ASHEVILLE WOMEN’S RETREAT
Beyond the Ordinary
A Women’s Journey into Consciousness, Healing, & Transformation
September 9–13, 2027 | 4 Nights · 5 Days | Asheville, North Carolina
Guided by Sandy Newes, Ph.D. and Linda Cammarata, RYT
Reserve Your Place
Space is limited to 8 women
Among the ancient, mist-softened ridges of the Blue Ridge Mountains, some of the oldest on Earth, the mind grows quiet, the body softens, and you may find yourself remembering who you are.
Picture a morning with nowhere to rush and nothing to prove. You wake in a spacious villa, share a nourishing breakfast with women who already feel like friends, then step outside into the soft air of the Blue Ridge Mountains, curious about what the day will open in you.
For five days this September, we invite you to set down the roles you carry and return to yourself.
An Invitation to Explore, Connect, and Transform: A Journey Beyond the Ordinary
This retreat is an opportunity to step away from the familiar rhythms of everyday life and enter a space of possibility, discovery, and renewal.
Through embodied practice, nature connection, sound, and the shared wisdom of our circle, we will explore what it means to live with greater presence, openness, and love.
We invite you to join us for this journey into consciousness, healing, and transformation.
Is This Retreat for You?
This retreat may be calling you if you:
• Are longing to slow down and step out of the constant pace of daily life
• Want to quiet a harsh inner critic and treat yourself with more kindness
• Would like simple, practical tools for finding your center when life feels overwhelming
• Feel restored by nature, gentle movement, and sound
• Are craving honest conversation and genuine community with other women
No prior experience with meditation, yoga, or Qigong is needed. Every practice is offered gently and can be adapted to meet you where you are.
What You’ll Experience
Returning to Your Inner Sanctuary
Embracing Ease, Joy, and Resilience
Through gentle exploration, self-reflection, and shared experiences, participants will discover how to recognize their inner patterns, reconnect with a sense of balance, and cultivate greater resilience.
Using accessible tools such as the Resilient Zone and the hand model of the brain, we will explore what helps us return to ourselves when life feels overwhelming and how we can offer support to one another.
This experience invites us to expand our capacity for safety, ease, pleasure, and joy, nurturing a deeper sense of connection, inner harmony, and well-being.
Nature Connection and Experiential Activities
Wanders on the Land
Nature connection experiences will be woven throughout the retreat, offering opportunities to explore emerging themes and teachings through direct, embodied experience.
A foundational practice, Wanders on the Land, invites participants to engage their senses, follow their curiosity on a short silent wander, and pause to notice what naturally arises within themselves and in relationship to the natural world.
This simple yet powerful practice can be adapted to explore mindfulness, group connection, nature as teacher, cultivating inner resources, discovering pleasure, and deepening our relationship with ourselves and the world around us.
Each experience offers an opportunity to bring the retreat’s themes to life through sensory awareness, reflection, and meaningful connection with nature.
Creating Our Circle
Mindful Connection and Shared Reflection
We will cultivate a warm, welcoming, and supportive space where women can come together with openness and curiosity.
Through mindful drop-ins, group processing, and intentional connection, we will create opportunities to be present with ourselves and one another. These shared experiences invite us to listen deeply, express ourselves authentically, and nurture meaningful relationships within our circle.
Together, we will create a space of belonging, compassion, and shared discovery.
Embodied Harmony
Sound, Movement, and Nature
• A sound healing journey with a masterful sound healer in his Asheville studio, letting sound and vibration carry you into deep rest
• Embodied Yoga with Linda, an invitation to inhabit your body with awareness and care
• Nature-based Qigong along the beautiful French Broad River, flowing with the rhythm of the water
• Time in the Blue Ridge Mountains, allowing their beauty and stillness to ground your body and calm your mind
A Sanctuary to Come Home To
Your home for the retreat
Our retreat unfolds in a beautiful, spacious villa with luxurious shared accommodations. Here we will savor delicious meals, linger around the table, and share the kinds of conversations that turn fellow travelers into lasting friends.
RETREAT OVERVIEW
• 4 nights of luxurious shared accommodations in a spacious villa
• Delicious cuisine, with all meals included
• All retreat sessions, practices, and group circles with Sandy and Linda
• A sound healing journey at an Asheville studio
• Embodied Yoga and riverside Qigong sessions
• An excursion into the Blue Ridge Mountains
• Ground Transportation from designated location in Asheville
• Retreat Fee: $2750. per person, shared accommodation, non-refundable.
• Deposit to reserve your place: 50% due at registration with the balance due by 2 months prior to retreat date.
Register now to reserve your place. Space is limited.
Registration and Payment: Please email Linda Cammarata to register prior to submitting your payment. After registering, you may pay by credit card through an online invoice that will be emailed to you.
Not included: Airfare/travel to and from Asheville; required travel insurance
MEET YOUR GUIDES
Sandra (Sandy) Newes, Ph.D. is a Licensed Psychologist, award-winning experiential educator, and lifelong explorer of the many ways we find healing, connection, and joy. With over 25 years of experience, Sandy brings together mindfulness, nature connection, somatic awareness, and the power of authentic relationships to help people reconnect with themselves, others and what matters most to them.
Her work and personal journey have been deeply shaped by a love of the natural world, outdoor adventure, contemplative practices, exploration of non-ordinary states of all kinds, earth medicine, music, and the transformative potential of shared experiences. She works as a therapist where she specializes in relational trauma, anxiety, and chronic stress. She is also co-founder of Living Medicine Institute, where she teaches psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy, and has spent much of her career exploring the intersection of psychology, embodied experience, and personal transformation.
Known for her warmth, curiosity, humor, and down-to-earth approach, Sandy believes that meaningful growth happens not only through deep reflection, but also through play, laughter, movement, and genuine human connection. When she's not working, you'll often find her outdoors, near the water, dancing to live music, or sharing adventures with her two sons.
Linda Cammarata, RYT is a Registered Yoga Teacher and retired Registered Nurse who specializes in applying mind-body practices to support self-regulation, stress reduction, mood balance, and sleep health. She is the Founder and Director of Mindfulness Travels.
Linda has designed and led wellness programs for Mindfulness Travels as well as for world-renowned spas. She teaches yoga and Qigong internationally and is passionate about sharing these practices in ways that are both accessible and transformative.
In addition to her work in wellness, Linda is also a professional singer and brings a creative, expressive element to her offerings. Known among friends and family as an exceptional chef, she values the role of nourishing food in overall well-being.
Her professional experience spans over 30 years in both traditional and complementary healthcare and wellness settings, offering a rich and integrative perspective in all that she shares.