Curated gatherings for thoughtful, curious creatives to share meaningful perspectives and explore new ways of living beyond the status quo.
Salons
At Compassion Collective, our salons move beyond surface-level conversation and create intentional space for like-minded women to share perspectives and engage in meaningful dialogue about living life on their own terms. We offer these gatherings both in person and virtually.
Coming Home to Your Body Spring Salon 2026
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Everyone’s talking about embodiment. But what does it really mean to live in your body when you’ve spent years ignoring its signals?
For high-achieving Black and Brown women navigating a world that polices our bodies, dismisses our pain, and demands constant strength, embodiment isn’t a trend. It’s a reclamation, a practice of listening to the body you’ve been conditioned to override in pursuit of productivity, palatability, or survival.
This Salon moves beyond surface-level conversations to explore what it truly means to be present in your physical self. Together, we’ll discuss somatic practices, the politics of Black women’s bodies, pleasure as a pathway to presence, and how to reconnect with the wisdom your body has been offering all along.
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Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2026
Location: Private venue in the DC metro area (exact address provided upon registration)
5:30 PM — Social Hour
Arrive, settle in, and ease into conversation with light refreshments as you transition from the workday into intentional space.6:30 PM — Opening & Grounding
We’ll begin with a brief somatic practice to help you drop into your body before the conversation begins.7:00 PM — Facilitated Conversation
Explore what embodiment truly means beyond buzzwords. We’ll discuss how to reconnect with bodies we’ve learned to ignore or control, the role of pleasure in presence, and how systemic oppression and cultural expectations shape our relationship with our physical selves. Together, we’ll explore honoring your body’s wisdom in daily life.8:15 PM — Integration & Closing
Reflective practice and personal takeaways to carry this work forward.8:30 PM — Departure
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3-hour intimate gathering with up to 25 women
Light refreshments and beverages
Facilitated conversation led by Esther Boykin, LMFT
Guided somatic practice
Connection with thoughtful, culturally attuned women who understand that healing isn’t linear
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You’ve heard “listen to your body” but aren’t sure how, after years of overriding its signals
You want to explore embodiment through a lens that honors the realities of living in a Black woman’s body
You’re curious about somatic practices but want more than surface-level wellness content
You seek intellectually rigorous conversation grounded in lived experience
You want to be in community with women who understand the complexity of reclaiming your physical self
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$160 per person
Space is limited to ensure an experience that is both personal and communal.
Pleasure, Passion & Playfulness Summer Salon 2026
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Joy isn’t frivolous. Pleasure isn’t selfish. Play isn’t something you earn after the work is done.
As Black women, we’ve been conditioned to equate worth with productivity, often at the expense of ease and delight. Reclaiming pleasure, passion, and playfulness is a revolutionary act — a practice of saying: I deserve to feel good in my body and my life, not as a reward, but as my birthright.
This Salon explores how to integrate joy into daily life as fuel for sustainable thriving, not as an escape. We’ll discuss the divine feminine archetypes, examine pleasure as both restoration and resistance, and practice giving ourselves permission to play without guilt. Summer invites us to bask, and this evening gives you permission to actually do it.
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Date: Thursday, July 16, 2026
Location: Private venue in the DC metro area (exact address provided upon registration)
5:30 PM — Social Hour
Arrive into the warmth of the summer evening. Settle in with refreshments and ease into conversation.6:30 PM — Opening & Grounding
Begin with a brief practice to drop into presence and pleasure in your body.7:00 PM — Facilitated Conversation
Explore intentional pleasure and playful living. Discuss how to reclaim joy when we’ve been taught to prioritize seriousness and productivity, which divine feminine archetypes help us access pleasure, and how to shift the narrative from indulgence to self-care. Reflect on how passion, not just discipline, can drive ambition.8:15 PM — Integration & Closing
Reflective practice and personal commitments to integrating pleasure into daily life.8:30 PM — Departure
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3-hour intimate gathering with up to 25 women
Light refreshments and beverages
Guided embodiment practice
Facilitated conversation led by Esther Boykin, LMFT
Frameworks for integrating joy as a daily practice
Connection with women who refuse to postpone their pleasure
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You’re ready to stop treating joy like a luxury you have to earn
You want to explore pleasure and play without guilt or performance
You’re curious about how the divine feminine archetypes relate to passion and joy
You seek permission to prioritize what feels good, not just what’s productive
You want community with women who understand that play is practice, not indulgence
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$160 per person
Space is limited to ensure an experience that is both personal and communal.
Registration opens Spring 2026. Join the waitlist to be notified when seats become available.
The Practice of Devotion Autumn Salon 2026
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Discipline gets the glory, but devotion is what sustains us.
Discipline says: Push through. Be consistent. Don’t stop until you achieve the goal.
Devotion says: I’m committed because I love myself enough to keep showing up, even when it’s hard.This Salon explores the difference between discipline and devotion—and why devotion fosters sustainable rhythms for ambitious women who refuse to abandon themselves in pursuit of their goals. We’ll examine how to build a life that truly supports you, create practices rooted in love rather than self-punishment, and untangle rigidity from genuine commitment.
As we move into fall, a season of harvest and preparation, this conversation invites reflection: What have you been devoting yourself to, and is it giving back what you need?
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Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026
Location: Private venue in the DC metro area (exact address provided upon registration)
5:30 PM — Social Hour
Arrive as summer fades into autumn. Settle in with warm beverages and ease into conversation.6:30 PM — Opening & Grounding
Begin with a centering practice to explore the quality of devotion versus discipline.7:00 PM — Facilitated Conversation
Dive into the difference between devotion and discipline, and why it matters. Discuss how to recognize when practices are rooted in love rather than obligation or self-punishment, what it means to build a life that truly holds you, and how to distinguish rigidity from genuine consistency. Explore ways to stay devoted to yourself amid relentless external demands.8:15 PM — Integration & Closing
Reflective practice and personal commitments to devotion.8:30 PM — Departure
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3-hour intimate gathering with up to 25 women
Light refreshments and beverages
Guided embodiment practice
Facilitated conversation led by Esther Boykin, LMFT
Frameworks for creating sustainable, devotion-based practices
Connection with women building lives that honor their full humanity
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You’re exhausted by “discipline at all costs” narratives and ready for something more sustainable
You want to explore commitment rooted in self-love, not self-punishment
You’re building something meaningful—a business, practice, relationship, or life—and need frameworks to stay consistent without burning out
You’re curious how devotion can create the structure discipline promises but rarely delivers
You seek community with women who understand that sustainable success requires tenderness
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$160 per person
Space is limited to ensure an experience that is both personal and communal.
Registration opens Spring 2026. Join the waitlist to be notified when seats become available.
Virtual Gatherings Year-Round Salons 2026
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Our Virtual Gatherings bridge the distance—between retreats, across cities, and for women at different points in their Compassion Collective journey.
Held on the 2nd Thursday of each month, 6:45–8:00 PM EST, each 75-minute session blends guided mindfulness, reflective practice, and meaningful dialogue.
For those who have experienced the depth of our retreats, these gatherings provide ongoing connection and support, no matter where you are in the world. For newcomers, they offer a chance to meet Esther, explore our core frameworks, and see if this community feels like home.
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January 8, 2026 — Aligned Ambition: Setting Intentions That Honor Your Whole Self
February 12, 2026 — Self-Devotion: Learning to Romance Your Life
March 12, 2026 — Redefining Mothering: Nurturing Ourselves & Healing Mother Wounds
May 14, 2026 — Weaving the Web That Holds All Our Parts: Exploring the 7 Divine Feminine Archetypes
July 9, 2026 — Self-Compassion as Salve: Creating & Revisiting Your Practices
August 13, 2026 — Beyond Burnout: When 'Laziness' Is Actually Self-Preservation
September 10, 2026 — Pace, Pause, Pivot: Taking Control of the Flow of Your Life
November 12, 2026 — Love After Heartbreak: Finding the Courage to Desire Again
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Duration: 75 minutes via Zoom
10 min — Welcome & Grounding
Begin with a short practice to center and settle in.50 min — Themed Conversation
Engage in discussion with actionable takeaways relevant to the session’s theme.15 min — Open Q&A with Esther
Ask anything—on topic or off. This is your chance for direct dialogue.
Format: Live sessions only (no recordings available). The magic happens in real time—this isn’t a webinar to watch later, it’s a shared gathering to experience together.
Zoom Link: Sent via email 48 hours before each session
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Practical tools and frameworks you can immediately apply to daily life, from mindfulness prompts to self-compassion practices
Ongoing support and connection for retreat alumnae to stay grounded between in-person gatherings
A welcoming introduction for new participants to experience the intimacy, luxury, and cultural resonance of Compassion Collective
Space for personal reflection to explore how core themes can reshape your daily rhythms
Direct access to Esther, including a 15-minute Q&A after each session for questions, guidance, and tailored support
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Single Session: $45
Multi-Session Discount: Buy 2, get 1 at 50% off — no limit!
Sign up for 4 sessions, get 1 free
Sign up for all 8 sessions, get 2 free
Purchasing multiple sessions supports turning episodic self-care into consistent, intentional self-compassion practice. Transformation happens in the consistency.
Not sure which experience is right for you?
Take our Readiness Quiz to discover the offering that best aligns with where you are on your journey. Whether you’re seeking reflection, connection, or deep restoration, this quiz helps you identify the Retreat, Salon, or Supper that meets you where you are.
Additional Offerings
Soft Life Supper Winter Solstice 2025
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The Winter Solstice marks the longest night of the year — a threshold where darkness reaches its fullest expression before the slow return of light. It’s a moment that invites us to acknowledge what lives in our shadows: the grief we carry, the anger we’ve quieted, the desires we’ve tucked away.
Together, we’ll explore the interplay of divine feminine and masculine energies, not as gendered ideas, but as complementary forces within all of us: the receptive and the active, the soft and the strong, the rest and the doing.
Too often, we’re taught to choose. To be nurturing or ambitious. Gentle or powerful. Vulnerable or protected. But true wholeness requires both. And the Solstice, a moment suspended between darkness and light, reminds us that we can hold all of ourselves with compassion and communal care.
This evening is for women ready to stop abandoning parts of their hearts and learn to embrace their fullness with honesty, softness, and courage.
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You’re ready to stop hiding parts of yourself to be “easy” or “palatable”
You’re curious about shadow work but want to explore it in community, not alone
You’ve been running on overdrive and need permission to rest without guilt
You seek connection with women who value healing as much as ambition
You want a glimpse of what the Compassion Collective retreat experience feels like
Soft Life Supper Summer Solstice 2026
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Divine Feminine Archetypes: Basking in Our Light, Pleasure, Passion & Playfulness
The Summer Solstice marks the longest day of the year — peak light, full bloom, and the sun at its highest point. It’s a time to celebrate, step into visibility, and honor the fullness of who you are without apology.
This Soft Life Supper invites you to bask in your feminine glory. Together, we’ll explore the Compassion Collective framework of the 7 divine feminine archetypes. Not as rigid categories, but as a container to honor all the versions of womanhood within you: the lover, the queen, the maiden, the mystic, and more. We’ll celebrate pleasure as practice, passion as fuel, and playfulness as a form of resistance against the world’s relentless expectations.
This evening is about more than conversation — it’s about embodying your light, allowing yourself to be seen, and remembering that joy is your birthright, not something to earn after the work is done.
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You want to explore pleasure, passion, and play as essential practices — not guilty indulgences
You’re ready to step into visibility without apologizing for taking up space
You’re curious about the divine feminine archetypes and how they show up in your life
You seek connection with women who celebrate your light rather than ask you to dim it
You want a taste of the Compassion Collective retreat experience in an intimate evening setting
The Courage to Bloom Catskills Spring Retreat
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On Heartache, Renewal & Self-Nurturance
When was the last time you allowed yourself to be held while your heart was hurting?
This retreat is for the woman carrying quiet sorrow — the grief of a relationship that ended, the loss of someone you love, or the slow, unspoken exhaustion of always being the strong one. It’s for the part of you that is tired of “pushing through,” and ready to be met with something gentler.
Over four days in the soft bloom of spring in the Catskills, we’ll explore how to tend to your own heart with patience and reverence. You’ll be guided through practices that invite rest, emotional release, and the courage to feel again. Here, healing is not rushed. Grief is honored. And blooming is still possible, no matter how many times your heart has been broken.
Together, we’ll explore the interplay of divine feminine and masculine energies, not as gendered ideas, but as complementary forces within all of us: the receptive and the active, the soft and the strong, the rest and the doing.
Too often, we’re taught to choose. To be nurturing or ambitious. Gentle or powerful. Vulnerable or protected. But true wholeness requires both. And the Solstice, a moment suspended between darkness and light, reminds us that we can hold all of ourselves with compassion and communal care.
This evening is for women ready to stop abandoning parts of their hearts and learn to embrace their fullness with honesty, softness, and courage.
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4 days and 3 nights in a serene, luxury retreat home in the Catskills
Your choice of private or shared accommodations, surrounded by quiet woods and mountain air
All meals prepared by a private chef: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and nourishing snacks
Daily guided meditation and tea rituals
Facilitated group sessions supporting healing around heartache, renewal, and self-nurturance
Creative and experiential practices to help you process, release, and reconnect
Access to hot tub, fire pit, and nearby nature trails
Thoughtful welcome gifts and personal touches throughout your stay
Pre-retreat preparation materials to ground you before arrival
Ongoing community support through the Compassion Collective after the retreat ends
Voices from The Collective