We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Imes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

When we first had this idea, we had joked about creating a camp experience for adults. Bryana’s husband worked at Deep Portage Learning Center and we decided to book a weekend to try out a yoga retreat with an emphasis on time in nature. We figured if only our friends signed up, that would be just fine! To our shock, the first retreat filled up!

We hosted and few more retreats and I remember when Bryana saying, “I think we need a name for this.” I said, “really? Nah, I don’t think we do.” Then a few months later she said, “I think we need a facebook page and a website.” Again, I said “really? Nah, I don’t think so.” Bryana has always been the driving force behind everything we do. There were so many things we figured out in the first few years like taxes, licenses, fees, insurance, logistics, and so on. Every year we find new ways to provide unique experiences. We love finding other women to partner with for our lodging, catering, teaching, merchandise and so-on.

In 2022 we realized we needed to launch a non-profit to support the scholarship program we’d been running since day one. We have always offered scholarships, but we needed to find a sustainable structure to move forward. Last year we were able to bring 22 women to retreats on scholarships!! We also hosted our first out-of-state retreat last year in the remote wilderness of Alaska. At the core of everything we do is a desire to offer affordable experiences for those interested in immersing themselves in nature, yoga, and movement.

Amanda , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Bryana and I both chose to live slightly unconventional lives so that we could spend as much time as possible in Minnesota’s wilderness. We both spend weeks each summer paddling the BWCA. We have deep knowledge of this region, and that is the core of who we are and what we hope to share with our retreaters. We want women to feel inspired to spend more time hiking on the weekend, planning their own paddle trips, and seeking rejuvenation in nature.

Yoga is complementary to the other offerings at retreats. Yes, we spend time moving our body in a yoga practice, and we also spend time goofing off around a bonfire, hiking to witness sunrise in the middle of winter, paddling for miles, teaching women how to hang a bear bag, and more. We want our retreaters to experience both deep relaxation, and also the contented exhaustion that follows a day spent outdoors.

This is a great way to spend a weekend with your friends, sisters, or fun family members away from the distractions of screens, phones, and the general demands of life. We’ll take care of all the details, all you have to do is arrive and settle in to the experience. For those seeking a Boundary Waters experience, we offer an experience that may not be accessible otherwise.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

There have been so many moments that knocked us down over the years. Every year we encounter at least one serious hardship. Every business owner knows the agony of a bank account hovering near zero. Some years, a confluence of hardships have brought us to our knees.

We don’t typically share the details of those hardships. We feel it is our job to weather those storms privately. What I can share is that some of the most difficult moments are when one of us has made a mistake that jeopardized the bottom line. This is just part of doing business. Mistakes will be made. You will underestimate the expenses. Unexpected expenses and devastating circumstances will surprise you. Births, deaths, and illnesses will shift capacity. It is how you work through these issues that will make or break you.

To Bryana’s great credit, when I have made mistakes, she does not blame me or shame me. Instead she is empathetic. She understands that I did not make the mistake intentionally. She asks, “how can we move forward? What can we learn from this?” A business partnership is like a marriage. We support each other through sickness and health, hard times and good.

One such mistake is that we were giving out more scholarships than we could reasonably afford. As a result, we worked really hard over a short period of time to set up our non-profit. We figured out how to fund our scholarships through sales of merchandise. We applied for a grant. Out of the mistake grew something beautiful. Now, any time someone purchases something at a Boreal Bliss retreat, the profit funds our scholarship program.

A mantra we have is that when we make a mistake we’ve essentially bought the lesson. We paid for whatever learning came from the mistake, so we won’t make the same mistake again!

If you work with a partner, I encourage you to follow Bryana’s lead. Blame and shame get you nowhere. Respond with empathy and motivation to move forward.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Bryana and I were both deeply moved by the book Emotional Agility by Susan David, Ph.D. The book helped us recognize that “without action, values are just an aspiration.” We realized we have to walk our why. Why are we doing this work? Why is it important to us? What do we want our life to be about? With those guiding principles, it’s become much easier to gain clarity on opportunities we want to pursue (like a wilderness retreat in remote Alaska) and those that don’t align with our core values.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.borealblissyogaretreats.com/
• Instagram: @borealblissyogaretreats
• Facebook: We do have a facebook but Bryana runs it, I am not sure.
• Other: We post a blog weekly. https://www.borealblissyogaretreats.com/blog

Image Credits

Ashley Bredemus