Women with ADHD: Cacao Ceremony & Breathwork Retreat: Moving beyond labels

What’s wrong with me?  I am creative, intelligent, enthusiastic and passionate, but also overwhelmed, constantly chasing my tail and hugely self critical. I get loads done but feel like nothing is ever finished. The to-do list is life. While others think I am doing fine but I don't feel it, and I can't work out why I struggle with things that other people do so easily.  Like sending emails all morning without raiding the fridge every 5 minutes. 

When I realised I had ADHD things started to make a lot more sense and it was a relief to get clarity as to why my brain felt like a tornado, but, knowing that Medic*tion was not the route I wanted to take, I couldn't find solutions that actually helped me in the mainstream.

As I started to research more deeply into alternative methods or supporting myself I realised that so much of what I had already been drawn to instinctively was actually my inner guidance system navigating me to the ancient wisdom that allows me to use my ADHD as a superpower rather than a weakness.  I have learned to live with the thrill of the tornado but stand in the eye of the storm when I need to.

Join Jax Bull and myself, both women with ADHD who spent years undiagnosed and have come together to share our hearts, knowledge and tool kits to help move from self-sabotage to self celebration.

During the retreat you will move from your head governed by your ADHD, into your heart and body:

You will:

• Learn about your magnificent unique ADHD brain
• Experience the innate intelligence of your body
• Tune into your heart to hear what it needs from you right now
• Shift your vibration and open up to deeper love
• Deprogram false beliefs about yourself and what the future holds
• Connect and share with women who get YOU
• Tap into the hive of hacks that we can all share from our lived experience and what really works, beyond Youtube videos

Weaving together journalling, tarot, intuitive movement, breathwork, mantra, cacao ceremony, meditation and sharing circles, Helen and Jax will create a safe sacred space for you to connect to your essence beyond the label of ADHD. Experience the difference of moving from head to heart-centred living.

BREATHWORK:

“Breathwork” refers to any practice that brings awareness to the breath.

We will be practising Conscious Connected breathwork, also known as Rebirthing made famous by Lenard Orr in the ‘60’s.

It enables the busy ADHD mind to rest, to move into the body and into the heart. Intentionally altering the breath pattern gives the mind something to focus on, allowing us to let go of thought and drop deep into the infinite wisdom of the body. 

Changing the pattern of our breath ultimately impacts the quality of our lives. It rewires and resets our entire nervous system, brings resolution to deeply held trauma, and releases deeply held subconscious patterns. As much as there is magic to the breath, there’s also scientific research on its numerous benefits.

CACAO CEREMONY:

There is a reason everyone loves chocolate. However, the bar in the shiny wrapper is just the beginning, and a poor relative, to the transformative power of ceremonial grade cacao. Ancient civilizations have used this plant in its purest form for healing the mind, body and spirit. Called the 'food of the shift', it is prophesied that when humans forget how to live in harmony with the planet, cacao will spread around the globe to bring people back to their hearts. I believe our relationship with the planet is directly related to our relationship with ourselves.  When we can learn to find peace and self acceptance within we can begin to change the world by our very beingness.

Ceremonial grade cacao is the medicine we need to remember how to truly love ourselves unconditionally and be in the present moment, kicking overwhelm out the window. It sends up 40% more blood around the brain, allowing us to really think beyond our limiting beliefs and develop new capacities to focus without the rush and crash of caffeine. Ceremnial grade cacao heightens our senses, heightening our connection with our body, it detoxes our systems and opens our hearts.

To read more about the science of ceremonial grade cacao click

CACAO CEREMONY & BREATHWORK TOGETHER:

Breathwork and Cacao are potent and impactful heart opening modalities. Working with the two in unison amplifies the healing potential.

Cacao and Breathwork together is the ideal harmonious relationship for ADHD recalibration, giving us a chance to see what takes shape when we rest the mind and allow the heart to take the lead.

For true healing and transformation to be possible we need to feel safe. Cocooned in a yoga studio within a park the ceremony enfolds in layers, satisfying the mind, creating connection and gently working into the subtler and deeper levels.

Cacao enables us to feel safe to open our hearts and receive the healing we create once that happens. Held in your own healing field, the power of the breath is then able to work with your system on a much deeper cellular level. Cacao and breathwork is the perfect symbiotic relationship to open you to your expanded consciousness, healing and bliss.

Some of the benefits you may receive at this cacao ceremony and breathwork retreat:

• Feeling part of a community, realising you are not alone with all of this
• Huge nutritional benefits of ceremonial cacao see here
• Detoxification
• Bringing your whole system back into balance
• Cellular reset
• Insight and clarity into what is holding you back and how to change it
• Tarot for universal guidance
• Getting out of the mind and into the body
• Deep appreciation for all that you are
• Increased well-being, uplifted mood, serenity and joy
• A more positive outlook toward the future
• Better sleep and better mental focus
  

About Helen Millar:

Helen inspires and supports people to shift from head to heart living.  Allowing them to leave behind a life motivated by small silent fears, to one emanating love. As a coach, speaker, author and carrier of cacao, she runs events, retreats, one-to-one sessions and a weekly group membership platform that enables people to empower themselves, mind, body and soul: to heal the world by healing themselves.  You can read more about Helen here.

True to her ADHD superpower Helen has found her constant curiosity about life and what makes us tick has seen her cultivate a life with full of diversity.  She has travelled the world as an award winning actress, worked with business leaders as a communications and emotional intelligence expert, and supported women to make life changing shifts through shamanic and physiological support and guidance.  She finds this realm of human transformation and realisation feeds each other and adds to a very rich palate of experience that feeds her soul and allows her to share her own powerful and diverse toolkit. hearthealer.co.uk

About Jax Bull:

Jax has always thought she was a Jack of all trades and master of none until her recent ADHD diagnosis which has helped her understand that her need to do 5 different things at the same time (Counsellor, Coach, Breathworker, Interfaith Minister and Chakra Dancing Facilitator) is actually a gift and because she is passionate about all of them and the transformation they create in her clients lives, she is proud to say that she IS a jack of all trades and master of all she loves!

Jacqui is the Founder of The Serenity Practice a not-for-profit which supports people whilst they remember they have everything the need within them to live a life filled with ease and peace. www.theserenitypractice.com (website is being updated)

About the Space:

The Lodge space is a sacred place built on the principles of love, trust and diversity. It is a wellness hub, and a community meeting place that over the years has become a  sanctuary away from the chaos of the city.

Situated beside a park, the energy of the studio is one of peace and serenity, which supports the container of safety, connection and trust that this retreat day is all about.

We will be providing a delicious plant-based, vegan light lunch.  Please bring your own water to sip throughout the day, it is very important to be hydrated when working with cacao. And any snacks you may want to share to ground during our closing circle. Organic fruit and nuts will be most beneficial, rather than processed food and refined sugars.

Delicious healing lunch included

To help you plan your journey:

• The Lodge Space, 120A Lower Rd, SE16 2UB
• Parking available in Tesco/ Surrey Quays Shopping Centre
• 6 minute walk from Canada Water - Jubilee Line
• 4 minute walk from Surrey Quays - Overground
• Please arrive in plenty of time to start punctually at 10am.
• Want to make a weekend of it?  The area has a wonderful array of hotels and Air B&B's.

What do you need?

• Any crystals you want to work with
• A notebook/journal and pen
• A large bottle of water (cacao is a diuretic)
• Your favourite mug
• Wear comfy clothes you sit and lie in with ease.  Layers are good
• An eye mask if you prefer to have deeper experience during breathwork or to use as a blindfold during movement
• Any snacks you want to share with the group as we bring the day to a close, fruits nuts, etc
• Yoga mats, bolsters and blankets are provided but please feel free to bring extra blankets cushions or a back jack to make yourself as comfortable as possible.  We will be on the wooden floor for most of the day
• If you would like to purchase any cacao to take home, please let me know in advance and bring cash

Who can attend:

This retreat is open to women over the age of 18 who has either been officially or self-diagnosed with ADHD. No previous experience is required.

Contraindications

Please speak to us if you are taking any medications (especially antidepressants) or have any medical conditions such as:

Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychosis, epilepsy, heart conditions, COPD, delicate pregnancy, high/very low blood pressure with fainting history, PTSD or recent major surgery

Or have any dietary allergies or intolerances

Preparation:

To truly get the most from the cacao ceremony, please don’t eat for 2-3 hours before you arrive. Avoid caffeine and dairy in the morning and alcohol (at least the day prior).

 Kind Words:

With Love,

Helen and Jax

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

theLodge.space, 120a Lower Road, London, United Kingdom