A blending of brains... and the story of H&H

​A little creative blending of the brains happened as Midvale teachers gathered to socialize this past Friday evening at Vintage Brewery. It all happened when it needed to happen. It wasn't forced, it was in great company, and the timing was perfect. 

Finding a business partner that balances you can be extremely difficult. People spend months, even years searching for this person. For Hike & Heal, however, something magical happened. Beth & I only had to meet twice before deciding we were going into business together. Our first conversation was less than 10 minutes, and our second was only 15! We met for dinner a week later and boom - we were collaborating. I'm the tech savvy go-getter while Beth is the undeniable experience and talent I've been searching for. She's based on research, empirical evidence and has dedicated her life's work to music therapy and holistic wellness. In fact, she used to co-own Wisconsin's Wellness & Healing Arts Center.

During our dinner date Beth had asked me if I wanted to keep the name Hike & Heal. Up until this point I had been previously working with a 4th generation psychic named Laura Kuhl. She was a great guide and source of encouragement when I first presented the idea of emotional healing retreats through experiential education and other therapeutic modalities. She offered a skill that was very intriguing to me. Not everyone believes in psychic abilities, but the minute I meet one and they start talking I'm pulled in. By their accuracy, by their compassion, knowledge, skillset, patience, the list goes on. After you have close family members pass, you seek ways to bring your spirit comfort. These people are put here to do just that, and it's simply amazing. I wanted to bring that opportunity onto retreats! I'm not sure my family was ready for that leap being raised Christian-Catholic, and their wavering helped me land a full-time teaching job in Madison's School District. Because beyond doing a few meditation hikes and the Arboretum, the retreats we tried to plan didn't pan out. Either dates didn't work, or the energy wasn't out there for this to work. 

When she asked me - all of the layers described above kind of just washed over me and I hesitated. I actually said no, I didn't have a strong need to keep it because nothing tangible had happened yet. But that was a lie - a ton had happened! And now I felt that the name Hike & Heal was apart of who I was, who I am today and who I am becoming. The name just kind of popped in my head one day and it's not like I strongly felt like it was my destiny or anything - but it kind of felt that way. Like a teenage eagerness to do something RIGHT THEN because nothing in the world was more important than my own ambition. Have teenagers? You may be able to relate. It's an every day occurrence with them, which is extremely entertaining. 

So back to our social this past Friday - Beth and I have been trying to blend our perspectives together to come up with a name that resonates with both of us. Mary Hayes, our great new friend and colleague who teaches 4K at Midvale, puts the 'ong in GONG. She's a huge fan of Beth's gong baths and is an encouraging fan (we are still trying to figure out her role in this whole business because we know its there) so while she was doing something the other day a word popped into her head! HARMONY. Why didn't we think of that?

Harmony = to balance, to make whole, to heal

Beth agreed that she liked Hike & Heal still versus Hike, Heal & Harmony or Hike, Heal & Harmonize so we tossed ideas around of changing the name, and/or the tagline. We slept on it and boom - there it was! 

Old Name & Tagline
Hike & Heal Wellness Retreats
Heal through the consciousness of the outdoors. 

New Name & Tagline
Hike & Heal Wellness 
Harmonize through the consciousness of sacred rhythms. 

Harmony = to balance, to make whole, to heal
Consciousness = that bridge that the mind - body creates to spirit
Sacred Rhythm = the earth's vibrations, vibrations of sacred instruments to align our body's cells to the healthy rhythm

All of the new words incorporate Beth's 5-year degree in Music Therapy. Removing retreats is necessary because our work won't always consist of retreats. We are currently in the process of writing curriculum for classes, workshops, seminars, a wide variety of retreats and more. Stick around - like us on Facebook and get updates on upcoming events in the Madison area. We will be offering outdoor Yoga, meditation hikes and gong baths by donation throughout the summer at neighboring parks. Stay tuned for more details on our local H&H campaign to help raise awareness to our mission! 

In love and light, 
​Moira