Dr. Kathleen A Hartford as an experiential exploration of Self, developed The Four Season Retreats. Dr. Hartford has been an integrated health care practitioner for twenty years. Her practice has been based in balancing the five aspects of health, Emotional, Neurological, Bio-Chemical, Bio-Energetic and Spiritual. She has traveled to India, practiced in Africa and dedicated her life to studying and understanding what makes the human being ‘BE’ as they are.
Dr. Hartford has thousands of postgraduate hours studying techniques of Chinese Medicine, Functional Nutrition, Neurological Re-patterning, Spinal Adjusting and tens of thousands of hours applying them to enhance her patients lives. She’s also studied eastern Mysticism and Native American Ceremony. She has received numerous certifications in the techniques above including a Healthy Aging Certification. As she approaches her fifties she has shifted her focus from a professional office setting to utilizing these techniques in an experiential earth setting to create spaces for people to explore their truest and best self.
The Professional Women’s Retreats are held at her Heart’s Desire Farm in Natrona Heights Pennsylvania. Each retreat is based on exploring the seasonal purpose for our body, mind and spirit. Utilizing daily activities, chores and therapies to experience how one shows up in life in relation to their ever-changing environment.
“…Horses are the perfect energetic reflection for an individual living a conscious life… They create a context in which we can explore our selves in relation to the world around us.”
One of the most enjoyable and exciting experiences occurs in the barn with her beautiful horses. Other experiences may occur in the garden or around the ability to flow with the waterfall. Especially during the winter months we will explore silence and healing. All things, which the parasympathetic nervous system needs to maintain balance with our predominately, fight or flight response to life.
We will also play. Woman by nature need to sing and dance to explore their voice and move energy with movement. Dr. Hartford can’t sing a note but it won’t stop her and it won’t stop you. As for the dance, it may not be ballet but it will be fun. Women need to laugh out loud!
The Hart's Desire Waterfall
Dr. Hartford arranges each day to incorporate tangible experiences, which support the five aspects of health and personal development as a soulful being. From cleaning stalls which very acutely bring to light the importance of cleaning up our stuff in our living space and relationships to following a seed from spring planting to winter hibernation. All things in nature reflect back to us our belief systems and mind patterns, which determine our way of being and relating in the world.
A typical day at My Heart’s Desire Farm:
- 6:00am Rise and greet the day with meditation and gentle movements
- 6:30am Coffee or tea; share our dreams, fears struggles and create a goal for the day
- 7:00am Consciousness building chores in the barn and garden
- 9:00am Personal Development work with horses. Anyone uncomfortable with being close to horses will be able to explore themselves through other participant’s experiences.
- 11:00am Debriefing on the mornings events, redefine personal experience goals
- 12:00pm Lunch with a two hour break for resting, journaling, sunning (then again this is Pittsburgh)
- 2:00pm Personal Wellness Time. Health concerns will be addressed at this time utilizing appropriate techniques and nutrition for issue at hand. Pilates, physio-ball, boxing and weight training exercise classes will also be available
- 5:00pm Prepare Goddess Dinner
- 6:00pm Dinner
- 8:00pm Evening stretch, dance or singing in barn or office
- 9:00pm Tea and social time
- 10:00pm Lights Out
Our Butterfly Garden
The Four Season Retreats are an avenue for woman to reclaim their health and vitality. They are also designed as a safe space to explore the self, discover the behaviors that we created as children to survive, to discover where, how and why we lost so much of our JOY and finally to become acquainted with the soulful part of you…to reclaim your spirit.
Begin your personal journey toward discovering and creating YOUR HEARTS DESIRE by becoming intimately acquainted with your truest nature through our FOUR SEASON RETREATS, PERSONAL COACHING sessions or our online A HOME WITHIN YOUR HOME retreats. Commit a year of your life and create your true heart’s desire.
Go Well and God Bless
Dr Kathleen A Hartford