No Barriers Women’s Summit Kicks Off in Telluride

Yoga: A Vital Part of Any Healing Practice

Female Warriors

Telluride in Fall: A Great Place for Healing

Who doesn’t have obstacles in life? We all do! Whether they are mental, physical, emotional or material, we all have challenges. Thankfully there are organizations such as No Barriers that help us face them head on in a fun, supportive environment.

Today, Telluride welcomes the first-ever No Barriers Women’s Summit to our beautiful Colorado mountain town. A group of some thirty women from as far away as Europe is coming together to participate in a roundup of activities and adventures with the goal of empowering themselves like perhaps never before. In addition to activities such as horseback riding and hiking, the ladies will also be gathering for morning yoga, an afternoon of painting and wine, a networking cocktail and a variety of other inspirational programs and social events.

Warriors Summiting a Mountain

Several guest speakers including Carrie Visintainer, author of Wild Mama and the founder of Free Your Wild, Heather Thomson, fashion designer, reality TV show celebrity and philanthropist and Joanna Sprtel Walters, one of the first women to serve on U.S. warships and author of Girl at Sea, will also be sharing their stories.

Penn Street and Her Faithful Companion Boo

I met Penn Street, Event Coordinator for No Barriers Women’s Summit, many years ago when we worked together at the Telluride Film Festival. Penn, a resident of Colorado, and her husband, Moses, had been coming to T-ride for years for both the festival and to visit family. I marveled at how Penn navigated the dimly lighted interior of the theater where we worked despite her visual impairment and how she carried out her duties just like the rest of us. Plus, she probably took in more films than I did over the course of those very busy weekends.

“I feel like I’m coming home when I’m in Telluride,” Penn tells me. “I feel safe here. It’s a place I can come to heal and to discover something new about myself,” says Penn who doesn’t let any of her challenges get in the way of doing fun things such as summiting a fourteener (a mountain with an elevation of over 14,000 feet). “This weekend is particularly special because it marks my anniversary of twenty-eight years of sobriety,” she adds. “I was a broken woman prior to that.”

Girl Power

I think many people feel resourced and renewed in Telluride–it’s hard not to feel the healing energy from the magnificent nature that surrounds us. The vibes within our free-spirited community are pretty cool, too. So if you’re a local, be sure to extend a hearty welcome to any of the gals you might see around town from this inaugural No Barriers Women’s Summit. “I would love to bring the Summit back to Telluride next year,” Penn says.

Let’s help to make that happen, too.

Reaching New Heights with No Barriers

Note that it is still possible to sign up for this weekend’s No Barriers Women’s Summit, which officially kicks off at Hotel Madeline with a welcome reception later this afternoon; events continue through the weekend and end Sunday morning.

You can also become involved in No Barriers USA by making a donation, volunteering or by spreading the word about how it’s possible to live a no barriers life with the help of this organization.

Thank you to No Barriers for all the photos in this post except for the Telluride photo that I took yesterday on a healing walk along the river.