Hitting the ‘Pause Button’

As Heather Parmley and Lindsay Chewning discovered the value of a mindful work-life balance, an idea for their new business emerged.

Always being goal driven and busy, Heather Parmley and Lindsay Chewning said they both had worked themselves to the point of exhaustion, past the point of productivity and were just getting burned out.

“When Covid first hit, I realized that we didn’t even know how to just be with myself,” Parmley said. “I had to make a calendar for myself with a list of things to do — walk the dog, read, make jewelry. Realizing that this was a need for myself, I thought it was likely a need for others also.”

Often working three to five jobs at a time, Chewning would go through phases in which she realized she had taken on too much. “I was giving too much of myself to the point of feeling depleted,” she said. “I felt a big transition out of Covid and took time off. This was the first time I gave myself the freedom to just be present and allow myself to do whatever felt good. That freedom gave me the motivation that I needed, and I actually became much more productive.”

Parmley compared this to something we all experience from time to time. Rushing out of the door, there are often times we can’t find something that we need. Parmley said that this used to really frustrate her, until she realized that when she slowed down, took a deep breath, and stopped looking for it, only then she would find what she was missing. She paralleled this to life in general, saying she noticed that when people slow down, they often discover what they are looking for in life.

Attending a yoga retreat in Sedona, AZ several years ago, these two friends witnessed a community of people wanting to improve their lives and coming together to heal. “I thought healing was something that had to be done alone,” Chewning said. “People had the opportunity to be vulnerable with others. This was a big turning point in realizing that I can ask for help and share my story.”

After that retreat, they felt spiritual openness in themselves and wanted to help cultivate that and be a catalyst for that in others. Finding a close, loving friend in each other allowed them to take a big healing journey together, spurring the idea and mission of their business — Awaken Wellness Retreats.

“We shared a post announcing that we would be hosting our first retreat, and we received an outpouring of interest,” Chewning said. “We set the dates, booked an AirBnB, and it felt so good to realize that this is actually happening.”

“That reinforced the importance of speaking into existence what is happening,” Parmley said. “We took the leap without thinking about it too much, and through that process, we found our calling of creating a community to rest and heal together.”

Though the work of hosting retreats is inspiring and doesn’t feel like ‘work’, it requires energy, attention, and holding space for others. They leave each retreat with a flame reignited in their soul.

While working with a goal of inspiring others can feel like their own mental reset, they have realized that they also need to take their own space for themselves and