Meet Maria Šimurina | Retreat planner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maria Šimurina and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maria, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My background is from advertising. Working in best creative agencies in Croatia got me running for amazing campaigns, projects, clients, and to be honest: awards and positions. I loved it!!! Or better to say, for almost six years I was obsesed with it. But then, at the beginning of 2022 I started feeling symptoms of a burnout. It took me almost five months before I looked in the face of it and decided its time for me to take action before it gets really ugly.
That action for me was – no action at all. I simply needed to slow down.
So I packed my bags and went travelling.

These few months changed my life in ways I never ever expected!! During this time, I made meditation a daily habit, had countless visions, attended many healing workshops, practiced yoga, caught up with dear friends, and opened up for new amazing friendships and opportunities.
My nervous system got the break it needed, and I gave my body, mind, and spirit something they’d been craving for: TIME AND SPACE. Time to wander, explore, play and just be.

My era of slowing down gifted me more than I could have imagined. It was a healing journey that felt like my own personal retreat. And then it hit me!! I wanted to share it with others and inspire more people to do the same!

That led me to opening a retreat planning business called Purple Aura.
Purple Aura is a retreat planning agency that organises retreats for professionals: be it photographers, chefs, coaches, yoga teachers, who would like to host a retreat for their audiences but simply don’t have time or skills to do so. We are the catalyst for turning their retreat ideas into a reality.

We see organising retreats as an opportunity to encourage slowing down for both sides: the host – taking care of all the logistics, concept, program planning and communication to vendors, as well as their guests, providing time & space for all the activities and non-activities to recharge their batteries and get new perspectives learning directly from our client and connecting to like-minded people.

By organising retreats for professionals, as well as starting a series of monthly blogs and podcast episodes, Purple Aura is encouraging you to tune in and to prioritise relationship with your best self in most simple way you can imagine – slowing down from your day-to-day lifestyle.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
In an era that still feels defined by hustle, the recent pandemic brought a lot to the surface and prompted a profound shift in our priorities. It forced us to reevaluate what truly matters in our lives, with a big focus on mental health and overall well-being. (I personally witnessed it first hand!)

We’ve come to realise that our hobbies, interests, and the time we spend pursuing what brings us joy play a huge role in our happiness!! That led us all to seek meaningful connections with like-minded individuals, those who understand the value of self-care, and the importance of slowing down in a fast-paced world. In a time where genuine human connection can be challenging to find, retreats have emerged as a beacon of hope. And we are so proud to be part of this collective transformation.

We believe that by helping our clients bring together individuals who share a common goal of personal growth, we can collectively inspire and support one another on this journey.

Was it easy along the way? Of course not… But then when it gets hard, we just remind our selves of all the experiences we gained along the way, all the people we met, all the growth we witnessed, we wouldn’t trade it for anything!

We are most excited about different clients who we serve, who we have never dreamed would approach to us, and who we learn so much from! Most of our clients are from USA wanting to offer retreat experiences in Europe. The last one who joined for cooperation is Kontura Wellness, NYC based women’s health consulting and body treatments run by Hana Ivandic. She is one of the best lymphatic drainage specialist in NYC and health coach and will be hosting women’s health retreat in Croatia summer 2024. We are very excited to be helping her organise it and announce it soon!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
For that you would have to be our client ;)) What ever destination our clients choose, we craft the best experiences for them. Some of them you will be able to experience soon with the retreats we are organising. They are taking place in Sao Miguel island of the Azores, beautiful Croatian region Istria, Dubrovnik, and soon retreats in UK! Stay tuned!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
On my own life journey, I looked up to so many inspiring women – their books, their music, their business moves, their courage. They were inspiring me and their moves encouraged me for my next moves! As we are all part of a timeless lineage, shaping the future just as our ancestors did for us, I constantly remind myself of the impact that these women had on me. And the funny thing is – only on of them knows me!

They are:
My own sister Antonia who is the oldest in our family, and who despite of our grandpa who wanted all of his 18 grandkids to be doctors and lawyers, Antonia chose to be a dancer. Today she uses dance as her coaching tehnique to empower countless young women and boost their self-confidence! I owe her a shoutout because she opened a gate of “just follow YOUR passion” for me!!

The other one is Florence Welch from Florence and the Machine, especially with their last album – Dance Fever. Singles: King, Free, Choreomania , Heaven is here, Girls against God, Dream girl evil, Morning Elvis, spoke directly to my soul yet again!! In my mind, these songs were anthems about women’s positions and desires, capturing emotions of love, happiness, hope, anger, reflecting rebellion against authority, the need for self expression at all costs and the exploration of self. I felt as if each and every song was written for me, and this was a big push for me to take a leap and move to another industry – the one that allows me to be authentic.

Sara Blakely who is funny, smart, refreshingly authentic and honest. As a highly successful entrepreneur and owner of Spanx, she openly shares her failures and celebrates them as much as her victories. If you’re starting in entrepreneurship, look her up on YouTube, podcasts, or her Instagram. Her content is always in service of reminding you of your power!

The last one who I would like to mention is. Blu of Earth: This one I have just recently discovered and started listening to her podcasts. After finding out that she had a hereditary and ‘incurable’ hearing disorder, Blu left everything behind and traveled the world to discover life beyond the veil- beyond everything we’ve been taught since we were born. After unlearning and learning, to come home into her authentic truth, she launched a podcast called Dejá Blu. Her podcast is my benchmark of what I want to see more on this planet: showcasing that spirituality can go hand in hand with all the laughter and joy and play!!

There are so many more like Tea Zavacki, my business coach, Sanda Mesinovic – yoga and kundalini teacher, and so many more who inspired me and who I owe eternal shoutout and thank you to!

Website: https://www.purpleaura.com.hr/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/purpleaura_retreats/

Image Credits
Photo credit: Purple Aura, Prascari Estate, Furnas Lake Forest Living, Vedran Husremovic