Today we’d like to introduce you to George Peterson.
Hi George, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
After getting sober in 2011, I set out on a journey to find a better solution to deal with life’s demands. Drinking alcohol and doing drugs to not have to feel my emotions wasn’t working for me, so I decided to try meditation. I started with meditation apps, but it wasn’t until I meet a meditation teacher and learned Vedic Meditation that I developed a daily meditation practice that I looked forward to.
After becoming an enthusiastic daily meditator and noticing the benefits in my daily life, I went on to become a Vedic Meditation teacher myself. While teaching privately, my wife Sydney and I decided that we wanted to provide more to our community. With Sydney being a plant-based chef and my background in meditation, we welcomed our best friend, Breathwork healer & yoga instructor Jillian Hannah to partner with us and we started hosting pop-up events locally.
After dipping our toes into this type of work, we realized that we wanted to go deeper and offer more to our guests. This turned into the building of our brand Nourish Mindful Events: a wellness company that offers global retreats, courses, and events. Today Sydney, Jillian and I host “Learn To Meditate” & Breathwork retreats all over the country, so our guest can learn to wake up excited about meditation and learn the process that helped made me become daily meditator.
This work has allowed us to make life-long connections and teach our students the practices that have transformed our own lives. When we aren’t on the road, Sydney and I currently reside in the woods of New Hampshire where we have created our own retreat homestead in a 1783 farmhouse. My journey now is about helping people realize that nourishment is for everyone and practices like meditation and Breathwork can help us to maximize our potential, feel deeply rested, and access our own inner reservoir of bliss.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think once you start to pursue your dreams, there is always going to be times when things don’t go as planned and the road doesn’t feel smooth. These are growth opportunities disguised as “obstacles.” It’s been scary not knowing where are next paycheck is coming from. But it’s like Jim Carey once said in a commencement speech he gave: “My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice.
Instead, he got a safe job as an accountant, and when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job and our family had to do whatever we could survive. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.” People question you and self-doubt creeps in. But we keep prioritizing our own self care and we are now less gripped by our thoughts being true.
Luckily, all 3 of us have put a lot of energy into the “inner work” to remove the blocks and fears that keep us playing small. When Sydney and I purchased our home in 2021, we decided to quit our day jobs and go all in on Nourish full-time. This type of leap can test you financially, emotionally, environmentally, relationally, etc.– but, we know that the net only appears if we take the leap and nothing grows inside a comfort zone.
One thing that has been a game changer when building our business was to start treating our dreams as seriously as we did our day job. Being able to stay laser-focused on using what we are passionate about to help others and not folding or giving up when times are challenging has allowed us to create a life and a business that we are proud of.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Nourish Mindful Events: A wellness event & retreat company led by: George S Peterson: George S Peterson is a Vedic Meditation teacher, author, and renowned speaker. George is recognized as one of the world’s most prominent meditation teachers and addiction recovery experts. (Host of Global Shift Podcast & founder of the non-profit The Jordan Hannah Recovery Group)
Sydney Smith: Sydney Ione is a private chef, author, and health coach. Sydney specializes in private retreats and events and is a renowned recipe developer. Her intention is to educate and inspire people to feel confident in the kitchen again and cook with love.
Jillian Hannah: Jillian L Hannah is a Breathwork healer, Yoga teacher, community builder, and homesteader. Jillian is one of the wellness space’s top mentors and space holders who’s work is rooted in spirituality and science.
During our live-in style retreats George teaches our guests Vedic Meditation and provides them with the resources they need to become a self-sufficient meditators. This means you’ll learn the ins and outs of meditation so you can meditate daily with success.
We also practice another technique that is designed to deepen your meditation experience. It creates deep rest for your body and mind so you can release deeper layers of stress and trauma stored in the body. We fill the rest of our time together with daily yoga and Breathwork with Jillian, outings in the local area, dance parties, knowledge talks surrounding the spiritual perspective on different topics and meals prepared by our in-house chef, Sydney.
Our retreats are centered around releasing stress, nourishing yourself, making connections with like-minded people, and learning practices that you can take home with you once you leave the retreat. This is one of the things that makes what we do so unique. We are giving our guest tools to go home with to continue to maximize their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual potential.
We also provide local day-events, virtual Breathwork sessions, and continued support for our previous retreat guests. One of the main reasons why we started this company was to create a community of like-minded people where you could have conversations that leave you fulfilled. We laugh, we dance, we cry, we scream and I am in awe and humbled to continue to serve this community each and every day.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
One of the greatest things I did for myself was to reach out to people who were doing or who had what I wanted in my life. Look to surround yourself with people who have already been where you are now, and have gone on to become successful in the way you want. They allow you to “see to believe” what you want is possible.
Reach out to them and if they don’t respond– take it as a sign that they weren’t the right teacher for you and you were the right student for them and move onto the next person. The worst thing you can do is give up! When this happens, take it as a sign that it wasn’t the right time, place, or person, and keep moving forward. Be authentically you–you will be pleasantly surprised how many people are willing to offer you guidance and support.
Pricing:
- Utah Retreat in May 2023: $2,130 per person
- New Hampshire Retreat: $1,200-$1,400
- 1:1 private Vedic Meditation training: $750 (or $500 for individuals in recovery
- Italy 2024 retreat: ranges from $3,500-$4,300 per person
- Virtual Breathwork Healing Session: $33 per person
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nourishmindfulevents.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nourish.mindfulevents/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nourish.mindfulevents
- Other: https://www.georgespeterson.com/globalshiftpodcast
Image Credits
https://sydneykerbyson.com/
