about co-creators Gabrey and Charlotte

Gabrey: My journey that led to Wide Open

I was always a swimmer and loved it for how it made me feel and how it made my body look. But after my husband left unexpectedly, I was rocked and felt disposable and unlovable, so I went into the water to find myself again.

I had been cold water swimming at San Francisco’s China Beach and it was invigorating, adrenaline-inducing and made me feel like a bad ass, but I had to swim in groups and I wanted the freedom to swim on my own when I needed to. My beautiful daughter introduced me to Aquatic Park where I could safely swim by myself anytime I needed to get into the water.

I like the early morning routine of driving to my beloved, quirky South End Rowing Club. Driving down Hyde with the hills and the cable cars, not the most efficient route, but you cross Lombard and BAM the Bay opens up and there is Alcatraz shining and the water might be pink or all grey and foggy, but always beautiful and calling to me.

The water is cold so I have my routine of a few strokes with my eyes on the hills of Tiburon and as I swim out I turn my focus to the Golden Gate – then I am in – face in the water and going.

The thing I love about swimming is when you find your rhythm and it becomes moving meditation. You hear your breaths, maybe your kicks, the repetitive movement of your strokes – rhythm and quiet. This is where the magic happens.

My year of healing, with my morning pages I started writing a mantra everyday in hopes of getting my power and sparkle back. I brought these words with me to the water and would say my mantra while swimming. It would always slightly change – or like all meditation, I would fall out and then come back. Like swimming, this moving meditation isn’t about being perfect, but doing it with your heart, intention and believing

I would say: Everyday is a choice and I choose joy. EYES FORWARD.

And I still do this. And every time I leave the water I feel happy, energized, and centered. I know all is possible.

My beautiful friend I share swimming with said to me once after we emerged from the 55 degree water and were warming up in the sauna as part of our community ritual – I was commenting that it is amazing you never regret a swim and you feel reborn and open to possibilities and Susan said – the water is magic and there is enough for everyone.

There is a beautiful secret and gift here I want to share with others. Those I love. Those who are curious. Those who are grieving like me.

The water is magic and there is enough for everyone.

Charlotte: My journey that led to Wide Open

I grew up in the salty south carolina ocean and have always found a way to be near water - the cold rivers of colorado, the lakes of north carolina, the sf bay, the seine, the mediterranean sea- each has made me feeo what is possible in my own life. 

I found my way to yoga to see if the practice could help my tender back and I can honestly say, I felt like a different person as I left that first class. I know that this wonderful practice is a therapeutic tool to strengthen, stretch, balance and clear. However, I think didn’t  expect yoga to offer me a doorway into a new way of seeing the world and to live with more grace and ease. Yoga allows us to become more of who we are, to generate energy, focus and softness; to see and feel. Our mats and this retreat are not places to necessarily feel accomplished but rather to feel what is stirring inside of us and to give that space to breathe. 

a slower practice with support deeply resonates and if I am  lucky, I feel those moments of unraveling and the gentle release of the protection around my heart softens - the intimacy with self that yoga brings is the biggest gift of all- 

living with wide open hearts knowing as ram dass says, we are all walking each other home …

Charlotte Hardwick offers a proven practice built upon her studies with some of the world’s top health and wellness experts at the Integrative Institute of Nutrition in New York. She has a degree in holistic health and a variety of yoga certifications but gathering women for retreats is her passion. She hopes to inspire people to weave moments of movement, cooking, breath, peace and joy into their days.

Charlotte will bring a somatic approach to yoga-tuning into the sensations in the body to see where we can create more space, more ease and more strength, Yes, we will stretch and strengthen but this will be a time to also nourish organs, systems, and glands, to replenish the nervous system and build a strong immune system.