Stop Waiting For Friday:
Retreats Around the World
Step off autopilot and into a life fully lived.
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What began as a curious girl with a simple dream to see the world has taken me to almost 40 countries and while the cultures, traditions, and landscapes were beautifully different, one thing became clear everywhere I went: we all want the same thing—to be happy and to be free from suffering.Â
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These retreats are an invitation to be fully alive. To explore new places, connect deeply with yourself and others, expand your heart, feel more joy, and live with intention.
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We travel consciously, support local communities, and use a social, emotional, and ethical learning framework to explore themes like attention, self-awareness, compassion, emotional regulation, relationship skills, and our common humanity.
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This isn’t about escaping life, it’s about learning how to live it more fully, together.
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Scroll down to explore our next retreat.
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Travel purposefully, live meaningfully.
SELF CONNECTION
WHO ARE YOU?
COMMUNITY
IS 100% HAPPINESS POSSIBLE?
BALI
WHAT SENSATIONS LET YOU KNOW THAT YOU FEEL SAFE?
HEALING
WHAT MAKES YOU FEEL MOST ALIVE?
A Journey Back to Self
What's included?
Authentic Bali Experience
Authentic Balinese experiences held by local wisdom and sacred tradition
Wellness Sessions
Daily guided wellness sessions and workshops rooted in trauma informed therapy, holistic wellness, and science backed practices
Nourishing Food
Wholesome, locally-sourced meals to nourish body and mind
Luxury Villa
Private luxury villa nestled in nature, designed for rest, beauty, and deep exhalation
Airport Transfer
Seamless transfers to and from the retreat
Self Care Tools
Practical tools and practices to take home with you
Luxury Villa
An Authentic Bali Experience
Day 5: Bali Immersion
Adventure and immersion into the healing and lush landscape of Mama Bali
Day 6: The Journey Continues
Integration and closing with insight on how to apply all of the experiences, resources, and tools from the retreat into your daily life
Day 4: Emotional Clarity
Connect to your hearts Soften, release, and reconnect with your feminine essencedeepest wish and your body
Day 3: Nourishment
A journey of exploration into your inner world -- self care for your body, heart, and mind
Day 2: Grounding & Setting Intentions
Connect to your hearts deepest wish and your body
Day 1: Arrival
Arrive and settle in to our luxury villa in the heart of Ubud. Spend some time meeting and connecting and make yourself at home.
 Imagine you just arrived to Bali for five days of self-care, rest, and transformation. Here is what you can look forward to:
Welcome to Ubud, Bali!
During my travels, I noticed that no matter where I was, no matter how unique the culture and traditions, that we all had one thing in common. We all want to be happy. Although we may think, say, and do different things to hopefully come closer to that happiness.Â
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I became very curious about happiness so I started to study different holistic traditions and practices that we do with the aspiration towards more happiness. My background includes over 700 hours of yoga teacher training across Bali, India, and Mexico; Reiki training in Varanasi, India; study of ceremonial cacao traditions in Mexico; commitment to long-term practice in the Tibetan Buddhist mind-training tradition; and ongoing training in Cognitive-Based Compassion Training (CBCT) and Social, Emotional, & Ethical Learning (SEE Learning) through Emory University.
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In a world of complexities, there is a commonality that brings us all closer if we look deeper: our wish to be happy, understood, connected, loved, cared for, heard, and seen in the light of the best versions of ourselves.Â
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Happiness is now. Healing is now. We can heal through living, play, community, reflection. A simple question can open our hearts, transform our mind, motivate us to live more fearlessly, and bring presence and awareness.
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This is what Stop Waiting For Friday is about; exploring, discovering, and creating space for happiness within ourselves and spreading it to all of the places where we abide.
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Guided by
Akia Merritt
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