Unpacking a Successful Transformational Wellness Retreat
Saundra Gilliard, Femininely Free! and Kathy A. Hampton, Wellside Retreats
With all the anticipation prior to the Autumnal Equinox that began September 22, 2025 there has considerable time to unpack the inaugural wellness retreat, Transformation by Way of Restoration that brought together five amazing women, Saundra and me to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania.
In this post, Saundra and I share some notes about our experience.
Reflections by Saundra Gilliard
What a blessing it was to connect with Kathy and collaborate on the Transformation by Way of Restoration Retreat. I am honored to have played a role in creating that space.
Creating spaces for Black women to reconnect with themselves and each other has been my journey for more than 20 years. During the retreat, I was joyfully reminded of how relevant it is for me to continue on that journey.
From the time I greeted the first women who arrived, I could feel how necessary it is for Black women to take time out to just be. Just because. Something that historically, we didn’t allow ourselves to indulge in.
Transformation By Way of Restoration was designed to provide Black women with a serene environment where they could be nourished and restored mentally, emotionally and spiritually. The Mansion at Noble Lane gave us the opportunity to accomplish both.
Our commitment to keeping the agenda open and free, gave both Kathy and I, the luxury to lead group meditations and personal story circles in a way that was participant driven. I was humbled by the stories and perspective shifts that were made in the short amount of time we shared together. The insights, breakthroughs and discoveries were affirming.
Restoration is the art of bringing something back to its full potential, in a way that we can see the transformation. We were able to witness transformation in the way the Mansion at Noble Lane was restored. We also witnessed the transformation of the 5 women who spent the weekend with us, restoring, re-thinking and re-claiming.
Thank you for allowing me to be a witness.
I thank each woman who made the decision to put herself first and join us for the weekend. I trust that your experience was everything Kathy and I intended.
Unpacking . . . by Kathy Hampton
A month after retreating to a scenic mountain town to take in some fresh air, change in surroundings and meet up with women I had not met in person; I came back with a new perspective of story telling and how transformative it can be.
During the last two, almost three years, I have encouraged women to journal as a practice for self care. I believe in this practice so much for healing, self expression and clarity. The Transformation By Way of Restoration retreat revealed that sharing stories aloud goes a step further to heal and restore. Writing the stories using Saundra’s techniques encourages the reflection and restoration that this retreat was designed for. Thank you Saundra for your beautiful talent, skills and compassion.
Sharing stories, great food, lots of laughter and the time to just be were some of the wonderful takeaway moments that made this retreat a success! The creation and curation of this heartfelt event took well spent time. All the pieces planned and unplanned came together and were divine.
Upon my return home, I unpacked smiles, great connections, lessons learned and shared.
I thank those who said YES to this self care experience.
~ Kathy A. Hampton❤️