Nourished and Ignited: My Transformative Weekend With YOLYOL—a group retreat experience—can help you overcome the mental roadblocks that prevent well-being. Read on to learn about my experience with a YOL retreat.
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* The following is a sponsored post. All opinions are 100% my own. It's been a rough couple of months. You know the kind. When everything all falls apart all at once, and you're like, "Ugh, how did I get here?!" You ask yourself this question despite secretly knowing that you've been going down the wrong path for a while.
But I'm a "grasping at straws" kind of gal. I'll work harder to try to make things work even when things are not working for a reason. Eventually, I realize that everything is broken and falling apart because it all needs to be replaced. It's that time, again, to go back to the drawing board, see what's still working, and throw the rest out. Life is funny though. Often when you think life is about to break you, just the right thing comes along to help you break through it. That thing, whatever it is, changes your point of view just enough to see that there is a brighter future, even when you're still not sure how you'll get there. For me, that breakthrough was my weekend with YOL. How I Discovered YOLI met David Cherner, founder of YOL, nearly a year ago. It was back then that I learned YOL is an experiential wellness company that merges yoga, leadership training, and community service. It's a delightful mix of research-supported approaches designed to nourish and ignite people.
As some of you know, I currently spend most of my time consulting with well-being businesses in an effort to help them create high-impact products and services. Sometimes I have a lot of work and sometimes I have little. Sometimes the projects are exciting and sometimes they are dull. Sometimes things just flow, and other times... I wonder why I do this work at all. Lately, I've been on the not-so-enjoyable side of these teeter-totters. But it was last week, when I was completely out of straws to grasp, when David reached out asking for help to test the impacts of YOL. I got really excited. A YOL retreat was exactly what I needed. "YOL's mission to nourish and ignite was exactly what I needed. But my YOL experience was not at all what I expected."
As the weekend approached, I packed up my gear and hopped in the car, cautiously optimistic that the weekend would help me relax, connect, and regain the energy to figure out my next steps.
YOL's mission to nourish and ignite was exactly what I needed. But my YOL experience was not at all what I expected. Get Out of Your Comfort ZoneAfter arriving at YOL, I very quickly realized that I was way out of my comfort zone.
We started with some light yoga. It was probably the best yoga class I've ever been in. It was easy to follow along, and all the positions felt comfortable, but I'm definitely not a yoga person. I immediately started to wonder if this was going to be a good fit for me... and this was just the first 15 minutes. After yoga, we began leadership training. To get to know each other we did an exercise throwing balls to each other and saying each other's names. This is when I started to feel really uncomfortable. The two things I'm probably worst at are memory and athletics. I dropped the ball a lot. I got people's names wrong repeatedly. I started feeling stressed. "Hey," I thought to myself, "This isn't what I signed up for!" But I've never been one to avoid the uncomfortable or back down from a challenge. So I continued to participate, even as my mind tried to resist. "We were all out of our comfort zones...together. "
Develop Intimacy and AuthenticityThe next morning, we discussed the dark side of service in preparation for our community service activity. I ended up sharing a story with one woman - a story that I've probably only told one other person in my entire life. It felt incredibly uncomfortable to be that vulnerable with a near-complete stranger. I started to wonder, "Why are these activities making me feel uncomfortable?" Maybe there was something that could be learned from this...
In the afternoon, we did an activity that required us to embody another woman's fears. Some women cried. Other women cried in empathy. We all felt it. The discomfort. We all felt uncomfortable yet... comfortable in knowing that we were all out of our comfort zones...together. Something amazing was happening here. I won't lie to you and say it got easier. It felt really weird being so intimate and authentic. But I did it. And I'm so glad I did. "I don't know exactly what was different. All I know is that something was different."
Nourished and IgnitedBy the end of the weekend, my body was literally tingling and my mind was buzzing. What on earth had I just experienced?
On the long drive home across beautiful, green California, I just kind of sat with myself. I don't know exactly what was different. All I know is that something was different. A few days later, after reflecting on the experience, I could better understand some of the changes that had occurred inside me. I had pushed myself beyond what was comfortable, and it opened up a new part of me. So I feel empowered and inspired to take charge of my life because I now know it's ok to be uncomfortable. YOL showed me that I have everything I need inside of me. The Impacts of YOLAfter reflecting on my own personal experience, it was time to look at the data. Had the other women in the program experienced the same kinds of transformations that I had? Upon reviewing the data, it was immediately apparent that YOL has real positive impacts. Although I only have data from a small number of women from this one weekend, this makes the results all the more impressive. Participants experienced increases in leadership confidence, empowerment, and inspiration, and significant decreases in stress. Like me, they had found new resources inside themselves.
* Notes statistically significant change from Pre to Post YOL experience.
Final Thoughts on YOLMy YOL experience this weekend reminded me that real change doesn't come easily. But real change is possible, and it's worth the effort.
So where am I now? I'm here, in the moment. I'm finally excited about the future even though I don't yet know where it will take me. I'm no longer afraid of getting out of my comfort zone - in fact, Bring It On! I'm ready for whatever comes next. Thanks YOL :) Articles Related to Getting Out of Your Comfort ZoneWant to learn more? Check out these articles:
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