Held: The Healing Power of Being Seen
SOMA | The ARC-G Well
I just returned from a women’s retreat in San Diego led by Christine Hassler. Nearly one hundred women gathered together with one shared intention: to reconnect, release, and remember who they are beneath all the roles they play.
It’s hard to describe the experience fully. Sacred. Special. Transformational.
The kind of weekend that leaves a soft imprint on your soul, one that stays long after the bags are unpacked.
The Parts Within Us
As women, especially in midlife, we often arrive at a quiet crossroads.
Our children are growing up or leaving home. The noise and pace that once filled our lives begin to shift, and space emerges, space that can feel both freeing and unfamiliar.
And in that space, something profound happens.
The inner parts of us, the ones we tucked away while tending to everyone else start to speak.
The parts that feel unseen or unheard.
The ones that still carry grief, regret, or longing.
The parts that crave softness, rest, and renewal.
A Moment of Release
One of the most powerful moments of the retreat was something called a grief release.
We sat face to face, knees touching, hands held, eyes meeting.
No words. Just presence.
We breathed together, lifting our hands on the inhale, lowering them on the exhale to a playlist that carried us through emotion, release, and grace.
Facilitators occasionally placed a hand on our backs or shoulders, quiet gestures that whispered: You are seen. You are not alone.
There were tears, smiles, shaking hands, and deep exhales.
But most of all, there was love, unconditional, wordless, human love.
And as I sat there, held and seen by another woman, I couldn’t help but think:
Why can’t we do this more often?
Why can’t we offer this same compassion and presence to one another, and to ourselves in everyday life?
The Power of Women Together
When women come together in this way, something ancient awakens.
Healing happens not through fixing or explaining, but through witnessing.
Our pain softens when seen. Our strength deepens when shared.
Our hearts expand when we allow ourselves to be held.
It reminded me how deeply we need one another, not just to share our stories, but to hold space for what lives beneath them.
Carrying It Forward
For the past several months, I’ve been planning a series of SOMA Day Retreats — one-day experiences beginning in January, created to help women reconnect with their inner vitality and wisdom.
This weekend in San Diego reminded me why I feel so called to create them. Sitting in that circle of women, I felt the kind of presence and connection I hope every woman gets to experience, the feeling of being seen, supported, and free to simply be.
These retreats aren’t about getting away from your life, they’re about coming home to yourself.
They’re for women entering a new chapter - those whose children are in high school, in college, or newly on their own.
For women who have poured so much of themselves into family and career and are ready to rediscover the parts that have grown quiet.
Each retreat will be a sacred pause - a day to breathe, reflect, and reconnect with the fullness of who you are.
My hope is that these gatherings capture the same spirit of what I experienced in San Diego: deep connection, shared healing, and the simple, powerful reminder that we are not meant to do this alone.
Coming Home to Ourselves
If you’re standing at that in-between place between what was and what’s next know this:
You are not alone.
You are allowed to soften, to grieve, to breathe again.
You are allowed to be held.
My hope with SOMA is to keep creating spaces where women can come home to themselves surrounded by others who see them not for what they do, but for who they are.
Because when women gather in love, everything begins to heal.
✨ SOMA | The ARC-G Well
Awareness. Resilience. Connection. Growth.
Day Retreats Begin January 2026
Email me for details at nichole@somawellnessatl.com
