For the longest time, I thought of women’s gatherings as boring tea parties for women to complain about how the patriarchy makes them miserable - and I’d politely decline when invited to women-only events.
And yet, here I am, proudly co-leading the Women’s Hub in Zurich with Nele for 5 years (the anniversary edition of the Women’s Hub Day is coming up in June), and co-hosting the Eunoia women’s retreat in Essaouira in June with Sarah.
I guess you could flag that as inconsistent behavior
But how I choose to see it, is that I am learning to look beyond my assumptions.
What makes me respond so judgmental and dismissive to something? What if I approach the topic with curiosity instead?
When Sarah invited me to participate in the first Eunoia retreat, I first of all noticed my fear of having to spend 4 full days with 11 chatty, potentially needy and gossipy women (hello fellow introverts ). I then simultaneously worried that the conversations at the retreat would be either too superficial, or that the whole retreat would be cringe-level kumbaya. And then, I remembered to get curious again, and just ask Sarah what she envisioned.
She told me that she was never drawn to women’s retreats either, and yet found herself imagining a gathering of women that would defy that definition. She wanted to create a place outside of time where women from very different walks of life come together in a space of beauty, honesty, and depth.
She saw all these women in her life that she admired, and felt how much she wanted them to know each other. And she saw me by her side supporting her to make this happen. Without knowing her (we had previously spent 30 minutes in a group zoom call together, 1.5 year before she reached out about her idea for the Eunoia retreats), I could feel how her vision touching my heart, and I decided in that moment to support her in realizing her dream, and organizing the first Eunoia chapter in Marrakech in October 2024. It was nothing short of amazing.
Fast forward, and here we are: two anti-women’s retreats women, ready to co-host the second Eunoia Chapter retreat in artistic, colorful Essaouira from June 12-16.
I am so honored to hold this space in Essaouira with Sarah, and gather with amazing women from around the world who are ready to reclaim joyful courage and quiet strength. To remind each other of what we already carry within: beauty, resilience, fire, intuition. To create a moment outside of time where we can simply be.
This is the un-retreat retreat. This is not about morning yoga or healing circles – although there is a bit of this, a bit of that. It’s about adventure, deep conversations, late-night laughter, dancing barefoot, long dinners under the stars.
It’s about remembering who we are, beyond the noise of the world – and damn is it noisy lately.
We both feel moved and deeply humbled when we see who has already signed up for the retreat (there are only 4 spots left!).
If you'd like to hear more about the Eunoia Chapters journey, we recently did a podcast with Julia Weiger on The Sacred Travel Podcast.
If you’d like to join us in Morocco and still have questions, just reply to this email, and let’s chat!
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