GREENVILLE — The Natural Path will be holding a full-day retreat Saturday, March 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Called “A Retreat for Self,” the event’s Facebook page promises “an intimate, safe, and refreshing experience doing guided self-growth.”
Sarah Royer, owner of the Natural Path, said she felt lucky to be able to bring this experience to the people of Darke County.
“I feel like it’s a blessing to be able to get a group of ladies together who really care about the community, and want to help women live the best lives that they can,” Royer said.
One of those ladies is Angela Sipe, executive director of State of the Heart Care, an organization offering hospice and palliative care in Darke County. Sipe, one of two featured speakers at the event, will be focusing on what she calls soul injury.
“Our goal at State of the Heart is to help people have a peaceful end of life,” Sipe said. “And what we’ve learned is that people carry a lot of unmourned grief due to losses they’ve experienced in their life. Our goal is to help them resolve that prior to death.”
According to Sipe, however, this kind of spiritual healing can be useful throughout all stages of life, not just when approaching the end.
“My goal for the retreat is to help people identify what caused their injury and work with them to resolve it,” she said.
Normal experiences such as divorce, according to Sipe, can lead to soul injury, as well as the sorts of trauma experienced by veterans, hospice care workers, and first responders. The opioid crisis has also caused this type of injury to those struggling with drug addiction, as well as their families and friends. Guilt, shame, and other emotions that result from these experiences can also have an impact.
“Typically people we work with are ones who have some sort of ongoing challenge,” Sipe said. “Depression, drug abuse, overeating, overwork, being a shopaholic. People use these sort of behaviors to numb their emotions.”
Dr. Julia Bowlin, the retreat’s second presenter, is a family practice physician in Greenville. Bowlin has been practicing for 26 years, and says she works with patients in all stages of life, from birth to the nursing home.
“I help people deal with emotional anchors that are holding them back,” Bowlin said.
Bowlin deals with what she calls mindset medicine, which she defines as helping people understand the psychological factors that are causing them not to lead a healthy lifestyle.
“A lot of my patients don’t understand why they don’t feel good, why they can’t connect with people, or why they’re feeling anxious or depressed,” Bowlin said.
To help her patients deal with these issues, Bowlin uses a practice called physician coaching.
“I help people understand where they are, where they want to be, and the steps they need to take to get from Point A to Point B,” Bowlin said. “I help them understand the core values and belief systems that served them at one time, but are hurting them now.”
Part of Bowlin’s treatment focuses on reversing these harmful core beliefs. For example, someone who believes they need to be on time – yet finds themselves continually running late – may need to learn to adjust their own expectations of themselves, so as not to harm their self-esteem.
Those wishing to register for the event can visit The Natural Path of Greenville at 324 East 3rd St. or call (937)459-5392.
