Cancun, Mexico (Riviera Maya) July 18-22, 2024
"UnBound to receive your bounty!"
Thank you for respecting this sacred space created specifically for Women of Color. This is a BIPOC Centered 5-day 4-night Healing Experience.
"Inclusion is my jam while I recognize the need for spaces that honors indigenous-ness unapologetically. Likewise, POC environments are often misunderstood as "anti-white spaces" in error. BIPOC or POC spaces reduces anxiety & stress around our difference from dominant cultured normative...As marginalized persons, we have been inundated by systemic expectations that has buried many of our intuitive gifting and knowing, honoring of the ancestors, plagued by the notion of who we are in our difference is less than, not enough and I can go on and on. While I hold sentiment and hope for truly inclusive space, societal, we have work to do. This offering is my loving way to express, "I see you, I will not take my gifting to the grave, I will stand in the trenches and gap with you, and I will hold you with grace at the speed of safety; this space is a place you don't have to explain your humanness, traditions and culture because I understand and humbly accept all of you, all of us." Tracy
Attendees are required to lodge/stay with the group at:
Hard Rock Riviera Maya (all-inclusive hotel to include alcohol)
*Double occupancy accommodations (2 persons per room) to be assigned by the travel agent following registration if a room-mate has not been identified during registration.
*Double Room rate: $1065 USD total per PERSON, Single Room Rate: $1870, Triple Room Rate: $988 per PERSON (all 4-nights included per person and transfers from Cancun International Airport to hotel/transfer from hotel to Cancun International Airport included in the rate)
Retreat price **does not include hotel accommodations and **does not include airfare! You will receive instructions to purchase your hotel accommodations and from Monica, payment plans available for your hotel rooms!!!!
Retreat rate includes all activities outlined below:
Thursday (evening), July 18, 2024
Welcome: Meet & Greet Evening Reception with the Group (cocktails will be served)
***Please arrange your flight to arrive early Thursday to ensure attendance at the meet & greet. We will begin to form group at this event!
Friday, July 19, 2024
Connection Healing Circle/Lay your burdens down. (Womanhood/Motherhood)
Group experience/field trip off site: adventure through 3/4 eco systems (assimilation of Diaspora experience around how far we have come to this place and the often unacknowledged stress in the body/brain experienced by BIPOC women consistent with systemic oppression, The Angry Black Woman trope, The Strong Black Woman trope, The Spicy Latina trope, The Dragon Lady Asian trope, The Model Minority trope, Black-face, Yellow-face, Brown-face).
Reactivation to Stabilization Experience in the Body beginning the journey of reclaiming "All of you" serving as (Rejuvenation entry, we will be going deeply into your system, your Autonomous Nervous System with Intention). Women of Color have been objectified, fetishized and marginalized at our detriment. On the street, in the workplace and throughout society as a result of patriarchy.
Saturday, July 20, 2024
Healing Circles around topics to include: Trauma (recalibrate), Anger (recognition/affirmation), Abandonment (retrieval with support from the group/ancestors)
Purification/Ancestral ceremony on the Beach (dress in white--I am not trying to mess with your theology or Christianity...I identify as "Christian" with spiritual embodiment)
Healing Circles, Healing Circles, Healing Circles...they are ancient
Sunday, July 21, 2024
Healing Circles around topics: Forgiveness (release) and Integration (rebirth)
demonstration and experience to support retrieval and release. Let's celebrate our sacred time together. Close-out activity to be announced.
Monday, July 22, 2024
Departure from Cancun, Mexico to your home destination. Should you decide to remain after the close of UnBound BIPOC Women Healing Retreat, additional day rates have been contracted with Hard Rock Riviera Maya hotel at the group rate. Please advise the travel agent your number of extended-stay, days planned to continue your stay at the time of securing your room for the retreat.
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Important notice: You are responsible for arrangement of your flights to/from Cancun, Mexico. Please recognize sources such as booking.com, kayak, spirit airlines, etc. to get the best rates. Hotel and airlines flight is not included in retreat rate, there will be a link you will receive by email to secure your hotel room once your retreat registration is accepted. Our travel agent/group coordinator is Monica Grundy (monica.grundy@cruiseplanners.com) and she is excited to provide support with your hotel room in the group block at Hard Rock Riviera Maya, Cancun, Mexico for the retreat.
Retreat Rates:
Double occupancy accommodations (2 persons per room) to be assigned by the travel agent following registration if a room-mate has not been identified during registration.
*Double Room rate: $1065 USD total per PERSON, Single Room Rate: $1870, Triple Room Rate: $988 per PERSON (all 5-days/4-nights included per person and transfers from Cancun International Airport to hotel/transfer from hotel to Cancun International Airport included in the rate)
Retreat price **does not include hotel accommodations and **does not include airfare! You will receive instructions to purchase your hotel accommodations and from Monica, payment plans available for your hotel rooms!!!!
Retreat rate includes all activities
Transform Your Life and heal with relatable women that understand challenges faced by bipoc women
In a world that often overlooks the diverse stories and struggles of BIPOC individuals, the need for healing and self-care is paramount. Introducing the UnBound BIPOC Women Healing Retreat—an essential space dedicated to the unique experiences and resilience of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
✨ Why a BIPOC Healing Retreat?
🦋 Cultural Understanding: Our retreat recognizes and celebrates the richness of diverse cultures. Healing becomes more profound when it acknowledges and integrates the unique cultural narratives of BIPOC communities.
🌿 Safe and Inclusive Space: In a world that can be isolating, find refuge in a space created exclusively for BIPOC individuals. Share stories, connect with others who understand, and build a supportive network that lasts beyond the retreat.
🧘♀️ Tailored Healing Practices: Experience healing modalities specifically crafted with the needs of BIPOC individuals in mind. From healing circles & workshops addressing ancestral healing to discussions on navigating systemic challenges, our retreat is a holistic approach to wellness. We will also engage adjacent activities to honor self, the ancestors and every woman present.
🌍 Global Unity: Connect with BIPOC individuals from around the world. This retreat is a testament to the strength and unity of the global BIPOC community, fostering connections that transcend borders.
MISSION
To reclaim who we are as BIPOC Women from a mind, body, and soul perspective using the vehicles of Retreat (withdraw & step away), Respite (rest) and Recreation (play) through healing circles and therapeutic activities in sacred space communally. To work somatically, deeply in the nervous system, while setting the conditions and intentions, as an invitation to the Black Women's system/body to do the work of healing.
This is an opportunity to gather our parts and heal woundedness. Historical wounds, spiritual wounds, father wounds, mother wounds, racism wounds, discrimination wounds, relationship wounds, all the wounds. Wounds and injuries occur generationally, personally, communally, and existentially. We have the opportunity to use the power of community to invite healing individually and collectively. Wounds and parts show up in our lives and become barriers to the authentic, healed you. Much like we protect and guard physical injuries, unconsciously, we protect internal wounds in our nervous system/brain/body. Wounds can become a barrier and inform your life experience unknowingly. UnBound BIPOC Women Healing Retreat is an opportunity to heal wounds and tap into your system to UnBurden and Heal! Welcome, this space is curated for you and your wounds.
Thank you for respecting this sacred space for Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color: Bi-Racial women of BIPOC descent, women of the Diaspora worldwide. Must be 18-years old+ to attend.
NOTE: For the record, it's important to identify my social locations and identities...it is not my intention to mess with anyone's theology, however, having been raised Baptist, as an adult, as a graduated seminarian, I recognize there was a great deal of traditions taught through my religious catechisms. So, yes I am Christian, A BELIEVER, woman of faith way more spiritual than religious, lending self to the more spiritual side of things. I continue to seek perpetual humility through my spiritual journey, always in awe by the Grace of God, The Almighty, The everlasting King and Messiah. WE are not doing any devil worshipping, we are expanding recognizing the power of movement to dislodge trauma and using known practices to support your personal system in doing the work of healing.
IMPORTANT: UnBound BIPOC Women Healing Retreat is NOT individual/therapy and we do not provide Substance Abuse support. Individual therapy is not offered at this event, we will follow a group/communal frame for "gatherings".
**Mental Health: If you have experienced a mental health break in the past year that required hospitalization, Please check with your mental health provider to ensure suitability for this retreat. It is necessary to arrive regulated/stabilized understanding your resiliency and window of tolerance throughout group work and adjacent activities as outlined for the purpose of spiritual growth and personal healing. You will be engaged in a group dynamic with women worldwide of Black descent. This is not the space for Individual Therapy.
Meet the Retreat Host
tRACY gANTLIN-mONROY, mdIV, lpc, pHD cANDIDATE
Meet your host and retreat facilitator
Tracy Gantlin-Monroy, MDiv, LPC, PhD candidate, first Black female Brainspotting trainer in the world, will utilize the tools of the trade on this 5-days/4-nights experiential journey through your system. These 5-days/4-nights of retreat, respite, and recreation are designed to increase your sense of self energy, connect with ancestors/group members, unburden wounds, lean into emotional injuries, increase personal power, and set the intention of wholeness while engaging psychotherapy modalities in healing circles/group context. The idea of healing in community is ancient, we are going back to our roots, core and leaning into our ability to heal ourselves. As the group facilitator, my team and I, will engage Brainspotting, Somatic Experiencing (SE), and Internal Family Systems (IFS) modalities as a framework to invite your brain, body, and nervous system to do the work of healing. Please, check out the website, google me as they say, hear my voice and get a feel for me.
"I ain't playin' no games with you in my care; I count it as privilege, joy, humility, abundant love and always, Grace! This is the time for your healing and being seen, unapologetically. BIPOC is absolutely beautiful, unfortunately, the world seemingly hasn't received the memo when we think about the perpetual threat we endure in and out of the BIPOC community." Historically, the BIPOC WOMEN and our bodies have been fetishized, abused, mishandled, erased, terrorized, violated, mistreated, traumatized, disrespected, unprotected, and objectified to state a few experiences of what it means to show up at the intersection of BIPOC and Woman. Society has historically relegated the BIPOC woman to stereotypes & tropes. We are familiar with "Angry Black Women," "Spicy Latina," "Dragon Lady," and the idea of "Model Minority." How about the misnomers of being mistaken as the "help," "love me long time," and the plethora of Hollywood perpetuated images that place us in danger and informs the continued de-humanization of who we are.
WE walk with traumatic memories in our bodies. That does not have to be the end of our story. No one owns us, we own ourselves. We cannot expect anyone to do for us what we, collectively, must do for ourselves. It is our responsibility to lean into ourselves from the root to the present. Give yourself the gift of wellness knowing, you are supported, this is generational, intergenerational, and transgenerational work. We are connected, one to the other."
Unbound BIPOC Women Healing Retreat is curated with you in mind. As I engage research as a PhD candidate around the decolonization of mental health and restoration from The Angry Black woman trope, I stumbled upon a a study about the physiological impact of racial trauma on our bodies. That study peaked my curiosity towards a deeper understanding as it referenced "...associations between discrimination and a range of biomarkers, most consistently cortisol and measures of inflammation...African Americans attribute the majority of their discrimination experiences to race." Here is the article and link for your reading: Racial discrimination, the superwoman schema, and allostatic load https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.14188 .
As I read, re-read, and read again, a huge realization came to me. It began to associate my noticing of our health outcomes. The research was around the allostatic load (cumulative biological stress). This is speaking about physiological stress response. Black women experience allostatic overload which is an indicator of poor health outcomes. The body is not designed to sustain allostatic overload. Think about that for a moment. Racial discrimination and bias comes at a cost to the person receiving the maltreatment. Show me a Black person, a Black woman, of a particular age, that has not experienced some form of bias, stereotyping, maltreatment, and/or discrimination initiated against their Black/Brown skin and I would call that an enigma. LatinX women follow suit of Black women statistically; the data represents Black/Brown women with a short distance between our oppression, mortality, access, marginalization and life experience.
Yes, we will have an unprecedented experience at this retreat, however UnBound BIPOC Women Retreat is about retrieval and restoration at its core. We will kee-kee because that is what we do as sistahs...and dance, we always got somebody amongst us that can rock those almost forgotten traditions, songs, dances and spoken word. Yes, we got the wiggle in our hips and the sun-kissed skin that radiates. We giggle and roll. Yeah, we grief, mourn and rejoice. Absolutely, we inherited trauma...and wisdom, treasure, creativity, movement, spirituality and gifts to call in a few. So, this isn't all about trauma: we are more than that. This is about transcendence, transformation.