June 5-7, 2026 Long Weekend Retreat
Last weekend we held our first official OHM Retreat. It was a truly magical experience and I’m still absorbing it all. So while it’s still fresh in my mind, I wanted to give you a peek behind the curtain to see what went on…especially as I know that some of you are considering coming to a future OHM happening! (FYI, we’re planning one in July and one in August.)
Letting it Flow
I’ve been leading healing programs, trainings, retreats, and transformational experiences for many, many years now. One thing I have learned over time is that every group is different; each gathering has its own personality, is uniquely and perfectly formed, and has its own rhythm. I was particularly looking forward to this one because the practices are powerful, the food I knew was going to be excellent, and the location serene and beautiful. Built in 1905 with real wood, this house has a charm and healing energy all of its own.
While I always create a schedule, teachings and activities in advance, once people arrive, the retreat has an unfolding of its very own. We started after breakfast every day, and people sauntered down to the kitchen in a trickle. Throughout the day, some experiences extended longer than expected, some processed faster than I would have imagined. Rather than adhering to a rigid structure, I allowed the flow to evolve naturally. This enabled everyone to be at ease.
So many people are tense because they’re trying to adhere to schedules almost all the time. Work, weekends, school. It’s a lot of stress to always be trying to stick to linear, conceptual time, rather than just follow the energy of what’s happening. For sure I realize that orderly time helps us get a lot done and coordinated; it’s only an issue because most of us rarely carve out room to dispense with conceptual time and just go with the flow.
More Than I Expected: Reiki, Insight & Breakthroughs
By the end of the weekend, each attendee seemed to experience a meaningful breakthrough that made the journey and effort all worthwhile.
At the beginning of the retreat, I asked everyone to pick an obstacle they wanted to work through. For some it was physical, some emotional, and some mental perspective. On the morning of the second day, I gave a Group Reiki session, where I worked on everyone individually for 5 minutes at a time, 10 minutes total per person. This was enough for me to receive information on each person, and give them insight into working through their obstacle.
What was fascinating was that I could tell each person how I experienced the flow (or lack of flow) of their energy, and they could feel the truth of it, immediately recognizing the ways they were contracting their own energy. This clear insight helped them understand how to transform the obstacle they were working with.
By the end of the retreat, the breakthroughs were different for each person. One person had a physical healing, (so mental note, perhaps I have a week-long healing retreat in August). Some gained clarity on situations that were bothering them. Some became aware of limiting patterns that they thought they had already cleared. Everyone experienced a level of relaxation they hadn’t felt in a long time.
One guest I just talked to said to me, “It’s one thing to have an hour-long sound bath where you may or may not get to a deep place. It’s another thing to have experience after experience after experience. You’re just immersed in the energy; it’s hard to not have a breakthrough!”
The Healing Power of Community
Our retreats can realistically only accommodate up to 10 people, so everyone gets individualized attention and it’s phenomenal to be part of a small group where everyone is seen, heard and matters.
In small groups, there is no disappearing into a crowd. No hiding, and no need to hide. Together, our small group shared meals together, practiced together, laughed and joked together, and shared and learned from one another.
By the last day, I realized that I hadn’t sat around a table sharing 3 meals a day with the same group of people, since my children were still living at home. There was something deeply healing about that experience…especially in today’s world where meaningful connection seems to be a rare experience.
There were no tiffs or scuffles within the group, no passive aggression. Everyone helped set the table and bring the food to the table. Preparing together in this way was yet another form of healing.
Delicious & Healthy Food Became a Standout
Our advertising said that Chef David was going to make tasty vegetarian food. A lot of us have been to places where the vegetarian food was technically healthy and nutritional, but unfortunately was neither tasty or notable. Not the case here!
What made David’s meals stand out was that he prepared every meal using carefully sourced Amish ingredients that were free from GMOs and unnecessary chemicals. By the 3rd day, we supplemented from the local supermarket which surprisingly has a nice organic section.
Mealtime was something everyone looked forward to. Each meal was different and special. Before the retreat I knew David was an extraordinary chef, as he had catered Ohm’s Holiday Staff Party in the past. What I didn’t fully appreciate until it happened, was how much his food would become part of the healing process itself.
I am not a foodie, but David’s food could turn me into one. The taste he brings out in his cooking makes you take notice. As someone who has had food allergies my whole life, which is why I gave up on being interested in food long ago, this retreat re-invigorated my enjoyment of food, which was a pleasant surprise.
Barefoot in the Grass
In the afternoon of the second day, we took our energy exercises outside and also spent time walking barefoot through the grass. Walking meditation. Right as we started to walk, a few raindrops came down, and I wondered if we would have to cut the walking meditation short. I looked around, no one seemed to want to go inside. So we kept walking, and after 2 minutes the sprinkle of rain passed. The thought briefly passed through me… ‘the angels are letting us continue’…but whatever the reason, the rain stopped and we kept silently walking.
To be honest, it wasn’t just the walking meditation that was healing for me. What was also healing for me was that I realized that I haven’t been able to walk barefoot for AGES without concern. No toxic fertilizer, no geese or dog poo, no poison ivy, no syringes. To walk barefoot in the grass carefree…now that was liberating!!
There’s a giant tree on the lawn, and we all stood around it at some point. Someone started taking pictures and Chef David said, “It’s like we’re in a 1970s album cover.” Funny and also true.
What Helped the Breakthroughs?
Acupuncture. Even after 26 years, I am still duly humbled by the power of acupuncture. The first day I did ear needles for everyone. The second day, I decided that everyone needed more than that, and gave everyone ear needles and a mini-treatment. It helped everyone go super deep into their relaxation. Acupuncture with a sound bath. A few people felt like they were floating. Hmmm, I may need to offer that at Ohm!
Pendulums. At the start of the retreat, I had everyone pick out a journal and pendulum. Pendulums measure how open your energy is. Using the pendulum daily, people could clearly see how their negative thoughts and criticisms shrunk their energy. The immediate feedback was hard to dispute. Fascinating, the relationship between thoughts, words, and energy.
Writing. Even a little writing can help a lot in our understanding of ourselves. The opening of our energy gets reflected in our writing, which in turn helps us open up. It’s the spiral effect, and so completely satisfying to experience.
Unexpected Gifts
Toward the end of the retreat we also received a visit from my friend Swami Tulsidas, who offered a short teaching and blessing with his Narasimha murti (blessed statue) for everyone present. It was a beautiful way to wrap up our time together. But it was completely unexpected. I texted him for coffee at 8am but he could only come at 12:30pm. Perfect.
So he came and gave a 10 minute talk that pretty much summed up everything we had been talking about over the weekend. And it was a sweet and powerful end to the retreat. One last meal to integrate, and then everyone set on their way back home.
What I Learned
When I look back on the weekend, I don’t think about the schedule or the exact practices. What hits me the strongest is that we could all feel that our nervous systems were relaxing, bit by bit, steady and continuous, day by day. By the time it was Sunday afternoon, everyone left feeling so much better than when they came.
Transformation never happens because of one exercise, one teaching, one technique. It happens when people are given space to just be in a safe space. So, safe space, comfy beds, support, slowing down. It all works together.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who joined us and helped co-create such a special experience. Thank you for trusting us. And thank you for making OHM’s first retreat so memorable. We look forward to the next ones, and looking forward to meeting anyone who wants to join us on the next ones.
With gratitude,
Suzanne Hill, OHM Center NYC
P.S. The Yoga Studio
For those wondering, where did we do the practices and sound baths every day? The Yoga Studio is a 2 car garage 20 meters from the house that I had converted into a studio. Insulation, sheet rock, overhead lighting, 3 modern windows. New flooring, and with the zabutons (rectangular meditation cushions) from Ohm that we used to use for our Zen Meditation classes. My handmade Tibetan rug that’s been stuffed under my couch for 10 years. The studio was set.
I call it the Yoga Studio, even though we didn’t do any asana (posture) practice. But since Yoga means “Union with the Divine” it seemed appropriate that that’s the name that seemed to fit. It is about the same size as my main meditation room at Ohm, and could easily fit up to 16 people comfortably. At times, when we opened the windows to let the breeze flow through, you could hear the wind blowing through the trees and a distant truck rumble by or the birds chirping. It didn’t feel like an interruption to one’s stillness, it all felt very much part of it.
