Today we’d like to introduce you to Tracey Winn.
Hi Tracey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Spirit Lit Yoga Retreats is my dream brand that had been in my mind for as long as I can remember. It was an unfolding journey of mastering my skills, believing in myself, and making big leaps to live the life of my dreams. I have been teaching yoga and working in the health, wellness and medical space for over 20 years. From personal training, pilates and yoga, to orthopedic medical device sales, physical therapy, and herbalism/holistic medicine, every career I landed in was leading me to where I am right now and the creation of Spirit Lit Yoga Retreats.
After working in corporate America as a medical device rep, I felt my soul yearning for more. The desire to travel and go back to a life of passion of teaching and healing was all-consuming. So ten years ago, I quit the career, bought a ticket and a backpack at age 35, and set off with a one-way ticket to SE Asia. The freedom and inspiration I felt by being abroad, yes, but moreso, by finally listening to my heart and following my dream, was like a rebirth. Three months later, I flew home to Charleston, was offered my old job back, and knew that I could no longer go backwards or settle in my life. I decided to sell everything and move to the Virgin islands to continue my schooling in herbalism and start teaching yoga again. I did exactly that; living my dream life, practicing holistic medicine and teaching yoga in the Caribbean… and it was amazing. Then in 2017 the hurricanes came and completely destroyed in the islands and my partner and I moved to Delray Beach, FL. We moved…. but we know we were so divinely led.
I began began teaching, holistic health coaching and training all over PB County and when the pandemic hit, my husband started an online company that changed our lives overnight. Being free to now work from anywhere, we put our things in storage and headed to Mexico for four months. The next three years were one of living the global lifestyle; both of us working online; he with his company he created and me doing online health coaching and yoga. Traveling the world re-lit the burning desire I had always had to have a yoga retreat business.
As soon as Costa Rica opened in 2022, I booked the first Spirit Lit Yoga Retreat at a luxury five star retreat center. It filled instantly. All the fear that had held me back about the large financial investments needed to book a retreat and the question and self-doubt of wondering if the retreats would fill, was silenced. It was one risky step, and it unlocked everything for me. I now lead retreats all over the world from Costa Rica and Mexico to Bali, Italy and Thailand.
The retreats are not just your normal yoga retreats. I am a teacher and healing guide at my core so Spirit Lit Yoga retreats are a full awakening and healing experience. Every day consists of two yoga classes where you are learning a deep, profound practice but also the philosophy of the science of yoga. There is also a daily workshop where participants learn everything from the chakra system and Ayurvedic lifestyle wellness, to spiritual history and philosophy of the east and west. The retreats are a platform for people who will never take a 200 hour yoga training or go to philosophy school, to learn life-changing truths that shift their life in everyway.
In addition to the yoga classes and learning workshops, the retreats incorporate a variety of other healing modalities. I am a holotropic and conscious connected breathwork facilitator, certified sound healer, herbalist and Ayurvedic nutritionist. With over 1000 hours of yoga training and 25 years of teaching experience, the practice in and of itself at the retreats is life changing. But, the most important part of it all is the healing that comes through togetherness. Creating community is my superpower and the healing that comes with that is second to none. The transformations I have seen through the community that has been birthed through the retreats is Everything!
This year I have started to partner with other healing guides and practitioners to bring the guests even more tools to supercharge their life. From human design and astrology to frequency medicine and bioenergetic healing, Spirit Lit Yoga retreats are expanding into healing, cultural and travel experiences that are seen no where else!
I am honored and blessed to live my passion and guide others to their healing through
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was a long road to get here. Years of working in corporate America that moved me into a time of disconnection, depression and self doubt. But once I got on the track of following my heart, its amazing how the path just appeared. Going through a hurricane while living in the Virgin Islands, losing everything, and starting over from nothing was a huge obstacle, but the most valuable one. It was in this space that we learned to trust fully in the Divine and watch the miracles unfold as we did so. It took us a year or two to get back on our feet, start our businesses in a town where we didn’t know anyone, meld ourselves into a health community that already had big hitters and top trainers/teachers. But it was that trust all along the way that opened the doors of abundance. When Covid happened and our jobs ended overnight, we knew we had been given a gift. Without a second thought, we got down to business and bought courses that taught us how to build sales funnels. My husband had had a download one day while he was working at his handyman job…. and the pandemic was the gift of time to learn how to bring that download from the Divine to life. We launched his business in March of 2020 and it went global within a week and changed our lives forever. Up until this point, we had been working so much that I was unable to further my yoga and herbalism education. After this, I didn’t have to go back to working three jobs and was able to take some of the most valuable trainings of my life that set me up for the confidence to uplevel my teaching and coaching 10-fold.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
SL Wellness Collective is the umbrella company that I run my retreat brand under. Through it I offer holistic and spiritual life coaching, teach yoga, and run luxury retreats all over the world. The retreats are my passion and main focus. Luckily, travel is also my passion, so everywhere we go in the world, I am site visiting for possible retreat venues and locations.
As stated in the previous question, my retreats are very different from most of what is out there. Yes, they are at sought-after locations and most of them are at five star resorts with world class spas and incredible cultural experiences… But it is the depth of connection due to the curriculum prepared and experiences offered that makes Spirit Lit Yoga Retreats those in which guests cannot wait to come back for another. (And have extreme FOMO when they have to miss one).
The yoga itself is unlike any other yoga in the world. My training of the last ten years is in the Kriya yoga lineage and I teach the deeper aspects of the practice through the yoga classes themselves. Guests have physical, emotional and spiritual breakthroughs in the classes at the retreat and it often spurs them to continue with a practice when they return. The healing workshops are a chance for people to learn information that they would not otherwise learn anywhere else. Each retreat curriculum is different. Guests receive a 30-page workbook with discussion and reflection questions, almost as if they were attending a training or seminar rather than a retreat. The information presented and discussed is life changing on so many levels and it opens the door to big changes and life alignment.
The addition of holotropic and conscious connected breathwork journeys has been an awesome addition to the retreats, offering a whole other healing and release experience. Sound healing, herbal medicine and chakra aligning leaves guests with a complete nervous system reset and a courage to step into the next chapter of their life, whether it be healing, career opportunity or relationship status.
I desire for my brand to be viewed exactly as the name implies… when you come to a Spirit Lit Retreat, your spirit will literally come back online. You will be filled with possibility, hope, courage, and a fire for life that, for many, has been lost in adulthood. The practices, tools and information shared give guests the push many need to make a big shift in their life… to live a life of their dreams. And that is my goal.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Absolutely. My number one is my husband, Spencer Washington, my greatest gift, my biggest cheerleader, and the one who makes me believe that anything is possible. All of it is possible because of him and when he gets to come on retreat with us, it is a whole other experience. Many of the guests say Spencer is their guru. haha. I owe alot to my herbalism teacher, Patricia Harpell of Gaiananda Herbalism, as well as my yoga teachers: Amelia Travis, Philip Cristaladou, and Frankie Arata. Their teachings and guidance opened my entire world. My dear friends who have been practicing with me since I was 23 years old are some of my OG retreaters, barely missing a single one now that they too have experienced the love and connection of the Spirit Lit Community that has been built. Lastly, my parents. The platform of safety and groundedness and support they provided me growing up was everything and I am so grateful to have had them in this lifetime!
Pricing:
- 250.00 private session
- 3000-5000 for retreats
Contact Info:
- Website: www.spiritlityoga.com and www.traceywinn.com
- Instagram: @spirit.lit.wellness and @tracey_winn
