Strength In Sisterhood: How a Wellness Retreat Became A Sanctuary For Women Confronting Corporate Challenges

Racism is bad for health — the chronic stress weakens heart valves, elevates blood pressure, and erodes mental well-being. Science affirms it, but those it impacts don’t need data to validate their lived experiences. 

Black and brown women, for whom the oppressive effects of racism are compounded by gender, often find themselves navigating workplace discrimination and microaggressions on their own. Dr. Alfiee M. Breland-Noble, a pioneering expert in race-based trauma, is exceptionally versed on the impacts of enduring discrimination in isolation. “There are so many of us out here struggling in workplaces. And, we’re often doing it alone,” she said. 

Facing discrimination without a supportive community can up the ante on its already harmful effects. “Black women and Latinas have higher rates of hypertension, more cardiovascular problems, and often, more struggles with obesity. I would argue these are among the downstream impacts of trying to manage our mental health,” Dr. Alfiee told ESSENCE. Emphasizing that many resort to emotional eating and unhealthy habits as coping mechanisms for anxieties brought on by toxic work environments. 

Backed by groundbreaking research that has shifted the conversation around culturally competent mental health practices, Dr. Alfiee’s mastery is sought out by platforms from The Today Show to the Red Table and beyond. Her commitment to fostering communal healing spaces for women of color dealing with workplace trauma spurred her collaboration with NAMI and Miraval Resorts & Spas to establish her Elevation Retreat. As an observer and participant, I can speak to its impact.

Disconnecting to Recharge

Last fall, against the scenic backdrop of Austin’s hill country, women from diverse backgrounds in nonprofit and mental health professions gathered for a rejuvenating retreat to disconnect from the constant ping of notifications, share meaningful connections, and prioritize self-care.

The reception dinner, including a farm-to-table menu, set the standard for an elevated experience. In the days that followed, group dining provided conversational safe spaces allowing participants to share as much or as little as their comfort levels allowed. What resulted was lowered guards, heightened compassion, and genuine connection.

The three-day retreat offered participants flexibility to relax, take nature walks, and indulge in exclusive services at Miraval’s renowned Life in Balance Spa. As part of the rejuvenating experience, I treated myself to ‘Flourish,’ an invigorating sea salt body scrub, followed by the refreshing ‘Ginger Healer,’ a deep tissue massage including facial marma point therapy. And, lastly, the ‘Radiance’ ritual, with its detoxifying clay body treatment, soothing scalp massage, and luxurious shea butter application, left my skin glowing for days. Four months since the blissful encounter, I reached out to participants to reflect on their experiences.

Embracing Life’s Flow

Solomé Tibebu is an entrepreneur focused on addressing mental health needs within marginalized groups. As the founder and CEO of Behavioral Health Tech, she leads the largest community for advancing access to mental health and substance use services. 

Given her early entrepreneurial success in the startup space, one could assume she circumvented roadblocks many women of color face in conventional workplaces — that assumption would be wrong. The startup sector is plagued with institutional challenges. “When people meet me for the first time, I do not get the benefit of the doubt that I run a multi-million dollar business,” she said. 

For Tibebu, the Elevation Retreat was an opportunity to center herself in preparation for an upcoming event. “The irony is not lost on me that I organize the largest conference focused on expanding access to mental health and substance use care through tech and innovation, and yet, the job is extremely stressful,” she said. The experience helped alleviate that stress.”Having the chance to connect with like-minded women of color was an incredibly unique experience,” Tibebu said.

An impactful takeaway, she says, was a mantra taught in group meditation. “I AM THE OCEAN” encapsulates a profound lesson about the concept of “flow.” The phrase suggests embracing the ocean’s fluidity as a model for navigating life’s experiences. “What a great lesson from our meditation teacher that I’ve taken with me, reminding me to be flexible and nimble no matter the situation,” Tibebu said.

Lessons in Leadership from Equine Therapy

Rin-rin Yu is an award-winning writer, reporter, author, journalist, and current Editor-in-Chief of Howard University’s award-winning magazine; she’s quite literally a master in the art of communication. But, the Elevation Retreat would challenge her mastery in surprising ways.

“I’m a bit of a cynical person, so when I heard we were participating in equine therapy on the retreat, I was fairly skeptical,” Yu shared. However, after participating in a therapist-led group session, where participants interacted with horses by walking, feeding, and cleaning their horseshoes, she was convinced of the effectiveness of the experiential therapy. 

“You can’t just command the horse to pick up their leg, and they really don’t have to respond to you,” Yu recalled. “So it was about looking at the horse like an equal and giving it the respect it expects in order to achieve the results you want.” Equine therapy hones empathy and communication. The experience lent itself to metaphor too delicious for the writer to resist. 

“Looking at everyone I work with, regardless of their background, experience, age, gender, or species, in this case,” Yu said, offered a profound lesson in reciprocal respect — “not assuming they’ll just do what I say because I’m their boss or because I have the experience and knowledge that they lack.”

Women of color frequently encounter adverse treatment in the workplace, leading to potential emotional trauma and unhealthy responses. In this challenging environment, the importance of practicing self-compassion is crucial. “A little gentleness and attention can go a long way,” Yu said, highlighting a lesson from the Elevation Retreat that rings universally true.