By Kulavati Krishnapriya Devi Dasi
ISKCON New Vrindaban hosted a three-day Women’s Retreat on October 12-15 with the theme “Trust Your Intuition.” The event aimed to infuse joy, rejuvenation, and relaxation into the weekend, featuring an array of workshops, guided meditations, daily yoga sessions, self-care activities, and engaging experiences such as a scavenger hunt, dance lessons, and a distinctive food and drink encounter.
Welcoming over 50 women from across the US and Canada, the diverse audience spanned varying ages, backgrounds, and levels of Bhakti experience – from Srila Prabhupada’s disciples to first-time ISKCON temple visitors, the gathering was a testament to the inclusive nature of our community.
Beyond the enriching retreat experience, the objective of the retreat was to carve out a secure space for open discussions on the beauty and unique challenges of practicing Krishna consciousness as women in ISKCON.
Organized by a younger generation of devotees, the retreat fostered vulnerability, encouraging women to share their experiences and support one another. One of the leaders, Poonam Kapadia, has helped pioneer several youth initiatives within ISKCON for children, teens, and college students, including The Sanga Initiative, Camp Ignite, and ISKCON of DC’s TAG program for high school students. She is also inspired to create safe spaces for women to connect and feel empowered as practitioners of Bhakti.
“Along with creating a unique retreat experience, we wanted to create a safe space to discuss the beauty and unique challenges of practicing Krishna consciousness as women in ISKCON,” Poonam explained, “Yamuna Devi once shared her desire to do more for the women in our movement because she felt some struggles needed to be addressed. After hearing confidentially from women for years of challenges in the movement and the shame or guilt associated with these experiences, we decided to do something about it.”
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/new-vrindaban-womens-retreat-created-an-enriching-and-rejuvenating-space-for-attendees/
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