Embodied Travel: Why a Movement Retreat Is the Best Self-Care

Nov 1

What If Travel Could Heal You?

Most retreats offer rest and a break from daily life, but what if they could also offer renewal? What if it could help you come home to yourself and reconnect mind, body, and soul?

Movement-based retreats offer this kind of deep renewal, a way to come home to yourself.

Through intentional movement, mindfulness, and intimate reflection, you can release tension, process emotions, and cultivate gratitude, all while immersing yourself in new, inspiring environments and exciting experiences. These body-mind wellness, healing dance, and spiritual retreats create space for people often in transition to slow down and nurture your soul, leaving you feeling restored and at home once again in your body.

That’s exactly what I offer in my transformative international retreats and White Belt trainings.

During each journey, I invite participants to explore their physical and emotional selves in safe, inspiring, and joyful ways. When you come away with me or take a White Belt training, you create a bridge between movement, awareness, and self-discovery—returning home renewed and more fully yourself.

Why Movement Retreats Are More Than Just a Getaway

A traditional vacation offers a break from routine: time to rest, relax, and step away from daily responsibilities. But a healing movement retreat offers something deeper: an opportunity to reconnect with your body, emotions, and sense of purpose. These retreats are designed not just for rest, but for transformation, using movement as medicine to restore balance, vitality, and your inherent zest for life.

Through Nia®’s unique blend of dance, martial arts, and healing arts, participants release tension, process emotions, and rediscover joy in motion. Movement becomes a form of self-expression and emotional exploration, helping you address common stressors such as burnout, life transitions, or feeling disconnected from your body. By integrating mindful motion, breath, and reflection, these retreats create space for holistic healing and renewal.

One past attendee shared, “This retreat helped me reconnect with myself again. Before joining Kellie and the other women, I hadn’t realized how far from myself I’d become. But I returned home with more energy, clarity, and a renewed connection to my body than I thought possible.”

Experiences like this illustrate how a Nia® dance retreat is more than a vacation, it’s a pathway to returning to you.

For women and anyone seeking rejuvenation and transformation, these experiences are tailored to foster empowerment, connection, and holistic wellness. A movement retreat for women in 2026, a somatic retreat for healing, offers not just relaxation, but tools and practices to carry forward into everyday life, making it a true wellness retreat for body, mind, and spirit.

Where Transformation Happens: Inside Our 2026 Retreats

In 2026, I invite you to come along to one of my two retreats, a Nia® Retreat in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and a Bali Dance and Wellness Retreat.

Cambodia: Sacred Movement in the Heart of Angkor

Set in the heart of Siem Reap, Cambodia, this retreat invites you to reconnect with yourself in a land rich with ancient wisdom and sacred beauty. Known for its majestic temples, lush landscapes, and warm-hearted people, Cambodia offers the perfect backdrop for a journey that is both inward and outward.

The vibe of this retreat is grounding, soul-stirring, and sacred—designed to help you reconnect to your mind, body, and soul. Perhaps, the most magical part of all, is the heart-centered community that forms on a journey like this.

Whether you’re healing, evolving, or simply seeking joy, this journey is your invitation to come home—to yourself and to something greater.

Join me for an unforgettable week of movement, connection, and cultural immersion in the heart Maison Polanka. This intimate retreat offers a unique blend of daily Nia® practice, restorative self-care, and inspiring adventures through sacred temples and vibrant local experiences.

On this journey of self-discovery, healing, and resetting, expect to:

Move daily with Nia® in lush, peaceful surroundings
Explore ancient Angkorean temples with expert guides
Savor authentic Khmer cuisine and sip sweet coconuts
Indulge in healing aromatherapy massages
Laugh, rest, and reconnect with yourself and others

Experience optional excursions as well, like the Kulen Elephant Sanctuary, a lotus farm tour, and Cambodia’s inspiring Phare Circus.

Starting the following week after the retreat, there is an Optional White Belt Training to deepen your practice or begin your teaching journey.

Bali: Dance, Rest, and Rebirth on the Island of the Gods

Join us in Bali, the island of the gods—lush and alive with creativity and spirit. Surrounded by verdant rice paddies and the beauty of Bali’s nature, you will embark on a transformative journey of mind, body, and soul. This retreat is an invitation to reclaim your joy, reawaken your senses, and step into a new chapter of life through movement, connection, and rest.

The vibe is sensual, expansive, and vibrant—the perfect opportunity for joy, personal renewal, and transformation. After several days immersed in dance, breath, beauty, and stillness, many women leave feeling lighter, clearer, and more alive than they’ve felt in years.

Bali holds space for rebirth and this retreat is your chance to listen deeply, move freely, and remember who you are beneath the noise.

Each day includes 1-2 Nia®, JourneyDance, or FreeDance classes, inviting you to explore movement as a pathway to inner liberation.

With a perfect balance of structured activities and free time, you'll have the opportunity to delve into cultural excursions, immersing yourself in the rich tapestry of Balinese traditions and landscapes. Our time together in this tropical paradise will be a cherished memory, filled with laughter, friendship, and profound insights into how to infuse everyday life with the beauty, sacredness, and magic we discover here.

This journey includes:

8 Days near Ubud-the heart of Bali where jungle, rice terraces and culture meet
Daily Nia®, JourneyDance and movement classes
Empowerment Photo Shoot
Optional Visits to Monkey Forest Temple, rice terraces, and excursions to waterfalls and coffee plantations
Book massages, spa and other healing treatments
Balinese Cultural Workshop and Water Temple Visit
Flower Mandala Experience

What Is the Nia® White Belt Training?

Nia® is the joy of movement, listening to the body, and expressive freedom.

The Nia® White Belt Training is a 7-day, in-person immersion into the Art of Sensation—it’s an experience that’s designed to connect you to your body and your purpose. Whether you're a teacher, wellness professional, or simply ready to go deeper, this somatic movement training meets you exactly where you are and invites you to bring a curious mind.

“Many people attend just to reconnect to themselves—no teaching required.”

During the week, you’ll be introduced to Nia®’s 13 core principles. This includes everything from joyful movement to energetic awareness and emotional expression. It’s a powerful combination of science, spirit, and self-awareness, woven through 32 hours of in-person, embodied learning.

You’ll move through 10 integrated Nia® classes, explore the 9 movement forms (including dance, martial and healing arts), and learn practices that build body literacy, cultivate presence, and emphasize personal power—skills that extend beyond the studio.

The experience also lasts beyond training. You’ll receive an 18-week integration program that includes videos, journaling prompts, and booklets to help you digest and apply everything you’ve learned. You’ll also become part of an empowering, supportive, global Nia® community, where rhythmic connection and inspiration continue to flow.

Whether you’re called to teach or simply want to spend time reconnecting with yourself, finding that inner self-love, Nia® White Belt Training is an invitation to listen deeply, move intentionally, and live more joyfully. It’s a transformational journey.

Preparing for your Nia® White Belt Training is about showing up, open to possibility and change. This body-mind-spirit workshop is not a performance, but a moment to undergo a metamorphosis.

For the Nia® White Belt Training, prepare your body by wearing comfortable clothes and staying hydrated; prepare your mind by leaving perfectionism at the door, and prepare your heart by being open to whatever feelings arise.

Who These Retreats Are For (And Why You’ll Love It)

My retreats are for people of all movement backgrounds, whether you’re a lifelong dancer or for the first time exploring somatic movement. No experience is needed, just a willingness to show up as you are.

They’re especially meaningful for those who are craving something new, meaningful, and embodied. Retreats can also help people who are healing from grief, burnout, or big life transitions because these retreats offer space to pause, breathe, and realign.

But you don’t have to know why yet. These self-care retreats are for anyone who wants to feel vibrant, expressive, and connected again. If you don’t like traditional gyms or “fitness culture,” but want to move your body, you will feel more at home in your skin, without the pressure to perform or look a certain way.

If you’re craving community, self-care, laughter, and soulful movement, you belong here. And you’ll love returning to yourself again.

How to Join + Early Bird Pricing

Early bird pricing is also available for both retreats. Spots are limited and these retreats tend to fill early. Importantly, booking early helps with travel prep, payment planning, and anticipation!

If you’ve ever traveled abroad, you know that international planning takes time and this is your nudge to claim space for YOU. Book now to remind you that you deserve the rest, reset, and community a mind-body-spirit retreat has to offer.