ethos
our intent is to elevate and inspire through experiences that fuse inner and outer travel. we create adventures near and far that evoke wonder, activate curiosity and remind us to connect deeply to the present moment.
who we are
Jess & Kate founded The Inner Journey Retreat in 2024 as a way to create an inspiring space to come together to explore, connect and transform.
Rooted in their intention, every detail of the retreat experience is infused with compassion, creativity, and care. Together they foster a space for expansion, guiding each retreat with depth and warmth for one’s Self to unfold.
meet jess forsythe
Jess is a New York–based healer and guide who creates sacred space for transformation. Her global practice brings together corporate, private, and retreat work both in person and online. With over 20 years of training and practice, she is certified in Reiki, yoga (YogaWorks), and was trained as a Shamanic Reiki Master at The Sanctuary. She has deepened her craft in the Shamanic Path of the Warrior and the RAMA Legacy of Sound with Grammy-winner Gurujas.
Jess’s offering blends ceremony with breath work, meditation, sound healing, and reiki, all layered to release trauma, restore balance, and evolve consciousness. She has led meditation, shamanic ceremonies, and sound healing events at venues like The Well in NYC and Shou Sugi Ban House in the Hamptons. A graduate of NYU Tisch, Jess brings a rich musical background to her work, integrating sound as a powerful healing medium rooted in sensory exploration.
Jess’s sadhana has been a compass through many challenging times and her deepest joy is seeing others establish their own integrated spiritual practice. With deep reverence for the interconnectedness of body, mind, spirit, and collective soul, Jess lovingly guides participants through journeys of transformation.
meet kate gilman
Kate is a creative force whose work bridges artistry, entrepreneurship, and deep reverence for the natural world. With a BA from Princeton and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, she brings both aesthetic vision and pragmatic drive to everything she does. In 2012, Kate founded the floral design studio Petal by Pedal, empowering small farms in and around New York City and offering locally grown flowers and classes grounded in regional agriculture.
After over a decade in sustainable agriculture and community advocacy, her days now move between the wheel and the garden, hand-throwing pottery and designing seasonal botanical workshops. Kate believes in the power of creativity to reconnect us to the earth, to each other, and to our own deeper selves.
As an advocate, Kate champions sustainability, equity, and justice in our communities and our relationship to the land and each other. She weaves this passion into every retreat moment, from hands-on workshops to mindful rituals, inviting participants to notice nature’s intelligence and awaken curiosity and imagination.
Kind, courageous, and deeply intuitive, Kate holds brave space for emergence. Whether she's tending soil, shaping clay, or leading a conversation, her presence helps others to slow down, savor the simple, and bloom from the inside out.