The weekend follows a deliberate arc: Connect, Claim, Calibrate, where each day builds on the last. Group sessions alternate with paired coaching, solo reflection, somatic practice, and time in nature.

Friday, Sep 25 - Arrival and Welcome: Check in from 3pm and settle into the property. We gather for a welcome dinner at 6pm and begin with a group exploration that sets the intention for our weekend together.

Saturday, Sep 26 - Connect, the patterns that shaped you: The first full day turns inward. Through teaching, journaling, and paired coaching, you identify the adaptive behaviors that once protected you, and look honestly at what they’ve cost you. You begin reclaiming the parts of yourself that got set aside along the way. The day includes a holotropic breathwork session led by a professional facilitator, taking the day’s insights from understood to genuinely felt.

Sunday, Sep 27 - Claim, what you actually want: The second day turns toward clarity. It opens with movement and yoga led by a professional instructor. Through somatic grounding practice, reflection, and paired coaching, you get specific about your calling, your dreams, and the unique qualities that will carry you there. The day closes with a sound healing session.

Monday, Sep 28 - Calibrate, Integrate and Commit: On the final morning, you consolidate what you’ve learned into concrete commitments and a personal blueprint for what fulfillment looks like going forward. We close together over brunch, wrapping at 12pm.

Throughout, there is deliberate breathing room: time to walk the property, sit by the pond, use the sauna, or simply be. Depth requires integration time, and we design for it.

High-achieving women who want to go deeper. Past participants have included founders and CEOs, leaders in product management, consulting partners, tech and healthcare executives, nonprofit leaders, finance leaders, and creatives building something of their own.

They don’t share the same job title but they all share a moment. Some are sensing that they've outgrown their current chapter. Some come with a specific decision to make. Others come simply wanting to feel more connected to themselves again.

No. Some women arrive with a clear question: a decision they've been circling for months. a career change, a relationship shift. Others come because they're doing fine by every external measure and want to reconnect with who they are underneath the doing, and live with more alignment, peace, and joy.

Both belong here. The work meets you where you are.

Neither. The Catalyst isn't affiliated with any religion or spiritual tradition, and there's no belief system you're expected to adopt.

Our approach is grounded in evidence-based coaching methodology combined with somatic practices (breathwork, yoga, sound meditation) that work with your body's physiology and nervous system.

Christine and Monique come from Harvard Business School and careers spanning Bain, BCG, Meta, Amazon, Walmart, and tech start-ups. They bring analytical rigor and an ability to create a space for deep reflection and inquiry. They team up with professionals who lead the group through breathwork, sound healing and movement. In every cohort, there are women who describe themselves as skeptical of "woo", who afterwards describe the experience as deeply meaningful and a step change.

Not at all. Most participants are new to it, and every session is led by a professional breathwork facilitator and fully guided from start to finish.

Holotropic breathwork uses a specific pattern of accelerated breathing, supported by music, to shift your physiology and access material that thinking and talking alone often can't reach. You don't need prior experience, flexibility, or fitness. You're in a held environment throughout, you set your own depth, and you can stop at any point.

You'll have two opportunities to share any health considerations with us in advance: our pre-retreat survey, and your private 1:1 coaching session before the retreat. We use both to make sure every practice is right for you.

No. Yoga sessions are led by a professional instructor and adapted to all levels and bodies.

If you have mobility considerations, reach out and we'll walk you through the property in detail.

A wellness retreat helps you rest. The Catalyst is designed to change something, and it is deliberately both rigorous and restorative.

The rigor is analytical: structured coaching methodology, honest examination of your patterns and what they've cost you, and specific commitments you leave with. The restoration is somatic: holotropic breathwork, yoga, sound healing, and time in nature that let your nervous system settle. Neither works as well without the other. Insight that stays in your head rarely changes behavior, and rest without clarity fades within a week of returning home.

Every somatic practice is sequenced in service of a deliberate progression: naming your patterns, clarifying what you actually want, and committing to specific changes. You leave with insight you can act on, not just a well-rested version of the self you arrived as. As one participant put it: there was yoga, breathwork, sound baths and incredible food, but the real point of the weekend was getting clarity on what's next.

There is space built in. The arc includes unstructured time for walking the property, sitting by the pond, using the sauna, napping, or simply not being anywhere in particular.

Depth requires integration time, and we design for that rather than filling every hour.

The work continues in three ways. You leave with concrete commitments and a personal blueprint created on the final day. You join our Catalyst alumni community, staying connected to the women you met and those from past cohorts. And you can choose from a range of ongoing packages, including 1:1 coaching with Christine or Monique and annual programming with group coaching.

The retreat is held at The Thyme, 564 Under Mountain Rd., Salisbury, CT 06068. It sits on 85 acres of Berkshire mountain wilderness on the CT/MA border, about 2.5 hours from both New York City and Boston.

Check-in opens at 3pm on Friday, September 25, with a welcome dinner at 6pm. Programming concludes at 12pm on Monday, September 28. Participants arrange their own travel to the venue (see details on ridesharing below).

By air, nearest airports:

• Bradley International (BDL), Hartford: approx. 38 miles, about 1 hour

• Albany International (ALB): approx. 57 miles, about 1 hour 20 minutes

• Westchester County (HPN), White Plains: approx. 65 miles, about 1.5 hours

• LaGuardia (LGA): ~2.5 hours

• JFK: ~2.5 hours

• Newark Liberty (EWR): ~2.5 hours

By train: Metro-North's Harlem Line runs from Grand Central to Wassaic, NY, the closest station to the property.

By car: The Thyme is at 564 Under Mountain Rd., Salisbury, CT 06068. Parking is available on site.

Yes. We share a carpool coordination document with all participants so you can arrange rides to and from the retreat with others traveling from your area or airports. Many participants share rides from NYC, Boston and the surrounding region.

If you choose a shared accommodation, every participant has her own bed in a bright, spacious room, ensuring personal space and comfort throughout your stay.

We thoughtfully match roommates using a pre-retreat survey covering routines, preferences, personality types, and sleep habits, creating pairings that feel aligned and easeful. If you'd like to room with someone you already know, you're welcome to reserve a double together. Private rooms are also available for those who prefer their own space.

Our shared rooms are designed with intention and care, and often become a meaningful part of the weekend experience.

Nearly everyone comes alone. That's the norm, not the exception.

The group is capped at 18 women so that genuine connection is possible. The structure of the weekend, shared meals, and the depth of the work allow participants to connect and get to know each other. Participants consistently describe leaving with deep relationships that continue long after the retreat ends.

We'll send you a detailed packing list before the retreat, so you won't have to guess.

In general: comfortable, layered clothing for indoor sessions and time outside; sturdy shoes if you plan to walk the trails; a swimsuit for the pond and sauna; and anything that helps you feel at home. Nothing formal is needed.

All meals are prepared onsite by our private chef: delicious, nourishing, and made with local, organic produce.

We collect dietary needs in advance and our chef accommodates allergies and restrictions. Let us know what you need.

There is wifi at the property, so you can be reached if you need to be. Cell service is spotty.

Double occupancy is $2,950 per person; a private room is $3,450.

Both include full retreat programming (group coaching, holotropic breathwork, yoga, sound meditation, guided journaling, and mindfulness sessions), a private 1:1 coaching session with Christine or Monique before the retreat to set your intention, 3 nights of accommodation at The Thyme, and all meals prepared by our private chef.

The experience is limited to 18 participants to support depth and connection.

Full payment is required at the time of booking. If you need to cancel, we offer an 80% refund up until 60 days before the retreat start date. After that point, an 80% refund is possible only if we're able to fill your spot.

Full payment is due at the time of booking. That said, if you need support making this work financially, please reach out. We're glad to have the conversation.

You may also qualify for one of our partially subsidized spots; see below.

Often, yes. Many participants have secured full or partial company funding.

The Catalyst Retreat includes executive coaching, peer cohort sessions, and structured topic deep dives, programming that routinely gets approved under professional development funds, L&D and leadership coaching budgets, conference or training allowances, and continuing education stipends.

When making the case to your manager or HR, the strongest requests connect the retreat directly to your current growth goals, performance plan, or an upcoming role transition. We're happy to provide a program description and invoice for your company. Just ask.

Yes. We've set aside a number of partially subsidized spots for women who are powerful agents of positive change.

As we built The Catalyst, we spent a lot of time thinking about the women we most want to serve. We know this work creates real change, and that led us to a bigger question: where is it most needed? We're living through a period of profound disruption, with deep cuts to public education, fraying social safety nets, and a society that feels increasingly divided. We believe the women doing the hardest, most meaningful work in the world deserve to be deeply resourced.

If you work within the social impact space and cost would otherwise be a barrier, we invite you to reach out directly at thecatalystretreat@gmail.com.

Yes. There's a short application, and we personally connect with everyone who applies.

The retreat is an intimate experience, and these conversations help us understand what you're hoping for and make sure it's genuinely aligned with what we're creating. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and you'll hear from us within a few days.

Our next retreat is September 25-28, 2026 at The Thyme in Salisbury, CT.

If the dates don't work, join our list and we'll notify you when future retreats are announced.

We hold retreats both on the East and West Coast.