2023 HOW Recap

Quorum’s annual HOW Retreat was held May 19th – 21st at The Blue Fox Motel in Narrowsburg, NY. Members of the Quorum community gathered to take part in a weekend of self-care and reflection, which included a nature walk, Chi-flow yoga and singing bowls, intention-setting, a session on financial wellness, wine tasting, stand-up comedy and plenty of time for deepening connections and conversation. 

Here is a recap:

Nature’s Magic: Nature can have a calming, cleansing and healing effect on our minds and bodies. We learned that by taking a moment to refocus our attention on our natural surroundings, we not only foster a deeper connection with the earth but within ourselves. During a guided nature walk, we spent time noticing the sounds, smells and textures of the forest and learned to recognize and sample edible plants.  

Curiosity Fosters Growth: A lifelong sense of curiosity and interest in learning builds mental acuity and resilience. Importantly, it leads to greater happiness, the ability to build positive interpersonal relationships and prepares us to carve out a fulfilling career journey. In each session, we were encouraged to look back and then forward. Together, we explored, envisioned and set intentions, considering how we can have greater impact and how we will get there.

Financial Wellness is “mission critical” for women to foster their own individual strength and have greater agency in their lives. Encouraging dialog about money and sharing financial information is an important step in breaking away from the fear many women possess. Once we are able to “own” our relationship with money we can better talk about it and align our time, money and intention to make more informed, meaningful decisions. 

Prioritizing Self-Care is necessary for women who often set their own needs aside because of other responsibilities. Every woman on the retreat noted this and said that the meditation, intention-setting, yoga, singing bowls and reflection exercises we did created space for them to prioritize self-care.

Special thanks to our amazing speakers, Jody Jackman, Susan Mendoza, Kendra Payne, Laura Chávez Silverman, Somi Kim, Liz Austin, Charizma Williams and Allen Sakon for sharing their transformative expertise with us. 

Quorum was delighted to partner with the Blue Fox Motel on Saturday evening to raise funds for EvergreenMeadow Academy, a local organization that provides help for girls and their families suffering from trauma.