By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

The first weekend in September is often referred to as the “Last Hurrah.”

The second weekend in September could be referred to as the ladies’ hurrah because of a decade-and-half-old retreat for women held here in the Lake Region.

The Mainely Women Wellness Retreat has been in existence for 16 years. For the last few years, the four-day retreat has taken place on the shore of Highland Lake at the Tarry-A-While Resort.

For locals interested in discovering some of the healthy and fun activities that are offered this weekend, those women can still register as day campers.

Registering as a day camper will give a woman a chance to dip her toes into the water, and get a taste of what is being offered at this Maine-based wellness retreat, according to Laura Shaknis, the assistant director of Mainely Women Retreats.

The retreat “is an introduction to healing, to health options, and to new things that are happening. It is a great resource to learn about difference modalities for healing,” Shaknis said.

The itinerary includes activities with most people are familiar such as yoga, hiking and Tai Chi. Some people might be less knowledgable about sound healing or Chakra imaging.

Then, there is something that is gaining widespread popularity: LifeBreath. It is the foundation of the retreat and the cost of LifeBreath classes is included in the registration fee.

“Each year, LifeBreath is standard” with the day pass or the weekend package, said Shaknis, who is a certified LifeBreath facility as well as personal trainer.

“We do LifeBreath every day. Friday night is a big one. There are LifeBreath classes offered on schedule,” Shaknis said. 

“In fact, a lot of people are learning about us through LifeBreath locally. I spread the word in my personal training classes,” she said.

One reason day passes are popular is that a lot of people don’t have four days open.

“Some people cannot take a Thursday or Friday off from work,” Shaknis said, adding that on Thursday, participants get to know their surroundings.

“Then Saturday and Sunday, we are into full swing,” she said.

Saturday’s lineup includes: self-defense and survival classes and martial arts demonstrations, she said. 

It isn’t all exercise and health classes. Interesting evening-time happenings will round out what is offered at the retreat, she said.

“We are doing themed Karaoke this year, if there is such a thing. We are going to have a wine tasting — that is going to be something new.”

Plus, Maine’s starry sky will provide entertainment.

“My husband is a photographer. He is leading a stargazing class on Saturday night. He’ll be talking about the Milky Way, constellations and all that wonderful stuff,” Shaknis said, adding that the weather promises to be agreeable.

People purchasing day passes will pay an additional sum for the food since Tarry-A-While provides the sustenance.

“The food is going to be amazing, healthy stuff that is dairy-free and gluten-free. Part of it is learning good for you can taste good, too,” Shaknis said.

Another cost that is not included in the day pass or weekend registration is for private sessions.

“The private sessions are always really popular. So we’ve added more times and extra people. The private sessions are one-on-one. We realized that they can only do so many people in a day. We wanted to be able to accommodate more than the first 10 people who signed up so we added extra people,” Shaknis said.

The women who attend this annual wellness retreat hail from all over the United States.

“We get people from New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, from Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Boston, Washington, D.C. and New York,” she said.  “About half of the people are from away and half are from Maine. Some drive from Aroostook County.”

“Last year, we had a gal from Quebec and one from New Brunswick. I said, ‘How did you hear about this?’ It’s great. They didn’t get it from the poster I hung down the street,” Shaknis said.

The day camper status is perfect for local women who get to learn some healthy habits, enjoy a beautiful Maine setting, and then never really leave.

For more information, go to www.MainelyWomen.com to see a listing of the scheduled events, click on About at the top of the home page. Once you located the About Us page, then scroll down below the image of pine tree to find the schedule.