What a decade 2020 has been, am I right?
As we’ve made the difficult decisions to postpone our May and June Wander Women Retreats, our hearts were heavy knowing that while travel is currently on hold, all the vibes we and our guests feel on our trips? The ones that keep us feeling motivated, connected, grounded, inspired? We need those now more than ever.
So at Wander Women Retreats we have been asking ourselves, how can we keep the spirit of adventure and connectedness alive right now, without leaving home? How can we serve our community to build healthy and rewarding routines in a topsy turvey time? How can we support female entrepreneurs whose careers have been impacted?
Inspiration struck, and Wander Women Global: A Virtual Retreat was born.
Join me and a global crew of some of my nearest and dearest for a week of original yoga flows, enthusiastic virtual hugs, educational online workshops, shared travel appreciation, and more β from wherever you are.
Dive into workshops and webinars led by industry leaders on a variety of topics specifically designed to enrich your life in this time of stillness and self reflection. Drop into flows sequenced straight from the heart. Reflect on journaling prompts that will open your mind. Enjoy exclusive content you wonβt find anywhere else. Regardless of where you are in the world, or whatever your current schedule might be, you can download and participate on your own time.
All the inspiration, community, and feel-good vibes of a Wander Woman Retreat, from the comfort of your home.
The Details
The retreat will be held over seven days from May 1st to 8th, 2020. Weβve timed this retreat to help you start the new month fresh. The cost is $150 for new Wander Women and $100 for past and current Wander Women guests β simply use the code βwanderlove.β
Weβll be donating a percentage of our profits to the YWCA COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Community Resiliency Fund, and will be gifting four retreats, one to a woman in each of the following categories: a women whoβs income has been effected by the economic crisis, a healthcare worker, a primary caregiver for a loved one, and an essential worker still reporting in-person to a job that keeps the world turning. We appreciate all of yβall.
Every day of the week, youβll receive the following from our talented collective:
β’ an exclusive email with original and inspiring thoughts from Alex that you wonβt find anywhere else
β’ a yoga flow designed to challenge the body and recharge the mind
β’ a meditation even people who hate meditation can enjoy
β’ a thought-provoking journaling prompt
β’ an escape workshop or call with experts in travel, nutrition, photography, art, home design, blogging, and sustainability
β’ a custom happy hour cocktail recipe from an expert mixologist β with a travel twist
β’ evening entertainment inspiration of travel movie and book recommendations curated by Alex
β’ β¦and more!
Youβll also receive access to a private Facebook group with me and the workshop hosts where weβll connect and share our experiences virtually with daily discussions on all of the above. In addition, weβll gift you a virtual welcome bag full of discount codes, downloads, and gifts-with-purchase from our friends and sponsors.
Like any Wander Women Retreat, you can make it your own. Donβt feel like flowing one day? Donβt stress, you can save it for whenever (and forever!) Not feeling the writing vibe? We wonβt check your homework. (But we will be there to discuss anything you wish to share.) Make this retreat you own.
In order to be inclusive to our global community in various time zones, some sessions will be pre-recorded, with a daily active discussion in our private Facebook group. We will base the timing for live sessions on what can be inclusive of the majority of guests, and send recordings to those who could not make it.
Whatβs Not Included
While weβd love to ship each of you a confetti-filled box of cocktail and crafting supplies (biodegradable confetti, of course!), due to various shipping restrictions around the globe, we will refrain. Instead, weβll send you a detailed shopping list ahead of time, and can help with modifications if youβre in an area with supply shortages.
Exclusive Emails Straight to Your Inbox
The theme of each day will be introduced in the daily email from Alex, sharing thoughts, stories and sentiments that you wonβt find elsewhere. If you love reading Alex in Wanderland posts, youβll love these inspiring daily emails.
βInstructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.β β Mary Oliver
Each day, youβll be sent a thought-provoking journaling prompt designed to help you find your own path through this unprecedented time. You can choose to keep your writing private or share it in the Facebook group conversation each day.
Yoga + Meditations
Youβll be enjoying daily flows with our yogi-in-residence, me! I’m a RYT 200 Registered Yoga Teacher, a Buti Bands and Sculpt instructor, and a regular yoga practitioner for over a decade. I have a passion for creative sequencing, building badass playlists, and disproving the idea that one can be βbadβ at yoga.
Weβll primarily be practicing vinyasa, with some slow flows, sculpting sets, yummy yin, and perhaps even a few surprise guest yoga instructors.
Happy Hour
Yβall are in for a big treat. Amy Koffsky of TVβs Bar Rescue, an award-winning professional bartender and bar consultant, is creating for us seven daily cocktails (and mocktail modifications!) based on the seven continents. Youβll be sent a daily recipe (a shopping list will be provided ahead of time) and mini mixology session from our favorite babe behind the bar. Weβll all drink to that!
Daily Escape
Dive into a daily workshop with a full stack of honorary Wander Women from around the world. Each workshop will start with an introduction by me before handing it over to the experts.
Day One: Cheers! Weβll kick things off with a Zoom Happy Hour with me, where weβll get to know each other, talk about what we hope to get out of this retreat, discuss past and future adventures, and toast to the week ahead.
Day Two: DIY to do good! Right now weβre all scrambling to stay sustainable amid new regulations for staying sanitary. Enter Lindsay McCormick of Bite Toothpaste, who have been repurposing their products glass bottles to hand out hand sanitiser to at-risk homeless populations on the streets of LA. Eco goddess Lindsay will lead us through a workshop for making your own hand-sanitizer, body moisturizer, and DIY face mask. Take care of the planet while you take care of you.
Day Three: Time for a crafternoon! Download a travel-themed coloring sheet from our virtual artist-in-residence Lauren of Green Blanky Studio. Lauren was a guest on our very first retreat in Koh Tao, Thailand, and has been creating custom prints for our guests on every trip since! Lauren will walk us through her artistic process while we color along from home and enjoy the zen benefits of this creative moving meditation.
Day Four: Start your day with the perfect smoothie bowl! Learn the secrets to creating delicious smoothie bowls at home β and learn to style them beautifully for maximum spoil yourself vibes. Janine OβDonnell of Living Juices, a certified health coach and the breakfast queen of our annual Wander Women Retreats Koh Tao trip, will share her favorite recipes and all her top tips for a nutritious treat that takes you on vacation right at your own kitchen counter.
Day Five: Strike a pose! Are you sick of posting throwbacks on your Instagram? Looking for a creative outlet? Ready to spice up your walks around the neighborhood? Youβll love this isolation-focused workshop with photography expert Kristin Addis of Be My Travel Muse. Also a top travel blogger and a retreat leader herself, Kristin (literally!) wrote the course on how to get great photos of yourself. Sheβll dive into topics like taking your own self portraits, nailing flat lays, and other photography projects you donβt need to go anywhere to execute. While advanced camera topics may be covered, youβll take away tons with as little as a smartphone.
Day Six: Create your own retreat center! Make your home into a haven with this workshop immersing in spring cleaning, the principles of design, and how to apply this knowledge to love where you live with Steffi Min and Mary Frisbee of Clear Studios. With backgrounds in architecture, interior design, holistic home styling and event production, they are experts in how to make any space a sanctuary. (Bonus β paring down means packing will be painless, when youβre back on the road.)
Day Seven: Letβs get digital! Have you taken up a new hobby that youβre ready to share with the world? Are you using this time to work on a travel blog or freshen up a website for your small business? Blogging is a beautiful way to connect with the world right now! For beginners, go through a step-by-step workshop for the best practices for setting up a blog with Alex in Wanderlandβs right hand woman and behind-the-scenes assistant to many super successful travel blogs, Samantha Gross of There She Goes Again. Next, dive into my own blogging insights developed over a decade β and get the chance to have all your burning blogging questions answered by me in an exclusive Q + A.
Day Seven Bonus: Letβs reflect. Past Wander Women Retreats guests know, thereβs no getting out without a little time for structured reflection! Weβll gather for a video call to discuss the highs and lows of the past week, and our hopes for the future.
Join Us
Weβre getting this party started ASAP! This virtual retreat starts soon on May 1st. Want the IRL experience? We hear you, us too β sign up for our newsletter or email us to enroll for future retreats. Until June 1st, weβre offering risk-free bookings, and refunds are always available if we have to postpone a retreat due to a pandemic or otherwise.
Once payment is complete, youβll receive a confirmation email with intake form and an invite to a private Facebook group for your trip. Weβll send over full scheduling and details, and help you with any questions!
F.A.Q.
I still have a strict work schedule. Will I be able to participate?
Yes! Weβll make the webinars accessible to watch at any time of day, whatever works for you, no matter your time zone. Any participation in the activities is up to you!
How else can we support?
If you want to add on to our donation to charity, or help support the Wander Women crew, shoot us an email and we can coordinate. Weβre so grateful for your kindness!
Will this sell out?
No, weβll offer it to as many travel lovers to join! We hope youβll be one of them.
I still have more questions, or cute photos of my dog. Who do I contact about that?
Um, yes please! Our email is retreats@alexinwanderland.com.
This is a great way to “…keep the spirit of adventure and connectedness alive right now” and help other people.
Thanks Cha! We think so too <3
Good for you, Alex. This is awesome!
Thank you Ellie! We are really proud of this!
what a brilliant idea! can’t wait π
So excited to have you Kat!