Join us - September 27-29, 2024

Estes Park, Colorado

Take advantage of the Early Registration Discount!

(Available for up to 30 registrants)

Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium

Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium

MoveFuelRest … Connect!

Are you tired of the same old conference? 

Looking to recharge your battery, improve your skills as a wellness coach and earn 14 continuing education credits through the NBHWC, all at the same time?

 

The Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium has been specifically designed to create a balance between advanced education, small group interactions and guided personal reflection time.

During our instructional time, the focus will be on practical information that you can incorporate into your coaching sessions. You will also have a chance to connect with other health and wellness coaches from around the country in breakout sessions.

The personal reflection time is designed to deepen the experience as you not only hear topics, but have a chance to purposefully reflect on how each topic relates to you.

And of course, we have included an opportunity to coach, be coached and witness coaching in triads. We all recognize the value in working with a coach within a safe environment to clarify our personal visions. Finishing with this dynamic coaching triad will allow everyone to walk away from the weekend with new ideas that are integrated into specific action plans.

The retreat curriculum was designed to enhance your coaching skills, expand your vision and re-energize your life. Our speakers are experienced and engaging, and emphasize evidence-based practices—not just opinions or headlines.

Perhaps most important, the schedule is organized in a way that allows you to adopt this new training in a format that will leave you refreshed and renewed as you continue helping your clients move toward #BetterThanYesterday!

The Retreat is also approved through the NBHWC for 14 continuing education credits for our coaches who are NBC-HWC’s! These credits meet the recommendations for Content from Sections 1, 2 or 4 of the Content Outline! We are in the process of confirming our 2024 speakers! See the 2023 Retreat schedule for an overview of what to expect.

Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium Registration

// TEMPORARILY HIDE PROMO CODE FIELD – 9/25/23 – [email protected] Promo Code  
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Featured Speakers (2023)

Amy Smith

The Physiology of Conflict: Using Communication to Promote Health and Wellness

Dr. Amy Smith, PhD, LMFT, CFLE

We know conflict is not good for our health and that wellness is improved by reducing conflict. In this content-rich presentation, Dr. Smith will provide an overview of the latest research about how conflict impacts both our mental and physical health on a physiological level and what that means to each of us (and our clients) on a daily basis. In addition, you will learn actionable ways to help your clients effectively communicate in ways that help to regulate their nervous systems, even during conflict.

BIO: Dr. Amy Smith is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Certified Family Life Educator with a PhD in Applied Developmental Science and a MS in Human Development and Family Studies from Colorado State University. Her research focuses on understanding how our close relationships intersect with our mental and physical health outcomes across the lifespan. She currently works as both a therapist and relationship/parenting coach in addition to teaching at several universities throughout Colorado.

The (Past, Present and especially) Future of Health & Wellness Coaching

Leigh-Ann Webster, NBC-HWC

The world of health & wellness coaching has changed dramatically over the past decade and we’re just getting started. NBHWC Executive Director (and nationally board-certified health & wellness coach) Leigh-Ann Webster will be sharing her insights about the past, present and most notably the future of health & wellness coaching in this highly anticipated presentation. She’ll be pulling back the curtain on where we’ve been, what’s happening behind the scenes nationally and what it means for each of us as we look ahead on this amazing journey as a coach.

Leigh-Ann Webster is the Executive Director for the National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching. She has over 20 years of experience in marketing and communications and is also a National Board-Certified Health & Wellness Coach and a certified personal trainer. Leigh-Ann is an active board member for the Palomar Family YMCA, and the co-chair for the American College of Lifestyle Medicine “Health & Wellness Coach Working Group.” Leigh-Ann holds a sociology degree from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). In her spare time, Leigh-Ann enjoys spending time with her family, being in nature as much as possible, trail running & hiking, triathlons, healthy cooking, and travel. She firmly believes all people should have opportunities to live a healthy and energetic life.

Gut Microbiome in the Real World

Christopher Lowry, Ph.D


Increasing evidence suggests that the human microbiome is an important feature of optimal mental, physical, and social wellbeing. In this presentation, Dr. Lowry will highlight our current understanding of the role of the gut microbiome in mental, physical, and social wellbeing, as well as stress resilience, with an emphasis on practical ways, including dietary and lifestyle changes, in which we can positively influence the gut microbiome and health outcomes, using an evidence-based approach.

Christopher A. Lowry, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrative Physiology, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Center for Neuroscience, and Center for Microbial Exploration at the University of Colorado Boulder, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, a Principal Investigator in the Department of Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Health Care System, VA Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research, Education, & Clinical Center (MIRECC), director of the Behavioral Neuroendocrinology Laboratory at CU Boulder, Co-Director of the Military and Veteran Microbiome Consortium for Research and Education (MVM-CoRE), and Senior Fellow and member of the Board of Directors of inVIVO Planetary Health, of the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), now part of the Nova Network. Dr. Lowry’s research program focuses on understanding stress-related physiology and behavior with an emphasis on the microbiome-gut-brain axis.

Dr. Bradford Cooper

The Opportunity and Power of BE-coming in Work & Life

Brad Cooper, PhD, MSPT, MBA
CEO, Catalyst Coaching 360

As coaches, we face an ever-present conflict between “doing” and “being” with our clients and in our own lives. What if there were a way to bring the two together into a curious, purpose-driven, and fully present approach to living life and positively impacting the lives of our clients, community and world? In this first-ever presentation on the intriguing concept of BE-coming, Dr. Cooper will cover the role of free will, the living debt analysis, use of the BE-ing lens and more.

Dr. Cooper is CEO of Catalyst Coaching 360, founded in 2007 to provide best-in-class, board-certified health, wellness & performance coaching for organizations nationwide. Brad has spoken professionally in all 50 states and across Europe, is host of the popular Catalyst 360 podcast, is an elite Masters runner, 11-time Ironman (4X at Hawaii World Championship) & was featured in the film Godspeed: The Race Across America after winning the 2-person event. He’s spent his life as a human performance junkie, earning 4 college degrees, including a PhD, to help individuals enhance their personal and professional lives. He’s crazy about his bride of 31 years, loves being Dad to 3 (married) adult “kids” and “Gramps” to their new granddaughter.

Suzanna Cooper, Catalyst Coaching Institute Faculty

Integrating Nature into Coaching: The Why, the What and the How

Suzanna Cooper, LPC, OTR/L, NBC-HWC

Most of us would agree that we feel better when we spend some time in nature. We probably even talk with our clients about trying to get outside for a walk or to take a break during the workday. What if we could share the latest research with our clients in an easy-to-understand way and offer specific activities and action steps they can take to integrate nature into their daily lives? We will explore how to add practical micro and macro doses of nature into daily life to enhance environmental well-being for ourselves and our clients!

Suzanna Cooper has a pair of Masters degrees, including one in mental health counseling, and is known nationally for her knowledge of coaching and interpersonal communication. As the Chief Learning Officer for the Catalyst Coaching Institute, she is the driving force behind one of the top wellness coach training programs in the country. She is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach and oversees a team of coaches as the Chief Learning Officer of a national employee wellness company. Suzanna is also a Licensed Professional Counselor. She is a life-long learner with experience in a variety of settings with the common thread of coming alongside others to help them be their best selves within their current season of life by focusing on what is important to them.

Lori Rodgers

Reframing Stress through our Values and Beliefs

Susan McGarry, NBC-HWC and Lori Rodgers MA, NBC-HWC

Susan and Lori will be taking a multi-faceted approach to stress management that includes looking at both the struggles and the positive aspects of stress when connecting the experience to the client’s values and belief systems. They will explore the impact of viewing stress through a cultural lens as a coach and creating context around the client’s experience of stress to help gain clarity in coaching through specific stress management skills.

Susan McGarry: Sharing her passion for wellness and desire to help others be the best version of themselves possible makes wellness coaching and mentoring a dream job and opportunity for Susan. She has a B.S. in Physical Education and is nearing completion of her Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy.

Susan has more than ten years of experience as a wellness coach in the corporate setting and has conducted many wellness-related presentations to students across the country. She utilizes a Systems Lens, always taking into consideration the systems which influence a client’s health and well-being, their motivation and ability to create behavior change, including the support and challenges that impede progress. I am also a lifelong learner, and am passionate about helping others be their best selves. 

Susan enjoys staying active as a competitive tennis player, runner, and mountain biker with her three daughters, husband, and friends.  Spirituality is also a core value for Susan, who believes in the mind-body connection.

Lori Rodgers: Lori has a graduate degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Colorado and is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach. She also brings 30+ years of experience in fitness, education and pastoral ministry, all within diverse populations.  Being active and intentional with health are core values for her, and she finds fulfillment in seeing others’ lives enhanced by wellness.  These fields of study, as well as life experience, convinced Lori that complete wellbeing involves spiritual, emotional, mental and physical commitments for the long haul.  

FAQs

As a health and wellness coach, you are constantly giving of yourself to help your clients improve their lives. While this is an incredible opportunity and an amazing way to invest our lives, we also need to take time in our own lives to get refreshed and refocused. This retreat was designed to do exactly that. In addition, we found personally that our most valuable weekend of the entire year in terms of our own business is our retreat. So we decided to bring that experience to others in a way that would make a positive difference in the world.

Estes Park is approximately 1.5 hours from Denver. If flying, please book your flight into Denver International Airport (DIA). The YMCA of the Rockies is approximately 2 hours from DIA if you choose to rent a car and drive to the YMCA. The canyon is a beautiful drive!

YMCA Address: 2515 Tunnel Road. Estes Park, CO 80511. Check in at the administration building (by the flag pole).

Retreat location: Longs Peak Building (Combo East & West Room)

Shuttle service: You can arrange shuttle service from Denver International Airport through either Estes Park Shuttle. Book online or via phone at 970-586-5151.  Or through Colorado Shuttle Service at www.coloradoshuttleservice.com.  Please note that you must make a reservation for the shuttle in advance. Shuttle times are set by the company.

Sorry – no. This retreat is specific to health and wellness coaches.

Conferences can be outstanding events and well worth the time, energy and money to attend as they provide a great opportunity to learn from a wide range of presenters and earn some continuing education credits within a few days. We’re big fans of (and actually speak regularly at) several of them. This retreat will also provide the opportunity for continuing education, but will do so in a setting that will allow time (and an incredible setting) to relax and rejuvenate while also (if desired) providing time to meet with peers and learn from others beyond the actual coursework. You’ll return home with a new skip in your step to accompany the new knowledge in your head!

Weather in Colorado can change quickly. September is historically the most beautiful month of the year. The evenings are cool and the days (typically) filled with sunshine. Pack in layers (ie, t-shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, jeans) so you can adjust with the day. Bring comfortable shoes, sunglasses or a hat if you plan to do some hiking. Of course, it never hurts to check the weather before you head out! 

We will be offering a Yoga Flow class so you might want to pack workout clothes. (Yoga mat will be provided). There is also a pool on-site if you would like to swim during our break time.

You might want to bring a light backpack in case you go wandering around the YMCA and some pens for taking notes or journaling.

If you are staying in the lodge, all of your meals are provided, but you might also want to pack some snacks. Bedding, towels and hair dryer are provided in the lodge rooms. Shampoo and Conditioner are NOT provided. If you are staying in a cabin, you will have the opportunity to cook your own meals and will want to plan accordingly!

Most definitely. You’ll be surrounded by experienced health & wellness coaches from a variety of settings, and will actually have the time (if desired) to share notes and ideas between you. Perhaps best of all, you’re likely to recapture that energy that lead you into the wonderful profession of health & wellness coaching years (or decades) ago!

This retreat will be perfect for you! In addition to a tremendous lineup of speakers and training programs, you’ll have the chance to meet coaches from across the globe who are always interested in sharing their experiences. From enhancing your skills as a coach to building  your own practice to heading up your organization’s wellness program, this retreat will provide you the tools and resources you need to move forward—successfully.

We understand life gets in the way of even the best of plans – and sometimes it happens at the worst possible time – like when we were planning to attend an incredible event like the Rocky Mountain Health and Wellness Coaching Retreat and there is no other option but to have to cancel those plans. On the organizational side of the event, there is an immense amount of planning that goes into all of the details, and much of that is based on the specific attendees, their choice of training sessions, etc. Since the Retreat is designed to serve the needs of health and wellness coaches in a smaller, more personalized format than a traditional large conference setting, changes in attendee plans can have a more negative effect than normal. With those two in mind, we have put the following cancellation policy in place in the event that cancellation becomes necessary.

  • With a 45-day notice, the fee is refundable minus a $150 administrative/processing fee. 
  • If less than 44 days’ notice, registrant has the option of rolling registration into the following year’s Retreat or may instead request access to 6.0 credits of online courses within the Catalyst Coaching Institute’s NBHWC approved courses.

We look forward to having you join us – please feel free to reach out to us with any questions about the above.  Please note, housing cancellation is specific to the YMCA and not connected to Catalyst – please see those details related to cancellation on their website.

We are pleased to have individuals from a wide variety of different wellness coach certification programs joining us at the retreat. Those who have earned the esteemed NBC-HWC designation will add to your coaching toolbox, new friends to your network, and a new skip in your step as you return back home to continue changing the world for the better – one client at a time! The event is also approved for 14 Continuing Education credits through the NBHWC! For those earning CE’s, we will have an attendance sheet. If you miss portions of the Retreat content, we will simply deduct that time from your CE certificate.

HOWEVER, if you are not currently Nationally Board Certified (whether you’re on a path toward doing so or not), you’ll absolutely find the Retreat to be a great spot to enhance your skills and re-energize your life and career.

While we’re excited to be able to keep the total cost of the retreat quite low compared to the cost of registration, room and board at a more traditional conference, we also fully understand that it can be helpful to the budget to spread out payments. The YMCA has a separate process for the cost of rooms and meals that involves only a partial down payment. For the retreat registration fee, if you would like to spread out your investment, it is available!

You’ll see an option for “PayPal Credit” when you get to the check-out spot in the registration. This is coordinated completely through PayPal (we won’t even know you selected this option), but we’ve found it can be a helpful alternative for many of our attendees.

See highlights from the 2023 Retreat

Registration Information

  • Cost
    • Super Early Bird Registration- $395 (1st 25 registrants) SOLD OUT
    • Extra Early Bird Registration – $495 (next 30 registrants, including groups)
    • Early Bird Registration – $535 (through 8/15/24)
    • Standard Registration Rate – $595
  • Group registration: Groups of 3 or more save an additional 10% (except with Super Early Registration Rate due to extreme discount)
  • Total costs: Registration, room, and board for the Rocky Mountain Retreat and Symposium is 30 – 50% less than comparable wellness conferences due to our setting at one of the most beautiful retreat centers in Colorado, the YMCA of the Rockies. The partnership with the YMCA also allows us to arrange room/board costs that are a fraction of what you would pay for a traditional conference. You won’t find a better deal for this level of education with this type of immersive experience anywhere!
  • Financing: “6 Months – No Interest” option through PayPal at checkout for those who would like to spread out the payment process.

Rocky Mountain Coaching Retreat & Symposium Registration

// TEMPORARILY HIDE PROMO CODE FIELD – 9/25/23 – [email protected] Promo Code  
Number Attending