Lisa Lewis 00:00:00 Hey, everyone, it’s Lisa Lewis from Sensitive Nature. I want to take a moment to tell you about something truly special. My upcoming series, Woman’s Retreat. Are you feeling overwhelmed, burnt out, or in need of some rejuvenation? She rise is a transformative retreat designed specifically for women like you who are looking to reconnect with themselves, find inner peace, and build a supportive community. Imagine a serene setting where you can engage in mindfulness practices, self-care workshops, and empowering discussions along the seashore or in the forest. Whether you’re navigating life’s challenges, seeking personal growth, or simply wanting to recharge, She Rise offers a perfect environment for your journey. Join us October 31st through November 4th at the beautiful and breathtaking El Capitan Canyon and Santa Barbara, California for a few days of healing, connection, and inspiration. It’s time to prioritize yourself and rise above the everyday bustle. Visit Lisa Lewis counseling.com to learn more and secure your spot. Spaces are limited, so don’t wait. Take this step for yourself. You deserve it. Lisa Lewis 00:01:24 Let’s rise together at she rise. Sensitive in nature is part of the practice of the Practice Network, a network of podcasts seeking to help you market and grow your business and yourself. To hear other podcasts like the Impact Driven Leader podcast and Behind the Bite podcast. Go to practice of the practice. Com forward slash network. Welcome to Sensitive in Nature, the podcast invites you to explore the profound connection between highly sensitive people and the natural world. I’m your host, Lisa Lewis, and I’m thrilled to embark on this journey with you. In each episode will delve into the unique experiences, challenges, and gifts of being highly sensitive while discovering how nature serves as a sanctuary for those who feel deeply. We’ll hear stories from individuals who have found solace, strength, and inspiration in the embrace of the natural world. So if you’re someone who feels a deep kinship with nature, or if you’re curious about the transformative power it holds for highly sensitive people, you’re in the right place. Let’s embark on this journey together, and may it lead us to a deeper understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Lisa Lewis 00:03:03 Welcome back to another enlightening episode of Sensitive in Nature, where we explore the delicate balance between our inner worlds and the natural rhythms around us. I’m your host, Lisa Lewis, and today we’re diving deep into the transformative power of retreats. Joining me is the incredible Summer Badia. Summer is an energy Sherpa with a unique gift for guiding others through life’s obstacles and challenges. Summer walks alongside her clients, teaching them tools to navigate transitions, conflicts, and even the most overwhelming moments with grace and gratitude. I have had the pleasure of meeting Summer during the pandemic when we were all on lockdown. She was a student at Lionheart, where I was teaching alongside our beloved Mentor, teacher, colleague, friend, founder of Lion Heart Institute of Transpersonal Energy Healing, Laura Fine and now some of herself is on the teaching team of what used to be called Lionheart and is now called Soma Genetic Sanctuary. Today’s summer and I will be talking about retreats, how they’ve shaped our lives, what makes them so impactful, and how you can choose the perfect retreat for your own journey. Lisa Lewis 00:04:24 We’ll also be giving you a sneak peek into our own women’s retreat we are hosting this fall at El Capitan Canyon in Santa Barbara, California. This the retreat is called She Rise. Summer will be leading energy movement sessions at the retreats. You won’t want to miss this conversation. Welcome to the show, Summer. Summer Bardia 00:04:50 Hi, Lisa. Thank you so much for having me. Lisa Lewis 00:04:53 You’re welcome. So tell us, where are you located right now? Summer Bardia 00:04:58 so I am from new Jersey, and I’m living in new Jersey, down by the beach, down the shore, as we call it here. and. Yeah. And I’ve moved around a lot. I’ve lived in a lot of different places around the world, around this country. but I always make my way back to the Jersey shore. Lisa Lewis 00:05:21 That’s wonderful. And I haven’t been to, the Jersey shore. I’ve been to some beaches or coastline along the East coast, but not the Jersey Jersey shoreline. And you’re coming out west to join me and help teach at our retreat called Sherry. Lisa Lewis 00:05:46 So we’ll be on the West Coast, and I’m so looking forward to having you, at the retreat. Summer Bardia 00:05:53 Oh, I can’t wait. I’m. You know, I’m a beach girl. I grew up my summers at the beach. So whether it’s the East coast, the west coast. yeah. Just being with my toes in the sand and smelling that salty air and coupling that with the retreat. And when I heard about your retreat, when I read all about it online and when you invited me, I just could not imagine a more magical place and a more magical retreat to be at. So, I’m very excited for it. Lisa Lewis 00:06:32 Yeah, I know I am excited too. And as it gets closer, I’m getting more excited. So just to give listeners some information, the retreat is going to be held, Thursday, October 31st through Monday, November 4th and that will be during the new moon. So we’ll be doing a new moon, ceremony ritual. Outside it is at El Capitan Canyon, which it’s right on the coastline. Lisa Lewis 00:07:04 So we have access to the beach and we have access to the mountains. And it’s part of the Chumash Native American Indians land. So, just that spiritual aspect of it, it’s. And I’ve spent many times camping at that beach. we’re not camping this time or glamping, so it’s going to be really nice. We’ll have the access to the outdoors, but also the comfort of being indoors in cabins. And it’s all inclusive. Everything. The price is all set includes food, accommodations and then our, expertise as we teach. And we have open discussions. You’ll be leading exercises. Body movements will be on the beach, will be on the mountains. So tell us what. as far as your energy movement, what do you like to do as far as energy movement for your, like daily routine or what do you teach? Summer Bardia 00:08:09 Yeah. so let’s just back up a bit. Movement is not my what my body calls me to do first thing. it’s usually my area of resistance movement. but going through the lion heart, the transpersonal energy healing, the soul magnetics programs, the movement that we did in class was so transformative and just opening for me. Summer Bardia 00:08:44 and I remember speaking to another one of the teachers, Emily Smith about, you know, what can we do to just bring this to people? Because I found that it really. Oh, goodness. I went through a lot over these last few years with, you know, divorce and with a parent dying and a lot of, you know, other people passing that were special in my life. And when I just hit those pits of despair and just wanted to curl up in a ball, it was the movement, the energy movement that it just felt like this tiny little shift within me. But it was so profound and it was able to get me out of whatever funk, whatever, I call my pit of despair that I was in. So the energy work that I do on a daily basis, like I go in between, so our, our lovely teacher, Laura. Fine. She taught the chakra. All systems go. So I use that. that was actually one of the. That was the program that helped me to get in touch with my own energy, my own body. Summer Bardia 00:09:59 I’m a health care practitioner by trade before I moved into energy medicine, so I was very much so in tune with the people I was treating my patients, what they were feeling, what they were experiencing. And really, I could only sense my my big emotions. The happy, the sad, the angry. so it was with the chakra movement that Laura taught and the other movement teachers in the program that I really began to understand and to feel the, the energy. And it’s at first I couldn’t I really had to practice and, spend a lot of time with it, not even a lot of time like 5 to 10 minutes a day, but consistent time, I guess I should say, before I started to feel like, oh wow. After doing the root chakra exercise, like I feel a little shift, I feel some tingling. I feel, you know, more awake, more alive, more vibrant. And then with every chakra. As I moved up my body, I started to notice shifts and changes. Summer Bardia 00:11:09 so I go between the All Systems Go chakra movement series and then Donna Eden’s daily energy routine, which I then have expanded upon. So I use both of those interchangeably, and I can’t even begin to tell when I don’t use them. And when I try and support other people, I, I lose my grounding, I, and then my traumas that come up in response to helping other people because that happens, begin to take over. And that actually happened this summer with someone who was close to me. They were going through some stuff and I was like, yeah, I’m here for you. And I, hadn’t been doing my energy routine for a week or two just because I got caught up in life. And then I started to feel like, oh, wow, I’m spinning out right now. I’ve got a lot of my old stuff coming up that I hadn’t dealt with yet. And, when I started to notice that, I was like, oh, let me, let me get right back on my, on my, on my wagon here. Summer Bardia 00:12:24 And as soon as I did, I could feel the grounding coming in. I could feel all those, you know, bits and pieces that sort of leave our bodies because they’re a bit overwhelmed. And just everything came back home and I was able to not only help myself and to work through some of my old stuff that was coming up, but I was really able to be there so much better for the person in my life that I was trying to help out. so, I mean, even though I’ve been doing energy work for over ten years now, you still learn. You still learn. Okay, you know, I’m not. It’s not about fixing myself and then letting go of it all. And it’s about really being consistent and learning what I need on a daily basis and being attuned to that and taking the time to put my own self-care first and foremost. so yeah, this summer’s been a lovely learning experience for me. Lisa Lewis 00:13:29 Well, thank you for sharing that personal story. That was, really beautiful. Lisa Lewis 00:13:34 And and, thank you for, like, kind of guiding us through your, your process and I wanted to talk about. There’s like two things. First, I want to talk about. do you feel being outdoors and doing, like, energy movement, energy exercises, what you, what you like to call it, does it does it benefit? Does it take away? Does it add something? Because in our retreat we will be outdoors. And so this is my I love connecting with nature. And I think nature, is such a healing process. Summer Bardia 00:14:14 Yeah, absolutely. and I love your intro. I love the title of this podcast. I love how, you know, you talk about the rhythms of nature and, you know, growing up, I, I float in the rhythms of nature and didn’t understand that and really, beat myself up for it. And even, you know, coming from a very conventional Western medicine family. you know, my mom was like, oh, do you need to be medicated, like through the month? You know, you have ups and downs and and, you know, I always resisted it. Summer Bardia 00:14:53 And these last few years, going through learning all of this energetic work and really getting in touch with my body and my energies. you know, being in nature has always felt so connecting for me. So grounding, whether it’s the beach that was my, my easiest access to nature and then through the years, just getting out to trees, getting, you know, anywhere, even seeing dandelions pop up between the sidewalk cracks. just connecting with nature, seeing nature at work, be it the leaves, the trees, the squirrels, the birds, and just seeing their rhythms and recognizing them in myself has been so transformational, and opening transformational. And not because it’s always been a part of me, but maybe it’s just not been a part of me that I’ve noticed, recognized, acknowledged, accepted. so when I began to see it happening in front of me and going, oh, wow, that’s what my body is doing, it it just opened me up in such a different way, and I began to accept myself and my rhythms and understand them and be able to work with them more and understand, okay, I have one really motivated week, a month, one really unmotivated, unmotivated week, a month, and then all stuff in the middle. Summer Bardia 00:16:41 And when I began to notice that and work with it, life became became such an easier, it just became easier to walk through life and accept myself. So yes, doing energy work outside in nature is amazing. I mean, wherever I can get it, it’s wonderful. even if I’m inside in the dead of winter and am just looking out the window at the trees, at the sky. you know, that’s that’s wonderful. But if I can actually be out in it, smelling it, listening to it, feeling the trees, feeling the ground under my feet, it just adds so many more dimensions to it. it can be a really Magical transformational grounding experience in my opinion. Lisa Lewis 00:17:41 Yeah. And I can’t wait to you share it at our retreat. And we all get to have that experience with you. Summer Bardia 00:17:49 Oh I can’t wait. I get so lost. So I do an energy movement and guided meditation class and I. So yoga is a type of energy movement tai chi qigong. So I try and bring different energy movements into each class. Summer Bardia 00:18:06 And, and then with the meditations, I, you know, I just did a full moon, a supermoon one and an equal, not an equinox like a here. This is the end of our summer season, unofficial summer season, and school begins this week. so that brings on a whole different shift in in our bodies and what our bodies are experiencing and the Mutations in society right now. And, I just love getting lost. Like my letting my senses get lost in just all of nature around, whether it’s human made or birds or feeling the breeze on your skin. it’s just a beautiful thing to be able to be present with it and feel it and experience it. And, just give yourself a moment out of our busy, hectic, machine oriented lives to just feel the breeze on your skin. Lisa Lewis 00:19:16 Yeah. Summer Bardia 00:19:17 Yes. Lisa Lewis 00:19:18 Thank you for sharing that. I just spent the weekend camping for three nights. living in California, I have access to the eastern Sierra, Sierra Nevada mountains. So I spent three nights, with a with a girlfriend and some group of people, and we didn’t. Lisa Lewis 00:19:38 There is no wifi, internet, availability. And so you were off your. You’re offline, which was really nice. It was really nice, to have that and just to reset in nature, before coming back home and, you know, letting some of the weight, from the build up of working during the week or, you know, whatever I was doing or she was doing, we could just let it go. And it feels so rejuvenating to come back, to the next week of work and, and, like, showing up differently, feeling differently in the body. Summer Bardia 00:20:19 Absolutely. And I feel I connect better with myself and with the people around me when, when it’s just nature and you know, when all the devices aren’t working fully. Lisa Lewis 00:20:35 Yeah, it. Summer Bardia 00:20:36 Really changes your ability to connect, with others and with everything around you. So, yeah, I love it when when technology is is kaput. you know, technology is wonderful. Don’t get me wrong, I love it. We wouldn’t be doing this podcast without it. Summer Bardia 00:20:55 my business would not live without it, but, Yeah, those are the time when you can just get back to our original ways as much as possible, and just taking time with yourself and putting the device down. And, those are precious moments these days. Lisa Lewis 00:21:17 They are. And so I like to shift our focus. coming back to, like, just retreats themselves. And there’s so many different retreats out there. And just I’ll give an example of myself. like a few years ago. There’s, there is, pretty traumatic life, like event that happened in my, my direct family that kind of just brought me down. To the ground. And so it’s been like this, it’s been like three years of, like, finding myself again. Like, it’s like kind of like a rebirth. And I’ve, had the opportunity to go on many. Yeah, many different types of retreats, which I feel so, privileged and lucky to have that opportunity to do that. And it’s like each retreat has its own flavor. Lisa Lewis 00:22:22 And so that’s what I’ve noticed. Like, oh, there’s things I like about this one or not like. And it’s all good. But I also like wanted to talk to you about like, how would you know? Like, is this the retreat for me? And sometimes you don’t know. You just go with that trust of that intuition and you think, well, I think this is something might just catch your interest, the location, or it’s something that’s calling to you. And I have to say, like, I love the travel. So I always like to travel to different places. So that was always one of mine that always caught my attention, like, oh yeah, I’ve always wanted to go there. Oh wow, look at that. Really fits with an alignment with what I’m doing in my life right now, or where I’m headed to or guided to. So I wanted to hear about like what? what guides you or how do you pick your retreats. Summer Bardia 00:23:16 I love that, yes, all of the above, you know, thank you for being vulnerable there. Summer Bardia 00:23:23 yeah. Retreats Are amazing because you go to retreats with a specific intention or expectation, and what ends up happening is usually completely outside of that. That has been my experience. So as a medical professional, I would do the same thing. I would pick either, you know, if I just needed something quick, I’d go somewhere local, but I’d really look at all the places I wanted to travel to, and that’s how I would pick conferences to go to. And now with, you know, more of being in the energetics world and, the trauma world, the healing world. wow, I a lot of the retreats I go to are based around either experiences. I want to have, people I want to see and meet in person, places I want to go to, classes. So I was just at one this summer, with Brian Weiss. so he’s, I remember seeing him for the first time on Oprah back in the 90s. I believe he, does a lot of past life regression work. Summer Bardia 00:24:44 And then in the about 2013, 2012 ish, a friend was like, hey, you need to read this book. And it was a bit too deep. So I was like, let me check my mom’s bookshelf. I’m sure she has something along those lines. and sure enough, she had Brian Weiss books. I started reading them and went to a one day seminar of his and just loved it. He’s such a funny, funny man and his stories are wonderful. So I kept looking for his practitioner programs and they were always sold out And last summer I was up at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, which is a beautiful place just in itself. Regardless of what class you’re taking, you’re going to have a full body experience there, full energetic experience. And so I saw that he was up there and I was I went up to the registration desk and I was like, can I put a deposit down right now? And this was back in like August. And they’re like, no, we don’t actually have dates yet. Summer Bardia 00:25:53 I was like, I don’t care. I will make my calendar work. so they got in touch with me the day the class opened, and I was one of the lucky few. I think it filled up within two hours. and there are like 180 participants, I believe. So that’s how I chose this class. and it was it was a class to learn how to guide others through past life regression experiences. Audiences, and it was a lovely class and with everything that I was dealing with myself, it was perfectly timed, as everything always is with the universe. In my experience. Anyway, I was going through a lot. I put, you know, someone else’s needs before my own, and I was like, okay, I got this. I’m a trauma energetics person. I can help them. And I wasn’t helping myself. I, for a few weeks and oh, I lost my grounding so substantially and was really feeling it was like, oh, maybe I’m not going to go up to New York. Summer Bardia 00:27:07 Like, I was having a lot of anxiety IV animals and was really feeling unsure and unsafe about leaving them. and sure enough, as soon as I got in the car, The anxiety melted away as soon as I stepped foot out of the car. Up on the property. Up there. Oh, just the grounding started to come back and they have meditation movement. They have a bunch of classes in the morning and at night before breakfast and dinner that are free to everyone who go. So yeah, I’d wake up. I went to the meditation classes last summer when I was up there, and it was actually a different teacher this year, but I knew I just had such an impactful experience, so I made sure to get up before the sun rose every morning I was late to breakfast because I went to these meditation classes. I was late to dinner and they just were exactly what I needed. being up in this beautiful place of nature was exactly what I needed to come back home into me, into my soul, into my body, into my lesson. Summer Bardia 00:28:28 And I find, like with every class I’ve signed up for. they always, you know, I have an expectation of, okay, this is what this class is going to be. This is what I’m hoping to get out of it. and it’s, you know, I’m a planner. I’m definitely a planner. Anyone who knows me would sort of laugh out loud with that statement. so I go in with an expectation, and I know through life that plans were made to be changed. And with every class, with every retreat, I go on exactly what needs to happen, happens. Exactly the experience that I need to have happens. one of my high school advisors, my shoes, my science teacher, my homeroom teacher, my advisor, and I was having a really hard time deciding between going to a small 1400 student liberal arts school in Florida, right on the water, really laid back or going out to University of Southern Cal, in downtown LA, like 23,000 students at that point. Being a California girl was always my dream. Summer Bardia 00:29:51 and I didn’t know what to do. And she’s like, it does not matter where you go. It’s what you make out of it. It’s what you put into it. And that bit of advice, that lesson has just stepped with me through all of life and with any retreat, any class, I go on, it’s what I put into it is what I get out of it. It’s what needs to happen is the experience that I end up having. And I’m always just blown away at the end. And, you know, even in the weeks afterwards, like, oh my gosh, I can’t believe that. That’s the experience I just had. Like, was I dreaming? Was I really there? Did this all just really happen? Did I just have this big growth spurt in my life? and it’s yeah, it’s still, you know, makes me feel giddy inside and puts a huge smile on my face. And I’m just thinking about all of these amazing, amazing experiences I’ve had through life. Summer Bardia 00:31:02 and sometimes it’s when I go somewhere because it’s a class of been to other classes because I, you know, through Covid, you know, I didn’t get to meet people in my classes. They were all online. So last year in the spring, I went down to Florida for mediumship class that I really had no expectations about the coursework. I wasn’t expecting to, take anything in with that. I really just wanted to meet this teacher and my fellow classmates that I gotten to know online. And I had such a profound experience and, you know, walked into this whole new skill set, and these new, these new levels of just self-empowerment and transformation and ability and self-esteem and, yeah, whatever needs to happen happens. It’s just Amazing. what about you? Yeah. Lisa Lewis 00:32:16 Yeah. Lisa Lewis 00:32:17 Thank you for sharing that process. I have to say what I’ve learned through going to my trees. Every time I go away and I come back, I am so much calmer in my body. Like all of the noise, all the outside noise goes away and it’s so quiet in my head. Lisa Lewis 00:32:36 And then I’m like, oh wow, this is new. And then I can listen to my body and it’s almost like, like if you drop a pebble in, in the water and it has like a ripple effect and you can hear like the, the, the pebble or the rock hit the water. And that’s what it felt like in my body. And it’s like, whoa, like, what is this? This is amazing. I had no idea. And so each time I come away, you know, I might have some really hard things that I go through at a retreat. And this is what needs to happen. But when I come back. Lisa Lewis 00:33:16 I feel so. Lisa Lewis 00:33:18 Much different. Like I said, calmer body, I feel like more of, like a piece of me, like I went away and got like a piece of the puzzle and now I feel a little bit more whole. And this keeps happening over and over and like, yeah, I want more of that. I want more of that. Lisa Lewis 00:33:33 I want more of that. And then also learning how to do it, just being at home in my own surroundings and all of that. And like, no, I don’t have to go somewhere far away. I could just be at home. I could be, in my surrounding mountains, in a park just outside going for a walk. And so, learning that skill of doing that and being just really present with where I’m at, wherever that is in the world. And I think it’s just an added bonus if you’re somewhere else, that you’re somewhere new, you’re exploring. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Yeah. And I wanted to ask you, Summer. So people that are thinking about our retreat, what would what suggestions or advice would you give them? How would they know? Like, oh yeah, this is a good fit for me. Lisa Lewis 00:34:25 Oh, yeah. Summer Bardia 00:34:26 So I, I just want to backtrack a little bit. I love the way you described going on a retreat and how it just I agree, I just feel like I’m plugged back into myself again and I get that reminder of, oh, yeah, this is this is where I want to be. Summer Bardia 00:34:47 because I do like with everything that we’ve learned in all our practices. I do try and bring that mindfulness, that daily presence into washing dishes, into, like, all the little minutia of my day that can so easily take me out of it. And, you know, sometimes we do just need to exit our normal routine. Get back to the most elemental aspects of life. Connecting with ourselves, with other people and with nature. To just come back home into ourselves so that when we actually do go back to our physical homes, we can be like, oh yeah, how did I lose track of that? I’m right. I’m right back on board, thank goodness. when I, you know, I’ll just talk about from my experience, how do I know when it’s the right fit to go on a retreat? it’s usually those things that we’ve been talking about. Is it the place that’s calling to me? Is it the teachers who are going to be there, who I want to experience, you know, in depth For, you know, days on end and just be in their presence. Summer Bardia 00:36:10 Is it the time of year? Is it? Is there something going on in particular that I really want deeper, a deeper dive with and to be in a safe container? Lisa Lewis 00:36:26 So that interview was with the lovely Summer Badia, and I want to thank Summer, and I want to thank all of you for joining us for this inspiring conversation on Sensitive in Nature. I hope our discussion with Summer has given you valuable insights into the power of retreats, and how they can support your journey to a more peaceful and grounded self. You can find out more about Summer and how to reach her through the podcast show notes. Remember, it’s not just about escaping, it’s about embracing what’s here and now and moving through life’s challenges with curiosity and acceptance. If you’re feeling called to take the next step in your personal growth, consider joining us at the Series Retreat this October, where Sommer will be sharing her wisdom and guiding us all through transformative body movement practices. Until next time, take care, stay grounded, and remember to honor your sensitive nature. Lisa Lewis 00:37:35 Bye for now. Thank you for joining me on this episode of Sensitive and Nature. I hope you found inspiration and solace in our exploration of the profound connection between highly sensitive people and the natural world. If you enjoyed today’s episode, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with someone who might find comfort and insight into our discussions. Your support means the world to me. Remember, you can always connect with me on social media or visit my website, sensitive in nature.com for additional resources and updates. Let’s continue this conversation and build a community where sensitivity is celebrated and nature is cherished as the ultimate healer. Until next time, take a moment to breathe and embrace the beauty around you and know that you are not alone in this journey. Maine Nature always be your sanctuary. This podcast is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regards to this subject matter covered. It is given with the understanding that neither the host, the publisher or the guest are rendering legal, accounting, clinical or any other professional information. Lisa Lewis 00:39:00 If you want a professional, you should find one.