Returning to Awaken — What Happened, What Shifted, and What I Am Bringing Back to My Practice

There is something that happens when a group of people choose to show up for each other two years in a row.

They arrive as colleagues. They leave as family.

That is what I witnessed at this year's Awaken Esthetics Retreat — and it is something I did not expect to move me the way it did.

The Part I Did Not Know I Needed

I have been in the esthetics industry long enough to carry some scars from it.

Early in my career, I made the mistake that many open-hearted practitioners make — I trusted freely, referred generously, and believed that the rising tide lifts all boats. What I learned, sometimes painfully, is that not everyone in the water is rowing in the same direction.

I have had estheticians attempt to steal clients I referred to them while I was on vacation. I have had people claim they trained me — when the truth is that I was already established in the industry and had actually given them advice and guidance when they were just starting out. I have even had practitioners take my before and after photos and present them as their own work.

And yet — here I am. Still teaching. Still showing up. Still holding the door open for the next person who needs it.

Not because I am naive. But because I know that what I have to offer is needed. And I refuse to let the actions of a few close the door on the many who deserve genuine support and mentorship.

So to be at Awaken — surrounded by estheticians who were genuinely rooting for each other, celebrating each other, welcoming each other back like people who had been waiting — was quietly, unexpectedly healing.

It reached a part of me I did not know was still tender.

And it reminded me that the right community exists. I just had to find mine.

What I Observed in the Room

I had a handful of estheticians seek me out throughout the retreat — coming to ask questions, wanting to connect, feeling drawn to something they could not quite name yet.

I understand why they are called to me. They do not know yet.

What they think they want is mentorship on protocols, ingredients, and business strategy. And yes — I can offer all of that. That is part of what I do.

But that is not the real reason they reach out. Not at the soul level.

Working with me opens something in a person's inner being that their higher self already knows needs attention. The subconscious pull toward what I offer is not really about learning a technique. It is about a part of them that is ready to evolve — that recognizes, even before the conscious mind catches up, that what they are seeking goes much deeper than a business model or a treatment protocol.

When these estheticians shared that they wanted more sound therapy, that they felt drawn to what I was offering, that they knew on some level they needed to work with me in some capacity — it confirmed something I have been holding quietly for a while.

Deva Moon Academy belongs in this industry. There is a place for this work. And there are people who need it.

That knowing — coming back to me through the reflections of women who barely knew me yet somehow already trusted me — was one of the most significant moments of the entire retreat.

The Education That Lit Me Up

I want to be honest — the science esthetician in me was completely activated at Awaken this year.

The conversations around peptides and the effects of GLP on the skin opened up a new treatment idea that I am already thinking about bringing into Trin Spa. That is the kind of education I love — the kind that does not just confirm what I already know but sparks something genuinely new.

I was also deeply inspired by the exposure to advanced medical treatments throughout the retreat. While much of what was discussed sits outside the esthetician's scope of practice — and I am clear on that boundary — I believe strongly that being an educated, informed esthetician means understanding these treatments well enough to give clients honest, unbiased guidance when they are exploring their options.

Clients come to us with questions about procedures we cannot perform. The most valuable thing I can offer in those moments is not a deflection — it is genuine knowledge that helps them make an informed decision about their skin and their care. That is a standard I want to keep raising in my own practice and in everything I teach.

What I Am Bringing Back

I came home from Awaken with three things I did not expect.

The first is a healed part of me. The part that had learned to hold other estheticians at arm's length — the part that had been burned by trust and had quietly decided it was easier to work alone than to risk being let down again. That part felt the safety of the Awaken community and softened. Not naively. Just genuinely.

The second is confirmation. That Deva Moon Academy is on the right path. That the practitioners who need this work are out there — and they are already finding me, even when they cannot articulate exactly why.

The third is new inspiration — for treatments, for education, for the ways I want to continue growing as an esthetician so I can give my clients and my students the most informed, most ethical, most genuinely helpful guidance I am capable of.

A Final Reflection

I said something at the end of my talk at Awaken that I want to carry forward into everything I do at Deva Moon Academy.

Sure, I can teach protocols and ingredients and business strategy. Those things matter.

But what makes working with me different — what the soul of this work is actually about — is the evolution of the practitioner behind the practice.

That is what Deva Moon Academy exists for.

And Awaken reminded me, in the most unexpected and most beautiful way, that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

If something in this resonated — if you are an esthetician or energy practitioner who feels called to go deeper in your work and in yourself — come find us at Deva Moon Academy. Sign up to our newsletter through the link in bio and stay connected with everything we are building.