'Tara' Tracy Swift-Hahn owner/principal designer Bella Scrittura Calligraphy

Beneath the full moon's light illuminating their beautiful radiant essence, the participants at this retreat found their time spent together was a positive, healing and enriching communal experience.

I privately interviewed each of the 14 participants and found it most interesting, in fact, uncanny that each of them independently yet unanimously referred to the sense of community they enjoyed. Our incredible experience was heightened and highlighted by dancing 'round a bonfire in the company of kindred spirits. Jan Marsh said, "Dancing in the moonlight by the fire dressed as a goddess will always be in my heart."

Tahya, Grant and Bonnie

The retreat locale, HiLight by the Lake, is a wooded, four-acre property nestled near Lake Nockamixon State Park. Bonnie Harter, the proprietress of our venue, created an exquisite "temple" for the expression of our sacred spiral dance complete with an altar of candles, the puja plate of fruit, sandalwood oil for anointing purposes and hand-painted goddess flags flying overhead. Together with Tahya, Bonnie also provided an abundance of wholesome, lovingly-presented, gourmet vegetarian meals throughout the weekend.

The Goddess Retreat was promoted as an opportunity to rediscover the communal and healing powers of drumming and dance traditions that date back to ancient civilizations' reverence of the divine--Inanna, Cybele, Hathor, Aphrodite, Dionysos, etc.--and Tahya fulfilled her promise. She provided fun and meaningful activities which stimulated the senses and promoted overall well being.

Tahya skillfully connects movement with rhythmic patterns while expanding our imagination and creativity. Her attention to detail and her delightful, thorough -yet -relaxed approach to sharing her dance repertoire is always a joy to experience. Imagine all of this, coupled with Grant Smith's pleasant personality, exemplary drumming skills and patient teaching method. Their teaching masterfully facilitated our journey of self-discovery and celebrated the creative spirit residing within each one of us. We also were graced with the presence of Laird MacCubbin who offered his light-hearted humor, restorative touch and caring, therapeutic massage skills. This further nurtured each and every participant, complimenting what she needed *and* deserved!

Sara, Susan and Emily Nadberazny

The movement sessions Tahya offered included chanting and learning mudra. Susan Nadberazny said, "I’ll remember the beauty of the mudras, the meaning behind them and the peacefulness (this practice) brings." In addition, everyone seemed to truly appreciate the meditative quality of the Javanese dance Tahya shared with us. We spiraled inward to the very core of our being discovering movements that resonate deep within.

Tahya and Debbie G.

The retreat provided an incredible opportunity to blend ancient traditions with our modern lifestyle. Our creative spirits soared under the light of the ancient moon but we still enjoyed hot showers and indoor plumbing! Debbie Graul articulated how much she appreciated "the whole ritualistic, primal feeling this weekend retreat provided. I’ll take away with me a better sense of happiness and grounding. I (also) have an expanded drumming experience because Grant’s teaching technique opened up more doors to drumming for me including different rhythm patterns as well as different ways to play the frame drum. Overall, the weekend was a great experience. Great people, great food. We got to drum, dance and chant a little….what more could you ask for?"

Tahya and Grant's teaching styles perfectly compliment one another. Tahya's movement sessions actually entrain our bodies with the ancient rhythms. By the time we were holding drums in our hands, the drumming experience was intensified and proved particularly provocative. I never envisioned myself as a percussionist or musician of any sort; but something happened when I held that frame drum ~ something that felt like 'home.' The drumming was taught by someone who fully supports the goddess energy. Grant's teaching technique obviously comes from the heart, more than the intellect ~ which is most probably the way that drumming was originally conceived and born. I was surprised that what I perceived as so daunting -- playing an instrument -- could feel so natural and be such a great vehicle for opening up creativity. When I asked Grant to comment on this he said, "I often will try to use some kind of process to get people to open up to their own creativity rather than just learning by rote. Even when learning traditional rhythms, I encourage others to make it their own ~ for example, the way you accent it or the way you phrase something could be your own thing. That’s part of the process of opening up."

Grant's favorite part of the weekend was "hearing the small group compositions. I was amazed what the groups came up with after (only) two hours of instruction. They were beautiful, really nice." He also mentioned his performance with Tahya the night before the retreat felt like the perfect precursor to the whole weekend. We all agreed whole-heartedly and highly recommend Grant and Tahya make a note to be sure to initiate all of their retreats with their program entitled, "The Subject Tonight is…. Love,". This incredibly engaging collaborative performance is comprised of recitations of the mystical poetry of Rumi, Gibran and Hafiz interwoven with a myriad of percussive elements and dance. It is a treasure to see this poetry literally come to life in such a beautiful way. Click here for a few photos from that performance.

Over the course of the weekend our drumming and dancing together was made all the more meaningful as Tahya invited us to experience movement with an expanded awareness of being. Tahya's guided narrations were an integral part of our sessions infusing the bigger picture of being one with the universe. She invited us to "arise and celebrate the goddess within and to acknowledge and connect with the Love ever-present in our hearts." Finally, she invited us to consider our role in bringing balance to our lives, to our families and to the planet acknowledging the wonderful men in our midst bearing witness to and supporting our blossoming to the fullest.

By the time we parted company it was clear that we were all setting foot on our authentic paths fully supported by this communal experience. Each one of us had truly given her/himself "permission" to slow down, be reflective *and* drum and dance!!!

Butterflies abound at HiLight by the Lake

Laird MacCubbin said, "The best part was the bonfire where we danced and drummed under the full moon. I also appreciated the opportunity to do body work and found it meaningful to observe the participants reviewing the mudras. The expressive flowing motions were very moving, very peaceful."

Another much appreciated aspect of this retreat was the "quiet time" afforded Saturday afternoon, which Debbie affectionately referred to as "floating space." During this personal time, participants were invited to linger after lunch mingling and chatting with one another or to use this personal time to "retreat" to their rooms or down by the lake. Some people napped, some worked on choreography and others simply relaxed while trying to catch butterflies.

Tahya and Lana

My favorite part was the fact that the full moon came to join us and that there was a real cohesiveness with all who took part. I agreed with Lana Higginbotham (who joined us from Atlanta, GA) who said she appreciated "connecting with our threads of commonality. We all share something deep and primal in our DNA and when we commune like this, we actively remember how we are all connected as spiritual women, as strong women yearning for enlightenment, expressing our personal power and recognizing it in each other. I will hold each and every participant in my heart--we are a TRIBE now, there's no escaping it. Even if I never have the good fortune to see any of these women again, pictures of them dancing and drumming will always reverberate in my soul."

I further enjoyed that two men had joined us for the weekend. Their presence was so important in accentuating the sense of goddess. I agreed with Tahya when she said, "They supported the essence of what we strove to achieve while at the same time provided the balance of god energy so that our goddess energy could be illuminated and shine forth."

Tahya's Goddess Retreat put me in closer alignment with my true path, bringing me closer to manifesting all of my goddess energy here and now in this lifetime. I think of Tahya as a midwife. Every time I participate in class with her she facilitates my coming closer to my true purpose.

Tanja at the altar Bonnie lovingly created.

Perhaps Tanja Howard summarized it best: " I’ve had the most pleasant weekend of my entire being. I wish every woman could experience such a fulfilling weekend, a chance for each of us to express herself. It’s never too late, whether you are 20 or 120: Enjoy the goddess that you are! Color outside the lines!"

In closing, I asked Tahya what she felt was unique about her retreats that she wanted to share with participants. She told me "The mission of my retreats is to afford participants the opportunity to redisover the communal and healing powers of drumming and dance and to reconnect with these traditions and rituals of movement that date back to ancient civilizations' reverence of the Divine. I sense we will all benefit from this weekend's activities and I hope the positive, upbeat (pun intended!) feelings we are all enjoying will prove a catalyst for change in our lives rippling like a pebble in water out into the communities in which we live. Personally, I feel we realized it is possible to enjoy passionate soulful co-existence."

I hope this reflection will inspire you to participate in one of Tahya's future goddess retreats. For me the essence of Tahya's retreat is the realization that it is time for me to express myself with my unique sacred gifts and for all of us to emerge as the goddesses we truly are!

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Goddesses all!