Welcome And Meet Ramona

Speaker 3 0:00

Hi, and welcome to the Zee Michelson Travel Podcast, a ZMax Travel Radio production presented by Collage Travel Media Network. This is your space for inspiration, confidence building, all while traveling, and a little bit of luxury. So whether you're traveling across the world or simply dreaming about your next adventure, we hope you enjoy the show. Of course, I am Zee Michelson. I am a travel advisor, a media host, and an advocate for all those who love to travel and who refuse to wait to see the world. But on today's show, we are going to be speaking with Ramona Crabtree-Faulkner from Authentic Life Journey. Ramona is a transformational empowerment coach and wellness and retreat leader. So what do you say? Shall we bring her in?

From Yoga Studio To Retreats

Speaker 0:52

Hey, this is Dee Michelsen. Thank you again for joining me, and you know, as promised, I have Ramona here from Authentic Life And we are recording outside in the beautiful area of Clermont, right on the lake. And in case you hear some background noises, we have sea planes that land here. We have boats that come by. And Ramona, tell me a little bit about yourself. So

Speaker 2 1:19

I am a 25-year, holistic wellness professional. I used to be a massage therapist. I owned a yoga studio, did energy work, and, uh, have taken all of the skills that I've gained through that time and pivoted my company over the last few years to, sharing through, talks and presentations as well as retreats and experiential events.

What Wellness Retreats Include

Speaker 1:46

So now you do a lot of retreats. Mm-hmm. Wellness retreats. Mm-hmm. And that's very, very popular lately. Yeah. So tell me what goes on on a wellness retreat.

Speaker 2 1:55

Well, it really depends upon what kind you're going to. For mine, in particular, it could be anywhere from having, Travel exploration with some wellness offers, offerings involved, like, um, yoga or sound healing and meditation, mindfulness moments. Uh, but you could also be going to a yoga retreat where you're doing yoga every day and getting into yoga philosophy and developing that, as well as going surfing or any other kinds of movement and activity. Those are just the areas that I'm the most, aware of because of they're in my, my wheelhouse.

Speaker 2:31

Something that keeps you well. Mm-hmm. I like that. Mm-hmm. Something that keeps you well. Now, you had made mention that you're, you're kind of a speaker as well. Mm-hmm. Yeah. So you do s- you do speaking engagements? Yes. And who do you do these engagements with? Businesses?

Speaker 2 2:47

Yeah, so I can come into businesses and offer, uh, workshops and trainings on mindfulness and meditation, and breathwork, maybe even chair yoga, depending upon what they're looking for. The intention is, though, to have experiences that help them learn to slow down and be more, functional in their jobs, because we live in very high-stress times in, in our world right now. So my offerings in a business is to help the staff have space for their own wellness within their business. Then I also can go in and be a keynote speaker or a workshop provider in an event or a meeting, uh, or a convention. So it just kind of varies, just really depends upon what, the organization's looking for.

Mindfulness In Ten Minutes Daily

Speaker 3:31

Mm-hmm. Now, um, we met at one of the networking groups- Mm which was kind of nice because you did, like, a little exercise with all of us that day, uh, kind of like a breathing and control your breathing type of- Mm type of thing, which I thought was very nice. It was kind of relaxing. Yeah. And it was very short. Yeah. Now, you had said you don't really need to take a whole day to do this.

Speaker 2 3:52

Yeah. You can do 10 minutes a day of mindfulness and meditation, and it will make an impact in your life, 100%.

Speaker 3:59

Now, you also talked about sound. Mm-hmm. And I know I had visited your studio, and you had these little, little types of... They look like little, tiny gong type of thing. And you do sound... What is it, sound waves? How does that work? So it's sound,

Speaker 2 4:12

it's sound, healing, meditation, therapy. There's a number of words you could put there. But ultimately, it's sound meditation. And, uh, sound meditations are really powerful because they're frequencies that, help balance our body. They help to bring us into a state of, relaxation and restoration, which is where we really need to be spending a little bit more of our time-'cause we spend it so much in our go, go, go, fight, flight, respond.

Retreat Locations And Italy Tour

Speaker 4:39

Right. So we're always running, running, running. Mm. Nice to take a step back- Yeah and, and relax. Absolutely. And relax and enjoy it. Now, you had made mention that you've done a lot of these wellness retreats in the United States. So where have some of them been?

Speaker 2 4:53

So I've, held retreats in, uh, Puerto Rico, uh, Georgia, Florida. I just offered one in Montana last year. Two years ago I was in Sedona. So- Sedona. Yeah. Beautiful. Yeah. It's really- Yeah really great out there. So I've done them all over, the country, wherever I felt inspired to- Mm-hmm to, to go. And, uh, this year I'm actually leading my first international retreat.

Speaker 5:17

And where is that?

Speaker 2 5:18

So we will be in Italy in June this summer. Ooh. And this is gonna be a little different take on my retreats because, in previous times we've been in a single location, and we've had all of our events there. I did in Sedona and Montana start kind of exploring a little bit in, in those locations. Mm-hmm. Uh, this retreat in Italy is gonna be a tour. So we're gonna start in Florence, then travel over to Tuscany, and then down to the Amalfi Coast.

Speaker 5:46

Ooh, the Amalfi Coast. Mm-hmm. That's gonna be pretty. Mm-hmm. And that, that to me would be very relaxing, just to go visit the Amalfi Coast.

Speaker 2 5:53

Yeah.

Speaker 5:53

So, and of course, you deal with a travel advisor. Yes. Which is fabulous, so they, the travel advisor kinda helps. How big are these groups that you put together?

Speaker 2 6:01

I really like to be more intimate, so I usually work with between seven and maybe 14 or to 16 women at a time. Okay. Uh, I feel like it keeps it more intimate, it keeps it more purposeful and intentional. And since a lot of what I do is about mindfulness and being present, having too many people would make it a lot more to manage. And so my intention is on, especially in Italy, is to make it more about overall mindfulness within the entire experience. So we're not just walking into a cathedral or into some, um, beautiful, you know, art and- So- just passing it by. Right. So take

Speaker 6:38

time to be one in

Speaker 2 6:39

the moment. Yes. Really wanna be in, in the presence of the, the magnitude of what we are experiencing.

Speaker 6:46

And sometimes people forget when they're, when they go on vacations, and they're traveling, they're running, running, running. You know, they gotta go to the next one, they gotta go to the next... And they forgot what they've seen- When they stepped off the boat, or they stepped off the plane, or when they were standing on a cliff, they forgot all of that because they've been running so much. Mm-hmm. Then they have to look at their pictures to see where they were. Yeah, yeah. So that must make it nice. And because it is a smaller group- Mm-hmm it's not as chaotic- Mm because it makes it nice. Now, I understand that this is gonna be your first overseas trip, but I hear you're gonna be planning Greece next year- Yeah in 2027. Yeah.

Speaker 2 7:21

Yeah, so we're beginning to put together our interest list for Greece for 2027. It'll be June next year is what we're targeting. Mm-hmm. And,, my travel advisor's gonna do a, uh, a scouting trip after Italy, and then hopefully we'll be putting some information together for that.

Solo Travel Community And Support

Speaker 7:36

Yes,'cause there's a lot of Greek islands. That's for sure. Yeah. That's for sure. Now, tell me about the people that travel with you. Are all of them solo travelers?

Speaker 2 7:47

Uh, yes, I... For the most part, in my experience leading retreats, most of the people that are coming are people that, um, are coming on their own. Sometimes we have, you know, family members or friends that travel together. But a lot of times it's, it's people that don't know one another prior to going, and so they get this opportunity to be in a community with, all new potential friends, you know? And- That's nice yeah, yeah. Yeah. And have a really magical experience together. I have had some that have gone on one retreat and then- They go,"Oh, let's go on the next one." And so they, they plan ahead to make sure that they're together again. Then they start staying

Speaker 8:24

together. Yes. Okay. So, um, as people may know, in my podcast, I have done some miniseries on the solo traveler. Mm-hmm. And you yourself was a solo traveler. Yes. Kinda got you hooked on it, did it?

Speaker 2 8:36

Yeah. It was my trip to Greece in 2022- Mm-hmm that really inspired the desire to take women, to Europe and have these experiences, because I went, by myself. I remember my husband being like,"D- are you gonna know anybody there?" And I'm like,"Nope, but you know what? I'll figure it out when I get there."

Speaker 8:56

Right. So, you know, you took precautions. Mm-hmm. You know, you, you went, you took your time, you went to where you wanted to go. You enjoyed traveling solo. Mm-hmm. You were in the moment. Yeah. Right? And that's how you wound up doing this for the other people that wanted to travel solo. Yeah.'Cause I always say travel solo, but not alone.

Speaker 2 9:13

Yeah, yeah. So

Speaker 9:14

it's kinda the same thing.

Speaker 2 9:15

Well, and so I do... I have two ways of doing that. So obviously this group that we've put together, taking to Italy, is one way, and it is solo travelers that are coming together. But I also curate, journeys for people. So if somebody says,"Oh, I really wanna go to Greece, but I also want yoga and meditation, and, and I wanna have somebody kind of go with me," right? Okay. So then we get on a call and they tell me what they're looking for, I get my travel advisor involved- Mm-hmm and then we create a wellness travel retreat that's just that person and myself traveling together. Mm-hmm. And they're having the experience of their lifetime that they wanna have.

Book Plug And How To Reach Her

Speaker 9:54

So they are getting their own personalized travel experience- Yes which is really nice. Mm-hmm. You know, because some people like to go with a crowd, some people wanna keep it a little bit more- Yeah personal. Yeah. And that's also very fun. Mm-hmm. Now, I also understand that you wrote a book.

Speaker 2 10:08

I did. Mm-hmm. It's called Inspirational Journeys: Awakening the Soul. It is basically it's about how travel woke me up and taught me lessons, and, really helped me to find my own authentic voice in life. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 10:24

And where can people find this book? They can find it on

Speaker 2 10:26

Amazon.

Speaker 10:27

Oh, okay. Yeah. It's on Amazon, so if you wanna buy the book- It's called

Speaker 2 10:33

Inspirational Journeys: Awakening the Soul, and you'll wanna use my whole name, Ramona Crabtree Falkner. That Falkner that has no U in it. So oftentimes you put it in there and you won't find it, but remember to spell F-A-L-K-N-E-R. Okay.

Speaker 10:47

So you have to have your name- Mm-hmm and the name of the book. Mm-hmm. Okay. And so it's available on Amazon. Now, if someone wants to get ahold of you, because you do, not only do you do these wellness retreats, you also are a personalized coach for yoga- Mm-hmm and other things. Mm-hmm. So how would somebody contact

Speaker 2 11:06

you? Yeah, so they can reach me at my website, authenticlifejourney.com. Uh, I have a button there that allows you to set up an exploratory call so that we can get on and figure out what it is that your needs are, see if I'm a good fit for you and you're a good fit for me, and then, once we have an agreement, then I get to working with you.

Speaker 11:26

And basically you travel all over the world right now. Yes. Now you're becoming a world traveler, which is kinda cool. Yeah. Um, are you planning any more inside the United States locations?

Speaker 2 11:37

Currently I do, uh, day events in Florida- Mm-hmm near where we live here in Clermont. Mm-hmm. I have a day retreat that's coming in November that will be here at a monkey sanctuary. It's really a beautiful space.

Speaker 11:51

A monkey sanctuary? Mm-hmm. I've been here in Florida for a very long time. I didn't know we had a monkey sanctuary. Yeah,

Speaker 2 11:56

so they officially announced and had their grand opening last summer. Mm-hmm. And we did a retreat there with another group last, um, November, and I am working alongside of the owner to bring together, uh, a- another retreat, just she and I.

Speaker 12:12

Oh, nice. Mm-hmm. I, yeah, I didn't even realize. I know we have the elephant retreats, we have the tiger retreats. Yeah. I didn't know we had a monkey retreat. Yeah, And that's, that's here in Clermont, or that's- Yeah,

Speaker 2 12:22

it's actually a nonprofit- Mm-hmm supporting, um, the monkeys and other wildlife that have been, purchased and then-

Speaker 12:29

Right abandoned. People ca- they, they don't realize these are wild animals-

Speaker 2 12:32

Yeah, yeah and they, they want them as pets. Yeah. So she's, she's created a sanctuary to care for them.

Speaker 12:37

Well, that's nice. Yeah. That's really good. So you'll be working on that, and you're working on your Italy tour, which is coming up shortly. Mm-hmm. We can't wait to hear about how that goes for you. And if people are interested in the Greece journey- Yeah how do they get ahold of you for that? Is that a different area?

Speaker 2 12:54

Yeah, so they can contact me, uh, again, through my website. Uh, I will g- Probably be adding a link that will say,"Interest list for Greece," and they can push a button and just get added to the email list.

Speaker 13:06

Okay. That sounds good. And again, if people wanna get ahold of you to start their wellness adventure- Mm-hmm they would just go to your website? Yep. And all your contact information is on there, and your website again is?

Yoga For Every Body Plus Regulation

Speaker 2 13:18

Authenticlifejourney.com. And all of my exploratory calls are scheduled through the button that's on the homepage. Mm-hmm. And, uh, it's a Zoom call, so we get to be face-to-face and get to know one another.

Speaker 13:30

Now, sometimes people say,"Well, I can't do yoga." Oh."I can't do yoga." I mean, I know personally if you try to put me down on my hands and knees, it ain't gonna happen. Mm-hmm. You know, I'll get down there, but getting up is the other story. Yep. So do you work with different levels? Yep.

Speaker 2 13:46

I believe that yoga's accessible for everyone. Mm-hmm. I teach chair yoga all the way down to the mat, so anybody that is looking for anything- Mm I am capable of, um, supporting you. I've been teaching for, uh, over 15 years.

Speaker 13:58

Mm-hmm.

Speaker 2 13:59

And I have, uh, over 5,000 hours worth of training in yoga.

Speaker 14:03

And now do you mix that with the sound therapy that you do? Mm-hmm,

Speaker 2 14:06

I do.

Speaker 14:07

Mm-hmm. Okay. And I remember when I visited your studio a little while ago, I walked in and there was a beautiful aroma that you had going, and you said it was a personal blend- Mm-hmm that you put together. Do you do these personal blends for other people?

Speaker 2 14:20

Typically they're just something that I give as part of the giveaways for my retreats. Oh. Or if I'm working with somebody, then I give them, uh, the spray, uh, so that they can use it for their nervous system regulation.

Speaker 14:32

You'll have to explain

Speaker 2 14:33

that. So because we live in such a, a go, go, go world- Right our nervous systems are on fire all the time, and so we feel anxiety, we feel worry, we feel anxious. So it's about having tools that are gonna help you regulate that nervous system, which is actually what my coaching work is really all about these days, is, um, living more mindfully, living more intentionally, using tools like meditation and energy work and journaling to help you, um, disperse the chaos and get into yourself.

Speaker 15:04

Disperse the chaos, I like that. Mm-hmm. Let's disperse, let's disperse the chaos. Mm-hmm. And yeah, you're right, everybody's on a go, go, go, go, go situation. You know, sometimes you look back and you watch some of these old movies and you see people, they get up for breakfast, they have breakfast nice, then they go to work. You don't see that anymore. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. You just go, go, go. Yeah, yeah. You get up, get dressed, and out the door you run.

Speaker 2 15:26

Yeah. I, I, I think that was my favorite part about Greece is I would get up in the morning, I would go sit at a cafe, I would drink some coffee and just enjoy the atmosphere, and then, then go to the next thing, and there was no urgency.

Speaker 15:38

No urgency. I like that. I like that. So you, you make your day- Purposeful? Mm-hmm. Intentional. In- purposeful and intentional. So again, Ramona, you are considered a mindfulness... Speaker and coach. Speaker and coach. And you work one-on-one, and you work with small groups, and say somebody has a bunch of girlfriends that wanna do this- Yeah you would

Speaker 2 16:02

get together with them? Absolutely. So that falls into my curated retreats. So even though I w- I was talking earlier about working with a solo traveler, if I have several, uh, if somebody comes together, says,"Hey, I've got some girlfriends, we wanna take this trip," I- we can curate a trip for them, and again, I travel with them to take care of the wellness aspects.

Speaker 16:21

So whether they're traveling solo or traveling with their group of gal friends- Mm-hmm you can handle both of them, and you do have a travel agent, and, you know, by all means, give her a plug. Who is she? Yeah, yeah,

Speaker 2 16:32

yeah. Uh, Rose Atherton with Jasper Travel is- my travel advisor that I work with, yes. Okay. So

Final Nudge To Book The Retreat

Speaker 16:37

Rose from Jasper Travel, and it's always good to have a travel advisor. It is. I always tell people that are traveling,"Talk to your travel advisor. Let them know what you want." You work closely with your travel advisor to let them know that you need this, this, and this, and then she goes out, and like you said earlier, after Italy, she's gonna go, you know, look at Greece- Yeah and say,"Okay, this is the places we should go, and this would be perfect for you guys." Is there anything else you need to tell us before we close this conversation? Yeah.

Speaker 2 17:05

I, you know, if you, uh, if you're feeling a nudge to go and do a wellness travel retreat, do it. It's worth it. You're gonna grow. You're gonna find parts of yourself that maybe got lost or that you didn't even know were there.

Speaker 17:19

I like that. Again, Ramona, thank you for joining me today. And again, if you're traveling solo or you're traveling with a group and you're thinking about wellness, contact Ramona. She'll send you on the right path. Thank you. Have a great day.

Speaker 5 17:32

So if you loved this episode, make sure you're following the Z Michelson Travel Podcast. And of course, share this with someone who always wants to explore the world. Thanks for listening today. I am Z Michelson, and like I always say, shoot for those stars, and if you only get to the moon, at least you made the trip. Until next time, travel well, travel smart, and don't wait for permission to see the world