Our Backstory!

Prior to March 2020, Michelle and Carolyne were living what seemed like parallel lives. Both facilitating women’s circles and retreats and home schooling their kids… Yet their only meeting had been when Michelle had facilitated at the inaugural Fearless Women’s Forest Gathering that Carolyne had co-hosted in 2019. During the mayhem of March 2020, Carolyne approached Michelle asking her to partner in a heart-centered venture… building an online community with an emphasis on authentic connection and positive mental health outcomes. It would be a community where diversity and authenticity would be embraced… a community built on compassion and kindness where members felt a sense of belonging. It would be a space where people came to work on being the best versions of themselves, so that they could live their highest purpose. And so Holistic Wellness Community was born!

It soon became apparent that Michelle and Carolyne's expertise did not lie in technology, but instead in creating real life events where people could physically come together in community to experience heart expansion, personal growth and authentic connection. This resulted in them eventually letting go of building an 'Online' community and instead focusing on events. Holistic Wellness Community now regularly facilitate sound healings, women’s retreats, camp overs, forest walks, reiki retreats and their signature forest gatherings. It was in the lead up to and during the magic of the first Manjimup Forest Gathering in 2020 that Michelle, her husband Troy and Carolyne all managed to fall in love with each other. In the words of Brene Brown, they decided to ‘Choose courage over comfort’ and explore a non-conventional love which has led to them living together with their 4 teenagers as one big crazy, happy and a little bit messy family.