UNDO AND RENEW: A Women’s Wellness Retreat at Thorpewood

Your Guides: Sarah Cargill, FNP and Kelly Donahue, PhD, NTC

When: Sunday, November 9, 2025 from 10:00am to 2:00pm

Where: Thorpewood Retreat Center 12805-A Mink Farm Rd. Thurmont, MD

WHY THIS RETREAT? WHY NOW?

This retreat is created for and tailored to women who are feeling overwhelmed and disconnected…from their body, their health, and/or their path in life.

This retreat cuts through the information overload of “experts” on social media to give you the science-backed and clinically relevant information that you need from our 30+ years of experience working with women just like you to make meaningful changes to your health and well-being.

This retreat blends the physical and the emotional/mental in a calming environment. We don’t learn in a stressed state, and this setting allows your nervous system to feel safe so that it can better take in new information.

This retreat is happening before the stresses of the holiday season descend. When you enter the holiday time with a restored perspective, the perceived stress of the season can change and feel less taxing. We also chose this time of year to give you strategies to get through the winter months. Colder days with less sunlight impact our system, and the tools we will teach you help to mitigate that response.

For the price of working with just one of us for one session, you get both experts for FOUR hour hours…plus nature, learning, nervous system regulation strategies to use any time, connection with others, brunch, take- home resources, and follow-up care.

When we were looking for a space to hold our retreat, we explored many different options. When we drove through the Catoctin Mountains and then along the lighted drive of Thorpewood, we felt ourselves unwind and knew that we had found our place! We want you to feel that, too. Join us.

THE DETAILS

Step away from the noise, the pressure, and the endless to-do list, and step into the stillness of nature. Undo and Renew is a restorative women’s wellness retreat designed for busy women who crave space to breathe, reflect, and reconnect.

Nestled in a peaceful natural setting, this retreat offers more than just a break, it’s a reset. Surrounded by like-minded women, you’ll find the support, calm, and clarity you’ve been missing. This isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing less, intentionally.

Together, we’ll explore simple yet powerful ways to care for your mind and body, including:

• Practices to release what is holding you back: It’s easy to get stuck in negative thinking and limiting beliefs that can hold you back from living into your highest potential with ease. Negative beliefs can complicate life unnecessarily. We’ll provide you with the tools to identify and release what is holding you back (HINT: Fire may be involved…in a good way!).

• Time to reflect and re-prioritize: Life can feel like a hamster wheel, and unless you MAKE time to TAKE time to reflect on what it is you actually want in your life, the hamster wheel will keep spinning. We’ll provide the time and the

• Basics of hormone health: Do you know how your cycle works? Know the difference between luteal and follicular? I mean do you REALLY understand it? Most of us were never taught what is happening with our hormones, physiology, and mood during our cycle. And because we weren’t taught that information, we feel powerless and endure the mood swings, bloating, cramps, and irregularities. Sarah will teach you the valuable information you need to know to be empowered about your cycle and provide you with personalized options for optimizing your hormones.

• Importance of nervous system regulation: This may sound boring, but did you know that the nervous system controls most everything in your body? When we are stressed (and who isn’t??), our brain thinks we need to preserve energy (i.e., not lose weight, feel fatigued, etc.) to keep us safe. In the stressed state, our body prioritizes making stress hormones over making female hormones which can be part of the hormonal havoc many of us feel each and every month. Kelly will provide you with three easy practices to help regulate your system. Here are some signs that your nervous system might be dysregulated:

  • Sleep issues (difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep)

  • Fatigue (easily overwhelmed)

  • Muscle tension (headaches, migraines, TMJ)

  • Digestive issues (bloating, IBS symptoms, constipation, diarrhea)

  • Mood swings (irritability, reactivity, anxiety)

  • Cognitive issues (brain fog, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, indecision)

  • Changes to eating weight (stress eating, loss of appetite, gaining weight around the middle)

  • Lack of drive (low libido, social withdrawal, feeling of giving up)

  • Feeling like you have to be on the go all the time (packing your calendar with work or social obligations)

• Relaxation practices: Yes, we’ve all heard about the importance of relaxing, but how many of us actually take time to make it part of our every day lives? Kelly will lead you through a yoga nidra practice to relax the nervous system. Yoga nidra is not flowing through postures on a mat. Yoga nidra is an ancient healing practice that combines one pose (shavasana on a mat or seated in a chair) with guided imagery. And, this practice induces changes in your blood glucose, hormones, and neurotransmitters in less then ten minutes.

• Time outdoors to take in the beautiful setting, ground, and recharge: Spending time in nature feels good, and it provides a healing response to our nervous system and our immune system. You’ll be immersed in the trees during our retreat and have the opportunity to explore the rocks, creek, and forest outside the retreat center if you choose. It’s hard to convey with words, but it just FEELS GOOD to be in this setting. Don’t take our word for it though…

• A nourishing light brunch with real-life strategies for healthy eating on busy days: We’ll provide you with a light brunch using the principles that we use and prescribe to our clients. We’ll focus on whole foods with readily available protein. We’ll also provide you with ideas for two go-to breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to make protein-forward, whole food eating a way of life (NOT A DIET!!). We are working moms and understand the need for easy meals.

• Take-home resources: We’ll cover a lot of information, practices, and resources during our in-person time together. We want you to be able to digest it all, so we’ve created packets for you to take home that include the slides we cover, reminders of the practices we move through, resources (e.g., apps, podcasts, etc.) hormone and nervous system health, and easy food templates for protein-forward, whole-food meals and snacks.

• Follow-up: We understand how hard it can be to implement the things you already know and have learned about your hormones, nervous system, and eating. To support you in translating knowledge into action, we will have a follow-up check-in two weeks after our in-person retreat to share wins, to celebrate non-doing, and to troubleshoot any sticking points and challenges.

Whether you're feeling stretched thin or simply seeking a new perspective, Undo and Renew is your opportunity to regroup, restore, and return to your life with renewed energy and insight. Leave behind burnout. Reconnect with what matters. This is your time.

If you have questions, please reach out:
Sarah: sarah@lifted-wellness.com
Kelly: kellydonahuephd@gmail.com