come and participate in something like this and I didn’t think that her husband would go all in. But boy was I wrong. Stephanie and Artie were amazing together. I could tell that they both got what they really needed in their own individual ways and also for their marriage.

So what did we do at Innermission?

The first night included a visualization quick shop led by Shenna. Sheena is one of the most amazing people that we met on this trip. Her energy it’s just incredible. She is a Vision advisor who helps people And teams shift their mindset to get clarity through neuroscience and leadership. And that is exactly what she did for Sanya and I. She led a personal workshop for just the two of us which helped us to become more clear on the near future of MommiNation.

Sheena also led the word diet. This was really fun. This was a time two emphasize how much words really matter. There were a few words that I’ve learned to remove from my vocabulary because it creates resentment, shame, guilt, confusion, as opposed to loving conversations. There were other words that I’ve learned to use more intentionally. Like I AM! Sheena taught me that I am creates. It creates whatever you put behind it. So if you say I am successful that is what you’ll be. Also if you say I am unsuccessful… That is what you’ll be. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned from this experience is that I need more positive talk in my life and I need to remove the negative talk. And just the way you talk to yourself and others you can manifest greatness or destruction.

Sound Bath

The next workshop was a sound bath. This was one of the more relaxing parts of the retreat. We laid-back as three amazing musicians played they’re very unique instruments mimicking sounds of the environment. Personally during this time I was able to completely let go, relax, and be present. This was perfect to end the night.

The next morning the first activity was yoga at 7:30 AM. Well they called it yoga and I call it the most intense yoga I’ve ever seen in my life. But it was good. I’ve been wanting to hop back into consistent movement before the Fit Mommi Challenge to prepare and this was the perfect way to jump right back in. There was some form of yoga every day which I loved!

Breathwork

The next workshop was the most intense, unexpected, and memorable experience that I had at the entire retreat. It was a breath work workshop with Melanie Hunter. I went into this workshop thinking that this would be restful after yoga and interesting to learn different breathing techniques but oh did I get so much more than I bargained for. This is the first time I ever participated in breath work, So I had no expectations.

We all laid on our back and listened to songs as Melanie guided us through deep inhales into the bottom of our belly then hold that inhale in her chest, and finally released her mouth. She directed us to do this over and over and over and over again. As I focused on breathing correctly, and the songs we’re going Melanie guided our visualization and thinking process. I can’t really describe or explain what she said or how she said it all I know is it about halfway through the session I drifted into another dimension. I know I sound completely crazy but that’s what happened. The beauty of it was that everybody that I know and love was there holding me, supporting me, and showing me unconditional love. I am certain I had an experience with God during that moment that I’ve never had before. My face was flooded with tears my hands and feet shaking and I felt is though I levitated off the ground.

Immediately after the last song finished she told us to open her eyes and out of fear of felling embarrassed I ran out of the room and immediately towards Sanya‘s cabin. I fell in her arms crying uncontrollably and shaking. She consoled me until I was finally able to speak and tell her what happened. Later on that day I was told that at least 50% of the other people there had the same experience. I was blown away! I will now be participating in breath work more often.

The Workshop

The next workshop also had a pretty impactful impression on me as well. The next workshop was led by Preston Smiles. We had initially heard rave reviews about his workshops so I was really excited to be able to participate but I had no clue what to expect. During this workshop I really started to pull out some of the unfortunate things that happened  in my life that has both help shaped who I am and created unhealthy habits. During this workshop I also really loosened up and learned how to make meaningful relationships in a very short amount of time. I’m an introvert and usually takes a long time to warm up to someone and share parts of my life. But Preston threw us right into the lions den and encouraged us to share deep truths to complete strangers. It was easy to talk to strangers though. A lot easier than talking to the people that I love the most. Because I was able to not worry about being judged or having that truth brought up later when all I wanted to do was hide from it. There was a exercise where we had to close our eyes and hug a random person for about 15 minutes. Initially I thought this would be so uncomfortable but most people after the first few minutes began to get very emotional and cry. Even when we didn’t know why we were crying. It helped me to realize that we all want to be comforted and consoled at some point in our lives or about some situation even if it’s by a complete stranger.

Human Design

Amelia was another light in this experience. In addition to many other titles Amelia is a human design coach and relational leadership facilitator. She lead two very important parts of this retreat for me. She gave me my human design reading. Which says that the day, time, year, and place that I was born help design the human that I am. There were a few important pieces that stuck out. That I am reliable. I pride myself in being reliable and doing what I say that I’m going to do. Also that I am a vessel of love, that I am a inquisitive person, and that I move fast. It taught me that I have a sacral authority. And that I should move towards the things that naturally feel good to me and avoid the things that my body rejects because that will only cause frustration.

She also led a workshop that help me realize that I need to step up more. That I shouldn’t dim my light for others to shine more bright. That I tend to sit back and some of my relationships and let others shine instead of speaking up and also letting others see my light. This workshop taught me that while it’s important to be a good listener I must also be a good communicator. According to my human design reading, I avoid confrontation. Which leads me to not speak up when something is bothering me and that’s when I need to be a better communicator.

Everything I never knew I needed

I went into this opportunity not expecting anything. But what I’ve learned is priceless. I learned so much about myself both good and bad. I felt almost every emotion there is to feel and I was able to overcome A lot of anxiety and just three days. Sarah and Brooke have created something exceptional. And although I’ve never met the people that I interacted with before this day, Preston taught me but there’s 7 billion people on this planet and it wasn’t a coincidence that I ended up in the same room as the other 30 people. God designed this very event and lead me to it the way that he did for me to experience him in a way I never have before and learn so much about myself.

What’s even more incredible is that the creators plan to make this a reoccurring event. Round 2 of your Innermission will take place in the same location January 27-30, 2022. I promise you, this is something that you need!! You can take advantage of this opportunity today by clicking HERE. You can also receive $500 off until December 15, 2021 with code OGLOVE.